Dear friends,

Thank you for visiting our site!  We hope it provides you with a glimpse into our lives here in Guatemala.

CLICK HERE FOR OUR New Year 2010 UPDATE!

Why Guatemala?

We had been looking into living & working in a developing country for many years.  Several years ago, we heard great things about an organization called Students International (SI).  SI combined vocational ministry to the poor with ministering to U.S. students who would visit for service projects.  This dual purpose seemed a perfect fit for our interests & skills.  We wanted to be involved in practical service to the poor while also challenging U.S. students to expand their understanding of the Gospel to include a lifelong commitment to the marginalized.

Maurine wanted to visit Latin America & Nic, being a Latin American Studies major in college & speaking Spanish, loves Central America.   Since SI's largest site at the time was in Guatemala, we decided to visit SI and other organizations in Guatemala in 2000.  However, while down there, we sensed a call to return to our church in Oakland and begin a ministry to the young adults in our community.  After having brought that ministry to a close, we feel that the time has finally come for us to make the big move!

With Fernando Saravia, Field Director

When did we move?

We left the U.S. on September 9, 2008, after finishing an intense, 3-week cross-cultural training in Colorado.  It was challenging but helpful, and a great way to prepare us for the transition.

Where are we living? 

We live in the Antigua vicinity.  Antigua is a beautiful, quaint town located about 45 min from the capital, Guatemala City.  It has maintained its colonial-era cobblestone streets and is a favorite tourist destination (all the more reason to come visit!).

As a result, however, the cost of living there is quite higher than in the rest of the country, so we found a great place in Jocotenango, which is part of the surrounding, poorer neighborhoods, where some other current staff members live.

What are we doing? 

Maurine just finished language school perfecting her Spanish.  She's now acclimating herself to Guatemalan health care and medical Spanish by working in S.I's remote public clinic in Magdalena, a village on the slopes of one of Guatemala's many volcanoes.  One of the strongly felt needs is for more education around childbirth practices, since many of the local women deliver their babies at home in fairly at-risk conditions.

Nic is working primarily in El Gorrión, a shantytown that was built for 65 refugee families from Hurricane Mitch in 1998.  This settlement is located about a mile from Magdalena and suffers from a lack of access to basic resources such as water and sanitation.  S.I. is building water cisterns and filters for individual families there, with our Appropriate Technology site.  This community has several pressing needs, and Nic will be working with local leadership to address felt physical, educational, and spiritual needs.

Please write us!

(But please let us know if you're considering sending anything other than a letter; we might have a more secure address for this purpose)

SNAIL MAIL ADDRESS:

Calle Real de Jocotenango #58

Apto. 7, Zona 1

Jocotenango, Sacatepequez