May 2026 Newsletter – Mission Team Highlights: Joy in Serving & Relationship Building

“This is our third mission trip with the ASOSAP team. A couple of years ago, I started feeling God’s Holy spirit nudging me to take a team back to Guatemala. We came alongside the ASOSAP team to help them in their mission. God put our team together after much sifting and we went to Guatemala. I strongly encourage anyone that’s considering a mission team to consider the ASOSAP team and serve a week with the Pokomchi. I believe you will be overwhelmed with God’s blessing for both you and your team serving with you.” – Mission Team Member

The trip was two years in the making, with much excitement and planning. We looked forward to seeing longtime friends and making new ones. You can imagine our concern when we received word from the team that there was a big problem… their first flight was delayed and they weren’t sure if they’d make the other connections needed to arrive in Guatemala. We prayed and continued waiting in the city for their arrival. We hoped their visit would continue as planned. Later came good news… they were able to drive (instead of flying) to their next connection and they were now back on track with their flights. There was some bad news though, they had to leave a team member behind. More uncertainty, but a plan was devised. There were much relief and happiness when we met the team at the airport. Through God’s grace, the team and Rebekah headed to San Cristobal. We knew God had great things planned during the mission trip and had a purpose for each team member. One of them shared how God was at work:

“This trip has definitely showed me that God will find a way to make things happen and make things possible. Before I even said yes to coming on the trip, I felt like I had so many excuses to say no. I can’t get the time off work. I can’t find the funding to make it possible. I just have so many things going on in my life right now. All the excuses slowly chipped away and faded. My boss after talking to him, was like oh, I go on missions trips all the time. I’ll make sure you get the time off to go. It was like okay well I’ve got the time. The funding to pay for it… of course we all came together and helped do all the fundraising, but someone from the church graciously donated money to help me come. God found a solution for that too. I made it all the way to the airport and I didn’t have my passport. How am I going to get there? I’m a day behind everyone even if I rebook my flight, but I’m going to be in Guatemala City, by myself, with no way to make it five hours to the center where everyone else is at. Then the ASOSAP team graciously stayed an entire day. Alvaro, thank you so much for waiting for me, so that I could come on this trip. I’m so grateful for you guys. It was amazing to see how God made it all happen, even when I thought, at so many points along the way, that oh it just won’t work out, and it did. God has proved me wrong every time.”

So, what occurred during the team trip? We can confidently say that all mission goals were met:
• Build relationships with the Pokomchí and your fellow team members
• Be the “hands and feet” of Jesus to those around you – Pokomchí and team members
• Share the Gospel
• Be a blessing to others
• Complete projects for Pokomchí families
• Ask God what delights, lessons, and personal growth He has prepared for you on this trip
• Savor the experience and the culture

We did these activities together:
– Visited PokoMaya Artisans
– Built 5 latrines for families in the village of Chisiram
– Built 2 latrines for chronic patients (Husband / Father with Epilepsy & 15-year-old with Muscular Dystrophy & family)
– Taught an English Class at a local public school – 71 kids
– Conducted a 5-day VBS at the church in Chisiram – 53 kids
– Held Christian Peer Counseling Education for Pastors & Nurses
– Took part in a cultural activity (Planting corn, making tortillas, chopping & carrying wood, harvesting pacaya, and huipil (traditional blouse) weaving)
– Did a San Cristobal market / town tour
– Attended Church Service in Chisiram

Let’s have a closer look at some of these activities:

VBS (Vacation Bible School):

“This time was the first time that we’ve put on a vacation Bible school. I was in charge of crafts, which was a really fun job to have. We also were able to go to a public school here in San Cristobal, to help teach English to the kids. The best part of the whole thing was being able to have close contact with the kids, on a one-on-one basis with a lot of them, morning and afternoon. It was a great opportunity to really mingle with the people in the village and then here in town. It was a great experience and something I’ll never forget. Got lots of hugs and smiles from the kids. I hope that if you’re thinking about coming to Guatemala, that you’d be able to put a group together and do some of the same things we’ve done. It’s been a great experience.” – Mission Team Member

As mentioned, this was the first time we’ve done a formal VBS! We used Trueway Kid’s Spanish version of the program called “God made”, with these daily topics:

God Made Everything, God Made Us Special, God Made Laws, God Made Salvation, and God Made Purpose

Through songs, crafts, games, Bible time, and quiet / prayer time, the kids learned each impactful and transformative topic. They received much love and had a lot of fun. So did we, the team, and the church leaders who assisted! They said that they gained valuable knowledge and skills and will use them as they continue in children’s ministry at their church.

It was beautiful to see the bonding between the children and community as this team member describes:

“I was one of the leaders with the kids at the VBS. Being with the kids brought me so much joy. It was a lot of work with them, but so much joy. I always thought that I wasn’t good with kids, but then I had a lot of fun with them. Now I’m thinking that I should work with kids. The experience at the school, at the English class, was really good too. I enjoyed helping them with the English class. That brought me so much joy too. The kids are so welcoming, but not just the kids, also all the staff and the adults of the Pokomchi community. We came to serve them, but I felt served through their love and care that they showed us, and through their hugs. It was hard at end of the day, the last day of the VBS, because I was with the kids for 5 days. It felt like they were my kids. Saying goodbye was kind of hard. Seeing the simplicity, how humble they are, that made me realize how much I have and that I don’t need all the things that I have to be happy and hopeful. It was a really meaningful and great experience. I’m glad that I chose to come and serve these people.”

Christian Peer Counseling Education for Pastors & Nurses:

“As a mental health provider, I was asking God to show me whether there was some way that I might use my education to help the people of Guatemala. What was laid on my heart, was to ask the staff about whether a peer counseling program could be helpful. We determined that it would likely be helpful. I began praying about how to plan / put a program together. In that planning, the Lord laid on my heart to create a theme related to Matthew 11:28-30. The verse says: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” I’m very grateful to God for his faithfulness and also the faithfulness of the ASOSAP staff to help plan and put together this program.” – Educator / Mission Team Member

Also, a first for us! In total, thirty participants received impactful education that strengthened their abilities to come alongside those they serve. It gave them practical tools, to use as they reach out to others in their communities. The importance of physical, emotional, and spiritual self- care was emphasized as their well-being is key to providing effective support to others. Within the theme, they were reminded that they cannot be super pastors / nurses that help everyone; that they aren’t meant to carry all the burdens and need to let go of those that they weren’t called to carry. They were encouraged that God will guide them in this. They learned how they can ethically and without judgement support people in difficult situations such as abuse or addiction and were given local resources to share with those in need. As well, some pastors are doing chaplain training and this education was a great compliment to this. They also left with a comprehensive written guide to refer to as they work with others.

These are just a few of the highlights and beautiful moments. All learned about the importance of prayer, of community and working together as the body of Christ – each one using their God given gifts and supporting each other, and God’s power – He has power over everything and can make anything happen.

We’ll leave you with one last team member testimony. We hope to share together with you in Guatemala one day soon!

“This is my first time with ASOSAP / Hope of the Pokomchi. It’s been a really really amazing experience. I was able to experience a sense of community, a sense of purpose in mission, and really the love of Christ in all the people involved, from the staff to the community members, people in the church. There was such a sense of the presence of God doing amazing things among everyone. That’s something that I’m going to be taking with me, the inspiration of seeing God at work in many ways. Being part of that is a blessing and privilege. I’ve been able to see my own skills growing and developing, just even through a week of being here. I feel like it’s a great way to explore your own personal vocation and development, as well seeing how that works with the whole group. It’s been an amazing wonderful experience that is more than worthwhile.”