What Guatemala Gave Me: A Mission Trip Reflection from Jalapa

I went to Guatemala expecting to serve. Instead, I came home realizing just how much I needed the lessons God was ready to teach me there, and how ready my heart was to be changed.

My wife, Autumn Sawvel, and I had the privilege of traveling with Kingdom Connections International out of Jalapa. From children’s events filled with games, crafts, and a simple Bible story about the Lost Sheep, to rice giveaways in small mountain villages where people asked for prayer, God met us again and again in ordinary moments that turned out to be anything but ordinary. It left a mark on our faith, our perspective, and the way I want to show up back home... both in my work at A+ Septic Tank Pumping and in my walk with the Lord.

Grateful for the Opportunity (and the Gift of Going Together)

Before I say anything else, I want to start with gratitude. I’m grateful God opened the door for this trip, grateful for every person who prayed, gave, encouraged, or simply asked how they could help. Opportunities like this aren’t something I ever want to treat as normal or deserved.

Mission trips can stretch you in ways you don’t anticipate: long days, unfamiliar roads, language barriers, and the constant awareness that you’re a guest in someone else’s home. Having my wife beside me brought steadiness and comfort, but it also made the impact deeper. When God moved in one of us, the other one saw it too. We processed it together, prayed through it together, and came home knowing we’d been changed together.

There were moments we looked at each other like, “Are we really here?” And then there were moments where we didn’t need to talk at all. We just watched God work... in a conversation, in a smile, in the way people welcomed us with a generosity that felt impossible given how little many of them had.

Why Kingdom Connections International Matters

If you’ve never been on a trip like this, it’s easy to picture it as a one-time effort... people fly in, do some work, take some photos, and leave. But what we witnessed in Jalapa was something deeper: long-term relationship, trust built over time, and steady, faithful service that doesn’t depend on who’s visiting that week.

Kingdom Connections International is based out of Jalapa, and partnering with them changed the entire experience for me. They’re not showing up to “fix” Guatemala. They’re walking with the people there... listening, building, serving, and pointing to Jesus in ways that are consistent and rooted in love. That kind of ministry carries weight because it’s not performative. It’s patient.

We saw that heart up close in the way the week was built around people—not just projects. We led children’s events where the room felt like it was buzzing with life: games, crafts, and a Bible story about the Lost Sheep that landed in a way I didn’t expect. Watching kids light up at the idea that the Shepherd goes after the one—that they matter, individually—hit me right in the chest. Autumn and I weren’t just “helping with a program.” We were getting to be part of a message of value and belonging, spoken in a place where many kids carry more than a child should have to carry.

And then there were the rice giveaways in the small mountain villages surrounding Jalapa. It wasn’t just distribution, it was connection. We’d hand someone a bag of rice, look them in the eye, and offer prayer to anyone who wanted it. Some people declined politely, but many didn’t. They’d quietly step forward and share a burden, a need, a name, a situation, and right there, in the open air of those villages, we got to pray in Jesus’ name. Those moments didn’t feel flashy. They felt holy. And they changed both of us.

Autumn and I were welcomed like family, and I don’t say that lightly. From the planning to the daily schedule to the simple way they helped us understand culture and context, it was clear they care about doing things the right way, honoring local leadership and making sure the help being offered is actually helpful.

I came away with a renewed respect for partnership. The Kingdom of God isn’t built by lone rangers. It’s built through the steady “yes” of people who keep showing up, keep loving, and keep serving even when it’s not glamorous.

• They taught us how to enter a community with humility.

• They reminded us that relationships matter more than a schedule.

• They modeled faithfulness that lasts longer than a trip.

The People and Places That Won’t Leave My Heart

Guatemala is beautiful in ways I wasn’t prepared for. The landscape itself feels like it’s telling the truth about its Creator... mountains rising in the distance, roads winding through hills, the air changing as you move from place to place. Jalapa has its own rhythm. It’s not a tourist postcard, and that’s part of what made it feel so real to me. Life there is lived out in front of you, work, family, worship, community all woven together.

But the places, as meaningful as they were, are not what I keep thinking about most. It’s the people.

I remember faces. I remember the way someone would offer what they had without hesitation. I remember how quickly a “good morning” turned into a genuine conversation, even when our words didn’t line up perfectly. I remember kids who could have been guarded around strangers, but instead were curious, joyful, and full of life... and they pulled me right into their world.

At nearly every event, a soccer ball showed up, and so did I. I played a lot of soccer with the kids... sometimes before things started, sometimes after, sometimes in any open patch of ground we could find. It didn’t matter that we didn’t share the same vocabulary. We understood each other just fine. There’s something about running and laughing with kids that knocks down walls fast, and God used that in me. It reminded me how much ministry is simply presence, choosing to be with people, not just do something for them.

I remember adults whose hands showed the story of hard work, and whose eyes still carried hope. I remember standing in small mountain villages outside Jalapa, holding a bag of rice, and realizing how thin the line can be between “needs” and “enough.” I remember offering prayer and watching shoulders drop like someone finally exhaled after holding it in for too long.

There’s a certain kind of humility that comes from being welcomed into someone’s world and realizing how much strength it takes to simply keep going day after day. Back home, it’s easy to complain about inconveniences. In Guatemala, I watched people carry burdens with grace, and I felt the Holy Spirit nudging me: “Pay attention. Learn.”

I also realized something that might sound simple, but it hit me hard: joy isn’t always tied to comfort. I saw joy in homes that would look “unfinished” by our standards. I saw laughter where I expected heaviness. And I saw a kind of faith that didn’t need a perfect environment to be real.

What God Worked on in Me: Faith, Humility, and Perspective

I went into the trip thinking mainly about what we could do. I came home thinking about what God wanted to do in me, and what He did in both Autumn and me through moments we’ll never forget.

Faith: I was reminded that faith isn’t just believing God can do big things, it’s trusting Him in the daily things. In Guatemala, there’s less room for the illusion of control. Plans can change quickly. Needs are real and visible. And in that environment, I felt my prayers become simpler and more honest: “Lord, lead us today. Give us wisdom. Help us love people well.”

Humility: There’s something that happens when you realize you are not the hero of the story. You’re a guest. You’re a learner. You’re one small part of what God is already doing. That’s not a discouraging feeling, it’s freeing. It helped me let go of the pressure to impress and instead focus on being present and obedient.

Perspective: I came home seeing my own life differently. Not with guilt, but with clarity. I have comforts and resources that I often take for granted. I have opportunities many people would never assume are possible. And that means something. It creates responsibility, but also a chance to live with deeper gratitude and generosity.

One moment that brought all of that into focus was meeting the single mother we had built a home for in Del Pito. Seeing her there... standing in the place that had been prayed over, planned for, and built did something to me that I can’t fully put into words. It wasn’t just a “project.” It was a person. A family. A future.

Autumn and I had the chance to pray over her, pray over her family, and bless that home. I felt the weight of it, but I also felt the tenderness of God in it, the kind that reminds you He sees people by name, not by need. That moment was life changing for both of us. It made faith feel less like an idea and more like obedience with skin on it.

Here are a few commitments I’ve been praying about since returning:

• Practice gratitude out loud: at home, at work, and in prayer.

• Choose humility first: listen more than I talk, and serve without needing credit.

• Keep my perspective wide: remember the faces, the needs, and the joy I saw in Guatemala.

• Support long-term ministry, not just one-time moments.

Coming Home Different

I’m Joseph Sawvel, and I’m proud to serve my community as President of A+ Septic Tank Pumping. But this trip reminded me that my biggest calling isn’t a title, it’s faithfulness. Faithfulness to God. Faithfulness to my wife. Faithfulness to the people He puts in front of me, whether that’s in Jalapa, in Del Pito, or back home.

I keep thinking about the Lost Sheep story we shared with the kids, and how they leaned in when they heard that the Shepherd goes after the one. I keep thinking about rice bags in mountain villages and the quiet “yes” of people who wanted prayer. I keep thinking about a soccer ball at my feet and a whole crowd of kids laughing like joy was the most natural thing in the world. And I keep thinking about standing in that home in Del Pito, asking God to protect and bless a mother and her family under that roof.

If I had to name our favorite part of the whole trip, it would be meeting that single mother, praying with her, and seeing the home that was built for her. It’s hard to describe what it does to you when a story becomes a face, and a need becomes a real person standing right in front of you. Autumn and I walked away from that moment quieter than usual—not because it was sad, but because it was sacred. It reminded me that God doesn’t work in generalities. He works in names, in families, in answered prayers that take shape in real walls and real doors and real shelter.

And one of the hardest experiences for me, the one that still hits my body when I think about it, was the “water project.” We hiked up the mountain with a 3-gallon jug to fill it at the water source, then hiked back up to the family’s home to fill their water barrel. It was, without a doubt, the most physically challenging thing we’ve ever done. But what really got me wasn’t just how hard it was for us in that moment... it was realizing the people there make that hike twice a day, every day. That kind of daily burden puts life into perspective fast. It made me thankful, it humbled me, and it made me ask God what it looks like to carry other people’s loads with more compassion and less comfort-focused thinking. And I can say this with confidence: we definitely plan to go back to Guatemala, probably next year, because a place like that doesn’t just leave you with memories. It leaves you with a calling to return and keep showing up.

Guatemala didn’t just give me memories. It gave me a fresh reminder that God is moving all over the world, often through quiet obedience and steady love, and He’s doing it in a way that changes the people who say “yes” to stepping into it. If you’ve ever felt a tug toward serving, I’d encourage you to pray about it and take the next step. Not because you’re needed as a savior, but because you might be needed as a willing servant. And because God has a way of meeting you there and changing you in the process.

~ Joseph Sawvel

Posted on behalf of A+ Septic Tank Pumping INC: (Based in Willow Spring, NC)

Servicing southern Wake County, Johnston County, & Harnett County