Stepping off the van into the humid sunshine of the Maya Itza community in the Peten region, my eyes needed a moment to adjust.
In front of me, across the street from the San Marcos congregation, was a huge cell phone tower. We often have ideas of what the lives of our hermanos y hermanas en Cristo are like in Guatemala. Yes, many congregations are in rural communities, but so are many congregations in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. I was never without cell service during my entire time in Guatemala. I did not know what it was going to be like, but now having been there, there is a much shorter distance between my heart and the hearts of the San Marcos congregation.
Meet Don Ricardo…meet Yolanda…leaders in the Maya Itza community. We were welcomed into their home with crackers and mango juice from the nearby tienda. Don Ricardo, a farmer and family man, is also a lay teacher in the church. Yolanda, a graduate of the Milagro Center in Guatemala City, has returned to her home community to serve and lead. He opened his Bible and shared his favorite passage: the parable of the lost sheep. He felt this explained the good news of the Gospel of Jesus in a way everyone could understand.
We appreciate the food, music and cultural experiences of our Guatemalan partnerships at Easter Lutheran Church in Eagan, where I serve. But I have been challenged to also appreciate and learn from the expertise of our Guatemalan partners. To ask the Holy Spirit to open my heart to receive the teaching and wisdom of Don Ricardo, of Yolanda, of Pastora Karen Castillo and the team continues to be the fruit of walking together. What expertise might you be open to learning from? Walk with me, as we walk together in Christ with our Guatemalan neighbors.
The Rev. Kevin Bergeson
Easter Lutheran Church, Eagan
