Crofton church members strive to make life better in Guatemalan
Crofton church members strive to make life better in Guatemalan
0 Comments | Capital, Jul 27, 2010
Pulling extra suitcases packed with school supplies, sports equipment, clothing donations and even a printer, 28 members of Community United Methodist Church (CUMC) of Crofton left their every- day lives behind last month and traveled to the mountainous village of Las Granadillas, Guatemala.
The missionary team, which was comprised of local public school teachers, high school students and church members, flew into Guatemala City and stayed in a local mission overnight before going on to their destination.
Once they got settled for their stay on the floor of the church, which was laid by former CUMC missionaries several years ago, the group focused on three main goals – making improvements to the buildings in the village, introducing new teaching techniques to the school teachers and assisting in the medical clinic.
Through an ongoing partnership with the nonprofit Global Community Health Evangelism, CUMC has forged strong ties to Las Granadillas. Church members have made multiple trips to the village helping to build the school, medical clinic and church.
“We made lots of little improvements,” said Joyce Matney, CUMC mission chair. “We ran electricity into one of the classrooms and also installed plastic skylights so the kids could see.
“Our goal was to enhance life in the village without damaging the culture. We strived to make small changes to improve their daily living and gave the people tools to help themselves,” Joyce said.
Ingrid McCoy, an art teacher at Beltsville Academy in Prince George’s County, worked in the classroom alongside the village’s first grade teacher. “There were 24 in the class. The oldest first- grader was a 12-year-old girl. To have one teacher with so many kids at differing levels is a real challenge,” explained Ingrid.
“We brought materials with us and were able to teach based on the curriculum that was supplied to us in advance,” said Ingrid. “We spent an entire week in the classroom with the kids, which allowed us to model teaching techniques for the teachers. We taught them how to work in small groups and use different strategies for reading and math. We also introduced manipulatives,” said Ingrid, explaining how she brought clay for the first-graders and had children form letters.
“At the beginning of the week, I could sense the teacher’s reservations about handing over her classroom but gradually there was shift and we really bonded,” said Ingrid. “As teachers we really shared an emotional exchange and the kids were as sweet as can be.”
Ingrid also said that the high school and college youth who came on the trip really rose to the occasion. “They played soccer and catch with the village children, sang to them and braided their hair,” recalled Ingrid.
Recent Arundel High grad Rachel Matney had been on several mission trips but said she had not really ever had the chance to meet and talk to the people she was helping. In Guatemala, she worked in the school with the children which gave her a new outlook.
“I realized that material things aren’t everything,” reflected Rachel. “The kids I worked with didn’t have much and some even wore the same outfit for the better part of the week. But despite their situation they were overjoyed just to have someone new to play with.
“Our team also brought many new toys and balls for the kids to play with and they were enchanted for the rest of the week,” said Rachel. “This really hit home for me because it showed me that it’s the little things that really count.”
Also taking part in the mission were father and daughter duo, Jim and Molly Sinnott. Advanced placement Spanish courses at Arundel High enabled Molly to serve as a translator throughout the 10-day trip. The villagers speak a Mayan dialect known as Mam and but most speak Spanish as well.
Through donations, Molly was able to provide the children with musical recorders and taught the children basic songs.
Jim introduced the children to physical education. Bringing along donated tennis rackets, special balls and a moveable net, Jim served a tennis ball to a student only to have it headed back to him. While the kids had never been exposed to tennis, they were very familiar with football (our soccer)
sports travel