Send Faith on a Mission Trip to Guatemala

Hello! My name is Faith Pratt. I am going on my first-ever medical mission trip to Guatemala in May 2024, and I need your help to get me there! For those interested in more information, please read 'the full story' below!

______________________ THE FULL STORY

Hello, everyone! For those who don’t know me, my name is Faith Pratt. I am a junior English major in college at East Texas Baptist University. I am passionate about serving my community through community service projects and other means.

Despite my love for my community, I have always felt called to love beyond the borders of my home country. I am very excited to announce the incredible opportunity I have been given through my college to attend a medical mission trip to Guatemala!

The organization hosting the mission trip is Refuge International, a Christian charitable organization focused on increasing access to education, healthcare, nutrition, and clean water. You may ask yourself, why Guatemala? For the past 25 years, Guatemala has suffered from economic crises and violent crime. Many Guatemalans lack access to clean water, food, and healthcare.

According to the International Crisis Group, over half the population lives on less than $4 a day; many civilians are subject to violence from rampant street gangs. Over 35 percent of the population cannot access health and nutrition services.

That being said, where does the Refuge International mission trip come into play? The mission trip would be from May 18th to the 25th in San Raymundo, a rural town an hour northwest of Guatemala City. Because of the rural location, most civilians in this area struggle with poverty. They do not have regular access to healthcare and no clean water. During my stay in the area, I would be shadowing Spanish translators who operate inside a week-long clinic in a hospital.

The focus of this particular mission trip would be on women’s health. Most clients would be women and children receiving preventative care, reproductive healthcare, clinics, dental care, surgeries, and more. The women of Guatemala are more marginalized than men, having less access to education and healthcare services.

My role would focus on patient intake and communication. Not only is this an incredible opportunity to be present in the medical mission field, but I would also learn more basic conversational Spanish that I can use to serve others throughout South and Central America. A language is a critical tool we can use to serve others.

Genesis 11:9 recounts the tower of Babel, in which all languages and people of the Earth were scattered: “That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there, the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.” Because of our scattered language, there are communication barriers between us.

However, God can use boundaries as encouragement to help us learn more about unfamiliar communities and people groups. Communication and language help bridge the gap between the familiar and unfamiliar, uniting cultures. I am honored to have the chance to form this bridge between myself and those suffering from corruption and poverty in Guatemala.

To do so, I need your help! Overseas mission trips are wonderful but expensive. All donations made through this GoFundMe page will go to me (Faith Pratt) and then be paid through the school to the Refuge International Missions board. A disclaimer: Because this is a school-sponsored trip, I must pay all associated fees through my school with a specific payment code.

The money is not going directly to the organization and is therefore not tax-deductible! If you are concerned about this when giving, please consider donating to the organization directly through the donation link I provided at the bottom of the page. While not tax-deductible, all funds would go directly to the organization through my college.

Please consider helping me on this venture! The trip fees help cover the cost of all my meals, some necessary medical equipment (including mandatory scrubs), lodging for the week, bedding, towels, airfare, bus transportation, and language translation staff.

If you want to learn more about the organization, I have provided links to their website's home page and a link to information about the women of San Raymundo where I would be serving.

If God does not put it on your heart to donate, please consider sharing this GoFundMe page with your friends and family. I appreciate anyone who takes the time to read this. If nothing else, I hope you learn more about the mission of Refuge International and the medical missions field. God bless you all!

Donation Link: https://refugeinternational.com/make-a-donation/

Refuge International Website: https://refugeinternational.com/

Learn more about the mission: https://refugeinternational.com/san-raymundo/