Meet Guatemala Team 1! (Yoss & Justin)

Hello! We are one of two groups traveling to Guatemala as part of the University's alternative break service trip (ABST) program! We would like to introduce our group members:

Sarah Vicary is a current sophomore psychology major at Gannon. She chose Guatemala because she has always wanted to travel there. Sarah also had an exchange student from Guatemala tell her a lot about the country. Sarah is excited to immerse herself into the culture of the people and experience everything she possibly can. Something that is unique to her is that this will be her second service trip, as she traveled to Haiti in the summer of 2017 and is super excited to do more work in Guatemala.

Bailey Ross is a freshman physician assistant major. So far, she has enjoyed getting to grow closer to other group members. At Gannon, she is involved in GUSPAS and intermural sports. Bailey is excited to better understand Guatemalan culture and help in anyway she can. Bailey loves traveling and has even been to Cuba.

Madison (Madi) Wall is a freshman nursing student. She chose Guatemala to experience a new culture, learn more about herself, and add a new perspective to her worldview. While she is excited to use her abilities to aid others, Madi is a little nervous to try new foods. An interesting fact about Madi is that she used to be a synchronized swimmer.

Olivia White is also a freshman nursing major. She is excited to go on the trip to Guatemala to explore the world and to work alongside new people. Olivia has never traveled internationally, so she is both nervous and excited for what she anticipates being an incredible experience. While she is not afraid of airplanes, Olivia does have a phobia of blimps.

McKenna Haskins is one of the faculty accompaniers for our group. She is currently a graduate student in the Master’s of Sport and Exercise Science program. She is also working as a graduate assistant in the wellness department. She is excited to learn about a new culture and explore a new country. McKenna is also enjoying learning Spanish with the group. Interestingly enough, she was a four-year athlete in her undergraduate at Gannon and was the Women’s swim team captain.

Chad Indorf is the other faculty accompanier for our group. Chad currently serves as the Assistant Director of Intramurals and Sports Clubs at the Gannon recreation and wellness center. He has been an accompanier for the ABST domestic Habitat for Humanity trip and for the Australia TRAVEL trip. Chad is looking forward to continuing to build relationships with the group and share in this common experience.

Yoss Eisenbaum is one of the student leaders for the trip and a sophomore nursing major at Gannon. In addition to this, she is also the VP of administration for the Alpha Gamma Delta social sorority. In her free time, she loves to listen to music and hang out with friends. Yoss was born in Guatemala and adopted by a family in the United States. She has traveled a lot in the past few years and cannot wait to go back to her home country.

Justin Johnson is the other student leader for the Guatemala group. He is currently a sophomore social work and theology double major. On campus, Justin also serves as a resident assistant and as the VP of technology for the student government association. He is excited to travel to another country and encounter the people. Justin is passionate about social justice issues and values meaningful reflection. A unique talent of Justin’s is that he can put both his legs behind his head.

We are so excited for you all to share in this experience with us! Goodbye for now!

Sincerely,

Guatemala Team 1

Welcome from Guatemala Group 2 Leaders!

Hello friends, partners, family, and all those in between, welcome to our Guatemala ABST blogspot! Our names are Hailey Wehner and Kishan Patel and we will be leading group two of the Guatemala ABSTs.

We will have two groups returning to San Lucas Toliman this year and are eager to invite you all into our journey. This year our group will have 4 participants, 2 leaders, and 2 accompaniers as we continue to know ourselves better, develop lifelong relationships, and make lasting memories throughout our experience. As one of the most popular ABST experiences, we are ecstatic to live the mission of the ABST program and continue the legacy.

Continuing throughout the course of this semester, we hope to invite you into our experience and look forward to sharing our story and the impacts that this beloved journey will provide us. Thank you for taking your time to read and we’re excited to share more!

Hasta Luego Guatemala (Team Delaney & Katie)

Hi everyone!

This morning our group got split into three, and we all had amazing work site experiences! One team went to the wood house and continued to build the walls that our team worked on yesterday. The house will eventually be a home for a family of four. It was great to bond with the other workers and see our work progress through the week! The other two groups both went to build stoves. They mixed cement and filled the cinderblocks to make the foundation of the stoves. They had a great time and actually thought the activity was therapeutic! It was really nice to get the talk to the families at the sites. Getting to meet them really made the work we did this week feel more personal. In the afternoon, the entire group went to the mission and listened to a woman talk about her experience throughout the Guatemalan Civil War. The story was touching and made us realize the struggles which the Guatemalan people continue to face even aver having overcome this adversity. We’re very sad this was the last day. We had a wonderful week of service here, and we hope that we affected their lives half as much as they have impacted ours!

-Maureen and Yoss  :)

working at the wood house

  

 

mixing cement 

building the base of the stove

Sunset at 7070 ft.

Volcano Sunrises and Star-kissed Skies (Team Delaney & Katie)

Hello family and friends,

              

Today, we went on a morning hike, and after climbing to the top in the dark, we were met with a breathtaking sunrise. The sunrise was beautiful making the hike all worth it in the end. In the morning our group was split in half with some of us going to a wood house and the rest to the school. At the wood house we built the walls of the house using hammers and wood. At the school we moved rocks and dirt to clear the way for a new building. It was fun seeing everyone enjoying their time at each work site and working alongside the locals. In the afternoon we went to the women’s center and learned about the locals’ everyday lifestyle. We saw how they made their food before having stoves, using an open fire. We learned how they wash their clothes in a pila and tried it for ourselves. We also got to try how the women balanced the basket on their head and how men carry a stack of wood on their backs. This whole experience was great and rewarding seeing their life through their eyes. Also, appreciating all the things they do daily for their families and to just get by every day. We ended our day by reflecting on how solidarity has been an important part of our trip. We discussed how we have experienced solidarity with the people of Guatemala, and how we can continue what we have learned when we return home.
- Angelika 

Morning hike, we left at 4:30am

  

Working at the wood house

Working at the school 

Guacamole Heaven (Team Delaney & Katie)

Yesterday we had a day filled with dirt, cement, and laughter.  We went to a cement house that the mission was building for a family.  Here we moved dirt to cover the base of the house and we sifted cement to be mixed and laid later in the process.  As we worked we bonded over of family, friends, and past experiences.  It was a great day to not only build a house, but build stronger relationships with our group members.  We dug a massive hole while trying to get dirt for the base of the house, which we deemed one of our biggest accomplishments (hahaha!). After the work sight we got cleaned up and headed over to the coffee program house.  Here we got to watch how the coffee is “made” start-to-finish.  It starts as a fruit that needs picked, the staff at the plantation showed us all the steps to get the coffee to a drinkable state.  It was an awesome experience, especially for our coffee lovers.  After a sampling of the coffee we got to sort the coffee beans.  While sorting the beans we bonded again as a whole Gannon Group over “The Office” and how we didn’t actually mind sorting coffee beans.  It was a relaxing afternoon but much needed.  Then after sorting the beans we headed back to the mission for dinner.  Dinner was one of the best! Guacamole and fresh salsa!  Everyone was hyped and super happy for such a yummy dinner.  Later we had a fun reflection on the day by drawing our favorite or most meaningful part!  Everyone shared some great times and soon to be memories! 

                -Forever and Always I’ll be  

                Delaney

Surviving and Thriving In Uncertain Times - Day 5 (Team Maggie and Caitlin)

Hi friends and family!

Team Maggie and Caitlin checking in here! We are all doing well despite the recent “amoeba bug” that got a majority of our team – the good news is that we are all feeling better and looking forward to participating in service tomorrow.

Yesterday our group members who were feeling well went out during the morning for a tour of the San Lucas hospital, women’s center, Café Juanana coffee making place, and school. 

In the afternoon, we set out for our first service project, working on building a wooden home for one of the families in San Lucas.

Today more healthy group members joined us for a service opportunity in the morning which consisted of doing some “spring” cleaning for the mission center. In the afternoon, all of our group members were in attendance for a coffee making demonstration and sampling at the Café Juanana coffee laboratory. We also helped in the coffee making process by sorting coffee beans.

Although many of us might not be feeling our best, we are on the up rise of recovery and looking forward to the rest of our service time in San Lucas. Thank you all for your prayers and please continue to keep us in your thoughts during the rest of our stay in Guatemala!

-Olivia B.