In January, Matthew and I spent a week in Guatemala, accompanied by Ken Kim, our church's missionary there. As well as setting the itinerary and making all the arrangements for our visit, Ken served as our translator, driver and interpreter of church and culture. Ken was an amazing host and colleague in ministry. Thanks be to God for his pastoral presence and wise counsel with the people of Guatemala on behalf of The Presbyterian Church in Canada. In and through his work, Ken is an expression of at least two of my moderatorial themes – ecumenism and non-parish-based ministries.
One of our days was spent with the Fraternidad De Presbiteriales Mayas, an organization of Mayan Christian women made up of societies and collectives of approximately 3,000 women from five different language groups. Their purpose is to promote spiritual, economic and social capacity inherent in the Mayan culture through integrated education services, training in health, technical assistance and strategic socio-development projects. The Presbyterian and United churches support the FDPM. Presbyterian World Service and Development has also committed funds for relief following Hurricane Stan, and the Women's Mission Society has provided money for projects. We visited two communities and were accompanied by Katarina, the director, Carmelina, who leads the biblical and theological education and Victor, the agronomist.
In the morning, we visited the community of Cajola where we met with about 30 indigenous women and children who expressed sincere gratitude for the support of the PCC. Loans are provided through the FDPM for small agricultural projects such as raising cows and developing compost to improve the quality of life for their families and the community. With excitement and confidence we were shown the cows and the women spoke to us about the empowerment they feel through the success of their projects and the new understanding they have of themselves as those made in the image of God. Mayan women have been marginalized for centuries due to their gender, race and poverty. The work of our church, in partnership with FDPM, is providing opportunity for transformation. The women spoke passionately about the transformation of their lives through biblical and theological reflection. The hospitality they provided was overwhelming. In abject poverty, we feasted. We feasted on traditional food they had prepared, the abundance of their faith in God, their overflowing gratitude and our shared faith in Jesus Christ.
From Cajola we went to Cantel where we met with Group Shalom, a collective comprised of seven Mayan women who receive micro-loans administered by FDPM. These women are weavers, traditional healers, farmers and one used the loan to help establish a small pharmacy in her village. Group Shalom has created a documented vision for their work, as well as establishing goals, objectives and processes of evaluation which increases their capacity for independence and improves quality of life. They are good stewards of the resources entrusted to them, and are most appreciative of the skills and accountabilities being encouraged by FDPM. While improvement of their current situation is foremost in their minds and hearts, they are also attentive to future opportunities for their children. They expressed deep appreciation for the support of the PCC and are grateful for the opportunities to recover the values of their Mayan culture within a reformed contextual theology. "Weaving is theology," was a profound statement we heard from one of the women and experienced throughout our stay at Cantel. Using and nurturing their God-given gifts to improve their lives and the life of their community, these women demonstrated an expression of faith that strengthened my own faith that day.
M. Jean Morris.
