Guatemala Short-term Missions trip

July 26 - August 2, 2022

Day 3 | Thursday, July 28

Wheel Chair Distribution

by Zach Isaacson & Lauren Miller

Day 4

Lauren,

Today we did a wheelchair giveaway—in all we gave out 56 wheel chairs and over 15 walkers and pairs of crutches. They taught us how to fit the wheelchairs for the people. We got them a wheelchair, put a seat belt on it, adjusted the foot pedals, and showed them how to use the wheelchair. Then they would receive a Bible, go meet with a local pastor, and others who would pray with them.

My favorite part of the day was after they were fitted for the wheelchair seeing their faces light up and their thankfulness because they could now get around easier and for some they had not been able to get around at all.

When I look back on today, I’ll remember Jose Roberto—he would pop his wheelchair up and rise his hand into the air just filled with joy. Even though he had trouble talking he was so full of life and happy to receive his chair.

Zach,

Today was a very impactful day for me. I was surprised how people who had so little could be so joyful. Even though I couldn’t understand their emotions were crystal clear when they received a chair. It brought me excitement and joy whenever we gave them a chair and see them praise God for it. This was obvious that this was going to impact their life! Some of the people coming in couldn’t get around without a chair, so I felt like we were making a difference in people’s lives.

I remember one person because he couldn’t talk, he was just blowing kisses and giving hugs. There was also an older lady who came in and we couldn’t get her sizing right for a while but she was still thankful even though she had to wait for a while.

Before coming, I expected people to be more sad because they don’t have as much stuff, but they are more joyful even though they don’t have as much.

Our Guatemala Missions Work

Rick Fulton, the founder of Mission Mobility, leads short-term trips to Guatemala, partnering with Grace Community Church. During these trips, teams work alongside Bethel Ministries to distribute the wheelchairs and walkers that they’ve been collecting all year long.

Teams also build metal homes for families. These homes typically include a fuel-efficient wood stove, triple bunk beds and pouring a concrete floor. The team also collects food, clothes and blankets to distribute and they carry it with them throughout the week as they distribute it in multiple locations.