Guatemala, March 2014

We had the awesome privilege of recently participating in a Reel Life International Mission Trip to Guatemala City, Guatemala over Spring Break. It was an amazing experience that we would recommend to ANYONE. We worked with a ministry called the Potters House that works primarily with people who live right outside the city dump. People they call “treasures” try to find anything they can to sell to recycling companies or keep for their homes and livelihood.

The Potters House staff took incredible care of us. They had every detail covered so we could focus on caring for and ministering to Treasures during meals, on work sites, and through the tools we used. Everything was accounted and prepared for. Andrea has been blessed to be a part of many international short-term mission trips, and she was extremely impressed by the care and detail that went into our trip. This is no small task when the culture is not naturally like that of us prompt, know-every-detail-Americans. Ha!

We were blessed tremendously by both the Treasures we had the honor of meeting and by the staff from this organization. We were very impressed that Potters House helps to educate team members while we loved on the Treasures. They explained that poverty is complex and most people think of economic poverty only when looking at the poor. They went on to show us 8 different forms of poverty throughout the week that are much more than just lack of money or resources. They provided definitions and scriptures that line up with each type of poverty as well as stories from the Treasures themselves. They shared how they are working with each Treasure God brings to their ministry to eliminate these forms of poverty in their lives.

From Andrea:

God was very merciful to us and taught me much about remembering the poor. I learned the importance of living my life here in such a way that I might be able to help those who have been born into poverty of any sort. God also reminded me that there are many people in the United States and that part of being a follower of Christ means I schedule my life around those who God wants us to reach out to – especially the poor, widows, and orphans. I am ashamed of how backward that can be for us. I would recommend going on a trip with Reel Life International if you want God to work in your life and follow Him where He has called each of us to go and tell of His good news — into all nations!

From Greg: 

I was very impacted by this trip through the understanding it gave me of what life on dollars or less a day really consists of.  The living conditions of these people made my heart break.  Seeing so many that have so little gave me a better perspective on what we truly need in our world.  We, here in the US, have so much but how much of that is truly NEEDED?  We are very blessed to have what we have and should be thankful that God has provided so graciously.  But those provisions could also be a restriction to us if we are not careful.  The materialism of our society holds us back from having a true relationship with Christ because we get so caught up in our crazy, hectic, over-scheduled, over-indulgent lives.  Going on this mission trip has allowed me to see that simplification in life and staying in His Word is key.  The more time I spend in His Word helps me to keep the temptations of this world at bay and to remember what our mission in life is: to have relationships with all people of this world and to become involved with them and help them in times of need. But most importantly, we are to share the Word of Jesus Christ.

This was a trip that will have implications on our lives for years to come, we pray!

In His Care,

Greg & Andrea Butler