This May 14-26, I will be in a place where hardship, poverty, and hunger make life look and feel different for the people living there than my life of plenty, comfort, and basic needs being met here in the US. In this is unique service experience, I will be going to Antigua, Guatemala with a team of nursing students, alumni, faculty, and other volunteers from the University of North Dakota.  We will be working with an organization called the GOD’S CHILD Project (http://godschild.org/), which is a ND based charity that has been striving to “break the bitter chains of poverty through education, housing, and healthcare” for more than 25 years.  Our 12 day trip will focus on serving the poor in a variety of ways, which includes volunteering at a malnutrition center, nursing home, and hospital for the disabled, serving supper at a homeless shelter, going on home visits to interact with and see where the project’s children live, building a home for a family, and distributing food and clothing to the poor.  In our service, we will also be learning and growing ourselves through every interaction and all that we see. 

I'm excited about the opportunity and experiences that lie ahead. I hope you see the value in how we will serve.  As you can imagine, a trip like this requires financial support from a number of people.  For this mission trip, I need to raise around $2500 by April 1. My goal online is $1100 to go towards my ServiceTeam Fees. However, my goal offline will be around $1400 to go towards airfare and the special activities. – don’t panic that’s seems like a lot (and I’ve already started), but really its just 25 people donating $100, 50 people donating $50, or 125 people donating $20. If you can support me in a financial way, I would be very grateful.  Would you be willing to give $5, $20, $50, $100 or more?  Donations of all sizes make a big difference. 

And, most importantly, I also need your prayer support.  Prayer is the fuel that will allow us to serve as we follow God's leading on this service trip to Guatemala.

Thank you so much for prayerfully considering how you can partner with me on this service trip and help to break the bitter chains of poverty for some of the poorest of the poor.

Sincerely a very grateful and excited Nursing Student,

Rebecca Syvertson