The Good News: #LoveShowsUp to change lives in Guatemala

"All of this coming together to create such a real, tangible change in the trajectory of an entire family is something only possible through God..."

When asked to sum up the favorite part of her trip, Lucinda Lautz said, "The whole experience was my favorite part of the trip!" On March 14th, 2026, Memorial's annual weeklong mission trip to Porch de Salomon in Guatemala began. Missionaries gathered at the airport in Guatemala City from various parts of northeast Florida. The group's leader, Linda Twiggs, had organized this mission for over a year with three meetings for interest and commitment. She and her husband Don (both long-time members of Memorial) have been taking groups from Memorial to Guatemala for 13 years!

Memorial's team included 24 people from northeast Florida, 14 who were members of the church. They joined a site team totally 48 people from Colorado, Iowa, and Georgia. It was the largest site team Porch de Salomon had ever welcomed.  

The majority of the team had been many times with this mission being an annual pilgrimage of service. Seven of the14 team members from Memorial were going to Porch de Saloman for the very first time, including Lucinda Lautz, United Methodist Deaconess and Memorial's

Mission Liaison. She shared some of her observations with us.

The group was there to help build a home for a mother and her children and also provide medica care in the local clinic. As Lucinda shared, the work they did was an important part of the trip, yet the connections will stick with her the most. "It is the relational connection that develops over the week with the beautiful people of Panajachel, Guatemala and the surrounding areas, the strangers from other places in the US that become dear friends, the friends that you came with that you laugh, groan and pray with over the week and beyond, " She shared. "Memories that become part of your personal faith journey development. That's how love shows up."

And the donations and gifts from the congregation at Memorial helped make this trip even more successful.

"During the whole mission we witnessed the generosity of Memorial support.  Our donations helped with having a Guatemalan pharmacist at the clinics to educate clients about medication they were receiving," Lucinda said. "It also helped with translators who worked with the health professionals seeing the patients." The requested focus this year at the medical clinic sites was pediatrics.  Over 350 children were seen with about 50 adults also receiving care. Water filters were purchased to help families be less likely to have waterborne diseases and improve dental care. Transportation to clinic sites and the construction sites are daily, with travel times being approximately 2-3 hours per day.

"Memorial's donations of vitamins, over the counter medicines, and underwear were needed and so appreciated, and so were the financial donations. The construction site for the home for the beautiful, hard-working family we were helping build has material costs. Plus, a very good foreman and Guatemalan crew who focused on correct and precises building practices. All this and so much more were supported by Memorial's love," she said.

Brendan Twiggs, grandson of Linda and Don, has accompanied his grandparents in the past to see their work in Jaurez, Mexico. After a recent time of mission working and volunteering in Lviv, Ukraine, Brendan was able to also attend this most recent trip to Guatemala with his grandparents. He wrote this about his experience in his recent blog post:

"This week was way too much to put into words and I cannot tell you how much love and respect I have for all the work my grandparents do here. I’ve heard about this mission since I was a kid but never could have imagined how special it is until seeing it firsthand. Lviv feels so much like home and I’m so comfortable in my routine with the work I do there, I realized that I’ve stopped fully appreciating the impact volunteer work has on real people and God’s hand in it. Spending this week building a house for and with a beautiful family here, along with seeing the impact my Grandma has had in this community, has changed that. All week, Juana (the incredibly strong woman who’s so deserving of this house and so much more) along with all three of her kids worked along side us to build this home (in her name) that will change all four of their lives. This wouldn’t be possible without her father-in-law, Miguel, breaking social norms and stigmas to gift her the land. Or the incredible work of Greg and Rachel at Porch de Solomon. Or the donations of time and money from churches like Memorial. Or my Grandma putting in the work year after year to make sure teams continue to come here. Or even three-year-old Edwin laughing as he carried his small buckets of rocks or riding with his brother, Felix, in the wheelbarrow with a couple cinderblocks- giving us the energy to play with the work and not get tired as we put in our biggest day. All of this coming together to create such a real, tangible change in the trajectory of an entire family is something only possible through God and I never would have seen this if not for my Grandma and Grandpa." (You can read his full blog post HERE.)

   If you are interested in joining the next trip to Porch de Salomon in Guatemala, mid-March 2027, contact our Mission Committee (missions@mumconline.com) . Brooke Rimondi who will be our team leader and new champion for Porch de Salomon.  Linda and Don Twiggs are planning on going again as part of the team, as well.