Amanda Quan has been on a dozen mission trips, including four to Guatemala. But her latest Guatemala mission trip, through Oxford-based Hope for Tomorrow, was a first in its own right.
It was the first trip to Guatemala for Quan since 2003, and the first with her husband Alex.
The couple met while Amanda was attending the Spanish Ministry at Mt. Zion Church in Clarkston. Quan was doing so to help learn the language through immersion.
‘In a sense, Hope for Tomorrow brought me to my husband,? she said.
The couple spent 10 days on the most recent mission, and then went to El Salvador, where they visited with some of Alex’s family that Amanda had yet to meet. Alex’s family is originally from El Salvador.
‘I did see a difference when I was communicating with the people in Guatemala on this past trip,? Amanda said.
The Quans went with a group of about 30 from Hope for Tomorrow. According to their website, the mission of the organization is to ‘physically and spiritually encourage foreign nationals to have like- minded goals and interests in joining through partnerships, to reach the least of these.?
The organization said this is accomplished by ‘establishing and supporting family-style church-based orphan homes, bringing gospel training to the needy through the International School of Ministry, planting churches, and providing necessary aid to the impoverished through no-interest micro loans, feeding outreaches, and building programs.?
On their recent trip, the Quans? focus was on helping out at a medical clinic.
Amanda said they would offer prayers to those going into the clinic, and had about 90 percent of the people accept.
They also offered prayer cloths or ‘Miracle Cloths,? with messages from the Lord, such as Acts 19:11 & 12.
Their group was one of several coming together to make the clinic possible.
‘It’s amazing to me how well the groups work together,? Amanda said, noting that those from all different walks of life came together with a common purpose in spite of language gaps.
‘Mission trips give you new perspective on life,? she added.
Amanda, who lives in Clarkston but is the secretary at Lake Orion United Methodist Church, said Hope for Tomorrow is always looking for help for future medical trips, and encouraged others to visit their website at hopefortomorrow.org, to learn more about the organization.
She said a big goal is to provide adequate drinking water in Guatemala, and compared the current drinking water situation there to drinking water straight out of Paint Creek.
‘Parasites were a lot of what we saw at the medical clinic,? said Amanda.
The organization would also like to build a school, most likely in its Guatemalan home base of Teculutan.
Amanda said the school would help to create leaders that can make a difference for the country.
Many people have had to leave the country for such education, and then often don’t return.
In the future, the Quans would like to move to Central America, but for now they’ll continue their mission work from the United States, with the Scripture as their driving force to do all they can.