Coming to a Church Near You

As mentioned previously, the Association had an amazing and transformative 2018. We met with the Association Board to deliver checks and review its 2018 annual report as well as its 2019 plan of work. Composing these documents is a require per the partnership agreement with the New Castle Presbytery.

One sentence in the annual report that emphasized the increase in work read “Please note we can ordinarily fit our activities on one-page, but this year the number exceeds what can be stated with that limit.” (It was four pages long.) Some projects that they worked on in 2018 included: family gardens, stoves, VIP latrines, water filters, CEDEPCA training, health clinics, maintaining health of livestock, formalizing the association, and prayer partnerships. They are truly working so hard and impacting many communities in and around San Juan Ostuncalco. The women shared that “through working together, we are making God’s love visible.” (Read the entire 2018 Annual Report here.)

Checks from the New Castle Presbytery were presented for a variety of requests by the Association. The accounting process of each check is very meticulous. The women must ensure they are writing down the proper currency, all the necessary players must sign, and then the official Association stamp is used. After seeing the various communities and how they have benefited from the Association and some of the funded projects, these checks will make an enormous impact.

The Association Meeting was at Rosario’s home, which is also Centro Clinico Maya her public clinic. We weren’t able to see as much quite like past visits as a lot of space is taken up by a renovation.

Soon the new addition will be three floors providing a meeting space for the Association, exam rooms, and an ambulance drop off area. Rosario sees about 8-10 patients a day given the affordability of her public clinic, so these improvement will make a difference.

Following our tour of the clinic, we traveled with Rosario and her family to her church. There were at least 300 people at this contemporary service. We were invited up to the stage where Connectional Presbyter Jessie MacMillen addressed the congregation. We all then sang a song… no pressure!

Rev. Edwin Estevez of Riverfront and Grace Methodist churches took to the pulpit to preach again. Rev. Estevez spoke about how we tend to fixate on things as a society. This obsession results in overconsumption and hoarding of things you simply don’t need. These could be physical things such as the newest iPhone or more abstract things such as greed, jealousy and the like.

All of this emotional and physical baggage weighs you down and it could very be difficult to find God hidden in all that stuff. In short, Rev. Estevez explained that God welcomes everyone to the table with him, because the focus is on the person not his or her possessions. We must humble ourselves to sit at the table as our possessions do not matter.

Following the service, the pastor and deacons gave us a gift to thank us for attending the service. They gave us paraments, or hanging cloths, to use across the NCP for communion and in the pulpit. The textiles are beautiful, so look forward to seeing them at your church in the near future.

Advertisements

Climate Change Impacts Micro Loan Groups

We traveled to two more micro loan groups today. We visited the women of Reyna and Mujeres Virtuosas. In the beginning of the day, we hiked up a stony pathway to arrive at Reyna. We met at Carmen’s home, the president of the group, and learned about their various projects.

Reyna invested its micro loan into sheep, chickens, a cow, and plants for reforestation. While the women do sell some plants at the local market, many are used to reforest the community. The only difficult part with this particular project seems to be climate change.

Last year, there were hail storms and inconsistent rain during the raining season. As a result of climate change, there is less predictably in growing crops and making them profitable. This same issue affects the micro loan groups we visited yesterday who have family gardens.

Next we ventured to the town of Pueblo Nuevo to visit Mujeres Virtuosas. They were extremely hospitable preparing an amazing meal for us. This group has many projects including: cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, rabbits, and a family garden. Evidently they face similar problems with crops due to climate change; however, they seem to have truly mastered the art of growing cows and pigs. They were enormous!

These ladies can earn quite a nice profit off of the cows and pigs, especially given the size. This can go towards repayment of the interest free micro loan to the Association.

After meeting all these groups, the hospitality was phenomenal! These women opened their homes and hearts to some familiar and new faces. It’s an honor to partner with such resilient and inspiring women.

La Cruz y Los Claveles

Today we got to encounter women in the Association as we ventured to three micro loan groups. We started off the day by picking up some old friends: Rosario Diaz, Coordinator of the Association and two Board members. We also picked up Vicente and Alfredo of AJPU, the men who build the stoves, latrines, and filters, and Carlos who provides information about proper animal and plant care for the women. The bus ride was interesting as four languages were being spoken: English, Spanish, Mam, and K’iche!

Once arriving at our first stop we were greeted with warm hospitality from the women of La Cruz. La Cruz is a micro loan group that mainly invests in livestock to turn a profit. They were funded by the Mission Development Unit of the New Castle Presbytery and have a prayer partnership with Community Presbyterian Church. They toured us around their homes where we could see the livestock, latrines, and water filters in action. The pride on these women’s faces when showing us their homes was unforgettable and rather moving.

La Cruz also treated us to a lunch of chicken, rice, potatoes, and tamalitos. What was even more touching was the chicken and potatoes served were a result of their micro loan efforts.

Later that afternoon, we traveled to Nueva Concepcion to visit two other micro loan groups. We met with Los Claveles 2 and 3, who are funded by and have prayer partnerships with Dover Presbyterian Church and Westminster Presbyterian Church Wilmington respectively.

Los Claves 2

We led a bible study where we shared that we are all children of God and to have faith while being open to God’s help. We all need a little help from the big guy upstairs every once and a while. We prayed in a circle and each woman started praying individually. It’s customary in this area for there to be individual prayer and not a group prayer. We ended the day with hugs and positive affirmations as both groups departed.

Rosario shared a highlight of the day by sharing that tons of wood ignite a bigger fire than just a few sticks. May these women continue to ignite passion in one another as they continue to succeed.

Ruins and Reunions

Today was largely another travel day with some fun activities mixed in. We traveled from Guatemala City to Xela, which is about a 4 to 5 hour drive.

There was a nice excursion in the middle of the bus ride to the last standing Mayan ruin in Guatemala, Iximche.

It was inhabited by the indigenous Kaqchikel in the late 1400s until it was later conquered by the Spaniards. The site was full of palaces, temples, and Mayan ball courts. There was even spaces for traditional fire ceremonies which were used for spiritual purposes.

In all, it was a great experience to learn about Mayan folklore and its intersection with spirituality. Also, learning more about the history of a indigenous group is rather key as we partner with a different indigenous group (Mam) through the Association.

After successfully arriving to Xela, we met with the Association Board for dinner. These women- President, Secretary, Treasurer etc.- come from all over the region and represent the 500 women in the Association.

The dinner was largely to congratulate the Board. This was a challenging year for them, but they rose to the occasion! The Association recently filed its non-profit status with the Guatemalan government which was a huge step forward.

As the Association grows in both membership and support, this is needed; however, it’s not an easy task. It involved procuring a lawyer and complying with all the logistics to become a non-profit. They have made a lot of progress and continue to do so. Most importantly, they inspire all whom they encounter.

CEDEPCA and NCP Agreement Signing and more!

What a great start to an inevitably remarkable trip! After arriving late Tuesday evening, the New Castle Presbytery Leadership Team visited CEDEPCA and a local church. One team member Rev. Edwin Estevez of Riverfront and Grace Methodist Churches preached in Spanish.

Trip members from Community, Dover, Ocean View, Riverfront, and Westminster Wilmington Churches as well as NCP staff

Like all trips to Guatemala, CEDEPCA is the first stop. We learned a brief history of Guatemala and how it got to present day. Additionally, we got to learn more about CEDEPCA’s women’s ministry. Through providing empowerment training to redefine such a patriarchal society for these women, they are doing transformative work throughout Guatemala. These classes are also used by women in the Association.

It was a busy day at CEDEPCA as the New Castle Presbytery (NCP) and CEDEPCA signed a formal partnership agreement. This agreement is for three years and entails NCP financial support and at least one delegation to visit Guatemala annually. In turn, CEDEPCA is to facilitate intercultural encounters and send one delegate to the United States annually. Both groups will think and pray for each other often.

CEDEPCA and NCP leadership pose for a photo after agreement signing

To end off the day, we visited a local church led by longtime friend, Emerson Morales. Rev. Edwin Estevez preached a powerful sermon in Spanish about self-identity.

Rev. Estevez sharing the word of the Lord

It was about not living and acting to appease others, but rather to do what is closest in alignment with God. To do things in the name of God and for God seems to be the best philosophy for this transformative week to come.