So you’re going to guatemala!

  • Friday 6/19 - Travel day. Fly to Guatemala City and spend the night at the Barceló Hotel.

    Saturday 6/20 - Breakfast at the hotel. Travel in a bus to Hope of Life. Get to know the team better and set intentions for a beautiful transformative week!

    Sunday 6/21 - Church and a tour of the Hope of Life campus: the hospital, Kelly's house, the elderly home, and the Village of Transformation.

    Monday 6/22 - Full day trip to Canoguitas for projects/VBS/house visits/construction.

    Tuesday 6/23 - Full day trip to Canoguitas for projects/VBS/house visits/construction.

    Wednesday 6/24 - Pack monthly food bags to bring to Canoguitas on Thursday; serve at Hope of Life campus ministries.

    Thursday 6/25 - Distribute food bags in Canoguitas and pray for the families. Team debrief and Fiesta Night at Hope of Life!

    Friday 6/26 - Travel by bus back to Guatemala City and end the night with a team dinner.

    Saturday 6/27 - Fly to Los Angeles and drive home to San Diego.

  • How to Donate:

    Things to include in your letter:

    • Your calling and motivation to go

    • When and where you are going

    • What you will be doing and who you will be ministering to

    • Prayer—give specific ways to pray for you and those you are going to serve

    • Financial Needs:

      • The total amount needed & deadline: $2,250, but the first $500 is due by May 1st

      • How to give online or by check (made out to sponsoring organization, not the participant)

      • Tax-deductible nature of contributions

    • Thank them for their financial and prayer support

    • PASSPORT

    • Credit card (can be used in any store in Guatemala, just alert your bank of travel)

    • Cash for souvenirs, emergencies and tips (~$100 estimated in case of emergency and also bring money to tip our drivers/translators/kitchen staff/cleaning staff)

    • Tennis shoes (may be ruined during work)

    • Flip-flops or sandals (for shower, pool, or evenings)

    • Medicines (RX, anti-diarrheal, headaches, anti-itch, etc)

    • Undergarments

    • Sunscreen

    • Bug spray with DEET

    • Hand wipes; hand sanitizer

    • 2-3 nicer outfits (church/HOL final dinner/final team dinner in Guatemala City; modest for church - covered shoulders, skirts/dresses below the knees)

    • Activewear for the village and work on campus (lightweight for warm weather)

    • Comfy outfit for evening down time and debrief

    • One sweater/sweatshirt/light jacket

    • Sleepwear

    • Modest one-piece bathing suit

    • Rain poncho or rain jacket

    • No shorts in the village for women; longer shorts are ok on Hope of Life campus

    • Toiletries

    • Sunglasses

    • Refillable water bottle

    • Hat

    • Work gloves

    • Pool towel & wash cloth or loofah

    • Ear plugs & eye mask if desired

    • Chargers for phone/watches (same outlets/voltage as USA)

    • Electrolytes

    • Protein bars/trail mix/nuts/other snacks

    • Bible (or app on your phone)

    • JOURNAL

    • Pens/pencils

    • Reusable tote bags

  • May 1 - $500 due

    • Homework #1 due

    May 16 - Team Bonding Day with Spectrum Ministries in Tijuana

    May 17 - Team Meeting @ 9:30am in Room 202

    • $1,000 due

    • Homework #2 due

    June 1 - Homework #3 due

    • $2,000 due

    June 14 - Team Breakfast Meeting @ 8:00am

    • Churchwide Commission of team @ 9:30am & 11:00am

    • $2,250 due

    June 19 - Leave for Guatemala @ 7am

    June 27 - Return from Guatemala @ 6pm

  • Homework #1 - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfmfDZwme28iYWT16mKKnrsKyi4AkXi9DjaORpXRkJUeezWwg/viewform?usp=header

    Homework #2 - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfmfDZwme28iYWT16mKKnrsKyi4AkXi9DjaORpXRkJUeezWwg/viewform?usp=header

    Homework #3 - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScECP-JesvXO5FhGWZsvEo8E9fkO-_4BNpwRNkXCRoQqhfm8A/viewform?usp=header

  • As members of the Grace Church Mission Team, we are sent out in the name of Jesus Christ to tangibly and effectively share the gospel, demonstrate the love of God, and give reasons for our hope in Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:15). The goal of our team is to bring honor to Jesus Christ through all that we do and say while carrying out His command to “love our neighbor as ourselves.” 

    Our teams are privileged to be guests of the country in which we serve and partners with Christian missionaries there. As their partners, we have been entrusted with the responsibility of representing them in the same manner as they represent themselves within the community. In addition, the sponsors of our trip intend for us to be an expression of Christian faith in practice. They have also entrusted us with the responsibility of representing them well among the people we will be serving. 

    With this in mind, though we may come from a variety of life backgrounds, it is essential that all of us understand these purposes and goals. We have also found it important that each team member agree to certain principles of conduct while serving with the team so as to advance, and not detract from, our stated purposes. Those principles of conduct include the following: 

    1. As a part of the mission team, we will always put the good of the group before our own personal good. We will each participate fully in the ministry and will do all that we can to build a spirit of cooperation, participation, and service within the group. 

    2. As partners with our missionaries, we will always work to enhance their work and reputation. We will trust the missionaries with whom we work to know how we can best complement and support their ministry. 

    3. The consumption of alcoholic beverages and the use of tobacco products have the potential to hinder our reputation and our witness in other cultures and with those who send us out. In order to avoid any possible problems, we will refrain from these activities while we are on a mission trip.

    4. The emotional and physical strains of these trips, plus the close bonds of friendship and camaraderie which are developed through them, can lay the foundation for the development of inappropriate relationships. We will exercise extreme discretion, therefore, in our conduct toward members of the opposite sex within our team. We will at all times maintain the highest standards of sexual conduct. 

    5. The cost of mission trips often makes fundraising necessary. Before engaging in any fundraising opportunities or projects, we will first clear them with the leadership of the team to be sure they do not hinder our purposes as a team. We agree to abide by decisions that are made concerning the appropriateness of any fundraising project.

    6. Financial integrity is essential to the reputation and witness of our team. All money raised, whether through projects or donations, will be used for the mission team. A record of all money raised through projects or donations must be kept by each team member and made available to the team leadership. Any member who has raised funds for the trip but who does not actually participate in that trip will either return those funds or turn them over to the church missions fund for use by this team or future teams. Under no circumstances will any person retain funds raised for a trip in which he or she does not actually participate. 

    7. Preparation for the trip is crucial to the group experience. With that in mind, we will make every effort to participate in all team meetings. We will all commit to be present for the final team meeting immediately preceding our departure unless absence from the meeting has been approved in advance. I understand that inadequate involvement in the team preparation meetings may disqualify me from participation in the trip. 

    8. Bringing closure to our experiences as a team is also crucial to our personal and group health. We will each commit to participate in the team debriefing gathering(s) as we leave a country and upon our return to the United States.