Church in San Lucas 2008 Youth mission trip "Leap of Faith"

We had our second youth mission trip to Guatemala earlier this Summer. We had previously taken adults and another youth group and my family has gone several times on our own on vacation/mission trips. This time the trip started in San Lucas Toliman Guatemala. Located on Lake Atitlan, it is one of the most beautiful places on earth.

We had a group of 16 people that went. Included in the group is my wife Michelle, Daughter Sophia and sister in law Angela. It is always fun to introduce a group of teenagers to mission work. They are so open and they absorb the entire experience.

We started the trip in San Lucas Toliman Guatemala. The mission is run by Father Greg. He has been at the mission for 45 years. He out lasted the countries 33 year civil war, while living in the hot bed of the revolution. He is one of those truly Holy people, you can feel it in his presence.


The mission has several projects that they are working on. They have a hospital, school, a coffee co-op, and a reforestation project. It really is a great mission. We really liked the mission and its philosophy. One of the pillars of the mission is the dignity of the person. We could see that with the way the Guatemalans treated us and especially in the way they responded to Fr. Greg.
Michelle and I overlooking Cielo
D'Oro
Mass was incredible. I have never seen a procession take so long, because Fr. Greg was stopping and talking to his parishioners, hugging them and blessing them. I compared it to Mass here, and I could imagine people here getting mad because he took time for for the people he was tending to. The at the sign of peace I think that every child under 10 years of age ran to the front of the church to hug Fr. Greg.

We arrived for mass about 15 minutes before it began. The place was packed, and it looked like every seat was taken. All of a sudden people started squishing in (no ushers, the people in the pews just did this) and started calling us over. We couldn't sit together, but they accommodated our sixteen and I think another 30 people.




Inside the church at San Lucas Toliman

Mass was packed and people kept arriving all throughout the service. The incredible thing for our group of Americans was that it was not an issue if you came late, or didn't have a seat, or Mass went late, or Father Greg spent additional time with the people who came in.
The Mass was vibrant. The music was beautiful and everyone sang. We usually sing loud enough to be heard, but not loud enough to offend the person sitting next to you. But in Guatemala, singing ability is not an issue, praising God is, and they belted it out, without shame, because their purpose was greater than who has a good voice. It was great.