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International Mission Team

First Annual Service Trip

When: March 13 – March 21, 2010

Where: Guatemala

Sponsoring Organization: Common Hope (www.commonhope.org)

Common Hope Mission: “Common Hope promotes hope and opportunity in Guatemala, partnering with children, families, and communities who want to participate in a process of development to improve their lives through education, health care, and housing.”

What: Build a pre-fab home with a family and deliver it to their homesite. Purpose: By taking this first step as a team, we will make a small contribution to fight poverty. Most importantly, we will build our faith together and share our experience with our congregation and others, so that we can move beyond the walls of our church and our country and do God’s work.

The experience: In addition to building the home, we have an opportunity to participate in a variety of activities – depending on each team member’s interests. The organization likes to draw on the special skills and talents of the volunteers, so there is a great opportunity to share your gifts and talents. Here are some ideas, but you may have other talents you would like to share, such as management, IT, engineering…

• accompanying a social worker on visits to the villages
• observing or helping in the classrooms
• donating books, reading stories to children in the library or other library work
• constructing a home
• leading a cooking class
• teaching a craft or sewing project – perhaps there is room for teaching jewelry making
• preparing educational materials
• landscaping grounds
• working in the warehouse
• attending talks by staff members.

Words of wisdom from the website: “The attitudes and actions of people living in privileged societies can either perpetuate or stop poverty. A Vision Team experience will help those of us from privileged societies realize our power and responsibility. Other goals of the Vision Team experience are to build relationships that support our work; foster encounters that educate, provoke compassion, and challenge complacency; and connect needs with resources.”

More information on the program: read the Commonhope.org’s Vision Team manual

Suggested readings from the Manual – we have a lot to learn!

Contact: Kathy Fraser – kathyfraser1@gmail.com – 203-637-1060