What would you give up?

Before Gretchen left for the CHOICE Humanitarian-DownEast Outfitters expedition, she shared with us a touching story about how her whole family got involved with this project. We asked if she would share that story with all of you.

Women of Chirixquitzac.

"I want to start by stating just how excited I am to go to Guatemala on behalf of DownEast Outfitters. It is an honor to have the opportunity to join this trip and help Chirixquitzac build the school house so badly needed. As soon as I found out I was going on this great adventure I drove home - quicker then I should have - to share the news with my family. They were so excited to hear the news and we were soon making plans on how to make this experience meaningful for all of us.

My Daughter, Vivian, informed me she would like to join me and help build the school house. She talked about how nice it would be to live with the people and play with the children. I told her how bad I felt because it was too expensive for me to pay for her to go.

A few days later Vivian told me she had been saving up for a car and would like to use that money to go to Guatemala instead. She told me that she would rather spend the money for this cause then for her car. She said she could save up for her car at anytime and going with me to build the school house was a once in a life time opportunity where her money would be put to better use.

Young expeditioner in Guatemala.

What makes this such a tearjerker is that my Vivian is 20 years old and has Aspbergers which is a high functioning autism. People with this disorder have a hard time being with people. All Vivian has talked about is how excited she is and how nice it will be to live within a different culture and work and play alongside them. She is an extremely hard worker and I know she will work as hard and play harder than the rest of us who have the privilege of going.

School Children in Chirixquitzac, Guatemala.

My son Henry is 16 years old and a varsity scout. He decided as one of his projects he would gather school material for the children of this small community with the help of the scouts. He helped make the 240 flyers that were distributed throughout the neighborhood and gave the other scouts their street assignments. The following Saturday the scouts went and picked up the school supplies from the homes in the neighborhood. I cannot tell you how proud I am of Henry and all he did for the children. Not only is he touching the lives of the small community in Guatemala, but he also brought our community together and helped teach the younger scouts the importance of helping those less fortunate."

Thank you, Gretchen, Vivian and Henry, for your amazing story of sacrifice and service. The villagers of Chirixquitzac will always remember what you have done for them. Thank you for making a difference.