Holy Cross’s Mission: Guatemala
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By Missy Klatt
On October 22nd, Pastor Jonathan Zielske, his three daughters; Rachael, Micah, Leighanna; Jeanne Jeske, and myself left for a mission trip to Guatemala. We were there as a delegation from Holy Cross Lutheran Church visiting the Lutheran Center or ILAG (Inglesia Luterana Agustina de Guatemala) located in the suburbs of Guatemala City and CLAG (Colegio Luterano Agustino de Guatemala or the elementary school). For Jeanne and I this was our first visit to Guatemala. Pastor has had a long relationship with ILAG and his daughters have also been down there several times.
When most people think about a mission trip they think you’re going to dig a well or build a house or some other activity where we accomplish a “great task”. However, this trip was a bit different. It was basically a fact finding mission for Jeanne and I and a chance to build relationships with our brothers and sisters in a different land.
The Guatemalan people are quite capable of building etc. however they live in an impoverished country where the minimum wage is about $450 a month. However, there is about 60% of the population that are considered informal workers who make $3-10 a day. So what they need is our support both financially and spiritually. They appreciate that someone cares and supports them.
Pastor Karen Castillo calls it a mission of accompaniment. Pastor Karen and her family are “the Lutheran Center.” ILAG was first started by Pastor Karen’s parents and her mom, Esther Echeverria is still very involved.
Esther, started the church as a family in 1991 and they partnered with the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) in 1992-93. But, she states that their journey started years before. “We had the vision to have a church, God gave us the privilege to open our house to be a church and then God gave us the opportunity to travel to the rural area. We opened the church with our faith.”
Esther has two sons who are both Pastors, Diego in Guatemala and Horatio who currently lives in the United States in Washington state. Her two daughters, Pastor Karen and Beatriz work at the center. Esther and her husband started to minister to those families who had been displaced due to the civil war. “Every year we witness the hand of God in our ministry. We give of ourselves and that is how the Lutheran church is spreading in our country. We are always meeting people that are willing to help and serve with us and we always receive visits from people who are amazing and willing to serve.”
She is also very joyful for the new school. She is the principal of the Lutheran school who signs all the papers or documents needed. And ‘grandmother’ to the young ladies of MILAGRO (more on them shortly). She is amazed by the girls who are very smart and joyful to be a part of their lives. “It is a wonderful ministry what we share with them.”
Karen’s sister, Beatriz works with the MILAGRO girls and the elementary school as basically the administrator.
Karen is the pastor that works with 18 churches in the rural area. Helping to train and teach their leaders as well as preaching at the Lutheran Center. Part of Pastor Karen’s ministry is to connect people and help you to feel comfortable with the relationships you are building.
Sofia, Karen’s daughter works in administration doing most of the book work for the center.
Diego, Karen’s son is the coordinator for partnerships. He gets all the correspondence from the partner churches; sends letters, videos etc. He also does the translations and is the coordinator of the seed program, agricultural development for families in the rural area. He also took care of all the logistics for our visit.
Karen also has another daughter, Valeria who will be a senior in high school. Although she has no official title she has often accompanied her mom on trips to the rural areas and to the states visiting partner churches. Of the 18 rural churches that are part of ILAG, 13 of them have a partnership with an ELCA church in America.
MILAGRO Girls
As part of our visit we got to spend time with the 13 MILAGRO girls that live at the center. They have their own dorm/house at the center where they live and learn for 10 months of the year. The girls had us participating in a hands on lesson in how to make some of their native sweet bread which was very labor intensive but also very tasty. They also attempted to give us a lesson in Q’Eqchi, their native language. For most of Guatemalans especially in the rural areas Spanish is their second language. There are 22 languages spoken in Guatemala.
Later in the afternoon we taught them some group games and some songs. We also presented them with some gifts; recorders from Angela Hierlmeier, dental hygiene products from Ashleson Dental Care and Spring Valley Dentistry, books thanks in part to a Thrivent action team and monetary gifts from members and friends of Holy Cross.
MILAGRO which also means miracle in Spanish, stands for Mujeres (women) then ILAG (the church) ROpiendos (breaking). So it’s all about trying to break some of the cultural norms of the country to give women a better standing and purpose in their communities. The MILAGRO program basically provides vocational training for these girls.
The girls that come are from the rural churches and they are generally between 13-19 years old but they had one as young as nine. To come they have to want to come and it has to be decided on by the whole extended family (aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc). The culture is such that all family members get a say. The girls that come also make a commitment to teach others in their communities especially other women and younger boys and girls when they go back home.
Pastor Karen explains that at first it was hard to get girls to come. They come from a survivor society in rural areas. They survive every day. They don’t think tomorrow or next year or next month. They think today; what are we going to eat today, what are going to do today. They had problems at first taking the girls to the center because the parents thought they should get some compensation. They had to explain that you will have one less person to feed and you are going to have security for the future. You will have a girl that will be prepared and produce some money and support you eventually. But, it didn’t make sense for them at the beginning because they weren’t used to thinking about the future.
At first they had three girls then seven and built up numbers, now they have 13 girls and next year three more girls want to come. They can host 15 girls but Pastor Karen will probably work it out so all the girls will be able to come next year.
There is no set time on how many years they stay. It varies on the individual and their goals. They go home for a couple months every year when school is on break. The goal when they leave, “graduate” is that they will have a business plan and they are given seed money to start their business. That’s the goal. Besides cooking/baking some girls focus on sewing or gardening or other ways to earn money when they go back to their communities.
They have seen the changes already in the families of the girls when they have gone back. Some families have planted more vegetables and fruit trees for more sources to feed their families. Some have also helped their parents to better manage their money in the cost of baking bread to sell for example.
Besides vocational skills they also learn about gender justice, women’s rights and that they are in charge of their body especially as to how many children they will have because in the rural communities it is the man that decides that.
They have one main teacher but also do bible studies with Pastor Esther and classes with Beatriz and Diego.
They also have on line classes about the environment, agriculture, nutrition, and how to handle money. The girls have to budget for food. They have to figure out what to buy, they go grocery shopping, cook and they have to make sure they plan accordingly for the month. The first month was interesting commented Karen as the girls came up a little short. Everything they do here is a learning process.
MILAGRO all came about when women in the rural areas wanted a better life for their daughters. Years ago it was quite common for girls as young as 11 to be “given” to men in marriage for a small dowry because the family had so many children and no way to feed them. Now in Guatemala there are human rights laws that say you can’t marry a girl under the age of 18 or get a girl pregnant under 18. At the center they also have workshops for the church leaders and young men to talk about sexuality, what it means to be a man, and family planning. “We are sharing the information and doing changes little by little.” Remarks Karen. “Milagro women are agents of change for their communities.”
She goes on to say that delegations from the United States that have visited the rural churches also have helped in showing equality among men and women. When they see men doing the dishes and helping to cook it sets a good example.
“We are not preaching, we are serving and sharing, and praying with people and accompanying people in good and bad times,” Karen notes. “Everything is a process of sensibility of listening and especially discovering on their own. We give them material to read, we present videos and we ask them to research. Don’t buy everything we say here, research. They have smart phones now and read the bible. We don’t want to tell people what to believe and think they have to embrace it and discover it. They also have bibles in their native language.”
The rural Churches have grown by word of mouth and seeing the work that they are doing, working with them and not just taking their money.
Editor’s Note: The rest of this the Holy Cross’s interesting story in Guatemala will appear in the next issue of the Tribune Press Reporter.