Monte Blanco, Baja Verapáz

This weekend I went to the Polochíc Presbytery in the mountains of Baja Verapáz. The churches there are mostly Q’eqchi’, though some are Pocomchí. On Saturday I caught a 4:00 AM bus from Guatemala City, transferred to a microbus, and then arrived by noon at the town of La Tinta where the presbytery is headquartered. A presbytery leader, Pastor Julian Icó, gave me a tour of the Presbytery’s facilities, and we discussed preparations for a team that’s scheduled to come in January from the PCUSA Presbytery of the Inland Northwest.

The primary purpose of this trip was to preach at Pastor Julian’s home church, the Iglesia Presbiteriana Esmirna. So after lunch in La Tinta we climbed aboard his son’s pick-up truck for a 3-hour trek to the Q’eqchi’ village of Monte Blanco, where the church is ledged on a hillside (see photo). The dirt roads were in bad shape because of the rainy season (see photo). We crossed numerous bridges, including a type of swinging bridge that’s called a “hammock.” I’m not quite sure if vehicles are supposed to drive on it, but we did (see photo).

The church, comprised of 25 families was celebrating the 14^th anniversary of their building. Pastor Alberto Cucul and lay worker Gregorio Tzib presided at Saturday night’s five-hour service. It included a concert, a wedding, the presentation of newly-baptized members, and Holy Communion. Visiting pastors and musicians came from other Presbyterian churches in the area, as well as Pentecostals and the Nazarenes. I preached about the paralytic who was lowered through a roof to be healed by Jesus. The Sunday morning service was more brief (three hours), and I preached about Moses lifting the bronze serpent in the wilderness.

The people were very kind to me. Pastor Julian said my visit was the first at the church by a mission co-worker. Not surprisingly the accommodations were rustic. Sleeping quarters were above the church kitchen, which meant that the room was filled with smoke a lot of the time. For some reason there was no water for bathing, and the beds were just boards. (Fortunately I brought a sleeping bag.) I returned home late Sunday night, thankful for safe travel and for the opportunity to worship with Pastor Julian, his family and his congregation.

After the Derrumbes

This past week, Guatemala’s president, Álvaro Colom, decreed a month-long “state of calamity,” after a week of rains provoked by tropical depression 12-E. For the past week major roads, including the Pan-American Highway, have been closed because of hundreds of derrumbes (mudslides). So far 40 fatalities have been attributed to landslides and flooding, with 168,000 houses damaged and countless crops destroyed.   Over 29,618 have been evacuated from their homes, and 14,768 have sought refuge in shelters. The month-long “state of calamity” puts some restrictions on civil liberties, and could affect campaigning for Guatemala’s Nov. 6 presidential run-off.

On Wednesday, I was finally able to make it to the Q’anjobal village of San Juan Ixcoy, after derrumbes blocked the highways last week. It was pouring rain when Rev. Isaías García, the Permanent Secretary of the IENPG, and I left Guatemala City at dawn. I was worried that the weather was going to cause a repeat of last week’s problems, but the rain eventually let up. Roads were good, since bulldozers had cleared out paths for traffic where derrumbes had stretched across the road.

It was good to have Isaías on this trip, because indigenous presbyteries like the Q’anjobal often feel neglected by the national church. At the May 2010 meeting of the IENPG Synod, seven presbyteries were denied representation for failure to pay their tithes to the Synod. Most of them were indigenous presbyteries, among them the Q’anjobal. This action stirred up considerable controversy, and there were rumors that a break-away indigenous synod might be formed.

At the February 2011 IENPG/PCUSA network meeting, Synod leaders were there to dialogue with presbytery leaders over the
issues of representation and tithing. At last May’s Synod meeting, the representation of all but one of these presbyteries, including the Q’anjobal, was fully reinstated because they’d brought up to date their contributions to the Synod. Since his election in May of this year, Isaías has labored to reach out to the indigenous presbyteries and to make the Synod more accessible to them. His joining us on this visit was an example of that.

Four hours after leaving Guatemala City, we arrived at a highway junction called Cuatro Caminos, where we picked up two members of the IENPG’s International Relations Committee. From there, reaching San Juan Ixcly  involves crossing the Cuchumatanes mountain range which rises to 12,500 feet, the highest non-volcanic peaks in Central America. The climb was breathtaking. Our microbus twisted up steep, barren slopes, passing huge boulders before arriving at a plateau of lush meadows with grazing sheep. Before descending into the valley, we drove between the Piedras de Captzín, two tall limestone towers that stand vigil over the Q’anjobal region (See photo of one of them).

We spent the night at a hotel in the bustling town of Soloma, in an adjoining valley. On Thursday we met with leaders of the Q’anjobal Presbytery, 12 women and 5 men from different churches. While sipping corn atol and munching on round bread called shecas, we worked out plans for hosting a team of Presbyterians that will be coming from Cincinnati in November to help build office space for the presbytery. After lunch, we left San Juan Ixcoy and headed home.

All week the IENPG has been collecting non-perishable goods at churches across the country for distribution to areas that were worst hit by flooding from the tropical depression. A representative from Presbyterian Disaster Relief is coming to assess damage and determine its response. The World Communion of Reformed Churches and other reformed church bodies are sending assistance as well.

Even though this wasn’t a major storm, it’s incredible how much damage water can do in Guatemala, especially in deforested, mountainous areas with poor infrastructure. In 2005, Hurricane Stan caused $988 billion in damage and 1,513 fatalities, most occurring in landslides near Lake Atitlán. Last May, losses from Tropical Storm Agatha came to $982 million, with 160
fatalities, while heavy rains in August and September claimed another 76 lives.

This year’s storms have added to other problems confronting Guatemala. In September, the president declared a “State of Disaster” in the department of Santa Rosa because of constant seismic activity, including several minor earthquakes. “Red alerts” have been issued because of increased activity in several volcanoes. Also in September, drug traffic violence in the northern
department of the Petén prompted the president to declare a “State of Alarm,” replacing previous “States of Siege” that were in effect in Petén as well as the department of Alta Verapáz.

Derrumbes

Downpours from a tropical depression have left much of Guatemala paralyzed and buried in mud. At last count, 23 deaths have been confirmed caused by avalanches and flooding, and over 8,000 people have lost their homes. Major roads, including the Pan-American Highway, have been shut down by hundreds of derrumbes (rock and mudslides).  Classes have been suspended until further notice in 12 of 22 departments. Government agencies are struggling to restore power, clearing road, and help victims. The national media have launched a campaign to collect food, bottled water, clothing, and medical supplies.

Yesterday I was planning to travel to the mountainous town of San Juan Ixcoy with members of the Presbyterian International Relations Committee to visit leaders of the Q’anjob’al Presbytery. I left Guatemala City at 6:00 AM with Fulvia Rivas, a committee member, and Rev. Isaias Garcia, the Permanent Secretary of the Guatemalan Presbyterian Church. We drove for four hours in a downpour, dodging derrumbes, before we concluded the way was impassable. We turned around, and then heard on the radio that the highway was blocked by a large derrumbe, and that a nation-wide “red alert” had been declared. The committee decided to reschedule the 3-day trip for next week, weather permitting.    

Matthew and Manny went to school as usual this morning, but Stefi’s preschool cancelled for the day. Then three large derrumbes covered parts of the highway that leads to our house, and school busses couldn’t get through. (See photos) It
was another adventure to pick up Matthew and Manny and drive them home through heavy rain and messy traffic, but thankfully we made it safely.

Please join us in praying for Guatemala, especially for storm casualties and those whose homes, businesses, and crops have been destroyed. Also pray for churches and other ministries in Guatemala to rise to the occasion during emergencies like this, to offer needed assistance that demonstrates God’s love for the hurting people and battered communities.

Little Boys Wonder about Death

In June 2010, the month before our family began our missionary service, we enjoyed a week of vacation at a cabin on Hunting Island, South Carolina. One evening there, we got news that a 9-year-old boy had been pulled under the waves after falling from some rocks near the lighthouse. This happened at a place where we’d gone swimming earlier that morning. Through the night, boats and helicopters scanned the waters looking for the boy, while patrols on four-wheelers searched the seashore. By the next day, the boy was presumed to have drowned, and the search continued to recover his body.

Matthew, Manny, and Stefi (8, 5, and 3 years old at the time) were stunned by this tragedy. Although their day included fishing, hiking and other activities, they seemed mostly interested in knowing more details about the drowning and the boy’s family. Beneath their curiosity, I could sense fear at the recognition of their own vulnerability.

That night at the cabin, as they settled into their beds, questions started to flow. Manny inquired somberly, “Papa, how come they keep looking for the boy’s body when he’s up in heaven?”

After taking a moment to think, I answered, “It’s because his family wants to have his body back, even though his life isn’t in it anymore. The boy’s spirit is what’s in heaven. That’s the part that’s still alive.”

Struggling about what to make of it all, Manny wanted to know, “When they find him, will it just be his skin? Will they find his eyes? Will they put him back together like a puzzle?”

I answered, “I think everybody hopes his body will be in one piece.”

Then Manny asked, “Why don’t crabs go to heaven when they die, like we do?”

My reply was, “I’m not real sure why, but it seems God didn’t make crabs to go to heaven the same way that he made us.”

They lay quiet in their beds for a while, but I could tell their minds were still very busy. Suddenly Manny, his voice crackling with emotion, announced, “Matthew, if I die I want you to have all of my toys.” This was a magnanimous gesture, since the three of them, like typical siblings, spend lots of their time arguing about taking turns and sharing.

Matthew, wanting to give his little brother peace of mind, said, “But Manny, you won’t die before me because I’m older than you. I’m going to die first.”

Manny asked me if that was true. I explained that there really wasn’t any way to know when any of us are going to die, but that I
expected all three of them to live for a real long time.

Then they talked about older people that had died, like their grandmother and grandfather in Honduras who had passed away during the past year. Matthew asked me, “Papa, are you going to die soon?”

“I hope not, because I want to stay here with you. But like everybody else, I’ll die someday. It’s not something that I worry about and I hope you won’t worry about it either. The good thing to remember is that God doesn’t die, God never leaves us, and no matter what we’ll always be together with him.” With that, they drifted off to sleep, and I decided to write down what was said.

The next morning a ranger found the body near a creek, half a mile from where the accident occurred. We prayed about the boy’s death and for his grief-stricken family. Later, I thanked God for my children, praying for their safety and their awareness of God’s constant love that casts out all fears.