YAPG Mission Trip

As the school year ended and the graduations were over, a weekend before Christmas young adults and mentors as part of the Young Adults with Purpose (YAPG) movements from Guatemala City and Chimaltenango set off to the rural village of El Cuje for a weekend mission trip.

El Cuje is a small village about two and half hours from Guatemala City. It is set in a humid and deserted area of the country with poor road access, limited education and career opportunities. With a population of 3000 people most of the children suffer from malnourishment. In the heart of the village is a small, deserted-looking primary school. It was there where we slept the night and put on a weekend of activities.

The young adults split into teams to lead different groups; games, singing and teaching, crafts, sports, painting and a hairdressers! The children and adults from the village enjoyed taking part in a variety of activities.

Pablo, 19, one year away from graduating from secondary school specializing in Computation, described his experience helping at the camp – “I love to see how small acts of service can help bring simple joy to the children. I love being a part of this and I can see the importance of helping those that are in need of some love and support.”

Pablo (left) assisting a child with a pinata, Pablo (right, white t-shirt) leading sports team

As well as going to serve a small village in the humid countryside of Guatemala, Pablo expresses another purpose to the trip. He describes his joy in serving and the importance of helping others. YAPG exists to facilitate young adults to develop and grow across all areas of their lives. As well as supporting a young adult, as part of YAPG, through mentoring and education the movement strives for young adults to grow in encountering a purpose to their lives through helping others and being a positive member of their society.

Some children from the school

Our hope is that this mission trip will have helped the people of El Cuje and contributed towards creating and forming strong positive values in the young adults, like Pablo, as they encounter their identity and purpose in this world.

The children with the team