It's hard to believe that in 1 week, 7 short days we will be in Milwaukee finishing up some little things before we get up bright & early to head to Guatemala. 
Please  continue to pray for us, for safe travels & to show God's love in all we do. 
Please join us Sunday December 29 at Immanuel Lutheran in Wisconsin Rapids at 845am or St Paul Lutheran in Stevens Points at 1045am for our blessing & send off.
Be sure to check back often for updates & prayer requests  

30 DAYS!

 

It is hard to believe that in just 30 days from now, we will be in Milwaukee, getting ready to head to Guatemala. I have butterflies thinking about it. But I know God has a plan for me. I sat down at the meeting when everyone got back from that last mission and picked up the information for the next trip. I didn't know what God had in mind for me, but I sure felt His calling for me to go on this trip. Even now, I have times that I am wondering what he has in mind. However I have my full trust in Him.

Have you ever thought of going on a mission trip? There will be another trip in July 2014 to Guatemala, maybe God is calling you to that one...Think about it...Pray about it...We will have a meeting after we get back to let you know all about our trip.

Below are some pictures from the last trip.

God's Blessings.

 

33 DAYS!!

 

It is hard to believe that in just 33 days, we will be leaving Stevens Point and heading down to Milwaukee to get ready to leave for Guatemala.

Prayers for travel are encouraged. We have all of our medicine that we need for our trip in and accounted for. Please pray that we make it thru customs with no issues. We have permission from the Government to bring the medicine however traveling into another country can always raise questions.

 

Please join us at one of our 2 sending off blessings from our churches.

Immanuel Lutheran in Wisconsin Rapids Dec 29 @ 845 service.

St Paul Lutheran Dec 29 @ 1045am service.

During these times we will get a blessing send off and will be wearing our shirts. We thank you so much for your support and prayers as we prepare for out trip.

 

 

Meet Jack. Jack is in his second year at WashU and is majoring in international studies; he will be serving as an interpreter on this trip to Guatemala. Thanks for your prayers and support. 

 

It is hard to believe that in just 49 days, we will be on our way to Guatemala. I now I am quite excited for this journey. I cannot wait to not only travel somewhere new but meet some great people and share the love of Christ with them and any one I meet.

We do have some prayers we would ask of you.

One of the rules for bringing medicine into the country is it must expire at least 1 year from the date we bring it in. Please pray that all the meds we have fit this criteria.

We are traveling done to Milwaukee on Friday night as our flight leaves very early on Saturday morning. Please pray for good driving conditions for getting to Milwaukee as well as our flights.

Please also keep in your prayers that we have no issues going thru customs. And also keep each and every one of us in your prayers as we prepare for this. We all come from different aspects and each have our own strengths. God has chosen each and every one of us for this trip. Please let us open our eyes and our hearts to what He has planned.

Proverbs 3:23-27
You'll travel safely, you'll neither tire nor trip. You'll take afternoon naps without a worry, you'll enjoy a good night's sleep. No need to panic over alarms or surprises, or predictions that doomsday's just around the corner, Because God will be right there with you; he'll keep you safe and sound. Never walk away from someone who deserves help; your hand is God's hand for that person.   

Oops, I forgot 2 people! One being me. :)

 

This is Anne Jensen and she is a dental hygienist. We are very excited to have a dental clinic this time!

This is me, Christina Montgomery. As a mother, I have a hard time finding a picture of myself so

I thought this picture of the kids & me would work.



Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

 

I wanted to take a moment to introduce some of the members of our team.

Hello, this is Daryl Fahrner who is going on the mission trip working in the Pharmacy.

On the left is Carol Rave, on the right is Diane Reetz.

Both are Physicians who will be working in the medical clinic.

This is Pastor Grohs who will hard at work on the construction team!

Hola! Mi llamo Paula Grohs. Paula will be one of our Spanish translators.



This would be Todd Rave, another Physician on our trip. Can you guess what he likes to do?

Meet Kate West, nursing school (yay!) I am excited to go to Guatemala and work as clinic support. Thanks for supporting us and your prayers :) 

 



2 Corinthians 9:7  Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Good Morning all, Can you believe in 90 days we will be heading to Guatemala? Me neither but it's true! I cannot wait to start everything. We will have the Medical Clinic that, have VBS to share the love of Our Savior, Jesus Christ to the children and help build the stoves.
Aside from the $1,500 per person we need for our individual travel expenses, we also need to raise roughly $5,000 to fund our efforts while we are there. That is where our friends and family can help us. Not only do we need you to pray for us prior to our travels and while we are there, but we could also use your financial support. I ask that you prayfully consider making a donation towards our trip. Any amount will help.

A Tax Deductible donation can be made to: St Paul Lutheran Church, c/o Guatemala Mission Trip, 1919 Wyatt Ave, Stevens Point, WI 54481. Please put Guatemala Mission in the subject line as well. Thank you for your prayers and financial support from us all.

Good Morning all! As I type this, I think how in 100 days we will be leaving around this time from Milwaukee to Guatemala. How exciting yet nervous I am!
We met this past Sunday as a group and one thing we learned is our original plan on taking a direct flight out of Chicago is no longer available as TACA Airlines no longer provides that flight. We will now be leaving out of a Milwaukee though we have a connecting flight in Dallas.

 

Please keep us in your prayers for travel as this does change a few things. We know God has a plan, a reason for this change. Thank you & God's Blessings to you all.

 

Greetings, this is part of our group that is going. We have our next meeting on

 Sunday, September 21 so watch for more information to come! God's Blessings.

Dresses

Hello, thanks for checking back. I have attached some pictures of the dresses that are being made for the girls in Guatemala. As you can see by the pictures, they love the dresses! They are made from pillow cases so if you want to donate some new pillowcases to making a dress, please check out the Grapevine or bring them to the church and school office, clearly marked for Guatemala. Thanks!

July 14, 2013 Planning Meeting

Hello again! We had our first meeting on Sunday July 14 & it was such a blessing. I personally had some of my fears put at ease. Carol & Diane talked about their planning trip in June, which I will be posting pictures of that trip as well as the Mission Trip last January 2013 within the next day or 2. We discussed our travel arrangements, what immunizations we need to get and the funds we need to raise. We are all called by God to go on this trip, we may know why or He may not tell us until we are there, either way, we are all very excited & feel Blessed.

We have 2 very important ladies who are not going on the trip but are helping organize and are doing a lot of the behind the scenes work. Tina Weege & Myra Swiston, both have gone on past Mission trips to San Pablo are such a huge help in the organizing and planning of this trip. Please also keep them in your prayers.

Those that have committed to going on this trip for January 4-11, 2014 are:

Angelica Rangel, Carol Rave, Todd Rave, Diane Reetz, Richard S Reetz, Ann Reetz , Tabitha Reetz, Christina Montgomery, Lisa Bourget, Ann Jensen, Judy Mauritz, Melanie Leopold, John Grohs, Daryl Fahrner, Paula Grohs, Jack West, Katherine West, & Christopher Russell.

Here is some basic information on where we are going for our ministry. San Pablo is a small town 40 minutes (17 km) drive up the mountain from Zacapa.  San Pablo has approximately 800 people.  70 % of the households have someone working in agriculture.  There are some buses that come from Zacapa.  There are two rivers close to San Pablo Riachuelo which is low flow and Montaquas which is faster flowing and can be crossed by launches since the bridge washed out. San Pablo was more thriving with brick factories when the railroad came through but then there was an earthquake which took out large parts of the town and destroyed the railroad.  The government never rebuilt. 

Zacapa is a city in eastern Guatemala, along the Río Grande de Zacapa. It is renowned locally for its manual crafting of cigars, hard dry cheese and a flavored cake made with said cheese (Quesadilla). It was once was a bustling railroad stop and attracted a fair amount of non-Guatemalan immigrants, it is not unusual to find people whose surnames were originally from England, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Zacapa is mainly a rural area that contains a large amount of flat land used mostly to grow cantaloupe, tobacco and roma tomatoes. Bordering the Zacapa valley is the Sierra de las Minas, which harbors forests, and contains marble mines and coffee plantations. Some of the world's finest jade is also found in this area. As with most of Guatemala, Zacapa suffers terrible poverty and pollution problems. There is a pronounced dry season, often marked by more than two months without rain, which worsens the air quality of the region tremendously. The region's flat areas are known for their loud insects, called chicharras, which chirp in the fields and along the roads during the dry season.

Please continue to pray for us as we plan this Mission for God. Please pray for the people of San Pablo & Zacapa. If you want to donate financially, please make your check out to St Paul Lutheran Church & put in the memo Guatemala 2014 and give to the office or mail it in. Thank you.

Welcome to the St Paul Immanuel Lutheran Mission Blog

Hello and thank you for checking out our blog. We leave for our mission trip to Guatemala on Saturday January 4th, 2014. It is hard to believe that it is only 6 months away but it is! At least once a month I will be posting information for our trip. It may be who is coming, what we have planned, or what we may need. One thing we always need is yours prayers. Please pray for us as we plan this trip as well as while we are on it.

We have our first planning meeting on Sunday July 14th @ 7pm so be sure to come back after then to see what is new!  God's Blessings, Christina