News from GRACES
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FUMC celebrates friendship through VBS, teacher appreciation day
The family mission team from First United Methodist Church (FUMC) celebrated the theme of friendship during this summer’s Vacation Bible School and teacher appreciation day. The FUMC team led students, families and teachers in activities that illustrated friendship with one another and friendship with God. “We are all connected,” said Kelly Junk, trip leader and Director of Global Outreach at FUMC. “We all need each other.” Earlier this spring,…
IMR medical team provides exams, medicine, health education for 199 patients
On Monday, June 25, International Medical Relief (IMR) brought a team of 30 doctors and nurses to Escuela Integrada to provide wellness checks, health education and comprehensive exams for those with presenting ailments. The doctors included a physical therapist, ophthalmologist, gynecologist, foot specialist and pediatrician among other specializations. IMR provided the clinics to Escuela Integrada students and families at no cost. “When the children from our school are sick,…
Continued involvement in Escuela Integrada strengthens marriage, family life for Olsons
Mike and Jaime Olson credit their involvement in Escuela Integrada with bringing them back together as a couple and as a family. Mike first visited the school in 2014 with a Lifeonaire team from Wisconsin. The following year, the whole family came to see the school, and their relationship with the school continues to grow. “Jaime and I were not ‘equally yoked’ in our marriage the first time I came…
New microbus a sign of hope for Escuela Integrada
Escuela Integrada has a new microbus thanks to significant contributions from supporters around the country and the generosity of Sergio Pérez. Many people know Sergio as the driver who picks up Escuela Integrada volunteers and mission teams from the airport in Guatemala City. He is a long-time friend and supporter of the school. When he heard that the school needed a new microbus, he offered to go with Hernan to…
Going on a mission trip a ‘bucket list’ item for 80-year-old volunteer
Donna Wetzel is 80 years old, and she is in Guatemala volunteering with Escuela Integrada this week. She always wanted to serve on a mission trip, but was not able to until now. This year, she and her youngest daughter, Jody, signed up with a group from Emanuel United Methodist Church from Baraboo, Wisconsin, where Jody is a member. “When I told my husband I wanted to go, I don’t…
Life after Fuego in a developing nation
From the roof of the house where I am staying, I can see two volcanoes — Agua and Fuego. They are the giants that surround this small city, and they make up many of the postcard images of Antigua, especially the dormant Agua, which rises a few miles from the south end of the city. Fuego’s eruptions shocked the small communities of El Rodeo, San Miguel Los Lotes and Escuintla. The death toll…