Maureen and I and our three children moved to Guatemala in August of 2010. I serve on the pastoral team of Iglesia del Camino in Antigua. IDC is a local church with a Guatemalan Senior Pastor, bilingual services, and a significant reach into the community. Maureen teaches English classes in a variety of contexts around their town.
Before moving to Guatemala, we spent our 20th wedding anniversary at a restaurant in beautiful Annapolis, Maryland where we talked about life goals and how we wanted each of our kids to have a mission trip experience some time during their high school years. Six months later, I took Katey down to Guatemala to help a single mom build a house. That trip marked the beginning of an incredible journey. We spent their first seven years in Guatemala working with two great ministries. This was a formative time for us as we figured out how to transfer years of experience in suburban Virginia ministry to a brand new experience of reaching out cross-culturally.
Our time serving in Guatemala has been rich, rich in experience, rich in relationship, and rich in growth. We have learned much about ourselves and have enjoyed doing ministry together as a family. Our oldest daughter is married to a great Guatemalan guy and they serve together with a ministry in Cobán, about 5 hours North of Antigua. Our son is married to a lovely woman he met while she was on a mission trip to Guatemala. They have two children and live outside of Seattle. And our youngest has recently moved to be near her brother in Washington State. As a family, we have been reminded of God’s unique gifting in each of our lives and how He desires to express His love for people through our very own family.
Our connection with Iglesia del Camino is a natural outflow of what God has been teaching them. As a couple, we are committed to the local church and to building transformational relationships. It is in these relationships and in this context that we get to bring hope.