Antigua, Guatemala  

Winter Break Adventure 

December 27 -January 6, 2024-25

$2,675 

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Mission Trip Details

 

This mission trip to Guatemala is literally going to be life-changing! Each day, you and your team will depart and make a huge impact in the beautiful Guatemalan community of Antigua. As you visit schools, parks, orphanages, communities, and villages, you’ll be playing some sports and games, participating in some fun skits, distributing food to those in need, doing a few work projects, visiting homes to share the gospel and pray for the needs of others, and SO much more! 

 

Evenings in Guatemala will be filled with a fired-up time of worship, testimonies, inspiring teachings from the Bible, fun team sessions, and always a late night game or two.  Of course, we’ll also have some AMAZING free days like hiking the Pacaya volcano and roasting “lava-toasted” marshmallows (totally safe), boating around Lake Atitlán, shopping at Chichicastenango and other artisan markets, doing a competitive team scavenger hunt (with prizes) around Antigua, and taking in the views while eating ice cream at Central Park.

 

After registering and securing your spot on a team with a $100 deposit (the deposit will go toward the total cost of your trip), you will be sent a Guatemala Acceptance Guide where you will find all the next steps, passport and CDC information, packing list, and financial deadlines needed to successfully plan and be 100% ready to experience an amazing mission trip!

 

This is an all-inclusive trip from Miami, Florida, and almost everything is covered in the cost.

 

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What’s included:
• Round-trip international flight from Miami, Florida to Guatemala
• All hotel accommodations in Antigua, Guatemala
• All in-country transportation to/from airports and to/from ministry sites throughout the trip
• All in-country meals (3 per day)
• Ministry materials, translators, local guides, drivers, chefs, and all pre-trip set-up

• Trip t-shirt and plenty of daily bottled water

• Medical emergency insurance

• All free-day excursions, including Pacaya volcano, scavenger hunt, and more.

 

What’s not included:
• Passport

• Domestic Ticket to Miami, Florida

• Immunizations (see CDC button)
• Snacks in all airports and souvenirs

 

 

2025 Basic Trip Itinerary 

( Subject to change. A comprehensive itinerary will be sent out prior to the trip.)

 

 

December 27: Miami.
Once you arrive, our airport greeting team will meet you at the airport and later that evening have dinner together as a team and begin our training. During this time we will have some team bonding time, go over trip logistics, rules, safety, cultural items, team communication, schedule...and then have a worship service and meeting.. *You will be sharing a room with others (same gender) as it helps create team bonding...and is just more fun!

DINNER. ACCOMMODATIONS: Embassy Suites Miami Airport

 

December 28: Travel to Antigua, Team Scavenger Hunt

Morning travel day. Later in the afternoon, the team will take part in a city-wide scavenger hunt. The team will bond as they compete against each other in a very fun way while attempting to complete a series of culturally oriented scavenges from a scavenger hunt list. The winners of the event will receive some cool prizes.

 

December 29-31: Church, Community and Park Outreaches

On Sunday the 29th, we will attend church in Antigua, this church is amazing an we'll be part of their services. Monday and Tuesday we will spend all day visiting local communities to play some pick-up soccer/games, do work projects, distribute food/soup outreach, and hold a "WAM Kids" program. We'll have a variety of outreach opportunities where we will share the gospel. Through the use of translators, you will have the opportunity to share your testimony and pray for those in need of prayer. After dinner, we'll have our evening gathering together. These services are geared toward diving deeper with God, hearing cool testimonies of each day's outreach and having the opportunity to hear an inspiring message.

BREAKFAST/LUNCH/DINNER. ACCOMMODATIONS: TBD

 

December 31: Special New Years Eve service

The whole day we will be doing a girls home outreach. Arts/Crafts, games, acting out Bible stories, sharing testimonies, soccer, and more. The evening we will be part of a New Year's Eve church services

BREAKFAST/LUNCH/DINNER. ACCOMMODATIONS: TBD

 

January 1-2: Lake Atitlán Overnight

There are so many villages tucked around the legendary Lake Atitlán, with only a boat to get to them. We will visit some of these villages, sharing the gospel, playing soccer with the kids, and eating with the families. Through translators, you will have the chance to share your testimony and pray for those needing healing or salvation. 

BREAKFAST/LUNCH/DINNER. ACCOMMODATIONS: TBD

 

January 3: Girls Home Outreach

Continue building relationships with the girls at the girls home. Arts/Crafts, games, acting out Bible stories, sharing testimonies, soccer, and more.

BREAKFAST/LUNCH/DINNER. ACCOMMODATIONS: TBD

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January 4: Pacaya Volcano/Shopping for Souvinirs Free Day

On this free day, we'll trek the Pacaya volcano and have "lava-roasted" marshmallows! Our team will have free time to shop at Chichicastenango and other artisan markets, see some of the city's amazing sites and grab some ice cream at Central Park. In the evening, teams will have a special dinner together and begin team debriefing. This will be our final evening of worship. Then later in the evening, we'll have a fun game night!

BREAKFAST/LUNCH/DINNER. ACCOMMODATIONS: TBD

 

January 5: Depart for Miami

We will depart for Guatemala City and catch our flight back to Miami.

BREAKFAST/LUNCH/DINNER. ACCOMMODATIONS: Embassy Suites Miami Airport

 

January 6: Depart 

Team members travel home. Anytime

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Training

Training for this trip will take place at the Embassy Suites in Miami, FL. (Lodging can be subject to change.)

 

Training consists of specific ministry and outreach information, going over rules and safety regulations, team bonding time, and an evening meeting with worship and small group prayer.

 

See Center for Disease Control and Prevention requirements for Peru; (click on CDC button).

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Health & Safety FAQs

 

What vaccinations do I need? We would strongly suggest following the CDC requirements/suggestions. You should consult with your own family physician, but what we always suggest is to make sure that all your Hepatitis A, Tetanus/Diphtheria, and Typhoid/Polio shots are all up to date. It is a personal choice and decision as everyone has their own risk tolerance, vaccination beliefs, and health and safety thresholds.

 

Is the trip insured? Yes! We carry short-term travel insurance for each member of the team that includes medical evacuation, AD&D coverage, and other great travel insurance benefits. However, you will still need to be covered on a health insurance plan or have one purchased for the trip. We use Good Neighbor Insurance (GNI) for our mission trip coverage. For more information, call 480-813-9100 or visit info@gninsurance.com

 

What if an emergency happens and I can’t go? If you have to pull out of a mission trip for whatever reason, we will apply all payments/donations to a future trip, minus costs we may not be able to recover.

 

Health history questionnaire. A few weeks prior to the mission trip, we’ll email you a Health History Questionnaire and a Consent/Release form for you to fill out and email back to us before the mission trip. Most of it is pretty standard and it just gives us an idea of medications being taken, past health issues, allergies, immunizations received, and other items for us to be aware of if there were to be a need for you to go to a doctor or clinic/hospital. Please fill out what you are comfortable with; everything is 100% confidential. 

 

Safety track record. Going overseas is a big deal, and it's totally understandable for individuals, parents, and families to be concerned and want to know what safety precautions are being taken for each trip, especially if they are new to Wide Awake Missions. We've been at this for over 30 years; we have taken thousands of teens and young adults overseas, and over the years of doing mission trips, we have been fortunate to have never had a major safety or medical issue.

 

International safety and travel warnings. We keep in constant contact with all travel warnings concerning each country we go to. Before we leave, we register our group with the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) through the U.S. Department of State, and we log our itinerary with the State Departments of each country we  travel to.

 

On being alone. No one is ever allowed to go off by themselves outside of our outreach sites, ministry sites, and hotels. We travel as a team unit, eat as a team, and minister as a team—so no one is ever alone. We rely on our trusted and experienced contacts/translators to guide us each day. Also, each team member pairs up daily with an accountability partner. We always have a first aid kit that travels with us, and our contacts keep us informed on the best doctors, clinics, and hospitals to visit if there are ever any issues or emergencies.

 

Contact information and itinerary. You, your parents, and/or family will have a list of all our emergency numbers and will receive a more updated itinerary before each trip.

 

Leaders. We have a seasoned country director run the mission trip, and our leader/student ratio is usually one college-aged leader (and some parent volunteers) per five (under age 18) students. We allow the team to bring their smartphones, and usually, it's their camera as well. We use the hotel’s wifi; this way students can be in contact with their parents for updates. We also provide you and your parents the phone numbers of the international hotels where we will be staying during the trip.

 

What about theft? Theft is always a possibility when you travel abroad, so please don’t bring anything you cannot afford to lose. Most crime is petty like pick-pocketing—but since we travel as a group and use private, chartered vehicles and/or vans with a hired driver who guards our belongings, we’ve rarely had a team member lose anything.

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General Mission Trip FAQs

 

As we get within a few months of our mission trip, we will be in more communication to make sure everything goes smoothly, and we are always available to answer any questions you may have. We can’t even begin to express how unbelievable, fun, and adventurous this mission trip is going to be!

 

What about drinking water? Throughout the trip, we will drink plenty of bottled water and/or purified filtered water. 

 

Can I bring items for the outreaches? Yes! Feel free to bring balloons, face paint, stickers, coloring book, crayons, pencils, and Bibles to give away. If your school or church wants to be a part in a financial way, we will be buying food to distribute in villages, supplying some Bibles, and handing out other little things, so you/they can give towards these options if you’d like; just let us know.

 

Are there any additional costs? Pretty much everything is covered! We work with a variety of helpers and translators, and we do take a group "love offering" at the end of the trip for our main contacts as well—it’s the gesture that counts here and not the amount though.

 

Do I need a sleeping bag or towel? No, you will not need a sleeping bag or towel for this trip.

 

Can I use my phone? Definitely! Although wifi can be spotty, it’s nice to keep in touch and share photos with friends and family who are praying for you and have supported you. 

 

How many bags can I bring? You are allowed to bring one personal item like a back pack or day pack (usually a smaller type of school day backpack and not an actual carry on suitcase) and one checked piece of luggage (a suitcase or backpack/duffle bag weighing 48 pounds or less).

 

What’s a typical day like? Each morning, we enjoy breakfast and team devotions, and then we head off to our outreaches for the day. We typically bring lunch with us, and at the end of the day we’ll go out with our contacts/translators and enjoy team meals together at a local restaurant or at the hotel. Later in the evening, we bring everyone together and have some team fun, play some games, and some testimony time from the day of outreaches and ministry. We also love to have  worship nights and an occasional inspiring message by one of the leaders or special speakers.

 

Do I have to share my testimony in front of people? Well, as a team, we’d love everyone to get to know each                   other’s "story.”  As far as sharing in front of a group of people or church, we understand that speaking in front of larger groups can be frightening, so we’ll leave that up to you. You will see though that throughout the trip, you will begin to feel more and more comfortable with it. You will have numerous opportunities to pray for the needs of many people in the outreaches we will do.

 

Sports/skits? We will have some fun opportunities to play some pick-up games of soccer and basketball; and do some fun drama skits (and other games). It’s such a great way to connect and offers lots of opportunities to minister and get to know the people of Antigua better. Please let us know if you have any special talents you’d love to use during the trip or teach others, such as face-painting, making balloon animals, playing musical instruments, dancing, singing, etc.

 

*This list isn’t exhaustive, if you have any additional questions please just let us know!

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