Dear Hope’s In community, The second day of week two is coming to a close. Potter’s House Association always strives to have their volunteers develop as better servants throughout the week. Today we learned about stewardship and excellence and how they relate to serving. One of our volunteers made a very insightful comment about excellence: “Excellence and perfection are often viewed as the same thing but excellence is actually just giving your personal best while perfection is a false standard we try to set for ourselves or others.” -Nicole Niro, IL Every day that we serve in the communities we are learning how to give more genuinely, build stronger relationships […]

Dear Hope’s In community, All 55 of our week 2 volunteers arrived safely and have completed an amazing first day of work! Six houses are under construction, sports and dance clinics are being hosted and our medical clinic is running! Every volunteer has a purpose for being on this trip. Some find out the first day, others will encounter their “reason” later in the week. It’s so exciting to think about how every person on the trip is going to make an impact and also be impacted. 55 lives are going to be forever altered and we are hoping that throughout the week we can share with you some stories […]

Dear Hope’s In community, Two very special Guatemalan families awoke in a beautiful new house today. Yesterday we completed the houses, distributed 300 sandwiches to one of the poorest communities, and held a medical clinic in the garbage dump. What a day it was! Friday is “pay day”. When the house is completed the whole team goes to one house at a time to have a special ceremony celebrating the family that is receiving the house. It is quite emotional as we get to know the families really well and the joy the house brings to their family and our volunteers is undeniable. Hope’s In dedication traditions include serenading the […]

Dear Hope’s In Community, Our fifth day was so purposeful. Between finishing House 1, learning about Potter’s House’s sponsorship program and serving the children lunches it was an all around great day. Also today was the last day of the soccer camp and all the volunteers involved with that project agreed that though it started off like a normal day at soccer camp, by the end it was such a special experience. The Treasures expressed such a deep interest in hearing about the volunteers’ lives and talking with them they didn’t even want to play soccer for longer than ten minutes. As you may know Hope’s In mission statement is […]

Dear Hope’s In community, We had another awesome day today! Though it was physically and emotionally exhausting, I believe we ended the day extremely inspired. Below is one account from our experiences: “Today we broke up into small groups to visit families throughout the community. One family that our group visited was an elderly woman with severe respiratory and heart problems. She wore a surgical mask to filter the polluted air, and could not afford the oxygen tanks that the doctor prescribed. She has trouble eating due to nausea. After a long tough life living in the garbage dump community, illness seems an unfair added burden. However, she is very […]

Dear Hope’s In community, “”The treasures of the Guatemala City garbage dump are just that, treasures. I am so blessed to grow up in the United States but unfortunately my level of appreciation can fluctuate depending on my circumstances. As we walk through the dirty alleys and cluttered streets there are so many smiling faces. I want to adopt these peoples outlook on life. So in a sense, I’ll be taking a piece of treasure home with me.”  -Hope’s In Volunteer Today was one for the books! The houses are ready for concrete to be poured tomorrow, the soccer camp was a blast, and the medical clinic saw more patients! […]

Hello Hope’s In community, Our team is off to an incredible start! We met the families we are building houses with this week and had successful first days for our medical and sports clinics. Today was very impactful and our eyes are being opened to the reality of the people living in the garbage dump communities. Though we discussed some of the things that broke our hearts today, we all agreed that there is an undeniable sense of joy in the people we are getting to know. Below are some notes to you from two of our volunteers!  “This is the first year I traveled to Guatemala with the Hope’s […]

Dear Hope’s In community, We made it! Tonight we are celebrating because all our team members expected to arrive today are safely checked into our hotel in Guatemala City! When our final team member arrives Tuesday there will be 22 volunteers ready to serve at Potter’s House Association (PHA) for the week. PHA is the local organization that is established in the communities and it is their hard work and dedication that allows us to be in the communities. We are so grateful for their willingness to host Hope’s In! Our team will be building two houses this week. We also have 2 medical staff with us who will be […]