Eric, the man with the beard, is the director of Hands of Hope (HOH) the organization High Pointe partners with in Guatemala. When several from the Mission Strategy team went to Guatemala to get an in-depth look at what HOH does there, they visited numerous sites and met many people in this beautiful country. Tim, Joy and Cheryl are standing next to Abuela Gavina (Granny Gavina) on the porch to her house – a house HOH built for her, her son and his family. This little Mayan lady was charming in every way! Behind the door in the picture is her kitchen, and lovely smells wafted onto the porch as we visited and admired her home. Tamales. It was the smell of homemade tamales she made anticipating the visit from Eric and the guests he was bringing. It is times like this when there is a strong desire to wad up itineraries and throw them out the window! What a treat it would have been to sit down with this sweet Christ-follower and enjoy the feast she prepared! But alas, other people were expecting them in another place and they could not stay. But Rosita was a go-with-the-flow type gal and immediately wrapped up the tamales and gave them to Eric for ‘later’.
This little vignette is just a taste of what the eight adults going on the upcoming trip to Guatemala in July will experience. Meeting people who persevere despite the burdens of poverty, rampant alcoholism and the inequities of government policies will leave the team inspired and humbled. They will be overwhelmed with gratitude to be recipients of Mayan hospitality. The group will have opportunity to share God’s Word in varied contexts and to interact with young people through play and stories. The aim of this upcoming outreach is to bring encouragement to the Santo Domingo Xenacoj (Sheniko) community and the church we are supporting there -- to learn from them and have fun serving.
Welcome to High Pointe’s International Missions Blog!
This blog will engage the intellect with various perspectives on internationa missions and High Pointe’s involvement.
You will read stories and see pictures featuring people and communities impacted by our partners in Nepal, Guatemala, Ethiopia and Kenya that will challenge and inspire.
As teams of people from HPC launch out on mission trips, this blog will detail their travel with dialogue and pictures.
There will be periodic updates on the persecuted church around the world and ways you can engage your heart and God’s power.
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Every other week something interesting will pop up that will bring a meaningful pause to your day.
En Cristo,
HPC Mission Strategy Team
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