Guatemala - Aguacate Healthcare Mission Team

AGUACATE, Guatemala -- The 2022 OCMC Health Care Team to Guatemala will offer primary care in addition to prenatal and dental care at a health clinic, located in the peaceful Mayan village of Aguacate, nestled in the Guatemalan highlands. Health care professionals can give the gift of hope and healing by offering health care and education.

The Fr. Andres Giron Health Clinic has three medical exam rooms, two dental rooms, laboratory, pharmacy, waiting room, office, and missionary housing. Medical services in rural areas are not easily accessible for patients, due to distances, cost and availability of qualified medical professionals in the region. In harmony with a vision for self-sustainability, the clinic charges a minimal charge to individuals who receive care.

In Guatemala, you will encounter things that cannot be explained but can only be experienced. A goal of this OCMC Health Care Team is to improve the physical and spiritual conditions of individuals in Aguacate, a small rural village where decades of civil war have taken a toll on the people, economy and health care system. Aguacate is a Mayan village whose inhabitants are marginalized and who live with less health services than others in the region. Through this short-term Team, the presence of long-term missionaries, dedicated Guatemalan clergy and lay leaders, we believe that the love and witness of Christ will be an encouragement in their spiritual lives. We also believe that this ministry provides a spiritually enriching experience for Team members. Your life will be impacted.

The Church in Guatemala is in a period of growth. Over the last two decades, a large number of communities, made up of native Mayans, began a spiritual journey that has brought them to Orthodoxy. Work with the indigenous Mayan people and OCMC missionaries to Guatemala to establish the Orthodox Church and strengthening Eucharistic communities while supporting social projects that promote self-sufficiency.

Health care professionals – doctors, dentists, midwives, nurses, and other medical technicians – are needed. Spanish speakers are encouraged to apply.

Dates:  February 25 - March 6, 2022

Cost:  $1,460.00 (+airfare)

Travel – Team Members will meet in Tuxtla, Mexico and must fly on the travel itinerary provided by OCMC. Members make round-trip flight arrangements to Tuxtla, Mexico on Friday February 25 and return home on Sunday March 6. Airfares are not included in cost. Orientation will take place in Tuxtla and Aguacate.

Fund raising – Each Team Member is responsible for the participant cost and airfares associated with this Team. Team Members are encouraged to invite others to participate in this effort through prayer and tax-deductible donations. Participant cost includes room and board, local transportation, orientation costs, ministry expenses, excursion and materials.

Additionally, if you would like to contribute to this Team project – medicine and medical supplies for the work of the Team at the Fr. Andres Clinic in Aguacate – please contact OCMC. Note any contributions toward the project itself are optional and separate from the participant cost. We are grateful for your support.

Share in a journey of faith… Orthodox Mission Team members are challenged to view the world with God's eyes and seek how He wants to use them to fulfill His plans. This cross-cultural experience, combined with outreach, offers participants a life-changing learning experience. This experience is about people, culture and missions. It is also about prayer, for you and others; it is about God, those you serve, and about yourself, as you serve Him.