Authentic living. Building bridges between people and cultures. Showing God and people a bit of love. Living in a remote and beautiful place. Medical. Education. Volunteer teams. Give back. Smart missions. You are invited. Check it out!

1. “What has been the greatest
surprise for you in your short
time with ODIM?”
It is a question I get often and
one that I can answer enthusi-
astically. “The single greatest
surprise for me has been the
caring and competence of the
40 people who make ODIM
work well all year long.” Our
staff are smart, creative and
they want the best for their
communities and ODIM.
They are great people to work
with! We have just three for-
eigners on staff; all the rest
are local Guatemalans, which
means that ODIM is intimately
connected to the communities in which we
serve. These four women run the bulk of our non-
clinical Programs. L to R: Melyna (Diabetes and Stu-
dent Scholarship) Elena (Nutrition) Aracely (Patient
Referrals) and Lesbia (Maternal Health)
Six months in and going strong
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Volunteer Ops 2
Goals for 2105 2
ODIM Awarded
Global Health Grant
3
Partnership Devel-
opment
3
Speaking Tours 3
How You Can Help 4
WHAT IS ODIM?
The Organization for the Development of the Indigenous Maya, is a non-
profit that operates two medical clinics, a dental clinic, community-based
programs (nutrition diabetes, women’s/maternal health, sexual education)
and offers student scholarship and learning reinforcement programs in the
communities of San Pablo and San Juan on Lake Atitlan, Guatemala.
ODIM (“O-deem” in Spanish) welcomes medical, dental and construction
teams from other countries and employs 40 local staff persons who are the
backbone of the organization and make a difference in these communities
year-round.
In 2014, ODIM cared for 7400 medical patients, 420 dental patients, 700
people through our health and education programming, and offered good
jobs to our employees.
Lake Atitlan Times
The Mission Newsletter of Rev. Jeff Hassel
Executive Director of ODIM Guatemala:
The Organization for the Development of the Indigenous Maya
J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 5V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 1
“I love my
new vocation
as Executive
Director of
ODIM!
It isn’t easy, but I
can be my
authentic self in
this type of
service to God
and Neighbor…
that makes it
worth while.”

2. P A G E 2
ODIM Volunteer
Coordinator, Joel
Enright stands
with ODIM home-
owners Israel and
Andrea after the
dedication of their
home in Decem-
ber .
Looking Ahead
In 2014, we dedicated a new
clinic building in San Pablo and
began operations. Along with
our key staff, we have put in
place plan to deepen and im-
prove our core programs and
services. To that end, these are
some of our goals for 2015... the
first three are already done!
 Expand doctors hours by
33% over 2014
 Invest in our employees by
doubling our continuing edu-
cation budget
 Expand our commitment to
education by adding High
School to our child scholar-
ship program
 Redevelop our communica-
tion and donor-relations pro-
grams
 Integrate the women’s health
and nutrition programs into
one seamless program
 Hire a full-time Program Ad-
ministrator to lead our health-
related programs
2015 is going to be a
great year for ODIM and
there is much more that I
want to share with
you. I'll keep you post-
ed!
This is what their home used to be; leaking roof,
dirt floors and drafty. The result:
Chronically sick children.
Volunteer Teams: Spaces
Filling up Fast!
2015 is shaping up to be a strong
year for our volunteer program, with
17 teams already signed
up. We're very excited to
be welcoming a number of
new groups alongside
many returning teams.
We welcome medical and
construction teams all
year long.
If you are interested in
scheduling a volunteer
team in 2015 or 2016, we
have a team calendar on
our webpage http://
www.odimguatemala.org/team-
calendar that shows which dates
have been scheduled, and which
ones are still open.
You can reach me at:
odim.executivedirector@gmail.com if
you'd like to discuss the possibility of
bringing a team down!

3. Partnership Development
P A G E 3V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 1
ODIM Receives
Global Health Grant
in 2015
Before heading to Guatemala in July, I swung
by the office of the General Board of Global
Ministries (HQ from my days as a missionary
in Lithuania) to warm-up support and see
how ODIM might be able to work-in with the
major United Methodist mission structures,
including UMCOR. As a result of that visit,
UMCOR sent a rep down to visit us in July
and we were invit-
ed to submit a
grant request.
Four months and
LOTS of work later, we were approved for a
$12,000 grant to merge our nutrition and ma-
ternal health programs. The model for our
program is the globally recognized thou-
sanddays.org program, in which we will offer
medical, nutritional and educational support
to pregnant wom-
en that continues
seamlessly until
the second birth-
day of her child.
This is done be-
cause develop-
mental damage
done in those first
1000 days of life is
not reversible. We
are so excited to receive our first grant from a
major player in the world health scene.
Thanks UMCOR! We are grateful and will
work to insure we can grow this program with
you in service of people here in Guatemala.
Speaking Tours
I have plans to come back to the
states in April, July and October to
build relationships with churches,
universities, businesses, service
organizations and individuals. If
you or a group that you are in-
volved with would like me to come
and speak with you, about the
great work of ODIM and how we
might connect in partnership, please drop me a line! We’ll see
what we can arrange!
Recently, eight ODIM staff attended the “Collective
Futures Conference”, organized by the well-respected
NGO (Non-Government Organization), the Mayan
Health Alliance. The conference gathered national
and international organization leaders, doctors, and
local community health workers involved in develop-
ment work and
research in Gua-
temala. ODIM
was invited to pre-
sent at the confer-
ence and leaders
Melyna and Les-
bia shared the
work ODIM’s
health promoters
and our two medi-
cal clinics are doing through our diabetes program.
Our presentation was the launching point for produc-
tive discussion about the best way to manage pa-
tients with diabetes in this rural and remote setting. I
am especially proud that our ODIM leaders did so
well presenting at this conference. A positive result is
that we have opened the doors to forming stronger
partnerships with organizations who do similar work
in Guatemala. Collectively, our goal is to serve the
people of Guatemala; doing this in cooperation with
other NGOs strengthens all of us.

4. Guatemalan Health System Crisis:
ODIM Steps Up
For the past six months, the doctors and nurses
who work in the country’s system of health cen-
ters have not been paid. The health centers in
San Juan and San Pedro had been closed for all
but emergencies, and have just recently started
working regular hours again after the government
paid some of their back-wages. Things like this
are common in Guatemala, and I am pleased to
be art of an organization that can meet the health
needs of people when the main lines of support
fail. We could step up to serve in this crisis be-
cause of support from people like you.
For me, shifting to the
role of an Exec Director
is part of living an
authentic life. It is also
the most difficult thing I
have ever done.
I want to thank all of
you who have given in
support of this new
vocation and
mission...your gifts
carry a message of
care and support...and
matter more than you
know.
How to help
I welcome financial and prayer partners to join with me so that I
may be in service to people in this part of the world long-term!
During the coming years at ODIM, I will work to develop an in-
credible staff, and together we will create programs and partner-
ships that work well for the people in our care. My goal is to go
deep, not grow huge.
Here’s how to make a tax-deductible donation to keep me in mis-
sion:
1. Make your check payable to:
HAYESVILLE FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
2. Write “preferenced for support of Jeff Hassel” as the memo
3. Mail to:
HAYESVILLE FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Guatemala Medical Mission Fund
PO Box 85
Hayesville, NC 28904
4. Hayesville First UMC sends out receipts for tax purposes
after the close of the tax-year, the first acknowledgement
(via a "thank you" e-mail) will be from me.
Thank you!
Special Thanks
to the Administrative
Council of Hayesville
UMC for partnering
with me in this mission
in Guatemala.