Stranded in Guatemala

In the midst of a pandemic, a group of Parkville teens became stranded in Guatemala, with no route home in sight.

There was a time before coronavirus was the end of the world.

A time when the virus was on our radars, but not an incredible cause for concern, not a cause for cancelling mission trips and putting a hold on charity. But soon, the transition would be made to a world who lived in fear of what has become a pandemic. A world that is taking all of the excessive measures we assured ourselves weren’t necessary just weeks ago. 

During this transition, however, a group of 14 Parkville teens found themselves a world away in Guatemala. 

In just a few days, the world changed from a place where it would be unnecessary to cancel a mission trip over the coronavirus, to a place where it was necessary to close every route home for these kids.

The group was set to go on a trip organized by Platte Woods United Methodist Church, and they departed Kansas City on March 12th.

“At this point, coronavirus was in the news, but we had checked with the CDC before we went and they said it was okay to go to Guatemala. There were no cases there,” Coleman Reese, junior, said.

The kids arrived safely in Guatemala and had to go through a checkpoint at the airport where they had their temperatures taken. They went on with their trip as planned. They met with children in villages and painted a kitchen that the church had built on a prior mission trip. 

“Around the third day, Marty [a leader] was going to give me a tour of the hospital, but a doctor called and said they had their first case of coronavirus in Guatemala, and at this point, we still weren’t really worried because it was a single case in Guatemala city and they were quarantined,” Reese said.

After this, the group still proceeded as normal. They went to visit communities they had helped in the past. As the days passed, though, concern was starting to be raised. 

“We were told we were going to head to Guatemala city because of coronavirus. That was the day the Guatemalan government closed the border, and announced they would close the airport at midnight. We couldn’t get a flight because they were all booked,” Reese said.

Reese described the process of trying to get home. They posed the idea of taking a bus up through Mexico and into Houston, but the border was already closed. The country looked much like the US does now, with most businesses being closed.

Days later, Reese travelled with the leaders of the group to the US embassy in Guatemala to seek help in getting home.

“They really didn’t help us. All they did was sign us up for a program to notify us of any charter flights we could get on.”

Luckily, the kids weren’t stranded in the streets. They had lodged themselves at a nice hotel in Guatemala city and passed the time swimming or doing activities together. Still, they persisted in finding help.

“We contacted our senate representatives [Roy Blunt and Josh Hawley],” Reese said. “We were doing daily zoom meetings and they were trying to get something together for us that they said would take some time.”

The group was stuck from Monday to Saturday. But alas, they found an option to return home.

“We were kind of exhausted of ideas. Then, we heard talks of a charter plane from Vancouver. The tickets were $1000 per person. Our representatives told us not to do this, warning us it could be a scam. The church disagreed and proceeded in buying the tickets anyways.”

This flight, despite hours of delays, eventually returned the kids safely to Miami. They made their way through customs and back to Kansas City.

“When the plane took off, people started cheering and clapping that we had finally made it out. It was like a celebration that we made it back to the United States.”
The experience was certainly one that was unforgettable for all 14 kids involved, and it wasn’t necessarily a completely bad one.

“It was an incredible experience, and it was once in a lifetime. At first, I wasn’t scared, but as days went by I became nervous. I had to keep it together because I was the oldest kid and kind of became a leader,” Reese said.

The group has resided in Kansas City since, and have received plenty of attention.

“While we were in Guatemala, we were getting a lot of publicity. All of the Kansas City news sources were interviewing. Eventually, the national news radios were contacting us, but we stopped responding.”

Despite the odd experience, Reese has already planned to attend another mission trip a year from now, and this journey will be with him forever.