AN IMPORTANT BRIDGE CHURCH CONNECTS WITH GUATEMALANS.Byline: Sharon Cotal Staff Writer NEWHALL - Judy Chavez recently went on a mission trip to Guatemala with members of her church, hoping to bring some joy to the poverty- stricken people of the area. What surprised her was how much joy she received from the Guatemalan people. ``We went there thinking we were going to bless bless tr.v. blessed or blest , bless·ing, bless·es 1. To make holy by religious rite; sanctify. 2. To make the sign of the cross over so as to sanctify. 3. To invoke divine favor upon. these people, but it was the opposite. I left there wanting to be more like them,'' Chavez said. While Chavez describes Guatemala as a beautiful country with lush vegetation vegetation /veg·e·ta·tion/ (vej?e-ta´shun) any plantlike fungoid neoplasm or growth; a luxuriant fungus-like growth of pathologic tissue. and lots of trees, she said Guatemala City Guatemala City City (pop., 1994: city, 823,301; 1999 est.: metro area, 3,119,000), capital of Guatemala. The largest city in Central America, it lies in the central highlands at an elevation of about 4,900 ft (1,490 m). is marked by stark poverty and that the rural villages in the mountains near the city are even worse. ``Yet the people are so generous and loving. They don't have much, but they give you all they have,'' Chavez said. ``It was like that everywhere we went.'' Chavez and her husband, Armando, made the trip with four other members of her church, Valley Worship Center in Newhall, including Pastor Bill Carter; his wife, Lois; Flory Jackson Jackson. 1 City (1990 pop. 37,446), seat of Jackson co., S Mich., on the Grand River; inc. 1857. It is an industrial and commercial center in a farm region. ; and her daughter, Kellyann. The group visited six churches during the trip, which took place Jan. 9-14, with the primary goal of reaching out to the children in the area. The group also was present at the dedication of a bridge that was built with funds donated do·nate v. do·nat·ed, do·nat·ing, do·nates v.tr. To present as a gift to a fund or cause; contribute. v.intr. To make a contribution to a fund or cause. by Valley Worship Center and El Buen Samaritano, also in Newhall. A children's program featuring clowns
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``The houses were so scattered Scattered Used for listed equity securities. Unconcentrated buy or sell interest. in the remote villages, but that's where we got most of the children - we don't even know where they came from,'' Chavez said. ``The adults filled up the churches, and people were standing outside looking in the windows because they couldn't get in.'' The bridge dedication took place at a mountain church located in a spot so remote that, in order to attend during the rainy rain·y adj. rain·i·er, rain·i·est Characterized by, full of, or bringing rain. rain  i·ness n.Adj. season, local members had to cross a river, becoming wet and mud-soaked during the journey. Now they can stay high and dry as they make the trip on the new bridge. ``We provided the finances, and they (the Guatemalans) provided the labor for the bridge,'' said Carter, who had visited Guatemala twice before and helped raise money for the much-needed bridge. ``We saw a video of the construction, and they are very hard workers.'' CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Members of the Valley Worship Center mission trip team with their Guatemalan host, Lidia Cifuentes, far left. Team members were, from second left, Flory Jackson, Kellyann Jackson, Lois Carter, Pastor Bill Carter, Judy Chavez and Armando Chavez. (2 -- 3 -- color) Children, like these in Mixco, Guatemala, came from miles around to attend the programs presented by the mission team. Far right, a bridge built at Aldea El Penon, Guatemala with funds from two Newhall churches makes it possible for local members to get to the church there without becoming wet and mud-soaked during the area's rainy season. |
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