First Posted: 6/9/2014

Cross Creek Community Church in Trucksville has sent two mission teams to minister in Guatemala through an organization called Hope of Life International.

Hope of Life is a Christian organization that provides spiritual and physical aid to hurting people of Guatemala. Through this organization, Cross Creek has adopted a small village, Los Jocotes, located near the city of Zacapa, Guatemala and home to about 600 people.

During the first mission trip that took place in October 2013, 14 members of Cross Creek set out to Guatemala for the first time to meet the families of Los Jocotes. They partnered with Hope of Life to drill a water well and install the necessary infrastructure to supply clean fresh water to about half the people in this rural village. They also set up and ran a medical and eye clinic, taught a Vacation Bible School for the children, distributed food bags to the families, washed the feet of the children and fit them with new shoes and planted fruit trees throughout Los Jocotes. The group also purchased a tract of land with the vision of building a new church at this prime location.

Six months after the first trip, another group of 20 individuals flew to Guatemala to continue ministries. This trip consisted of the construction of a new church on the property previously purchased. Then on May 22, with over 100 people in attendance, Pastor Dave Martin, along with Pastor Carlos from the village, dedicated the newly-constructed church.

The local group also constructed and dedicated a new home for a woman with five small children who lost her husband. They ran a medical and eye clinic and did Vacation Bible School for the children.

Three team members were also involved in a Hope of Life baby rescue. Traveling high up into the mountains of Guatemala, two babies were rescued from certain death. Both were severely malnourished and underweight. Each weighed four pounds at the ages of 2 and 4 months. The babies and their mothers are presently doing well at the Hope of Life Sospital. So far this year, over 1,000 babies have been rescued with that number expected to be around 3,000 by year’s end.

This October, Cross Creek will send another mission team to Guatemala. Future projects include drilling an additional well and expansion of the water system, building a home for the pastor and his family, implementing a pilot project of low cost $2,000 homes, planting of sustainable fruit trees, continuing medical and eye clinics, expanding children and adult ministries, building and implementing a vocational school for the children after they leave the sixth grade, evangelistic outreach to a nearby prison, feeding ministry at the local dump, etc.