During the first week of March, 15 IS caregivers selected as part of the 2019 IS Mission Service volunteering trip were in the foothills of Guatemala, helping build latrines and hand washing stations for households that lacked these basic necessities so critical for sanitation and disease prevention.
We want to includes their stories in the next few months of IS Update, letting some of the caregivers on the trip talk about the way it felt to live our Mission and Values in those communities and what lessons they took back.
2019 Participants: Rachelle Yeates (leader), Josh Hindman, Adam Dial, Ed Lane, Nika O’Brien, Jenee Pool, Melinda List, Mark Bustamante, Linda Bovee, Theron Depaulo, Kim Chase, Kirsten Halseth, Shayn Belcher, Raina Pickett and Anna Persha
> IS Mission Trip Photo Album (Photo credits: Anna Persha)
Anna’s story
Anna Persha, Renton-based IQN/staff augmentation manager, shared some of the ways the volunteering trip profoundly impacted her outlook on our March 21 Open Forum call. This month, she shares one of three essays she was moved to write, reflecting on how the lead-up to the trip forced her to confront some personal baggage and learn the lesson of “letting go.”
> Read Anna’s essay, “Creating Space and Letting Go.”
> Check out the recording of our March 21 IS Open Forum, where Anna also shared her story.
Jennee’s experience
Jennee’ Pool, Spokane-based principal project manager for portfolio management/intake, in conversation with IS Mission director Rachelle Yeates, shared how she was challenged by the experience. She also tells us how she personally connected with our PSJH Mission, and some of what she learned about the people and nation of Guatemala that she wanted to bring back to IS.
> Read Jennee’s interview about her experience.