Guatemala

Trinity members have several opportunities to share the love of Jesus Christ and improve the lives of orphans, widows and families in rural Guatemala. Those who participate in the work being done there have found great change in their own lives through the experience. Work teams, medical teams and youth mission groups are arranged through Pura Vida Ministries.

While we recommend experiencing Guatemala through a mission trip, you can participate in many of the following programs without leaving home:
Guatemala Medical Mission - May 2007 • Guatemala Craft Sale • Becas for Lemoa
Lemoa Milk Program.


Guatemala Medical Mission

What it is:
There is a great need for medical services in the rural Guatemalan communities where past construction/VBS teams have worked. Many of the people in these areas have never seen a doctor or dentist.

How you can help:
We are currently looking for medical personnel to join us. If you are a doctor, nurse, or other medical professional and are interested in using your skills to help the needy in rural Guatemala, please consider joining the team for upcoming trips.

The Trinity Connection:
Trinity's first medical mission to Guatemala in 2005 and 2007 were great successes. We saw hundreds of patients in small villages that had never before seen a medical team. For more details on that trip, please see the trip journal.
Contact: For more information, contact Mark Ely or Miriam Slejko through the church office at 303-839-1493.

Guatemala Craft Sale
 
What it is:
• Ruth & Naomi is a program of the Methodist Church of Guatemala which provides a home and workplace for widows, orphans and families in extreme poverty
• The program is supported by the sale of craft items made by the Ruth and Naomi Weaving Center in Guatemala
 
How you can help:
• Purchase unique and high quality clothing and accessories
• Donate professional quality sewing machines
 
The Trinity Connection:
Hand woven and sewn articles of clothing and accessories are produced in a small shop produced by the widows and their children and are original and of superior quality.  Profits from this sale go to both the Ruth & Naomi project and to help defray expenses on upcoming mission trips.  Donations of professional quality sewing machines for the project are also greatly appreciated and are taken via the mission team.
 
Shop for those you love early for any occasion and feel good that you are supporting those in need.
 
Contact: Please contact Mark Ely or Miriam Slejko through the church office at 303-839-1493/

 
Guatemala Milk Program
Pura Vida Ministries
 
What it is:
• Donations provide milk to promote health and nutrition in Lemoa, Guatemala
 
How you can help:
• Make a donation before Christmas towards the purchase of milk.
• Milk may also be purchased as part of Trinity’s Alternative Gift Program
 
The Trinity Connection:
Support the annual Pura Vida Christmas Milk Program and help brighten the holidays for a poor family in Guatemala! Donations are used to provide milk to the rural village of Lemoa, Guatemala. A 2.5-kg canister of premium dehydrated milk can be purchased and delivered for only $12. That makes five gallons of 4% milk, which will provide months of vital nutrition to chronically malnourished children. Ordinary milk is not commonly available in the area, due the lack of refrigeration and poor health of the local cattle.

If you would like support the milk drive this year, please send in your donation before December 15. A small team will be in Guatemala over the holidays to distribute the milk. The children of Lemoa thank you!

Pura Vida Ministries is an ecumenical Christian effort bringing together Guatemala and the United States, working to promote health and education in the Quiché department of Guatemala. We are currently focusing on the rural village of Lemoa. The mission of Pura Vida is to facilitate the sharing of first-world resources with the third-world communities in a meaningful and long term way. We give our time, knowledge, and resources to help build up communities to their standards, not ours.
Contact: Mark Ely or Miriam Slejko, 303-839-1493

Becas for Lemoa
 
What it is:
• Scholarship program for poor children in rural Guatemala to attend high school
 
How you can help:
• As an individual or Sunday School class, sponsor one or more children
 
The Trinity Connection:
Children in Lemoa, Guatemala attend an average of 3 years of school.  Some of the best and brightest make it to sixth grade, where they usually discontinue their studies due to lack of funds.  Government-sponsored grade school is free, but high schools are private and expensive.  Each year, Trinity volunteer Mark Ely works with the schools and selects the top children in the Lemoa sixth grade to receive becas (scholarships) for the next year at a school in nearby Santa Cruz.
 
Trinity members have the opportunity to sponsor one or more of these children. Sponsorship costs $400 per year and covers the expenses of tuition, books and school uniforms.  Classes and/or individuals are encouraged to participate.  Education in this area of Guatemala is rare and is equally prized. 
 
So little to us, yet hope of a future to them.
 
Contact: Mark Ely or Miriam Slejko through the church office at 303-839-1493.

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