Yesterday, a group of 20 came to the mission site with a
petition. They were from the Church of
God in a community called Vista Hermosa.
They were asking for our help so they could construct a new church
building.
This request is not unusual, and what transpired was also
not unusual. As they presented their
needs, the four of us (Manny, Cindy, Rocky and me) listened. They said they currently had a simple wooden
church with dirt floor and their 35 families had outgrown their facility. They wanted to build a new structure out of
concrete block with a cement floor and tin roof 12 meters by 24 meters. They didn’t have sufficient funds to accomplish
this and they heard that we helped the Church of God in Seguachil, so they came
to ask if we’d be able to help them, too.
What they got from us, although, was not exactly what they
came for. They came to receive help in
the form of materials to build their church; what they got, although, was a
lesson to walk through prior to embarking on their project.
Manny asked them why they needed such a huge church. They talked about the large Catholic church
in their village and they wanted to be at least that big, too. Manny then asked if they had been in the
church in Seguachil and then asked if they thought that church was big or
not. They nodded and said, yes it was
big and more than sufficient for their needs.
He then shared with them that this church was 9 meters by 15 meters – a
much smaller structure than they were proposing. Heads nodded around the circle.
Then Cindy shared with them that the church was not a
building, but was God’s people and it was not necessary to have the biggest,
most impressive building to be “the church” in Vista Hermosa. She said we had to be careful not to let our
pride dictate what we were going to do. Especially,
when the members of the church are poor and they cannot afford to build such a
grand structure and pay for the light bill that such a big building would
certainly produce. Rather, the people
should think in terms of building something sufficient for their needs, while
allowing some extra finances to actually be the church – meeting the needs of
those in their community. If they tax
their members and use all of their resources for a building, they have nothing
left to take care of their own families and those in their community who need
help.
Manny then proceeded to say that we could not promise we
would be able to help at all. He asked
if they had a plan to proceed even if they received no help from us. From the look on their faces, clearly they
didn’t think about that. He shared the
story of what the Church of God had accomplished on their own in Sequachil,
prior to receiving help from Mission2Guatemala.
They had, over a period of 2 years, accumulated block and rebar, and had
prepared the foundation before Mission2Guatemala stepped in to help.
As I sat and listened, I thought, this is not what they came
for, but how much more valuable than simply a hand-out. I could see the leaders thinking and
processing. Then it got exciting. They started talking about setting aside part
of their harvest to sell and use the money to buy block. They also agreed they needed to re-think the
size of the building and not make it so large that the members wouldn’t be able
to maintain it. They began to discuss
what they could do, apart from us, within their own community.
At the end, we sang a song of thanksgiving and spent some
time in prayer. The group left, not with
the assurance of our help, but with a deeper sense of what was important and
how they could be good stewards of what God had already given them, so they, as
God’s body in Vista Hermosa, could move His work forward.
I am sure we will hear from them again, and I will eagerly wait
to hear about what has transpired and How God has provided through His
people. At that point we may be in a
position to come alongside and help. I
don’t know, but God does and He is at work in Vista Hermosa and in the lives of
those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
