The Good Shepherd UCC and Church of the Red Rocks are both planning trips to Guatemala. The Good Shepherd’s trip will focus on Spanish immersion with historic and cultural sightseeing; travelers on Church of the Red Rocks’ trip will build homes for people living in extreme poverty.
from The Good Shepherd:
An Oportunidad for Improving Your Español
Have you ever thought of engaging in a cross-cultural, language-immersion experience…but hesitated because of concerns about being alone in another country or your ability to learn a new language? The folks at Good Shepherd UCC have been offering just such an experience to church members (plus friends old and new) for many years…and you’re invited to join them!
Biannual trips (the next one is March 21 through April 4, 2020) to Antigua, Guatemala were begun by Pres and Dee Johnson in 2004, and grew out of their love of Latin America and their wish to improve literacy in a country with very limited educational opportunities. They established a relationship with the directors of non-profit PROBIGUA (PROyecto BIbliotecas GUAtemala), a school dedicated to providing beginning, intermediate or advanced students of Spanish with an intensive, total immersion experience AND to helping the children of Guatemala by establishing libraries and technology centers in many rural villages. From that partnership, the cross-cultural visits began, and to date dozens of people have taken advantage of this opportunity, with approximately 10 to 15 participants on each trip.
Highlights of the two-week experience are:
Mornings spent in one-on-one personalized Spanish instruction
Afternoon visits to historic and cultural sites in Antigua and surrounding areas
Weekend visit to Lake Atitlan and Chichicastenango, with stops in several Mayan villages
Opportunity for room and board with a local family
To learn more about this cross-cultural learning experience, please contact Good Shepherd members (and trip veterans) Anna Dethmers (520-528-5860) or Lyn Nowakowski (608-332-9479).
From Church of the Red Rocks:
Guatemala 2020
Our next service trip to build homes with ConstruCasa for people living in extreme poverty in Guatemala is scheduled! We will work the week for February 17-21. Travel dates are tentatively scheduled for Saturday, February 15 and Sunday, February 23 but are flexible. If you really want a unique experience, plan to stay for the start of Lent on February 26!
This year, our tentative plan is to stay in Antigua for the week and work on homes near there. While we will miss being in the village of Xepatan, it will allow us to stay in just one hotel and reduce the commuting time to/from the work site(s). It will also allow us to spend more time in Antigua - truly an interesting place. This will also allow more flexibility in travel plans if you wish, e.g., you could travel to Antigua on Sunday or leave on Saturday.
The first informational and organizational meeting is at 4 p.m. on September 30 at CRR. If you have questions or want more information, contact John Lothrop at john.lothrop@doane.edu or 402-418-1441 (cell).