Why Guatemala?

I have been asked this same question after each of my three trips. The first time I said because I was asked to assist. This seemed to be the best answer that I had. Things changed after the second trip. I went to a small Presbyterian Church in the Boca Costa region. This is in the south west of Guatemala not far from either the Mexico boarder or the Pacific Ocean. A rustic village on the side of a very steep hill. We went to put a ceramic tile floor down in the church.

The church was six years old and still had a dirt floor. This was to be a work trip and I went there to use my brawn. I expected hard work and long days. What I got was something entirely different. Oh yeah we worked hard and the days sure seemed long. However that is not what struck me most.

Each day we would show up at the work site and each day there would be more children than the day before. Then there were the curious adults wondering what a bunch of US citizens were doing at this church buried in the Guatemalan jungle. Now I do not speak Spanish so communicating was a challenge. There are the universal forms of communication that work even in the jungle. Take a smile and share it and it comes back 10 fold. Say good morning (Buenas Dias) and have a stranger look at you, smile and say good morning back. Take the time to throw a ball around with an eight year old who has never seen a football. See how eager he is to learn to throw a spiral. Watch him try and try again. Have him come up to you and gesture how do I do this? See his mother and or father (both of whom were working with us on the floor or feeding us) smile as their child makes a new friend. I could go on and on but I think you should be able to get the picture.

This year we returned to this small village again on a work trip. We set in motion the building of a Youth Bible Study Hall. The work was hard and the weather was hot and muggy. It was the rainy season so it rained every day. As we worked each morning we felt the humidity rise as fast as the heat. Because of the remote location and the difficulty getting in and out we had to quit work before the rain started or we would have been stranded. This resulted in not as much getting accomplished as we had hoped. At most of the work sites I have been at, both on mission work and on commercial work, this would have resulted in disappointment. Here at Elim Presbyterian Church the result was just the opposite. Appreciation was the order of the day. The Elders thanked us for our efforts and promised that the work would be completed.

I don’t know if you caught it or not but this was the start of a “Youth” bible hall. The same kids we played with and made friends with two year ago are now involved in bible study. Several of them read aloud from the bible at a presentation they put on to welcome us. These were kids that two years ago were not going to school and now here they are reading out loud and in public.

This year my answer to that question is in the faces of changed children and in the words of grateful parents and proud church elders. Guatemala has touched my heart and made me a better person because of it. This is why I do mission work. I always get more out of it than I put in. Please read some of the history of Guatemala and you will understand why I go back.

A strong need exists to support the Committee for Evangelical Service and Support of the Maya Quiche (CESSMAQ). I gratefully belong to the Mission Presbytery Guatemala Partnership Team. This partnership is chaired by Rev. Rob Mueler of Divine Redeemer Church and is comprised of members that have been on mission trips to Guatemala. We all share the same passion to support this effort and invite you to become a part of it.

May God Bless You as he has me and open your eyes as he has mine. Find a way to support mission work in your own church. If that leads you to Guatemala and the Guatemala Partnership Team know that you will be welcomed with open arms here and in Guatemala. If your support is in a different direction also know that your efforts will be as deeply appreciated by those that you help.

Bob Yarbrough