Giving his life to Guatemala | News, Sports, Jobs

Cars, motorcycles, a cozy spot in the country and a stable trucking job to support it all.

Despite all of that, no amount of money or material possessions made him feel content. For years, Rieke has wanted to live a more fulfilling life, which ultimately led him on a path to a new life in the Central American country of Guatemala.

A silent auction will be held at St. Andrew’s Church in Fairfax from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Nov. 2 to sell Rieke’s belongings as he will begin his missionary life in San Lucas Tolimán, Guatemala.

“I started my process of discerning my calling probably April of 2024,” Rieke said. “I was counseling with father Brendan Rolling at the time. It was funny, I was over-the-road trucking and everything and for a long time in life, I just wasn’t happy with anything. I was quote unquote ‘living the dream.’ Having this beautiful place out in the country, all the peacefulness, all the toys, the motorcycle, the convertible, all these things, and I just get home and don’t even want to be here.”

Submitted photo
The town of San Lucas Tolimán has a population of around 17,000. After visiting on a mission trip, Fairfax resident Daryl Rieke made the decision to sell his belongings and return to the town on a permanent basis to continue offering assistance.

Rieke said his decision wasn’t an overnight decision and it took time for him to commit, but he’s always wanted to help the poor. After starting the process of selling his belongings, Rieke went on a mission trip to San Lucas Tolimán this past July with a group of others. There, he helped build a home for a family in need and got to know many of the people.

After years of deliberation, Rieke decided he’d like to be missionary.

Prior to his trip to Guatemala, Rieke looked online at other mission work in Peru, Congo and the Caribbean region.

Rieke said he was very analytical during his time in San Lucas Tolimán, asking himself if it was the right place for him.

But on a distribution day, where Rieke and his group went through forty totes of shoes and clothes to give out, Rieke’s decision became more clear.

Submitted photo
Daryl Rieke hugs his friend Chona, who he will be staying with in Guatemala as his house is built. Rieke describes Chona as a saint and a “Mother Teresa” of sorts.

“On distribution day, you get to see about 400-500 kids,” Rieke said. “You’re seeing them like this is them coming out in their Sunday best, and some of them are doing pretty well, but you get to see the look of despair. It isn’t just, ‘Oh, good, we’re getting all these gifts and stuff,’ it’s ‘We desperately need these gifts and desperately need the help and we’re kind of scared as to what’s going to happen after you guys leave.’ I just didn’t want to leave them feeling abandoned.”

The dire need for help and support came in other areas also.

“You get to look through the crowd and you see these women that are in their 40s and pregnant — again — because they’ve been raped — again,” Rieke said. “Part of the group that I went with, they have some land that they’re going to build in this community. So for me it was really God’s timing. There was land that became available adjacent right at the beginning of their community. I thought, ‘This is perfect. I can come down here, I can be here and I can provide a level of safety for these women that need it.’”

Rieke went down to San Lucas Tolimán again the first week of September to finalize the paperwork of his land purchase and will begin building a house after moving there on Dec. 7.

“I’m going to meet the people, get acquainted a little bit with the clinic so they know who I am and what I’m about because I’ve been invited to help with the clinic and invited to help with the church there as well,” Rieke said.

Submitted photo
Daryl Rieke poses for a photo with children in San Lucas Tolimán, Guatemala. Rieke hopes to be a positive male role model for the women and children during his new life in Guatemala.

Rieke said he has had many people inviting him to stay with them while his house gets built.

“Many, many people have offered that and have thrown out that invitation, but actually the woman that I’m going to live with when I get down there, her name is Chona, she’s 75 years old and she’s a saint,” Rieke said. “She’s right there with Mother Teresa as far as what her life has been and what she’s done for people. So I’m going to live with her as I’m building my house down there.”

Rieke will be ministering with children and assisting with home visits. With some places in the city not the safest to go into, Rieke’s presence will assist with security issues. Growing up on a hog farm, Rieke said he had to learn how to fix everything, how to weld and how to be a carpenter among many other things. He also went to school for auto body, giving him tools he can take to San Lucas Tolimán.

Rieke also said most of the men in Guatemala are off doing manual labor jobs to provide for their families, so he is looking to be a positive male role model for the women and children.

Rieke plans to return to Minnesota to visit friends and family each year in August or September, but Guatemala is where he intends to spend the rest of his life.

“We’re going to do a whole renaming ceremony for me when I get down there to the church because Daryl is a very hard name for them to pronounce,” Rieke said. “Spanish, that’s not a name for them. My middle name is Eugene, that translates to Eugenio, so we’re going to have a whole big ceremony at the church to truly give myself to the community so that they know who I am, what I’m about and that I’m there for them. … I foresee myself being buried in San Lucas.”