Guatemala Mission: Why Go?

The following is an article from the March 2008 Marine View Press, the newsletter of Marine View Presbyterian Church:

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This month a team of fifteen people will leave the comforts of home and normal routines and they will go to a rural village in Guatemala. As mission teams from Marine View have done for the last three years, this year’s group will invest considerable time, energy, and resources to help people they’ve never met who live in foreign culture in a remote and impoverished village almost 3,000 miles away. Why? Why do we go to Guatemala?

1) We Go for Theological Reasons:

We go to follow Christ. We are disciples or apprentices of Jesus who said, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (Jn. 20:21 niv). If we profess that Jesus is Lord, then we must respond obediently when the Master says to go. Jesus also came not to be served but to serve, and he has given an example of humble, active love for us to follow (Mk. 10:45; Jn. 13:15). We go to Guatemala out of a desire to serve Christ by serving others in his name.

We go to show Christ. “What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless” (Jas. 2:14 nlt). We go to Guatemala to show the love of Christ in both actions and words. We go to share what God has graciously given to us, not only material things but the spiritual truth that God is reconciling the Guatemalans to himself through Christ, not counting their sins against them. We are Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us to his beloved ones in Guatemala: “Be reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:19-20).

We go to know Christ. Mission is not a part-time activity of the church; it is a full-time work of God. Throughout the scriptures, we encounter a God who is on a redemptive mission in the world. Throughout the world, we may encounter a God who so loved the world that he sent his Son not to condemn but to save. We go to Guatemala to meet Jesus there among those who suffer under the weight of poverty, malnutrition, and injustice.

We go to grow in Christ. On a short-term mission trip, we see ourselves and our world in a new way. We discover the breadth of God’s love and the depth of our need. By leaving our comfort zones and all our props, we are forced to rely on God’s faithfulness and strength. When we return, we see our lives and our culture differently; we’ve been changed. We go to Guatemala so that we might become more like Christ.

2) We Go for Personal Reasons:

For some of us, we go because we want to make a difference in the world; we want to help those who are in need. For others, we go to experience a different culture; we go for the adventure. For me personally, I am going back to Guatemala because I know that there is more there that God wants me to see and experience. I recently wrote in my journal: “Going to Guatemala will once again force me from my comfort zone. I will once again be in over my head and forced to trust God. And that’s something I need to do more of. I rely too much on my own strength. I miss out on the transformative power of God often.”

3) We Go for Practical Reasons:

The need in the Yuljobe, Guatemala is very real. For centuries, indigenous Maya living in this remote area have cooked their meals using an indoor fire pit located on the house floor called a “three-stone fire.” These open-flame wood-burning fires have caused burns from the flames, respiratory illnesses from the smoke, and deforestation from the inefficient burning of the firewood.

In an effort not only to improve the health conditions and quality of life of the villagers, but also to show tangibly the love of Christ, the 15-member mission team will be working alongside Guatemalan families to install dozens of cast concrete “ONIL” stoves.

You Are Needed Too!

Marine View will be purchasing and installing 90 stoves. The cost per stove is $140.00. In addition, the HFPF staff will conduct critical follow-up with our stove installations, traveling to Yuljobe each month for a six-month period to make sure everyone has adjusted to a new way of cooking and that the units are working properly. The benefit of this effort is that HFPF has a 97% success rate with the installations.

You can participate in this mission both financially and prayerfully. First, use the donation cards found in the pew racks in the sanctuary to make a contribution toward the purchase of the stoves for Yuljobe and the team members’ expenses. Because of the increased size of this year’s project and team, we need to raise approximately $21,000. To this end, the Outreach Team will be designating funds from this year’s One Great Hour of Sharing offering toward the Guatemala mission. Second, please commit to pray regularly and specifically for the team members and the villagers they serve before, during, and after the trip. Prayer guides will be available at the Information Counter.

On behalf of Marine View’s 2008 Guatemala Mission Team, thank you for your support and partnership in ministry!