Volunteers in Mission
Linworth United Methodist Church, Columbus, Ohio
San Jose Los Encuentros, Queztaltenango, Guatemala
February 2026

Click on a date below to see the photos from that day. Click on any photo's thumbnail to see a larger view of the photo. From there you may click on the larger photo to see the next one.

• Saturday, 2/14/2026 - Team members fly from Columbus, Ohio and Tampa, Florida to Guatemala City and then drive to our hotel in Santa Cruz Muluá.
• Sunday, 2/15/2026 - The Living Heritage Foundation arranged for us to meet with our scholarship students in Mazatenango, so we met with most of them and their families for fellowship and lunch. It is amazing how much many of them have grown in a year. They are all so dear to us!!!
• Monday, 2/16/2026 - We journey to San Jose Los Encuentros where we begin our first day of work. We knew the high temperature at our hotel was to be 91 today, but it only got up to 80 in the higher elevation of San Jose Los Encuentros. The school had a humbling welcome ceremony, and we got to work on a new classroom. The people of the village were ever so kind to us all day!
• Tuesday, 2/17/2026 - Day two with The Living Heritage Foundation brought new experiences in San Jose Los Encuentros, and the volcano was doing a mighty display again. We began the morning removing the form boards from the footings on the back and sides of the classroom. Using the boards from the back, we then formed the footings for the front and did the concrete pour for the front footings. The school held a Mardi Gras carnival, and they invited us to join them. They had costume contests, graffiti eggs and dancing. When we returned to work, we began laying block. We laid six courses on the side wall and three and one-half courses on the back wall by the end of the day.
• Wednesday, 2/18/2026 - Day three began with another beautiful volcano eruption. We began the morning removing the form boards from the footings on the front of the classroom. We finished laying six courses of block on all sides of the classroom and started cutting and bending steel rods for the wire cages for tomorrow's bond beam. We left at 3pm to go visit the high school where we worked last year to see the completed project. What we didn't expect was an overwhelming welcome by all of the high school students and staff. It was such a warm surprise, and the students and staff were ever so thoughtful. What a day!!
• Thursday, 2/19/2026 - Day four began with cutting wire for wire cages, bending more steel rods and wiring the rebar cages above the sixth course of concrete blocks. Once the wire cages were complete, we formed and poured the columns. Lastly, we began forming the bond beam. Getting back to our hotel was another story. Roads were blocked in most directions due to a dump truck falling into a sink hole on a major road. We eventually left the van and walked beyond the traffic jam until we could get two taxis to take us back to the hotel, Our van driver, Edwin, eventually backtracked and followed other cars around the congestion and got to our hotel 40 minutes later.
• Friday, 2/20/2025 - Today marked our final day on site in San José Los Encuentros, and our hearts are full.

  We began the morning removing the form boards from the columns, simple, sturdy reminders of the work that has taken shape before our eyes this week. From there, we set the form boards for the bond beams that now rest atop six courses of concrete block, and by God’s grace we were able to complete the concrete pour by noon. What began days ago as lines on the ground is now rising as a place where children will learn, grow, and dream.

  After lunch, the community blessed us in a way that no schedule could have planned. They shared traditional Guatemalan music and dances, and before long we found ourselves joining in. Laughter filled the air. There was joy. There was gratitude. There was the unmistakable sense that something deeper than construction had taken place.

  It has been a sacred privilege to serve in this community. The week seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. Somewhere between mixing concrete and sharing meals, we made new friends, formed new relationships, and witnessed hope being strengthened for the education of their children.

  We came to build a classroom, but God allowed us to build something more -- connection, encouragement, and shared purpose. What a blessing it has been for all of us.

• Weekend - We leave our hotel in Santa Cruz Muluá, and drive to Chichicastenango and Antigua for sightseeing and relaxation before flying home on Monday. In Chichi we run into a long time friend who is now working for Salud y Paz.