Mission Trips
Youth Mission Trips
The Senior Highs and Junior Highs went on a mission trip to Lancaster, PA. June 2008. Go to Youth Mission Trip to to find out what they did.
Mission Trip to Rabinal, Guatemala, March 2010
Please read our blog of our mission trip to Rabinal, Guatemala.
Palm Sunday, March 28, 2010
In Rabinal, Guatemala I woke up trying to chase the sunrise with my wife outside of the hotel room. We took a nice stroll within the flower strewn courtyard of our hotel. Since I was up early enough, I also took a morning run along the streets of Rabinal with Pablo. After the run and taking a well deserved shower I went with the group for breakfast at Angellos restaruant where they treat us like royalty. However along the way we were stopped by a Palm Sunday parade with the whole town, it seemed, involved in the festivities marching down our throughfare. And since we were headed the same way we walked with them.It was beautiful with palm fronds dripping with purple and magenta flowers. We did not have to dodge traffic as much as we did on our first day because the parade provided a natural barricade to the traffic that flows to wherever it wants to normally.
We then went to a very boistorous church service, that was also very musical. We had a live band sing and several people lead the congregation in prayer and service. However it was all in Spanish, of which I speak very little. But it was very entertaining nonetheless. We then went to the the clinic where we take care of malnourished children. We took out some bubbles and had a blast playing with the children. We were all laughing and playing the whole time in the clinics playground. After leaving the clinic, we got lunch at Angellos, and went to the local market to find a good deal. The prices down here are very reasonable, and the market is a very busy scene.
After the market we went to the clinic again and did a service project were we painted some walls for one of the playrooms for the children. Of course, we played with the children some more. Honestly, you can not get enough of doing just that…playing with the children and seeing their smiling faces. We then went to dinner at Angellos and called it a night. Since this is my first time outside of the US, I have seen many lively faces of a different culture and have formed many fond memories of this beautiful place.
Sim Wilkes
March 29, 2010
Hola, we all enjoyed our first full day of work at the clinic and have been making some major positive changes around the clinic. We began working together to paint some of the rooms around the clinic. Immediately, the nurses and children provided encouraging compliments about the new color. The people in the town are also very welcoming and appreciative of the business and things that we have brought to Rabinal. We have had indescribable experiences in the market and around town, in the clinic with the children, and at the hotel and other shops.
Erika Lynn
March 30, 2010
It was a nice, cool morning today, but the temperature rose VERY quickly. Luckily, we are inside most of the day. We finished painting the last room and decorated it with pretty wall stickers! Princesses, Cars, Winnie the Pooh and Strawberry Shortcake. Then we read the story of Noah building the ark, and made an arcoiris, or rainbow, on the wall using fingerpaint and the children s hands. It was so fun! And then, of course, we had to fingerpaint some more on paper and ourselves, making as big a mess as possible! But it was fun. Sue built a big toy chest with help from everyone, and we painted a couple of high chairs. Then, while leaving the clinic, we watched another parade! It was very short, but everyone had spent the entire day making beautiful designs in the streets. You WILL want to see pictures!
We all thank you for your prayers and support. We ended up coming with plenty of extra money so that we could purchase ceiling fans and a water purifier for the clinic. You all are awesome!
Beth Frick
April 1, 2010
A poignant moment for me on this mission trip was the conversation we had with the head nurse, Sor (Sister) Berta, on the last day at the clinic. I asked Sor Berta if she ever went on a vacation to see her family. She said, “You being here was my vacation.” With the attention and stimulation our group gave the children, she could tell the difference in one little boy in the couple days that we were at the clinic. He was standoffish and now he was welcoming hugs and sitting on the laps of our team members. She knows the children will be looking for us when we don’t show up the next day. In the pictures, you can see some of the activities we provided for the children: making beaded necklaces and bracelets, blowing bubbles, making crosses out of popsicle sticks wound with yarn, filling plastic Easter eggs with stickers and toys and then hiding them, putting their handprints on the wall for a rainbow and of course always holding the babies.
The nurses, who are nuns, operate the clinic 24/7. The clinic is a health clinic for the community and for malnourished children. The goal is to feed and care for a malnourished child so he or she can return to their family. Sor Berta told us that they have had two babies dropped off at the clinic, and the parents never returned. Another time, a baby was found in the trash and the authorities took the baby to the clinic. On the walls of the clinic, there are success stories showing pictures of children upon arrival and pictures after they have returned to a healthy status and returned to the family.
The nuns send their thanks to Cullowhee Methodist for supporting our trip for the good of their clinic. They wanted to know how we raised the money and how we obtained the supply donations. Thank you church family for all your support.
April 3, 2010
After a few rounds of “Apples to Apples” and “Catch Phrase” our group finally dispersed and went to bed for a few hours before waking up at three to get to the airport to catch our plane. No one wanted to leave or say good bye to Miguel, our liaison to the clinic. It was hard enough leaving the children earlier, and now our time had come to an end. The trip to the airport was probably the quietest trip we had taken all week (partly because it was 4 A.M.) but also because we were soaking up the last sights and sounds of the country as we left.
The roads were mainly clear and it gave me time to reflect on our work and the time we had spent there. We had painted three rooms, installed fans, purchased many needed items, painted and varnished high chairs, cleaned, and Sue even made an amazing toy chest. But perhaps the most important thing we accomplished on our trip was the connection we made while there. Not just with the nuns and the children, but with other people in the village. One of our first nights there we had asked ourselves, was our presence there really necessary, or should we have just sent money? Surely we could have sent enough to install the fans, paint the rooms, and the other stuff. But the answer to that lies in the ties we now have to the community of Rabinal. Just sending money would have been great; the clinic needs all the help it can get. But the memories that I have and can share and the feelings Sim and I have of being called to do more mission work around the world is priceless.
Even on the plane God opened my eyes to the need elsewhere in the world. A group was returning from their week in Haiti. And explaining just how bad it is still down there. His group had to turn people away and close down the hospital because of a lack of funds.
I don’t know what our next mission is that God has planned for us. But I do know that whatever it is, wherever it is, I will be there, with an open heart and mind.
Emily Wilkes
April 4, 2010
I feel the ladder starting to slip! It should not do that! I pretty quickly realized that this was not going to be good.
I am on a ladder painting the trim between the wall and high ceiling in one of the baby rooms in the clinic. As the ladder slipped out from under me, I realized I was falling and tried to grab onto the window to hold on and avoid falling. It always works in the movies, but I learned real life is different.
As I was on the floor starting to assess the damage. I heard various screams like: “Paul fell.” Everyone rushed to help me and see if I was OK. Slowly beginning to stand, I heard Sue say, “He’s not hurt; he’s just scared.” Sliding my foot out from under the ladder rung, I realized that Sue was wrong. It hurt when I tried to stand on it, so I responded by saying that my foot was hurt. But at least I was conscious and able to stand on the other foot. It could have been a lot worse.
I was suddenly grateful that our group included two students with paramedic training. They had an opportunity to practice their skills in a real situation. With help I hobbled to a bench to lie down and elevate my foot. Emily and Sim checked out my foot then iced it and wrapped it in an ace bandage to minimize the swelling. Sister Berta brought a wheel chair and rolled me to a bed in the clinic where I could elevate the foot.
After checking the swelling several times, everyone agreed that I should get the foot X rayed to see if it was broken. But the nearest X ray machine was in a larger town that was about 45 minutes away on steep curving mountain roads.
The hospital was on strike! So we went to a small clinic. The doctor there sent us to another clinic for the X rays. While there, our local escorts went on two expeditions to find me some crutches. Neither clinic had crutches or wheel chairs. I had to lean on people and hobble as best I could. We then returned to the first clinic, where the doctor told us that I fortunately had not broken my foot. I just had to stay off it for a few weeks.
I was planning to fly to Dallas the weekend after we got back to run Cari’s (my daughter) first marathon with her. I was disappointed that I will only be able to cheer her on from the sidelines, but there was some good that came out of the accident.
I learned a few things. First they have ladder (and other) safety rules for a reason. Follow them!
I experienced the health care system in a developing country first hand. CJ Harris or other hospitals in the US would never be on strike. Nonambulatory patients at hospitals or clinics would be greeted by nurses with wheel chairs. They would not have to hobble in on their own. I also realized that the time to get to a hospital from remote villages is so long that it would be catastrophic for a villager who was seriously hurt and had to rely on the local chicken busses for transportation. Despite all the problems with our healthcare system, we are pretty lucky.
My Spanish teacher often works as a translator for Spanish speakers when they go for medical visits. One night in class she told us that people are often very grateful to have a translator when they go to the doctor. I learned why. As we were traveling for the X rays, I was very grateful that our bilingual local liason went along. Otherwise I would have had great difficulty communicating with the doctor. If I make a Spanish mistake ordering a meal, I may not get the meal I wanted, but I still get fed. Not understanding a doctor’s directions could be much more serious. I developed much more empathy for new immigrants who don’t speak English well.
The final benefit of a hurt foot was that I could not paint very well. I sawed and sanded a few boards for Sue’s toy chest, but I spent most of the time after the fall sitting and holding the babies and children at the clinic.
Maria Magdelena had the cutest smile. Evelyn fell asleep in my arms a couple times. Eric was very happy and cheerful. Angel had difficulty speaking; in the US he would be able to get speech therapy. Byron had some seeing and hearing problems that could be treated here. Sara was very quiet, but she could point and I could always tell when she wanted to be picked up and held. A little girl who was just learning to talk called me papa. When the clinic staff told me how old the children were, I was always amazed. They were way too small for their ages.
Despite about 10 seconds that were very bad, it was a great trip. I would go back in a heartbeat. Thanks to Beth for organizing the trip and to CUMC for generous support.
Pablo (Paul) Heckert
Mission Trip to Wyoming May 2008
Seven college students and seven members of the church flew to Salt Lake City, Utah and performed community service for senior citizens in Dubois, Wyoming and Casper, Idaho but saved a little fun time for Yellowstone National Park, May 10-17. Dubois, population 900, is a quaint little ranch town south of Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, nestled below Gannet Peak. The CUMC group worked a few days in Dubois doing yard work and repairing and painting homes for senior citizens. A smaller group went on to Casper, Idaho to make a bathroom handicapped accessible for the father of our special friend Kort Anderson from Dubois.
After their community service work, the group members experienced a few days of fun and adventure in Yellowstone catchings glimpses of a variety of wildlife (moose, bison, elk, brown bear, black bears, coyotes and five grizzlies). They had a wonderful time and created lasting memories.