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Through Oak Ridge United Methodist church, a young group of missionaries spent 10 days in the villages of Paquila and Pabeya in Guatemala. The purpose was to finish the construction of a church in Pabeya, and to reach out to the locals through ministry and fellowship. With each waking day, the team experienced so much and more than they imagined while in Guatemala.

Each member of the team had different initial reactions upon arriving Guatemala. Guatemala is a country rich in Spanish culture and it is located in Central America bordered by Mexico. For some it was their first time out of the country, and for many it was nothing new. Either way, many of the team members were enthralled by their new surroundings.

"Guatemala was much different to when I went to Haiti. The cultures were both very different, but in Guatemala it was easier to communicate because I knew some Spanish in high school," said Josh Kurtz, a college student.

"This was not my first time going to Guatemala, but I was still slightly culture shocked when I first arrived," said Brooke Pryor, youth team member. "It was very different to see men with guns guarding convenience stores for fear of burglary.

"It felt that there was not a sense of trust among the people because not only were the stores guarded, but the majority of the men carried machetes," Pryor said.

"I watched the youth and adults on the team in amazement as we travelled through Guatemala, taking in their new surroundings for the first time is part of the reason we set up this trip," said Jonathan Spangler, the Oak Ridge UMC Youth Minister. "Many times we take for granted the physical blessings that God has given each of us as Americans, and we want our church members to realize that God loves the people of Guatemala just as much as them."

Upon arriving to Guatemala, the team immediately noticed the impoverishment of the country. In both Guatemala City and the local villages. From the amounts of exhaust fumes, crowded streets and to the poverty-stricken homes of the locals, many of the team members recall the shocked feelings they had when they witnessed the poverty in the streets and in the community.

"When first arriving, my heart was broken," said Nora Koran, an adult team member. "The area was so poor, from the cities to the villages. The people in the city were very straight faced and non expressive. My heart went out to them."

The team did their construction work in a village called Pabeya, but settled and spent their nights in a village called Paquila, and slept in the village's local church. Probably the most difficult thing that the team encountered was the living conditions. In the church, the team slept together under one roof on air mattresses and under mosquito nets. Another main struggle the team faced was the bathroom facilities.

"Since the shower was made for a 5'4" person, it was difficult for a 6'9" person like me to take a decent shower, luckily we were able to get that fixed," said Kurtz.

"My air mattress deflated every night. Fortunately I was able to patch it up with duct tape and it lasted me the rest of the trip," said Jamie Peeples adult team member.

"The villagers were so interested and curious of us. It was hard to take a shower since the facility was so open and it was upstairs of the building," said Koran. "Us ladies had to wear a swimsuit to cover up because the local boys from younger boys to adults, would climb the trees or sit on the roof tops to watch us!"

Despite the difficulties, the team did an amazing job coping with the conditions. Especially when knowing that large spiders, scorpions and rats joined them.

In the course of the trip, the bonds between the team and the Guatemalans from both villages grew closer and stronger. Communication and working together were the key elements that created the beautiful friendships. These friendships formed especially through days of hands-on construction work and hours of engaging in VBS activities with the children.

The construction work and labor that the team did was done in immense conditions. From carrying heavy amounts of sand and concrete tile up and down jungle terrain, slapping stucco on concrete walls to pick-axing/leveling dirt floor. Traveling to the village of Pabeya was a one-fourth mile one way hike; vehicles could not withstand traveling up the road, so the team did their best by trekking the jungle terrain every morning.

After construction work, the team spent their afternoons with the local children. More than 300 hundred children in both villages participated in singing, games and various VBS type crafts.

Each day the team experienced many sentimental and memorable moments within their team and with the locals. With each moment of sadness, inspiration, encouragement and joy; the team will never forget any of them.

"My most memorable experience had to be when the little boys from the village sweet talked us ladies while we were in our rooms," said Pryor. "They would stand at the windows and call us their ' loves,' the' light of their lives,' their 'dolls' and say other various sweet nothings. More than once, they asked us to marry them, it was something my friends and I laughed about daily."

"I will never forget our last day in Pabeya," said Koran. "The pastor's wife, Anna, took my hand and rubbed it against her heart and mine. After she did that, she said 'friend' in an instant we both cried, our form of communication was through gestures and simple words, but we were both sure that we were bonded together through so much love."

"On our last day, it was so emotional when the whole team lined up to say our goodbyes. Before we left, the pastor's wife prayed for us, and even though we could not understand most of what she was saying, it was the most heartfelt prayer I have ever heard in my life," said Peeples.

At the end of the mission trip, many of the team members agreed that everyone worked very well together even when there were difficult times. Being in a foreign country and set in an unfamiliar situation, it brought everyone together. Every team member will agree that if they could, they each would return to Guatemala in a heartbeat and do everything all over again.

Fellowship and outreach ministry work is not yet over for ORUMC. In 2010, ORUMC plans to return to Guatemala to continue construction work in new areas of the country, and many of the team members hope to attend in the future. Next summer in 2009, ORUMC is planning another mission trip to Romania for graduated seniors, college students and adults.

"Our trip was a huge success in that we completed our task of building the church. When we returned, each team member stepped off the plane in Greensboro as a changed individual. Each and every one of them have expressed a deeper view of Christ's love, service for others, and the blessings that they have in their lives," said Spangler.

Jessica Arenas is a senior at Northwest Guilford High School