HUEHUETENANGO, Guatemala – Traveling the world and being away from your loved ones is part of the job if you are a member of the U.S. Army. No matter how many times a soldier takes a trip to a foreign country, there is an empty feeling inside of them caused by leaving their family and home behind. A local family, in Huehuetenango, Guatemala is doing their part to make the soldiers feel more at home during Beyond the Horizon, 2019.
Beyond the Horizon is an annual exercise designed to build partner nation capacity for civil and military response to major disasters. The relationships built and sustained through this exercise demonstrate the ability of the U.S. and regional partners to access and execute disaster relief activities throughout Central America.
Juan Jose Gordillo Moreno and his wife, Marisol Gordillo Herrera own a home adjacent to the location where a clinic is being constructed by 2nd Lt. Jorge Matos and his engineering unit. Construction of the clinic began and Gordillo immediately stepped in to make the soldiers stay in Huehuetenango feel more like home.
The soldiers were regularly greeted in the morning with fresh coffee. They were also served fresh eggs for breakfast as well as treated to a full meal with the extended family of the Gordillos.
“I spent some time out of the country and I know what it is like to be away and miss my family”, said Gordillo. “I provide things like coffee and food to the soldiers to make them feel welcome and to lift their morale.”
The hospitality that is being shown to the soldiers is clearly having an effect on the mission.
“That family has been so supportive and so loving to our team that I have seen the morale of our team go sky-high,” said Matos. “From fresh coffee in the morning to a resting plan during the day, they have lifted our moral and spirit, for sure.”