Not many families would willingly give up spending Thanksgiving with their friends and loved ones. But the Grganto family chose to travel overseas and enjoy last year’s holiday with people they’d never met.
Erica and Bob Grganto believe in sharing their blessings with others, so they adopted a village in Guatemala to help better the lives of people living there.
By providing new classrooms for the local school, sanitary bathrooms, and a playground, the couple equipped the community of El Milagro Lampicoy with essentials we often take for granted.
Then, over Thanksgiving break, Bob, Erica, and their two children traveled to Guatemala to see their village transformation firsthand and to dedicate some of the new buildings.
“It is better to give than to receive,” Erica said, “and being able to celebrate that on Thanksgiving with a group of people in a remote village of Guatemala was really the best Thanksgiving ever.”
During their time in the village, the family was able to bond with World Help’s partners, who minister to nationals in Guatemala, and also with families in the community.
“The best day was the day we went to dedicate the work at the schools in our village,” Erica said. “It was an amazing day. We brought stuff to make bracelets with the kids and soccer balls. We played with the kids and passed out food bags. The whole village was there, and the dedication was really special. It was like a big party event with the whole village.”
Instead of having dinner on Thanksgiving with just their immediate family, the Grganto family shared this special holiday with a new, extended family.
Erica and Bob are thankful for their marriage, their children, and their community of family and friends who love and support them. But they’re also extremely grateful for the time they were able to spend in the village of El Milagro Lampicoy last Thanksgiving.
Erica just returned from her third trip to Guatemala, and every time she goes, she’s reminded of how much God has blessed her.
“One thing that really hit me this trip was how privileged we are to live in the U.S. And this year, I am definitely more aware and thankful for what we have here and don’t want to take that for granted anymore.”
Since Bob and Erica run All Systems Electrical, a successful business, they plan to continue to pay it forward and improve lives around the world for as long as they can.