In the News

A church mission trip to Guatemala turns into a nightmare for a Keithville man after he is detained and put in prison. His family speaks about their difficult efforts to bring him home.

Rhonna Huffman shares her emotional plea about her son Zachary Wilson, who she said has been stuck in a Guatemalan prison since March and he doesn't have access to the proper medical treatment he needs for his severe ulcerative colitis. He won't have a trial until September and she can't seem to find anyone to help get him home.

Wilson planned for a week-long mission trip in Guatemala through the Word of God Ministries and the Club House Mission Guatemala.

"He was excited about going and he was looking forward to helping. They built a kitchen in a village so the moms could cook food for their children," Huffman said.

As he prepared to head home, he was arrested at the Guatemalan City Airport for having ammunition. Huffman said he's a hunter and forgot he left the bullets in his bag, which is the same bag he would take on hunting trips, and it wasn't detected when he flew out of Houston. He is being held in Pavon Prison that is known as a hostile prison and run by the inmates.

She said he made the mistake of having the bullets on him, but the situation has nearly cost him his life. She said she barely gets to speak with him through three minute phone calls.

"On June 18, which was Father's day and also his birthday, he called the house and I knew he was sick then with his ulcerative colitis. He said I just want to feel better," Huffman said.

She said he didn't receive any treatment for nearly three months. After lengthy discussion, she had to beg officials to take his condition seriously.

"I pleaded with the embassy that he needed to go to the hospital. I pleaded and it still took them five days after my plea to get him into a hospital," Huffman said.

She said he was in extreme pain and needed fluids through an IV.

"When the doctor finally examined him they said he had second degree dehydration and third degree dehydration, you can go into a coma. So I knew with my son, they were going to let him die and I thought I didn't want my son... you know I want him well and I want him home where he can get the proper treatment, where he can be home with his family, with his sons, with the people the who love him, and with the people who can treat him," Huffman said. 

She said the prison also wants money from them.

"They wanted five-thousand dollars on a credit card for him to go to a private hospital. We'll still working on that. I thought that was a lot to ask for, but what can we do?" Huffman said. 

She said she has reached out to politicians and the consulate.

"You don't really know where to start at first because this is something I've never had to deal with. I started at the local level with Congressman Mike Johnson and Bill Cassidy. I then went and called Washington, wrote emails, called the State Department," Huffman said.

At this point she doesn't know what else to do. 

"I feel completely helpless. He's in another country, it's not like I can drive to go see him, I can't write letters to him. A three minute conversation over the phone is no amount of time. It's been extremely hard. I mean, I've heard my grandchildren say they want their dad. They don't understand. He's a good man, a Christian man who never meant any harm and he's never meant any harm to anybody," Huffman said.

His family created a White House petition you can sign. They also set up a Go-Fund-Me to help with his wife and two son's finances in the meantime. 

Huffman said as of now her son is being seen at a hospital but he's not getting the proper care he needs for his disease. He'll eventually be allowed on house arrest and stay with a fellow missionary before his trial starts in September.