After five hours on a plane and an hour in a car, a group of six WHS students arrived in San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala, a village surrounded by lakes and mountains with Volcan Toliman dominating the skyline. This group of WHS students traveled to Guatemala in order to build houses for families in need.

For eight days during February vacation, the Trinitarian Congregational Church (TCC) in Wayland took a trip to Guatemala. A total of 15 students lead by four leaders from the church traveled there to build houses, assemble stoves and water filters and paint a school for the people who live in San Lucas Toliman.

For sophomore Mackenzie Barber, the decision to go on the trip was an easy one.

“My brother and sister went on mission trips to Nicaragua when they were in high school. I saw a change in them when they came home and ever since, I saw that I’ve always wanted to go on a mission trip,” Barber said. “So when the opportunity arose, I was so excited to go.”

While building houses for the families, the students were able to meet some of the families who would be living in the houses and learn about their lives. According to sophomore Lilly Lin, meeting the families the houses were being built for was a moment that stands out to her.

“We were playing with [a little boy]. We asked which one would be his room, so he ran in smiling and was really proud of the room. He called us all over to this one corner of the room and said ‘this is where I am going to put my bed,’” Lin said. “It was a really cool moment because it gave us a strong reason to do what we were doing. We weren’t just building a house, we were building this child a home to grow up in and a place to go after school and somewhere to be with his family and friends. It made the work more meaningful and it gave us more incentive to work hard.”

The students saw the contrast between how the people they met in Guatemala live and how people in Wayland live.

“We got to go to a school and when they walk in, every kid kisses and hugs their teacher. Not that we should kiss and hug our teachers, but I think that’s an example of how kind and welcoming everyone is. It’s just a reminder to always be kind and welcoming,” Barber said.

“I realize more how much we have here,” Lin said. “Be grateful for what you have.”