Juerg has traveled to and worked in Guatemala on several occasions.
In 2003, he and Esther piled their six children into a van and drove to Guatemala City to volunteer at a mission base for a period of two months. With the handful of small tools he had packed into the van he was able to provide the base with some simple furnishings.
In 2009, Juerg was instrumental in reclaiming school furniture, construction materials and a commercial kitchen from buildings in Canmore that were slated to be demolished. He was able to fill and send four 40’ shipping containers to a ministry operating in rural Guatemala.
Juerg and Esther and two of their sons again went to Guatemala for several months to volunteer in a town in the Guatemalan highlands in 2010. Juerg and his sons worked on several needed improvements to some of the ministry’s school buildings.
They also made shelving and desks for the newly established medical clinic. Young Guatemalan craftsmen are now using the workshop that Juerg set up in 2010. Juerg was able to return to the woodworking shop with a fellow Canadian woodworker in 2012. At that time they focused on helping the young men hone their skills.
Juerg is hoping to continue to travel to Guatemala regularly to assist in teaching woodworking, as well as participating in any ongoing local projects.