Paul White Thrivent Builds Trip to Guatemala

Thrivent representative Paul White of Litchfield went on his 8th Thrivent Builds trip to Guatemala in July. Thrivent Financial teams with Habitat for Humanity in the Thrivent Builds program and gives the organization $25-million each year for building projects.

White says he first went to Guatemala in 2007 and went every other year up to 2019, but then COVID put an end to that, so the July 6th through 12th trip was his first time back in the third world country in 6 years. He says each time there can be a different type of building project, and this time he was part of a team that spent 4 days installing concrete floors in 20 homes in a remote part of the country.

White says the weather was hot and humid, some of the team members didn’t feel well from the food they were eating, there was an earthquake about 4 hours away from where they were working and there were protesters blocking the roadway as they were upset with the government for the condition of their roads. He says the most important part of the trip is to build relationships with the other team members and with the local people and the team members reflected on how fortunate many people in the United States are economically compared to the people they were helping in Guatemala.

White says they treated the families they were helping to a meal at a café at the end of the week and none of them had ever eaten in a café before. He says it took him 28 hours to get back to Minnesota as there was supposed to be a connecting flight in Texas, but the flooding had just taken place there.

White says he knew there were people praying for him and he definitely felt that he was being looked out for from above. He says if anyone has an interest in being part of a future Thrivent Builds trip, they can get more information by calling him at Thrivent at 593-2846.