UCH Guatemala Mission 2024 Update – Days 1 & 2
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 more!” 😊
Some four hours later, our flight arrived in Guatemala City, where the airport was overcrowded with many family members and friends waiting with flowers, balloons, and welcome signs to greet arriving passengers. We navigated our way through the maze of people in the airport and met our host, Fredy Perez, outside the terminal, who was waiting for us with a mini-van to transport us some 4 hours through the mountains to Antigua, the ancient capital of Guatemala. There we had dinner together and stayed overnight. The next morning, Sunday, we left by mini-van for the several hour bus ride through the mountains to San Pedro, on the shores of Lake Atitlan, where we took a boat ride for nearly an hour across the lake to the village of San Juan, which was our final destination. We then took small motor bikes called “Tuk Tuks,” which seated 2 passengers, to our hotel in San Juan.
After settling in our rooms for the coming week, we gathered outside in the garden for the first of our daily devotionals. In that first gathering, we gave thanks to God for our safe journey, and we prayed for God’s guidance as we prepared ourselves for the work ahead. We shared with each other our expectations, our anxieties, and our eagerness to be of useful service to the people of Guatemala. We also gave thanks to Union Church for its support of our mission to the Guatemalan people.
We then joined our host, Fredy, and his wife and two children, for a family dinner and began our Guatemalan Mission adventure with getting to know each other better, and also getting to know new Mayan friends and their families, and the wonderful Mayan history, traditions, cuisine, and culture. Later that day, we attended a local church service where we worshipped together. It was a wonderful beginning to a wonderful mission trip on behalf of Union Church.
Submitted by Robb Knuepfer.