By Amy Dillman-

Death…  Death is by far the strongest sense that overtakes me in my nostrils and in my heart.  These people do not know their dignity or their value and consequently they live and work in a wretched environment.  The  trucks dump the trash and the workers, who have paid to be there, begin digging out what they will try to sell.

Vultures hover over my head only a few feet away and swarm the trash speaking of the dead things that the people are sifting their hands through.  The smell stings my nose even though I am several feet away.

The workers are exposed to dead bodies and needles and they have no idea the sicknesses and diseases they will pick up as they reach their hands into the garabage.  This is the most ethical job?  Well it is when your choices are a gangster, a drug dealer, a prostitute, or working in the dump.

As we stood on the cemetery grounds looking down at the dump I could not believe what I was seeing and hearing.  There were people making food and others lining up the eat right in the middle of the trash.  There were bulldozers pushing trash towards the river even though people were right in front of them (some have died this way because the bulldozers don't stop and they can't always see in front of them).

We even walked right up to a pile of junk where after a few years or after the people stop paying rent the bodies are dumped.  Unreal.  Death is the overwhelming feeling here, and I have Jesus the source of life living inside me. What do these people have if they don't have Jesus?  If they don't even know their value.

Here you can see the three layers of society.  You have the dump at the bottom and then the ghetto and then self sufficiency is at the top where you see the tall building.  The dump has about 20,000 people living and working around there.  The dump was over two ravines and you could see the rivers open up right out by the dump.  The bulldozers push the trash into the river which is why the water is so messed up.  Later got to get even closer than this, we got to go down to a family's house who was living and working in the dump.

Loupe, is six years old and lives in the down the street where we had eaten lunch. Desi invited her to eat lunch with the family and our group. During lunch, Lynn, a member of our team, asked her if she wanted to sit on her lap and the little girl told Desi she was too dirty to sit on her lap.  I didn't hear her say it but I heard later and it broke my heart.  A six year old has embraced the reality of what she lives in and she believes she is too dirty.  I was so hurt for her because she must have been told that she was dirty.  Either that or she had just learned it from the people around her.  Either way she needs her value and worth instilled in her.  For that moment that Lynn had her sit in her lap she must have felt full of value.

My prayer is that little girls like Loupe will see their value through Christ's love, hearing that comment forever changed my outlook on life….

Loved with value,

Amy Dillman

Bloomington, IL

By Matthew Sandusky-

I went on this missions trip thinking that it was just another oportunity to serve God in another country. I soon realize that this was going to change my life forever.

I learned a lot that week. In the ghetto I was surprised to see contentment where ever you looked. We ask a lady what she needed and all she would ask for is that you pray for to have enough spiritual strength to get her through the day. I could not believe how people with so little to be content with nothing.

The next day we went to the state orphanage and there we had a party with the special needs kids. There these kids live with next to nothing and it really showed me how fortunate i really was. I started thinking about how much I had and how ungreatful I was. God started convicting me about so many things in my life I needed to change if He was to use me the way He wanted to.

Tuesday and Wednesday we got the opportunity to work at dories promise and the ghetto. There again I saw contentment. We delivered bunk beds to a family and the kids had stayed home from school so they could be there when they arrived and they were the happiest kids in the world. We then dug footers for a retaining wall. The lady that was to live there was in tears because we simply helped her for a couple of hours.

At the orphanage i got to know two of the boys named jonathan and bryan. We hit it off well in the begining and i loved hanging out with them. I'd go down there at night and we would wrestle, have pillow fights, play with my ipod or just goof off. It was awesome to see him having fun and getting the attention that he needed. It showed me how important dories promise is and without it jonanthan and all the other kids might be stuck in the state orphanage or on the streets.

In one week God changed my life and showed me what is important. I now have a passion for guatemala and those kids at dories promise. I know how important dories promise is in building good, strong, christian kids and I know those kids will impact guatemala when they are older. I am so glad I had the opportunity to go on this trip and support dories promise in this way. I will be going back soon.

Forever Changed,

Matthew Sandusky

Princeton, IN

 By John Keefe-

From the time Bekah Jabin mentioned going to Guatemala I thought it would be something that I would really enjoy. I had always thought about taking a mission trip but never took the initiative. I was nervous when we first arrived because I didn’t know what to expect.

As soon as I saw Joel holding the Forever Changed sign I immediately got excited. Joel was very easy to get along with and he welcomed us with open arms. As our group arrived I realized that it was going to be a great week.

The first night was relaxing and we went to bed early so that we were prepared for the week. Going to the ghetto was an amazing experience. The way that the families within the ghetto help each other out is truly inspiring. They do not have a lot, but what they do have they cherish it. The kids in the ghetto showed us around and challenged us to a game of soccer. Even though they were much younger than we were, they beat us handedly.

Lester and Gerson were my Forever Friends and they were very open to me from the time I saw them. They immediately hugged me when I called their names out. I couldn’t understand everything that they were saying to me but it did not affect the time we spent together.

Getting to spend time with all of the kids after the park was one of the biggest highlights of the trip. It was the first time that we all were together and I started to get to know the kids on a more personal level.

The national orphanage was an eye opening experience for me. To think that there are more than eight hundred kids living there and they are unsure of their future was very sad to see. Playing soccer and painting with the special needs children was very fun. They were very good at soccer and their faces lit up when we told them we wanted to play.

On Tuesday we spent the morning painting the walls outside and doing yard work. It was neat to see how just spending a couple of hours made the backyard look very nice. 

The most eye opening experience was going to the dump. The people who live around the dump spend every day digging through the garbage in order to make a living. The family that we had lunch with was very kind. They were very happy to have us there and it was very nice to be able to spend time with them. It is incredibly how happy they are even though they have so little.

The best part of the trip was the children of Dorie’s Promise. They are the kindest children that I have been around. I became very attached to all of them in just one week. 

Going into the trip I thought that one week would be plenty. Now that the week has come to an end I wish I could stay for many more weeks. It has been an experience that has changed my life. I will never forget the experiences that I had in Guatemala and the children that I shared the week with.  

John Keefe

Cincinnati, Ohio