Working Together

About two years ago, Rocky and I read the book, When Helping Hurts:  How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor and Yourself.  It was a book that deeply impacted our thinking with respect to how we do missions.  Our hearts desire is to share the Gospel in love and community, and to come alongside the local people to help where we can.  This last week was a beautiful reflection of this desire.

We had a group of 20 women here from Jacksonville, Florida.  Their team brought project money to build a set of bathrooms for a public school in Seguachil and participate in the water project in Sepalau, but, they didn’t actually do any construction work.   Instead, their focus was on another kind of building – that of relationships. 

On Tuesday, in the morning, the ladies toured the local health clinic.  Then in the afternoon, we had a number of women from Chisec come out to the mission to share an afternoon of food, fun and information.  The ladies team got to hear what the greatest needs are in this area right from those who are living and working here – the local women (teachers, school principals, health care workers, business owners, pastor’s wives, etc).  It was a powerful afternoon of sharing.  I truly believe the women from Chisec felt honoured to participate and knew their voices of concern for their people were heard.  The team was deeply impacted by this time as well and it was a wonderful preparation for the following day’s work. 

On Wednesday they went out to Sequachil to do a medical clinic and a prayer walk through the community.  Two of the women on the team were doctors, and along with a local doctor and other health care workers, they saw tons of patients and were able to intercede in some situations that were life threatening.  The rest of the team went with the local pastor and school principal into homes and prayed for the families of this community.    It was collaboration between the local community leaders and the team, as they worked side by side addressing the physical and spiritual needs of the people of Seguachil. 

God doesn’t call missionaries to the field to simply tell the people what they need or to do things for them.  He calls them to be a part of the community, to build relationships, to love the people and work together with them.  He called us To Guatemala to share the love of Christ by working alongside those He already has in place – local pastors and the family of believers – to build His Kingdom together.  This is missions!

Getting More Than They Asked For

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.

Making a Difference

This last group worked on building a classroom in the community of Presbeteriana Britania.  This small community is pretty remote – a 35 minute drive off of the main road – and separated from all things modern.  There are 35 families living in the community that was built around the Presbyterian church.   Pastor Mateo and his family live in the community and are the town leaders.  They are the ones looking for help from the outside so that their children have the opportunity to learn.  They came to us, at Mission2Guatemala to ask if we might be able to help build a classroom for their children. 

There are just over 50 kids in the current school room.  They are in 6 different grades with only one teacher.  The building itself is pretty rough with wooden plank walls and dirt floor and there are not enough desks or chairs for all of the students.  When Pastor Mateo asked the Ministry of Education for help, they told him that if he had 60 children and another classroom, they would send out a second teacher.  Coming up with the extra kids is never a problem in Guatemala, but the classroom…now that’s another story. 

And, that is exactly where the Lord stepped in.  God touched the hearts of the team from Xenia, Ohio and they came with the money to build the second classroom, and to build it right.  Their new classroom has concrete walls and a cement floor, along with two flushable toilets (the only ones in the entire community).  God loves these kids and wants the very best for them. 

It makes such a difference for the children of Presbeteriana to have a healthy, clean environment to learn in.  To be able to focus on the tasks at hand and not be distracted.  The goal, although, is not just education in and of itself.  The ultimate goal is to provide education for children so they can read God’s Word for themselves, and meet their creator.  If they are going to develop a deep, personal relationship with Jesus Christ, they not only need to be presented with the Gospel, but they need to be able to read His Word for themselves, to be able to meditate on the scripture and allow it to do its work within them.  That is the ultimate goal of education and why providing an education for even the poorest child is so important.

We look forward to a continuing relationship with this community and are excited to see how the Lord will build His Kingdom as we, His people, work together for a common cause.