For Blanca, 18, this was her first
experience in a group of women thinking about who she is as a
woman and how she wants to live her life. She made an angel out
of clay to represent what she had learned in the course and said
that “women have the spirit of an angel,” a new way
for her of understanding women, whom she had seen as belonging
in the kitchen and nowhere else!
Virgilia had someone write her thoughts for her since she has
only a second-grade education. She said, “at the beginning
of this course it was very difficult for me because I had never
had the opportunity to leave my community. I felt very timid,
but thanks to our God and the classes I received, it is as though
a veil has been ripped from my eyes and my mind. I am not saying
that I see myself as a proud or arrogant woman; it is the opposite:
I am a humble woman, but I am a woman of worth and I have the
right to express my opinion in whatever situation, especially
within the work that God gives to us. During this course I have
learned my rights as a woman as well as my obligation as a wife.
I have learned what it is to be a marvelous woman in the Christian
life.”
Some days it feels like the flowers are not opening and that
the caterpillar will never change into butterfly and that the
women are never going to recognize themselves as daughters of
the living God. But then I remember that change and growth in
all living things is a slow process that happens in God’s
time. And in my moments of discouragement I remember the stories
of Consuelo, Rebecca, Angelina, Virgilia, and many others.
Ellen
Should you wish to help support activities such as this course,
contributions from individuals may be sent to: Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.) Individual Remittance Processing, PO Box 643700, Pittsburgh,
PA 15264-3700. Contributions from churches should be sent to:
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Church Remittance Processing, PO
Box 643678, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3678.
Write the title ("With the Women of Guatemala") and
the ECO number (051618) on the subject line of the check and put
it on your cover letter, too. Send a copy of the cover letter
to Area Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, 100 Witherspoon
St. Louisville, KY 40202-1396. Or click the "give" button
below to donate on-line.
The 2005 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
62 |
