On Saturday morning, June 23, 2024, the Union Church Mission Team to Guatemala met at O’Hare International Airport for our American Airlines flight to Guatemala City. The team included our leader, Trayce Biancalana, and members Jane Grimm, Robb Knuepfer, Cathy and CJ Mitchum, Hugh, Nate, and Bella Robinson, and June Scott. We would meet team members Kristen and Katie Meyers in Guatemala. As we completed our immigration forms for Guatemala in Spanish, we realized we were “not in Hinsdale any

On June 22, a group of 11 set out for San Juan Laguna, Guatemala on a journey to make a lasting impact. Our journey was focused on building connections, learning about the Mayan people and their rich history and creating tangible change. We set out to construct smokeless stoves and support an educational program for Mayan children. The smokeless stoves project aimed to improve health conditions by reducing indoor air pollution, while our time at Hope and Dreams, the educational program