Greetings from Guatemala: Day 1
July 18, 2011
Seven years ago, when I first came to Guatemala City, Steve Osborn, a brilliant missionary strategist who, along with his wife, Cheryl, has served in Guatemala for the past 15 years, said to me - with some passion in his voice - "Stop doing short term mission projects. They don't do much good for us here and they don't do any long term good for those of you in the states."
I stopped dead in my tracks. I had been doing short term mission trips for 30 years. "What would you have us do instead," I asked?
He said, "Come to this place - or a place you think God is calling you to - and watch what's happening there. As you do, God will stir your heart about something. When that happens, ask him to give you the grace to establish long-term relationships with people who are involved in what stirred your heart."
I listened to Steve and agreed to submit to his wisdom. In a subsequent trip, he introduced me to Jorge and Annie Cerritos, Pastors of Cuidad de Refugio. The church is located and the Cerritos' live in the heart of Villa Nueva, one of Guatemala City's largest and most impoverished squatters' village. We felt deeply connected to them almost immediately. We were impressed by their deep love for God and for people, by their courage, by their boundless energy, and by their commitment to serving the people of Villa Nueva.
On the last day of that trip, I asked Jorge, "If I could go back to the US and raise $5000 for anything you wanted to do through your ministry, how would you spend it?"
He could have asked us to contribute to his salary - he lives on $600-$700 a month. He could have asked for a new sound system for the church or for something personal. But he asked for none of these.
He thought for a minute and then he said, "I would help the local elementary school with some critical needs they have."
I was deeply moved. We came back to Houston and raised that $5000, and as a result some significant work was done on their really dilapidated school building.
It was the beginning of a story. God began to stir in our hearts the recognition that we have a number of teachers in Harbor Church and in the Herrington family. We have been back to Guatemala five times since then. Each time we have worked to connect to La Paz, the school in Cuidad de Refugio's immediate neighborhood. We've brought children's books printed in Spanish, we've painted classrooms, we've told Bible stories and each time we've tried to encourage the young woman who leads the school, Principal Irene.
When we were here this past March, we asked if the teachers in the La Paz School, had any training needs. She has twenty-two teachers for 941 students. She smiled and said "Yes." We agreed to come back in July to provide that training. And, in March I thought that would be the next chapter in this story.
But, God had different plans.
In June, Principal Irene went to her Zone Supervisor to ask permission for us to come to provide this training. After she told the story, he responded enthusiastically, "Yes." Then a week later, Pastor Jorge sent an email with big news.
"The Zone Supervisor is eager for you to come" he wrote. "He has eleven elementary schools in his Zone and he wants all of the teachers to be trained. He has asked you to do training for 50 teachers on Wednesday morning, 50 more on Wednesday afternoon and then repeat for 100 more teachers on Thursday."
We took a deep breath and agreed that if God was orchestrating this, God would provide what we needed to do the job. Over the next few weeks, Sara Rusic, Sharon Benka, and Julie Leon - all school teachers - joined our team that already included teachers Betty Herrington and Jeremy Stewart.
This afternoon, Betty, Sharon, and I sat with Pastor Jorge. He was preparing us for the next few days.
With tears in his eyes, he said, "We have been going to the La Paz School for three years. We use the Bible to teach character education two hours each week. But, La Paz is the only school we can get into. Since the Principal Irene and the Zone Supervisor have known that you are coming from Houston to provide this training for teachers, it has opened up many, many doors. The people of our community are beginning to see that you come because of our relationship, and they see that we love the children and we love the community."
It feels like a story is being written. It is emerging organically, relationally and with increasing power. There is a lot of joy that we are experiencing and a ton of opportunity on the horizon. Before we've even started the training - it begins on Wednesday - we are wondering what God is up to and what the next chapter in the story will be.
I'm eager to tell you more when I send Guatemala Day 2 report. Thank you for helping write this story. Please pray for the children in La Paz and the other 10 schools in this Zone.
Today I'm asking specifically that you give thanks for Principal Irene. Ask God to provide everything she needs to faithfully and effectively serve the children at the La Paz School. Give thanks for her courageous, tireless leadership. Ask God to bless her richly.
Good night from Guatemala. More to come tomorrow.
Jim Herrington for Sharon Benka, Ryan Donovan, Betty Herrington, Todd McCombs, Sara Ruzic, Jeremy Stewart, Julie Leon, and Jovon Tyler