1. Gutemala Mission Report
November 22 to December 15, 2013
Wow! What a trip the Lord had prepared for us. As always, we were blessed seventy fold
over the blessings we were able to bring.
We started with a late arrival (12 am) in Guatemala City. A nice gentleman helped us with
our bags, noticed our “Mission Team” tee shirts, thanked us for coming, and herded us right
through customs. Saturday we spent planning the week of Bi-Lingual VBS with Rebeca de
Franco. Sunday we traveled to Las Pacayas. (a remote Mayan village at about 4000 feet in the
Sierra Madres) We have now dubbed it the
“Week in the Clouds” as clouds moved in on
Tuesday and stayed. Temperatures were also
in the 40s as we slept on the floor of an
unheated church.
The VBS is called Bi-Lingual because Uspanteco
(1 of 23 Mayan dialects still used in Guatemala)
is the only language the children are supposed to
speak until a certain age. What a wonderful way
to maintain a culture.
If I have learned only one thing working in the mission field it is that children are the same no
matter where you go. These children were no different. They were smiling, cheerful and loving.
They couldn’t wait to come to VBS standing out in the cold and rain as much as an hour before
the sessions started. Some had obviously waded through mud to get there.
This program has being presented each year for
the past 13 years. It has been presented by
Rebeca de Franco with C.P.T.L.N (Christ for all
Nations) – affiliated with Lutheran Hour
Ministries. Rebeca’s staff and friends from her
Church in Guatemala City present the program
along with the help of local youth who have
been participants in the program in past years.
This year the children learned about four of
the ten commandments throughout the week.
More of the commandments will be studied in
the coming years.
2. Daily sessions included crafts with the
children using crayons provided by the
students of St Paul Lutheran School in Jackson,
MO. Nearly 300 children attended in two
sessions daily. Youth as well as adults
attended three evening sessions. These
session topics included self esteem and good
Christian values. The youth enjoyed some very
interesting games. Movies were also shown in
the evenings using a projector provided to
project JOEL (Youth with Free Spirit) by the
students of St Paul on a previous mission trip to
Guatemala.
Two afternoon sessions during the week were dedicated to distributing Hope Seeds to the
families in the area. For those who don’t know, Hope Seeds is a Christian based organization
distributing good quality vegetable seeds along with a message of hope in our Savior Jesus
Christ. Saving seeds for future crops is stressed. Thus the benefit of the seeds is continuing and
self-sustaining.
We also distributed some Moringa tree seeds. Moringa is a tree with many uses mostly to
enhance nutrition. It is packed with vitamins, minerals, proteins and amino acids necessary for
nutrition and development of young people. Las Pacayas is part of a project to determine if
Moringa can successfully be grown in this region.
The pastor of Christ the Way Lutheran Church of Las Pacayas, Efrain Corrillo, served as the
Uspanteco interpreter for the week and is also the local contact for Hope Seeds and the
Moringa tree project. Pastor Corrillo also farms in the area and has had training in agriculture
with previous missionaries who visited and lived in the area.
3. Another contact in the area has also become a friend. His name is Chantio Ramirez. He is a
successful farmer and businessman in the area. We shared some seeds with Chantio and he is
very eager to try growing Moringa. Not sure how Moringa will do at 4000 ft but will give it a try.
Sharing Moringa seed with Pastor Corrillo
My new friend Chantio Ramirez
Chantio’s wife, Helena, served all our meals (a quarter mile walk down the steep hill). She
served local fare of eggs, corn tortillas, soups, beef, and black beans. All was prepared on a
wood stove
On November 30th we traveled to Antigua.
On Sunday we attended church at Redeemer of
the World Lutheran Church in Santiago Zamora
(near Antigua). Our primary purpose at the church
(in addition to worship) was to deliver 50 children’s
books in Spanish to the Church School. These books
were generously provided by an organization called
Trees for Life International
http://www.treesforlife.org/ . Trees for life also provided
instructional materials and pamphlets regarding
the Moringa tree.
Pastor Cornello Midence is the pastor of the church and is also the President of the Lutheran
Church in Guatemala. We wanted to discuss Hope Seeds and Moringa with Pastor Midence so
we scheduled a lunch in Antigua after church. Karloz Franco (Rebeca’s husband) had joined us
and chose a restaurant he knew. Ironically, the restaurant sold Moringa products and had
items on the menu containing Moringa.
4. Rebeca, Sue, Dave, Karloz, and Pastor Cornello
Pastor Midence is very interested in
expanding the distribution of Hope Seeds
and Moringa to other churches and
communities in Guatemala. We
discussed a “holistic approach” where
possibly Hope Seeds, Lutheran Hour
Ministries, C.P.T.L.N Guatemala, and the
Lutheran Church Guatemala would
partner to combine construction projects
VBS evangelism and nutritional
enhancement.
After the “business” was conducted, we spent a few days of site seeing and leisure. We saw
a Marimba band then the Procession of the Virgin in Antigua. Monday morning we toured the
convent of Las Capuchinas, then we rented a car for the remainder of the trip and headed off to
Panajachel on lake Atitlan. Atitlan is a beautiful mountain lake surrounded by volcanoes and
colonial cities. Our first day we visited a Nature and Butterfly preserve. We saw butterflies,
monkeys and a band of coatis as well as some amazing water falls on a short hike up the
mountain. The second day we took a boat tour of some cities around the lake.
Pavlova Galindo and Alvar Baldarrama
Just to prove how small the world is, we met
a young couple in San Juan who knew Pastor
Short of St Andrew Lutheran Church in Cape
Girardeau. Pavlova Galindo and Alvar Baldarrama
had worked with Pastor Short and Food for the
Poor in Quetzaltenango at the Lutheran church
there. I look forward to possibly working with
these two in the future.
Friday Dec. 6th we were back in Guatemala City to meet with Eduardo Taracena of the
Ministry of Agriculture, Guatemala. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss procedures
necessary to import seeds into Guatemala. Eduardo was very gracious and helpful. We now
have the information and forms to get seeds through the customs process. I would like to thank
Sr Taracena for his help and information.
5. Mr Taracena also provided us with contact information for an individual in Guatemala City
who has Moringa seeds and also produces Moringa products. Her name is Patricia Ramirez.
Again in the small world department, Patricia is the person who supplies Moringa products to
the restaurant in Antigua.
Patricia gave us some Moringa / Jamaica tea
and a small tree start. (We called it “junior”)
which we carried all over Guatemala. We
purchased a kilo of seed and Patricia is
going to provide some information about
growing Moringa.
We spent the weekend in the Santa Cruz / Coban Alta Verapaz area. The area is another
mountain & cloud forest area across the valley from Las Pacayas. (we could see the lights of
Coban from Las Pacayas – but it is about 100 miles by road) There were many coffee
plantations along the mountainsides going up. This is a very fertile volcanic mountain soil where
many crops were grown. We were actually there to look at some property. It was a nice place
but too much work for long distance ownership. While there we met a couple of interesting
people, Sara Gomez and her mother Flor Valdizon. Sara is a medical student. Flor and her
husband own a turkey farm near Coban. This is a well managed operation. They are very
conservation minded and use analytical methods to select breeding stock. Flor’s husband once
drove to Houston TX to get eggs for a certain breed of chickens for breeding stock. Flor was
very interested in Moringa. With their background in agriculture, we just had to leave some
seed. Sure they will provide the best test possible to see if Moringa can grow at 4000 ft.
Monday Dec. 9th we were on the road again down from the cloud forest, through the desert
of Zacapa department, and to the coastal plains of Puerto Barrios. Our goal in Puerto Barrios
was to distribute Hope Seeds and some Moringa to a community selected by Pastor Byron Paz
of Christ the Savior Lutheran Church.
Luis and Estella were our contacts and guides.
Luis is an auto mechanic and Estella is a seafood
dealer. Both took time from their busy schedules
to serve their church and the Lord.
6. San Francisco Vuelta Grande was the community selected. It is about 45 minutes from
Puerto Barrios through banana and palm oil plantations about 5 miles down a dirt road near to
Honduras. This is truly a remote village.
Rebeca de Franco, Reynaldo Boutista, Dave Crites
Reynaldo Boutista is the president of the
village association of San Francisco Vuelta
grande. As the event was not widely
publicized, we distributed Hope Seeds to
about 30 families. Reynaldo will distribute
the remaining seeds to the community.
The “model” used here will be to distribute
Moringa seeds to individual families along
with cultivation information. The soil here
should be very good as it is sedimental soil
from the Motagua River. With plenty of
rainfall.
Palm Oil Trees
Distributing Moringa Seed
Wednesday, Dec. 11th found us on the road back to our final stop – Gualan. In keeping with
the precedence set by the rest of the trip, God rewarded us with an experience not available to
the casual observer. On the road back to Gualan is a Mayan ruin called Quirigua. To get there it
is necessary to go through the middle of a banana plantation. Quirigua was a mystical place of
monoliths and restored ruins. There was an ancient Mayan ceremony being held on the
grounds as we toured. As we were leaving, we were treated to a demonstration of moving
bananas from the field across the road to the processing area. They also treated us to some
field ripened bananas. Jose, the worker at the crossing has family in Kansas City.
7. The final stop and main focus of the trip (outside VBS in Las Pacayas) was Gualan, Zacapa.
Here we are developing a Moringa project. St Paul Lutheran Church mission team has visited
Gualan and a local community, Los Limones three times in the past years. We have helped with
VBS and construction projects. During those visits, it was noted there were nutrition
deficiencies in the people of the poor communities. In July, 2013 we took family packs of Hope
Seeds and distributed to 140 families in Los Limones. The Moringa tree has been found to be
beneficial in many areas of the world where malnutrition exists. Having noted a tree being used
for medicinal purposes in July, I thought Moringa may be seen as beneficial. I approached
Pastor Luis Jasinto with the idea. It turns out, some in the community have been working with
Moringa and were looking for a way to expand it to six communities in the area. Once again, it
seems the Lord has a hand in guiding His people where they need to be.
Professor Carlos Franco is a teacher in the local school system. His class in Life Sciences had
recently studied Moringa and the students were given small seedlings to distribute. Carlos will
be our contact for the project in the area. The mayor of Gualan has agreed to provide some
land on which to cultivate Moringa. Ubaldo Ramirez and Juan Navaro will also help coordinate
the project. Ubaldo is a member of Resurrection Lutheran Church in Gualan of which Luis
Jasinto is Pastor. Juan and his wife Miriam own the Hotel Miravalle. Juan is also a local
businessman. As part of his church outreach, Juan volunteers to read a segment on a local radio
station. Our part of the project will be to provide seeds and instructional material. In this
“model” some product will be grown centrally, some trees will be provided to individuals.
Ubaldo
Carlos
Juan
Carlos is a perfect choice for this project.
He has had some experience with Moringa.
He also owns a garden in Gualan where he
grows eggplant for sale to supplement his
teacher salary. He also grows tomato, pepper
cucumber and radish. Carlos is very
knowledgeable about pest control and plant
nutrition. Carlos’ eggplant variety was handed
down from his grandfather.
Information sharing meeting at Hotel Miravalle
8. Following our meeting, we set out to
contact Francisco Jordan, the supplier of the
Moringa seedlings distributed by Carlos.
Our search led to a chance meeting on the
streets of Gualan. Francisco is a very
personable young man. He works for an
organization called Defensores de la
Naturaleza (Defenders of Nature
Foundation). They work in various locations
throughout Guatemala. Francisco will be
helping with some technical information.
In the afternoon after the meeting we had an opportunity to view yet another procession at
the Catholic Church of Gualan. This was the procession of Our Lady of Guadalupe. In this
procession, the children were dressed in typical clothing and the young boys are given facial
hair.
Dec 13th we visited the public health clinic
in Gualan to deliver some medical equipment
and supplies generously donated by a local
pharmacy. The equipment included a
nebulizer, adult blood pressure cuff and blood
glucose monitor and supplies. These items are
very much appreciated as the clinic is not well
funded by the government.
9. Next we visited the village of Los Limones. This visit would provide one of the only
disappointments of the trip. We visited two homes that had received Hope Seeds in July. It
seems the production of vegetables was not very successful. A drier than usual rainy season
combined with what seemed to be a lack of understanding about building good soil resulted in
almost no vegetables grown. The information we presented about composting, seedbed
preparation, and location selection were not fully understood. This is an opportunity to learn
and perhaps provide better information in the future.
Two bright points about the Los Limones visit. 1.) We had discussed pest control with each
group where we presented seeds. The Neem tree and Neem oil is a great natural insecticide
and repellant. Up to this point, no one seemed to be familiar with Neem. Patricia at Magna
Professional had indicated Neem trees were used placed around fields by farmers in the
Motagua valley.
Neem tree growing in Los Limones
When we asked Ubaldo, he said “Yes, Neem
grows everywhere on the road to Los Limones”
Turns out a farmer in the area had lined the
road with Neem trees. Ubaldo had also planted
some Neem seedling in the village. I now need
to provide some information about producing
Neem Oil to Carlos and the team. Hopefully,
we can use the Neem in the area to provide
seeds in other areas of the country.
2.) One of the homes we visited where Hope
Seeds was unsuccessful, had a Moringa tree
growing in the yard. The tree was one of the
seedlings distributed by Carlos Franco’s class. It
was flowering and getting ready to set pods.
Now the challenge is to provide information on
how to care for the tree and use the wonderful
gifts it can provide.
10. We pray for the Lord’s guidance for this project as well as all the other work that is done in
his name throughout this country. It seems His hand has guided the efforts thus far. With His
help, the project in Gualan will grow and provide better nutrition throughout the area and
throughout the country.
And now for the final reward for our efforts - Our friend Oscar Galdamez (father of Miriam
and patriarch of the family) and his wife Adela, took us on an expedition to a mountain stream
in the country. We enjoyed a swim in the river and the wonderful experience. Oscar & Adela’s
daughter, Lucie, and her daughter; as well as their grandson, Gabriel, joined for the excursion.
We truly enjoyed the time with our dear friends and look forward to future times with them.
What a wonderful finale to a wonderful trip.
“Thank You” to everyone involved in making this trip a success. Special “thanks” to Rebeca
de Franco who was our faithful friend, interpreter, and guide throughout the trip. “Thanks” also
to Karloz Franco, Rebeca’s husband, our dear friend, for his help, support and willingness to let
us monopolize her time throughout this trip. We love you both. A huge THANKS to the Lord for
His guiding hand and blessings of our every turn. May he continue to bless the lives of all
those we were fortunate to have encountered.
Karloz & Rebeca
Dios los bendiga,
Dave & Sue Crites
