By Donna Matthews, Pastor of Administration
Yesterday we made the long, 4-5 hour, trek into the highlands of Guatemala. This area is known for the Indigenous Mayan people. Our first impression with the people of the village was overwhelming to say the least. Dozens gathered on the road to meet our vehicles...
Once we exited the vehicles we were greeted with hugs, kisses, hand shakes and a lot of words we didn't understand...their language is primarily Mam with Spanish as a second language. Although we didn't know what they were saying most of the time, there was a lot of love, gratitude and welcome in the air...it was unlike anything I'd have ever seen.
Next came the ceremony and prayer time. WOW. They began with a couple of the community elders welcoming us and then us giving a couple of words. Then we gathered around the water site to dedicate it to the Lord.
We began with a reading from the Bible (Ex 17:3-7) and THEN came the prayer...unlike anything I have ever expected...what I was expecting was the pastor to say the prayer...maybe one or two of the others to chime in...HOWEVER...THE WHOLE COMMUNITY started praying together...a FERVENT chorus of prayers and petitions. My words are inadequate to convey how powerful those few minutes were...I was in the midst of God's people...I was a part of the Body of Christ in such a tangible way.
After the dedication they feed us bread and coffee and the children loved the cameras and attention.
Let the good work begin this morning!
Yesterday we made the long, 4-5 hour, trek into the highlands of Guatemala. This area is known for the Indigenous Mayan people. Our first impression with the people of the village was overwhelming to say the least. Dozens gathered on the road to meet our vehicles...
Once we exited the vehicles we were greeted with hugs, kisses, hand shakes and a lot of words we didn't understand...their language is primarily Mam with Spanish as a second language. Although we didn't know what they were saying most of the time, there was a lot of love, gratitude and welcome in the air...it was unlike anything I'd have ever seen.
Next came the ceremony and prayer time. WOW. They began with a couple of the community elders welcoming us and then us giving a couple of words. Then we gathered around the water site to dedicate it to the Lord.
We began with a reading from the Bible (Ex 17:3-7) and THEN came the prayer...unlike anything I have ever expected...what I was expecting was the pastor to say the prayer...maybe one or two of the others to chime in...HOWEVER...THE WHOLE COMMUNITY started praying together...a FERVENT chorus of prayers and petitions. My words are inadequate to convey how powerful those few minutes were...I was in the midst of God's people...I was a part of the Body of Christ in such a tangible way.
After the dedication they feed us bread and coffee and the children loved the cameras and attention.
Let the good work begin this morning!
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