Church in Guatemala City

By: Janie Wehrer

As our second full day in Guatemala concludes many of us are reflecting and absorbing what we have witnessed. An undoubtable highlight of the day includes the morning church service at Sembradores de Vida in Guatemala City. While traveling to church early in the morning we passed the ravines, a crammed congregation of tin huts and shafts seemingly layered atop one another on a large stretch of mountains. American standards would qualify these as impossible living conditions, and yet to thousands of people this poverty is their reality. The diversity of living conditions in Guatemala is astounding. At our church service there were representatives of a spectrum of living conditions, a factor that is not obvious to the observer as a spirit of unity dominated the atmosphere. Though the church is not a physical spectacle, and housed perhaps thirty to forty people, the worship and prayer time can only be described as unearthly. Immersed in the sincerest expression of worship (most of which I could not decipher), I felt saturated by the presence of God, provoking me to express my own praise, and absorb every moment. Following worship a service was delivered by Pastor Fernando about living in the fullness of Christ and rejecting false philosophy (Colossians 2:8-10), his profound words were graciously translated by a bilingual member of the church, allowing us to comprehend his message.

 Following the service our team set up a “picnic” on the third floor of the building, feasting on pre-made sandwiches and snacks. As we waited for Pastor Fernando to return and give us a preview of what we would encounter this week, we entertained ourselves by singing and playing the church piano. When Pastor Fernando arrived back at the church he brought with him Pastor Mario, a representative of an affiliate church who works directly in zone 7, the area where we will be serving this week. After hearing an explanation of what we will be encountering, we embarked on a prayer walk through zone 7, specifically focusing our prayers on the children affected by the devestating conditions of poverty and gang violence, while also magnifying our perspectives of poverty. Finally we returned back to the mission house to focus our attention on preparation for the coming week of VBS ministry.

Already we as a group are growing closer and daily understanding how blessed we are and how much work there is to do for Christ’s kindgdom