Mid Vermont Christian School
 High School students at Mid Vermont Christian School in Quechee, Vermont are preparing for the school’s sixth missionary trip this April to Santa Lucia Utatlan, Guatemala. The Guatemala Team, also known as the “G-Team” consists of nineteen members this year (thirteen students and six adults), and marks a second or third visit for several.
Since 2005, the G-Team has traveled to Guatemala to serve children of poverty; bringing hope and help to the Colegio el Mesias Christian school by working on their facilities and ministering to their students and staff. Their journey begins in the fall when each member embarks on raising funds for travel expenses, building materials, and in-country expenses.The team and others at MVCS also raise scholarship monies to sponsor the local children who cannot afford to attend the school. This year’s $1,760 requirement is significant in quantity, but with help from their churches, family and friends, members are confident the support of others and continued faith will provide for their needs.
The students offer diverse reasons and emotions for their desire to serve in a foreign land so far from home. Anna Alisia Ledoux, a senior, returns to Guatemala for a second year of service. “For some of us, this is going to be our last year. It’s a bonding moment as well as an outreaching moment.” Rebekah Martel, a junior, shares her rationale in deciding to serve for the first time. “It occurred to me this is a once in a lifetime opportunity…to go to a third world nation and minister to children without being concerned about terrorists…so I’m not intimidated by it…I’m excited.” Others, who have never been there before, such as Emma Graham and John Horner, sophomores, take solace in learning from the experiences of friends and family who previously served in Guatemala.
Residing in a Guatemalan village involves a considerable amount of adjustment and acceptance. The G-Team faces immediate challenges to overcome such as riding in the back of trucks on narrow, bumpy roads, and dividing their large group into three small bedrooms in a house with insufficient bathroom facilities. Leah Scully, a junior who served for the first time last year, describes her emotions upon arriving at their temporary home. “The first night I was there, I was terrified. It was horrible and I thought I was going to cry. The house wasn’t what we expected. The bathrooms weren’t really working, and there were a lot of people.”
Cathrin Goss, a senior and two-year veteran who Leah credits for getting her through her worst moments, acknowledges last year’s challenges and recalls the previous year being worse. “Last year we showered every day, but the year before,” she chuckles, “We showered maybe twice the entire week due to the problems with the bathroom. We washed our hair on the roof with buckets of cold water.”
AnnaAlisia nods in recollection and matter-of-factly recalls adapting to their limited facilities, “We’d brush our teeth in the streets because there just wasn’t enough room for all of us.”
The G-Team must also adapt to a multicultural, multilingual nation that speaks primarily Spanish. They rely on a translator at the school to assist them with teaching, however, they encounter outside interactions with children on the streets where their translator is unavailable to interpret. Their surroundings are intimidating due to a high crime rate and the necessity for armed guards at the gated Santa Lucia community. Leah’s immediate surroundings contributed to her initial sense of fear, although, she felt she was safe. “They wouldn’t put us in a situation where we’d be in danger, but just seeing the things that go on. It’s all real open…And then you go into a gated community and there are guys with machine guns guarding it. It makes you feel safe, but at the same time, you’re thinking…what are you guarding against?”
The main goal of the G-Team’s service is to build friendships that allow them to share their faith with individuals. Throughout the week, they work with Guatemalan carpenters and children on the construction of the school. They carry gravel, stone and water from ground level to the top floor of the building. They cut, bend and tie rebar. They also minister to the children at the Vacation Bible School through drama, mimes, music and testimonies.
Joslin Goss, a senior preparing for her second visit, shares that the spiritual connection with the children was the most rewarding for her. “Seeing so many kids accept Christ and knowing that we had such an impact even though none of us speaks Spanish fluently…It’s really rewarding to see them understand the skits even though they don’t understand our language.”
The strongest lasting impression for Leah is how their attitudes changed over time. She reflects on her own emotions evolving from fear to love over the course of ten days. “You kinda get used to it and you realize there are so many blessings you get like working with the kids. They open up to you and make you feel welcome. You’re showing them God’s love and they’re showing you so much love in return.”
Lasting bonds form the moment they arrive through unity in circumstance and encouragement from experienced veterans such as Cathrin. As the days progress, they bond with the community through preparation of meals with their gracious hosts, working closely with the young teachers in developing lesson plans for the children, manual labor with the resident carpenters building the school, and, of course, playing with the children.
Leah treasures fond memories of the attachments they formed with the children and the significance of the experience. “The little kids give gifts sometimes…you see how little they have, yet they are so happy and so generous. There was one little boy who brought us fruit popsicles, fruit on a stick that they dipped in chocolate. We’re not supposed to eat things given to us as it might not be sanitary, but we took it anyway as it was a sacrifice for the little boy to give it to us.
It really opened my eyes to how blessed we are…to people not having what we have.”
Listening to the recollections of dismal living conditions and rewarding moments of seasoned G-Team members rekindled a sense of unity, strength and devotion amongst the group. They nodded in hearty agreement as others mentioned thoughts, feelings and experiences they all shared in the past. The volume level intensified from the laughter that ensued when voicing the reality they actually made due with only two showers a week. Their unwavering comfort level revealed their accomplishment in carrying their mission full circle, year-after-year, amongst existing and new members. Leah shares, “I was so sad to leave and knew I’d definitely be going back.” AnnaAlisia agrees and adds, “Ten days just wasn’t enough. I wish we could stay longer.” When asked again how she felt about her decision to serve in Guatemala for the first time this spring, a more informed, wide-eyed Emma beamed a convincing, “I’m fine with it.”
2010 G-Team members—Students: Cathrin Goss, Joslin Goss, Emma Graham, John Horner, AnnaAlisia Ledoux, Rebekah Martel, Leah Scully, Amanda Smith, Benjamin Sylvester, Linnet Walker, Ashley Wilson, Molly Whitmer, Andrew Wolff. Adults: Robert Bracy, Lori Bracy, Michael Douglass, Alison Scully, Donald Walker, Katey Walker |
