Mission DiscoveryReviews of missiondiscovery.org

They say its hard to catch lightening in a bottle in a bottle twice, and I have to agree. This was my second trip to Guatemala. While the first one blew me away, this one didn't. We were joined by 2 other groups at our hotel & job sites which made a for a different dynamic. It ended up feeling cliquey. They had a different perspective and had different standards. With 3 home sites within yelling distance of each other, it felt like we were tripping over each other. I didn't get to know the new home owners, but I did grow the relationship with my fellow missionaries. Until the house dedication, I didn't even know who was to live in the house we built. While we discourage bringing cameras and phones, the other groups (including MD staff) used them incessantly. IMHO, MD staff cameras detracted from the experience. In the midst of a God moment, the last thing I wanted was a camera in my face. Similarly, I felt it was highly inappropriate and disrespectful to have a MD camera shoved in the face of a new home recipient when they were overwhelmed with emotions and in tears. While I would love to go back to Guatemala and share God's love with those in need, I'm not thrilled by how MD managed their staff and work crews.

I really enjoyed traveling with the ASSIST-JC team and the facilities we stayed in. Additionally, the contractors, families, and the Cairos team were all great. I was, however, disappointed with Mission Discovery on this one and think our hosts could have done better. Our leaders, Mike, Meg, and Drew, seemed rather clique-y and stand-offish. They hardly interacted with participants and I often felt like an inconvenience when trying to speak to them. Furthermore, I have some concerns with their logistical planning as we ran out of water at lunch and on jobsites around midday on the hottest day of the week. In addition to running out of water, there was lots of confusion about when we would be mixing concrete for floors that resulted in us mixing multiple houses' floors late into the day. I'm all for the hard work, but there was a lot of flip-flopping as to what we were doing and until when. It was frustrating. In addition to this, I was very disappointed with the house dedications. They were very impersonal and done as a whole group. MD staff has cameras in the faces of the participants and the families as we prayed and gifted them supplies - it felt like a commercial. I was told MD is working on updating their footage, but it really seemed like we were constantly being filmed and it ruined what could have been intimate moments. Consider spreading this out over longer periods of time so it doesn't feel like one group is being intruded on. I also have some authenticity concerns about evening worship. The God-Sightings were treated almost like an AA meeting, someone would introduce themselves and be met with a "Hi, so-and-so" and upon finishing they would be clapped for. God sightings are, in my opinion, not about the person sharing but about the Lord's work. Additionally, not all of us practice our faith via sing-along style, it would be nice to acknowledge that and mix it up a bit throughout the week. Much of our team shared similar frustrations throughout the week but said this was very out of the norm. I am looking forward to giving MD another shot and hopefully going back in 2027. I am glad I went and hope my future experiences are more in line with what I have heard about this group!

Good mix of physical and spiritual. Building homes, partners by either the school and spending time with the people was great. Nice balance of working hard and rest. There were days where I wanted to do more work and finish the job. One thing to consider is a tighter lunch. Instead of an hour in a half cut it down to an hour. The last day to visit the city was cool. Definitely have a day like that. The team was helpful, responsive and good all around. My only disappointment is a small one. The last day I tried to meet with Kate and team to discuss the trip and I had several questions about next year. My thought was we are here let’s work that out in person. They had a crazy long day due to traffic back from the beach. So she couldn’t meet. Here are my questions: Can you handle a team of 60? Can we all meet in the same space and build 4 instead of 2 homes? If we bring a medical team how can we plan better and what to expect? We would like to figure out Walter filtration for the school or village. Is that helpful and possible? These are mostly bandwidth questions and plans for next year.

It was a blast loved everything about the balance between working hard and free time. And all leaders were so kind.

The good that was done and the people we met was a wonderful experience

I enjoyed the trip because of the people I was surrounded by. Not only were the people I was serving with incredibly nice, but also the locals were so welcoming.

This was the best experience I’ve ever had, not only as a trip, but getting the opportunity to serve God’s people through giving, kindness, and love. I went on this trip with my own intentions on how it was going to be, but God had much better plans for how He was going to grow my faith and impact me in such a way I will never forget. On this trip I met so many people, weather I was serving them or serving with them, they all had a sense of making people feel at home and apart of a family. I love what God is doing through mission discovery and I can’t wait to see how much more they’re going to grow. I would without a doubt go on this trip again.

Our guide, Rita, made sure the group was safe and together so there was no fear of anyone missing as the group traveled through lines of customs. I was very impressed with the meals served for breakfast plus the meals at night, which were very delicious. The staff was very friendly and courteous. I was impressed by our rooms and accommodations.