This past March, Hannah was part of a group of 18 travelers headed for Guatemala City, Guatemala. Their journey took them from the cobbled streets and elegant fountains of Antigua to a one-mile ravine where 60,000 people live within one of the poorest communities in the country. Within these communities around Guatemala City, the physical and spiritual needs are great, and many children suffer from malnutrition, abuse, and neglect. Here the group visited a local school and ministered to the children there. After a full day in Guatemala City, the group prepared for a trip through the Guatemalan Highlands on their way to their next destination.

After many photo-worthy stops and breathtaking views, the group arrived in Guatemala’s second largest city, Quetzaltenango, more commonly referred to as Xela (sh e la). It was here in Xela where Hannah experienced the most meaningful part of her trip, a time of love and service to a local Women’s Shelter.

“In Xela, we went to the women’s shelter, and that was my favorite part of the trip, there I met some very special people that touched my heart. Going to the women’s shelter meant a lot to me because we were able to help women who had to leave everything and had so little, we not only built a wall around their building to protect them, but we were also able to play with their children and give them a break to themselves to do things they needed to do.”

While at the women’s shelter, Hannah snapped a photo that would actually go on to win the 3rd Round of the JE Photo Contest. Read below to find out more about who this little boy is.

“At the women’s shelter I was able to meet the little boy in this picture, his name is Louis, and he was full of energy and joy. This particular picture was inspired because of a simple pair of shoes, but to him, that was so much. Our school was able to take to the women’s shelter shoes for the moms and children, and Louis was so excited that he was giving everyone thumbs up for his shoes and I was able to take his picture while he was smiling so big.”

The special gift of new shoes for the Women’s Shelter and the time spent loving and caring for the people there had a huge impact, and the wall that the group built around the shelter has given the women and children there added security and safety.

After 6 days in Guatemala, Hannah’s group headed back to the states. The global perspective that the group gained after spending time in places like the Xela Women’s Shelter and in the communities around Guatemala City is something that will surely stay with them for years to come. As a testament to what this trip meant to Hannah, when we posed the question “If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?”, Hannah answered:

“My dream travel destination would be to go back to Guatemala and to see all of the amazing people that I met there, and to see how they are doing since I last saw them.”

This is what Joshua Expeditions is all about. Igniting Hearts to Change the World.

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Interested in our Guatemala Tour? Check out another interview with a Group Leader who went to Guatemala this past January.