Dream Invest Grow: Purposeful Travel Trip 2026
to Guatemala February 7th-15th, 2026

DIG 2026 Daily Blog

Sunday, February 8th

We started our day  with the 9 AM (local time) worship with all of you at Mountainview.  Thanks for the shout out and the prayers!

After some post service orientation we were on free time.  Almost all of us went to town either walking or by tuk-tuk (taxi) or standing in the back of a pick up truck.  We all met for ice cream cones and experienced the town.

Late afternoon we practiced our songs for VBS later this week and then had our first small group gatherings.  By then it was dinner time and we enjoyed a fabulous beef stew.  As is the custom here we shared our high and low of the day.  Many of the things above were in the highs.  

But the most mentioned high was that Coby Hoiting had arrived.  Coby was the team member who had not yet made it on site as was mentioned in the service.  Here is her story shared with permission.

Coby signed up late for the trip and by then our Delta flights has become incredibly expensive so she booked with another airline but at the same time for the first leg of the journey.  While we were waiting for our delayed flight due to frozen water lines, Coby was on her airplane already, but waiting out on the tarmac, only to be dropped off again without flying about an hour and a half later.  She found out that her only option was to fly to Washington and then on to Guatemala City.  In planning this she met another traveller who took her home for the waiting period.  Later in the day they both returned to the airport and she boarded a small plane…so small that she had to check her carry-on as there were no compartments for it.  Then yet again the flight was delayed and she was going to miss her connection so she got off the plane, but they did not return her carry-on, but someone else’s.  Now Coby, who reports that through all this she had the “peace that passes understanding”, boards the exact flights she originally booked but now one day later and arrives with us here before dinner today.

Our and your prayers were answered in Coby having a rather memorable experience and the gift of peace as well as a hero’s welcome by the team here.

Continue to pray for us as we begin our work in earnest tomorrow.  

Peace to all,

Pastor Erick for the DIG team

February 7, 2026

We have arrived at The Centre of Hope.  But what a journey it was.

This year’s Mountainview DIG team met at the church building at 1:45 AM in the frigid cold.  We paused to pack some more solar Bibles and VBS supplies and then loaded into our vehicles for the drive to Buffalo Airport.  It was windy and cold and the roads were somewhat snowy, but at least the border cross was simple and we arrived without incident.

We arrived so on time that the Delta Airlines staff was not even there.   That was the beginning of a few fun twists to our airport experience.  A few of us got turned around a time or two because the the computer didn’t read our boarding passes.  Then, once we were all at the gate, we found out that the airplane water lines had froze and there would be a delay to thaw them.  For a while it seemed we may not make our connecting flight but in the end we arrived in Atlanta  with at least a few minutes to spare for the transfer.

A few of our team started from different locations and met us at various points along the way.  In the end we all arrived except for one person who will now be arriving tomorrow (Sunday).

A highlight of our long tiring journey (16 hours in total) was the ride on the chicken bus which is the name for the unique Guatemalan transportation system.  See the picture.  These are what we would call school buses but it seems there is a competition to see how can deck them out with the most lights and colour.  Our bus was a winner.

Upon arrival, our exhausted group was warmly welcomed by the Doppenberg team.  This was an exciting reunion for some and an anticipated meeting for others.  We ate pizza, did a brief orientation and have been dismissed for what most will use as an early bedtime.

We will be watching the Mountainview service tomorrow.  One more way we experience your support on this journey.  Then we anticipate an amazing week of seeing God at work around us.

Thank you for your prayers.

Pastor Erick, for the DIG team in Guatemala

Feb 6 - Getting ready to go, and packing up donations and supplies!

Why DIG? / What is DIG?

 Dream Invest Grow

DIG aims to end the cycle of poverty and malnutrition in rural Guatemala through community empowerment. DIG’s humanitarian volunteers work on sustainable projects that build long-term dignity and hope within these communities by offering a hand up instead of a hand out. With a focus on community well-being, DIG provides education opportunities for Mayan youth, medical services for families, and sustainable farming and nutrition systems for entire towns. DIG works alongside Mayan community members at the ground level to determine long-term solutions. Through DIG’s purposeful travel programs, volunteers can create unforgettable personal experiences while making a long-term impact on these communities.

DIG is run by Geoff and Rita Doppenberg, the son and daughter-in-law of Bill and Leny Doppenberg, brother of Judy Van Geest and cousin of Mike Huinink and Dan Huinink. They are on a humanitarian mission to help the Mayan people. (Humans Helping Humans).

DONATE:

We have a team of 25 people joining us for DIG 2026. The funds we are raising are to offset the cost of this trip
and pay for the materials used for the work being done in Guatemala e.g. Smokeless Stoves (see video below).

You can donate to help the group or a specific individual (options 2 or 3).

Donate through the Bridge App (GROUP ONLY).

Look for “DIG - Guatemala Mission” in the list of charities.

DONATE via e-Transfer (Group or Individual)

Step 1: Please send the e-Transfer to: treasurer@mountainviewcrc.org. Please indicate DIG in the text box, if you are donating towards a specific person, please add that person’s name eg. DIG-John Doe

Step 2: Please fill out the “e-transfer donation form’ form or send us an email with your name, and address. This will allow us to make the deposit and provide you with a tax receipt for your donation.

DONATE via Cheque (Group or Individual)

Step 1: Make cheque out to ‘Mountainview CRC’. Please indicate DIG in the comment/memo line, if you are donating towards a specific person, please add that person’s name Eg. ‘DIG - John Doe’

Step 2: mail or drop off cheque to Mountainview Church, 290 Main St. E., Grimsby, ON L3M 1P8

One of the biggest projects DIG is working on is smokeless stoves. Imagine having an open fire in your living room that you need for cooking and for heat. This is what many Mayans rely on, and it has resulted in profound levels of respiratory illness and deforestation.  DIG’s smokeless stove program has resulted in a 95% reduction of respiratory illness, and what used to be a 1 day supply of firewood now lasts 2 weeks!

Every family who receives a smokeless stove also receives a Galcom solar powered audio Bible and radio fixed tuned to our local Christian Radio station (Presencia 101.1)  to help spread the Word of God as many can’t read in Guatemala. 

To learn more about DIG check out their website www.dreaminvestgrow.org

“What can we bring to help?”

Please note that we have a very strict policy of ABSOLUTELY NO HAND-OUTS. We know your heart is in the right place, but we ask that you trust our experience that shows that handing people things for free does not empower them. In fact, it belittles them and fosters a sense of dependency. Books like “When helping hurts” or movies like “Poverty Inc.” explain this at length. Even in cases of extreme emergency we will provide food or medicine to people in need, but we do ask that they “pay it forward” in some way.... If you really want to do something, we highly suggest the following:

1) Collect money from friends and family to help our work. Or collect money and we can go shopping when you are here to buy supplies. School supplies like pencils, notebooks, pens, pencil crayons (coloured pencils for you Americans), erasers, etc are all in huge demand here. Purchasing things here (as opposed to bringing them from home) is cheaper and helps the local economy.

2) If you really want to collect items... collect the above school supplies. Other things we always need are medicines- acetaminophen (Tylenol), gravol (dramamine), children’s tylenol, ibuprofen (advil), Naproxen (Aleve), Benadryl liquid (children), Benadryl tablets (adult), Children’s vitamins (iron free), women’s prenatal vitamins, iron supplements for women, tums or other antacids, antihistamines (Claritin), baby formula powders, baby bottles, etc.

3) Children do love stickers and it’s fun to colour with them so, stickers, colouring books and crayons/coloured pencils/paints are always welcome.

4) The Doppenberg family always appreciates when people bring us treats, we cannot get here.... Chocolate bars (candy bars), candy, brown sugar, spices, gluten free flour.