From a children's reading list compiled by Kathryn Worley of Heartland Presbytery.
Use the links to learn more about each book from online booksellers, including reviews and information about the author. If you choose to buy a book through Amazon.com, a portion of the purchase price will be donated to the Mission-Maya Quiche partnership.
Abuela's Weave. Omar S. Castaneda, Enrique O. Sanchez. "Esperanza is worried that her Grandmother's facial birthmark might frighten away potential customers when they go to market to sell their fine woven goods. This leaves the burden of the family income in Esperanza's hands. In his illustrations, Sanchez brings the woven designs of the people alive. A favorite!"
Trouble Dolls. Suzanne Simon. "Aspects of the Mayan culture are represented in this title through food, games, crafts, traditions and legends. Six little dolls are included with the book with ideas to engage the reader, dolls and book together celebrating Mayan life. A favorite of this family. All ages."
Once When the World Was Green. Jan Wahl. "An original tale inspired by the jacaranda tree and the Popul Vuh. Harmony among all creatures is woven into the story. Illustrations reflect La Ruta Maya, near the Yucatan, Belize and Guatemala. "
From a reading list on "Religion and Society in Latin America", by Dr. Virginia Garrard Burnett, of the Institute of Latin American Studies at UT-Austin. These books offer research and analysis on the evangelical (protestant) church from a variety of perspectives.
Is Latin America Turning Protestant? : The Politics of Evangelical Growth. David Stoll, University of California Press, 1990. Historic and recent trends in Protestant growth, including the role of North American and indigenous missionaries, and reformation and liberation theology in the Catholic Church. Includes a chapter on Guatemala, including The Word ("El Verbo") Church, former President Efraín Rios Montt, and activites in Ixil, Quiché.
Power, Politics, and Pentecostals in Latin America. Edward L. Cleary and Hannah Stewart-Gambino , editors, Westview Press, 1997. "Today over forty million Latin Americans classify themselves as Protestant, of which the overwhelming majority belong to some form of Pentecostalism. The rapid dissemination of Pentecostal beliefs has produced vibrant alternatives to traditional dominant culture and changed relations within the family, locality, and workplace. This volume introduces broad issues in the Pentecostal movement, including gender relations, political power and organization, and inter-Pentecostal and ecumenical relations, and includes a chapter focusing on patterns and development in Guatemala."
The Soul of Development: Biblical Christianity and Economic Transformation in Guatemala. Amy L. Sherman, Oxford University Press 1997. "Field study and national survey of 1000 rural Guatemalan households. She offers persuasive evidence that, in Guatemala and throughout the region, religious world-views significantly influence economic life. Sherman explains how the change in attitude and behavior that accompanies conversion from animism to a Biblically orthodox world-view has improved the domestic welfare and economic status of many families. Further, she asserts that this new attitude, sympathetic to democratic-capitalism, has created a "moral cultural soil" in which freedom, personal empowerment, an enhanced status for women, and a desire to get ahead can be nurtured."
God and Production in a Guatemalan Town. Sheldon Annis, University of Texas Press, 1989. Research on "the difference in work ethic and cultural values between the Protestants and Catholics in one [Guatemalan] town, and how they are divided in every aspect... For instance, in weaving blankets, the Protestants made lovely, organized patterns which utilized logical color arrangements for aesthetic efficiency. The Catholics used a riot of color in their weaving, producing a beautiful and unique work with each one." Annis also provides of detailed discussion on economics of sustenance farming and household industries, highlighting differences in evangelical (protestant) and Catholic families.
Rethinking Protestantism in Latin America. Virginia Garrard-Burnett and David Stoll (Editors), Temple University Press, 1993. Includes Linda Green's study "Mayan Widows and Evangelicals in Guatemala".
Fishers of Men or Founders of Empire?. David Stoll, Zed Books, 1982. History of Wycliffe Bible Translators and the Summer Institute of Linguistics, including their founding and current work in Guatemala. Discussion on economic development work, cooperation with government authorities, and preservation of indigenous languages.
Stubborn Hope. Phillip Berryman, 1995. "The concern of this book," says Berryman, "is the role of churches and church people in the midst of revolution.... thus the focus of those who see a connection between their faith and some form of political involvement."
Includes a chapter focusing on Guatemala and one on evangelical (protestant) growth in Central America during the 1980's.
Heartland Presbytery, in Missouri, USA, compiled a list of suggested readings on Guatemala, Mayans and the church in Central America. The Mission-Maya Quiche partnership team have added some of their favorites.
Use the links to learn more about each book from online booksellers, including reviews and information about the author. If you choose to buy a book through Amazon.com, a portion of the purchase price will be donated to the Mission-Maya Quiche partnership.
Guatemala, Never More. This report gives a sad account of 150 thousand deaths, 50 thousand missing persons, 1 million internal displaced persons, 100 thousand refugees and 200 thousand orphan children, resulting from Guatemala's forty years of war. Three out of four victims of war were indigenous people.
I Rigoberta Menchu (An Indian Woman in Guatemala). Rigoberta Menchu, E. Burgos Debray, Thetford Press Ltd. 1984. Autobiography of 1992 Nobel Peace laureate. "This is my testimony. I didn't learn it from a book and I didn't learn it alone... My personal experience is the reality of a whole people."
The Scandalous Message of James: Faith Without Works is Dead. Elsa Tamez, Crossroad Publishing Co. 1990.
A Guide to Liberation Theology for Middle-Class Congregations. Charles H. Bayer, CBP Press 1986. Delves into the implications of liberation theology for the "unpoor".
What Prize Awaits Us: Letters from Guatemala. Bernice Kita, Orbes 1988. Letters from an American nun who lived in an isolated Indian Village from 1977-1983, some of Guatemala's worst years.
Widows. Ariel Dorfman, Penguin Books, 1983. A timeless story, written as a novel, of how some widows in places like Guatemala are not content to simply mourn the "disappeared," but challenge the system that causes this suffering.
War Against the Poor: Low-Intensity Conflict and Christian Faith. Jack Nelson-Palimeyer, Orbis, 1988.
A People's History of the United States. Howard Zinn, Harper & Row, 1981. Presents a perspective that never made it into the history books; thought-provoking when compared to Guatemala's history.
El comité de compañerismo con Guatemala solicita sus plegarias, su apoyo y su colaboración para esta obra, para sus proyectos y para el pueblo maya de Guatemala. Si su congregación o grupo está interesado en uno de nuestros "minuto para la misión" o en uno de nuestros videos (20 min.),
comuniquese
con el comité de compañerismo.
El contenido de este página puede ser reproducido y difundido, para el apoyo y avance de la alianza Mission-Maya Quiché.