By Renee Larr
Teams from Cornerstone Lutheran Church have been traveling to the village of El Mageuy in Guatemala since 2008, but their most recent trip brought them to a neighboring village.
Last month, a team consisting of Travis and Micah Walton, Chris and Catherine Gahl, Jamie and Cathy Graves, Michele Stanton, Brad Reay and Bill Culbertson served for the first time in El Trapiche through a partnership with Central American Lutheran Mission Society.
“We just kind of adopted El Mageuy, Zacapa. We’ve been going down there for eight years building homes, funding projects like adding an addition to their local school, and so forth,” team leader Travis Walton said. “We felt called to go to the neighboring village this year. This is the first time we have served in this community, which was a smaller community, about 140 people. They finally allowed us, after talking with them for a couple of years, to come out and help.”
The church funded a new roof for the village’s school, which also serves as its shelter. The group also taught Vacation Bible School, painted the school building and assisted in dental care.
“We hired a local dentist to come in to this village. For four days, he did teeth cleaning, teeth repair and tooth extractions,” Walton said. “Most never see a dentist, so it was a huge success. We felt like most everyone who needed dental attention received it.”
Of the nine church members who traveled to Guatemala, seven had been on previous outreach trips. For Walton and his wife, this marked their fourth trip to Guatemala.
“We always serve in the same village in Guatemala because we build relationships with the people there,” he said. “We get the most out of going back and seeing the friends we’ve developed over the last three trips. Most people who go once feel a calling to go back.”
