The Gospel in Guatemala
This past Spring Break, our group of 17 students and 7 staff mentors from UCSB traveled to Pasaco, Guatemala with an organization called Filter of Hope. Our goal was to serve families by providing clean drinking water and to share the message of the gospel.
On our first day, we quickly got started. We split into small teams and were each paired with a translator and a local community member. We walked through different parts of the village to meet families who didn’t have access to clean water.
When we entered each home, we took time to talk and get to know the families. Each visit was unique—some families shared about their daily lives, their animals, and their routines. Many of us learned different things about each of the families we interacted with; one family owns a mini alligator, another family owns 30 chickens, and one man only ever drinks Coca Cola!
Then we moved on to the filter installation. The filter itself is small—about the size of your hand—but it’s very powerful. It attaches into a simple bucket and can provide up to 1,000 liters of clean water per day, lasting up to 10 years with proper care. Many families were surprised that something so small could make such a big difference in their daily lives.
After installing the filter, we asked if we could share a message about Jesus. We explained the gospel in a simple way: that a relationship with God isn’t earned by doing good things, but is a gift that comes through trusting in Jesus.
We used the water filter as an example: you can’t make dirty water clean just by adding clean water to it—just like we can’t earn a restored relationship with God just by trying to be better. What actually cleans the water is a strong filter. Jesus is like the strong filter that makes us clean.
Many people we met already had some religious background, but the idea of faith being something that you do not earn was new to them. As a result, many people chose to respond by putting their faith in Jesus for the first time, and others wanted to make a recommitment of their faith in Jesus!
Overall, our Filter of Hope trip to Guatemala was an opportunity to step outside of our normal environment, serve others in a practical way, and share about God’s love.
Chiamaka Utom (c/o 2024) graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a B.S. in Psychological & Brain Sciences and a B.A. in Communications. She enjoys exercising, singing, and playing board games! She is currently serving as a mentor to the class of 2028 at acts2fellowship SB.