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October 3, 2000
Dear Friends
Golden Corn
It was not what you would expect to see on a volleyball court—tens
of thousands of kernels of corn spread out on the court to dry;
the wife and mother, her daughter-in-law, several small children
and a teenager, some carefully sweeping the kernels into small
piles, others scooping them into plastic buckets, others pouring
the kernels from the buckets into large bags. I stopped to watch
and was amazed at how very carefully even the teenager and child
gathered up the kernels, not one was left behind. As the darkening
sky threatened rain in the next moments, I joined in the process
of sweeping and collecting the kernels. As I scooped up handfuls
of the kernels and let them sift through my fingers, I thought,
"This is Guatemalan gold!"
Over the years I have lived in Guatemala, I have learned the
truth of the saying that Guatemalans are "hombres de maiz"
(men and women of corn). In the creation story of the Maya, the
first man and woman are made from corn after two unsuccessful
attempts of the gods to make them first from clay (they dissolved
on contact with water!) and then from wood (they had no soul or
spirit and so could not give thanks). But the men and women made
from corn were fat, healthy, with strength and vitality! Instead
of planting sugarcane in the fields of the seminary, this year
the administration allowed anyone who was interested to have a
plot of land and plant corn. Professors, administrators, and day
workers all took advantage of the opportunity. I asked one of
the workers how much corn he had harvested. Proudly he told me,
"Fifteen bags full. I gave one to the church, sold four,
and have enough to feed my family for the year!" Another
women told me of the day her entire family worked in the field
to harvest their corn: "Never have I been happier, to see
my family all working together, now we will have food for the
next months." I have enjoyed many tortillas over the past
weeks made from these golden kernels of corn. There is nothing
better than a tortilla, hot off the comal (a kind of grill). You
sprinkle a little salt on the tortilla, roll it up, savor the
smell for one short moment, and then eat it! In the Bible we read
that Jesus is the bread of life. Here that means that Jesus is
maiz, corn. In Guatemala there are many brothers and sisters who
know what it means to be filled and nourished daily with tortillas
and with the presence and strength of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The sameness of globalization
I was in a colegio (a private elementary school) for a special
celebration, which included crowning as queen the young daughter
of friends at the seminary, but I could have been in most any
elementary school in the United States, or for that matter, in
the world. Each class participated in the celebration with a dance,
a drama, or songs; all of the presentations featured music and
dance that you can hear on TV or from rock bands or discoteques
around the world. As I listened and watched, I could not help
wonder about the rich musical and cultural heritage of Guatemala—the
folk dances, the marimba. Where were they? Will they be forever
lost? Is this one of the results of globalization? When I came
to Guatemala to live some five years ago it was difficult to find
many products that I was accustomed to having in the U.S. Now
if I look in the right places, especially in the capital city,
I can find almost anything I want. The grocery store shelves feature
a large variety of boxed cereals, including cocoa krispies. As
I pass these aisles, I think about the rich cereals made from
corn or rice that mothers here traditionally fed their children.
You can buy many kinds of canned vegetables, while the markets
are full of potatoes, tomatoes, onions, carrots, and many others,
fresh from fields. I remember my first trip to Guatemala, the
women at the church on the finca (farm), Soledad Grande, wrapped
up the leftover rice and black beans in banana leaves for us to
carry with us. Now you can buy many different sizes of plastic
bags for your leftover and other needs. It is sad for me to think
that we all seem to be becoming the same, a homogenized mixture,
where one sometimes has to ask, what country is this? I hope we
will not lose the rich diversity of culture, language, customs.
I hope that all this richness will not be swallowed up in the
"progress" of globalization.
No closets!
After a long wait, I have finally moved into my apartment at
the Presbyterian Serninary in San Felipe! In some ways, I feel
like I am living in a mansion after seven months of living in
one room, and yet strangely I do not seem to have any leftover
space here! We moved everything from my one room in a kind of
caravan across the campus, carrying boxes and furniture in the
back of a pickup, in a wheelbarrow, and in the hands of willing
helpers. As I began to try to find a place for everything in my
new home, I quickly discovered what through my North American
eyes was a big problem, there are no closets in this apartment,
not even a tiny storage space. Where would I put all my extra
stuff—clothes, empty suitcases, Christmas decorations, extra
medicines, books, magazines, papers I might need one day, cleaning
supplies—all that stuff we are accustomed to tuck away out
of sight in a closet or other storage space. As I pondered this
problem I began to see that this was a problem most Guatemalans
would never confront, because they have very little or no "extra
stuff," so they have little need for closets or storage space.
I have to ask myself, why do I have all these extra things?
Unexpected fruits
I was meeting with the Christian education committee of the Sinódica
(the Women’s Organization of the National Presbyterian Church
in Guatemala, comparable to Presbyterian Women). This committee
is responsible for planning the workshops on theological education
for the women of the church. We were discussing the "fruits,"
the accomplishments of the workshops that had taken place during
2000—workshops on how to read and study the Bible, formation
of church-school teachers, church government, prophecy, what it
means to be a Presbyterian. I expected the committee to tell me
of results that we could measure, number of women who attended,
information learned, material covered. And I did hear some of
that, but the most important thing that happened for the women
who participated in the workshops is that now they have more self
confidence, a quality that is sadly lacking among many women in
Guatemala. Angela told of two women in her church who after they
attended the workshops, in her words, "lost their fear, and
now participate in Sunday School classes by asking questions and
making comments!" This may not seem like a very important
accomplishment, until you realize that the women Angela was describing
have very limited literacy skills, which meant that they had little
confidence in their abilities, so did not actively participate
in classes or discussion. Now that is all changing!
Abela
Her name is Abela, and she is a gifted teacher who is hungry
to study and to share what she has learned with others. Abela
lives with her family on a colonia (a community formed on land
purchased by the presbytery with funds that came to Guatemala
after Hurricane Mitch) in the department of Petén. Five
mornings a week she teaches a class of children, ages 4 to 10,
who are not able to attend public school. For some the school
is too far to walk to; for others, their families do not have
the money to buy the basic supplies for school. Three afternoons
a week Abela teaches a group of women to read and write Spanish.
The vast majority of the women who live on the colonia speak K’ekchi,
their indigenous language, and they cannot read or write in any
language. What a challenge for Abela, but she seems to delight
in the challenge, as teaching is a passion for her. I watched
her explain again and again the different vowels, their sounds,
and how to make each letter. Then she checked her students’
notebooks to be sure they had understood her directions. Teaching
is a passion for Abela, but so is learning! She has been in two
of the theological education courses I have taught and is a most
eager, bright student. When we were studying the doctrine of the
Presbyterian Church, she carefully made notes in her notebook
of each doctrine and then met with others from her presbytery
to put together a program to present this doctrine to the presbytery.
I hope that Abela can continue with her theological studies next
year. I hope that we can continue the theological education workshops
so that more "fruits" will grow in the coming year.
To make that possible we need funds for the Theological Education
Project for Women in Guatemala. If you or your church would like
to contribute to those funds you can do so by sending a check
to the Presbytery of Western North Carolina. Mark the check for
ECO #051618 "With the Women of Guatemala."
Ellen Dozier
The 2000 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, page
236
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