We are two weeks from embarking on our first missions trip to serve alongside Bethel Ministries International in Guatemala. Bethel Ministries hosts around 30 mission teams each year. Their central focus is sharing the Gospel. They do this through various outpourings: wheelchair distributions, home building and food and clothing distributions. In the not-so-distant future, they will be opening a medical clinic as well.
God has assembled a wonderful team of 16 people from Grace Community Church to serve those in need in Guatemala. We will be in Guatemala from June 28 until July 5.
What is our plan? Well, we can have a plan, but God often adjusts that plan when we touch down, according to His will. But in a nutshell here is what is on our agenda:
First, the team will participate in two wheelchair distributions. Last year Bethel distributed over 1700 wheelchairs through similar distributions. Each of our distributions will provide 50+ wheelchairs to those in desperate need!
Next, we will build three small homes for three families. These families may be homeless or living in less than adequate homes with dirt floors and whatever they can find for walls and a roof. Sturdy walls and a roof can go a long way.
The three families we will be building for live in mountain “villages” and are either families whose fathers have abandoned them or widows with several children. These mothers provide for their families on less than $2.00 per day.
We will also be helping similar families by providing a large bag of food essentials: cooking oil, rice, beans, hygiene products, coffee, and dehydrated food packets. These bags can feed a family for three weeks.
Malnutrition is chronic in Guatemala. These can be life saving essentials; a great improvement over the tortillas and coffee they would normally eat. The food bags also contain a Bible! On past trips I have seen the mother grab the Bible like it was the last life jacket on a sinking ship. It is amazing to see such a reaction to a gifted Bible!
Even though we have a plan, it is key for our team is to be flexible and follow God where He wants us to invest our time.
This type of trip has two types of work:
hard work and heart work!
We want to thank everyone who has helped make this trip possible. Our team has provided for their own travel expenses. We have done extensive fundraising to help finance all of the above mentioned projects. As we proceed through the week, we will likely uncover unforeseen needs, and so we continue to fundraise to try to help with some of these needs.
If you feel so led to help with the support of Bethel Ministries and this trip, we have a Go-Fund-Me page.
Or, you can go through Grace Community Church’s online giving portal and give directly to the Guatemala Missions fund too.
We ask for prayer support for our team as we prepare to leave, and continued prayers as we serve. Prayers for safety, good health and that the Holy Spirit use us as He sees fit!
Dios te Bendiga (God Bless you),
Rick Fulton, Team Leader
Guatemala Missions 