Peachtree Protective Covers Giving Back, Mission Trips

Taking their spirit of servant leadership on the road, Ruth Wittenbrook, wife of Sr. Project Manager Bill Wittenbrook, and panel shop manager, Dale Parker, both traveled on church mission trips in the spring of 2014. Dale went to San Juan, Guatemala, with his church, First Baptist Villa Rica, and Ruth went to the Zacapa region of Guatemala with West Ridge Church.

Both agree that the Guatemalan people were so happy despite the fact that they had so little, and were very receptive to the love and kindness that mission workers showed. “Being able to meet the Guatemalans and see how they live was very eye-opening,” Ruth said. “It was great to be able to serve them and provide for them even in a small way.”

Ruth’s group helped finish building a church and built a home for a family whose home was destroyed in a flood four years prior and had been living in a shack made out of sticks and tarps. The group worked in the Hope of Life facility with the babies in the hospital, with the children in their special needs facility, and in the elderly assisted living facility; and they served food in a nearby village at “the dump” where families live and go through the mounds of trash to find food and items to sell to earn money. “This trip taught me to be more appreciative of what I have and how fortunate I am to live in America, where I have all of my needs met and most all of my wants,” Ruth said. “It showed me what many others have to go through just to put food on the table.”

Dale’s group built a 10’ x 10’ home for a woman and her three children who were living in a shack with a tarp for a roof.  They also made a deal to rent property and established a church in San Juan, which has now grown to over 100 members and is in the process of purchasing property to build their own building. Others helped with backyard bible schools and craft classes at the school in town. “I was fortunate enough to have my wife and both of my kids with me,” Dale said. “My kids were able to witness children and adults brought to know Christ, and whole families crying together, thanking us for sharing the word.” These are trips that neither Ruth nor Dale will ever forget.