Connections Like These

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Dear friends,

My time as a mission co-worker is quickly coming to a close (I finish at the end of December), but these final months have been rich in connection and hope. It’s true for all of us that as we make major life and job changes, God’s work just keeps unfolding as the Spirit moves in and around us. I want to tell you about a recent Spirit-infused experience.

From October 4-14, my colleague Pamela Líquez, CEDEPCA’s Women’s Ministry Coordinator, and I traveled together on the East Coast of the U.S. to share about the work CEDEPCA is doing to promote gender justice and healthy relationships in Guatemala. It was a trip we had dreamed about and then started planning once Pamela was granted a travel visa to the U.S. – which was an unnecessarily long and frustrating process. Because of how long it was in the making, the trip felt like nothing short of a miracle!

[ngg src="galleries" ids="1257" display="pro_horizontal_filmstrip" show_captions="1"]Our first stop was New Castle Presbytery – in the area surrounding Wilmington, Delaware. We spoke at both Westminster and Concord Presbyterian Churches about the Tamar and José Projects, which are transforming how adolescent girls and boys see themselves as equally beloved by God and called to be agents for change in their communities. Pamela and I had worked ahead of time on developing engaging presentations filled with personal stories and testimonies, and Pamela gave the presentations in English – a huge accomplishment for an English learner. I know from experience how intimidating it is to speak in front of an audience in a language you’re not completely comfortable with; after each presentation, we celebrated with high-fives and a deep breath.

We took in the beauty and history of the area with tours through historic New Castle, Longwood Gardens and Winterthur. But more importantly, we had a chance to see local life from another angle as we learned about the Guatemalan immigrant experience in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, home to dozens of mushroom farms dependent on immigrant laborers. We visited a mushroom house to learn about working conditions, meandered through neighborhoods of trailers and crowded apartments where the workers live, and shopped at local supermarkets where we were able to see authentic Guatemalan products. Kennett Square is really like a “Little Guatemala.”

We also spent a morning at Kennett High School, giving a presentation to faculty and staff about the factors that force so many people to leave Guatemala. We visited the school’s free clothing/food closet and several of the classrooms. The school continues to receive newly arrived Guatemalan students, and we were impressed with the teachers’ passion and dedication to making sure these students feel welcomed and have the support they need. As it was only Pamela’s second time in the United States and her only time seeing migration realities from the U.S. side, she will take back valuable stories and information to incorporate into her work in rural Guatemalan communities.

The highlight of the visit was the training Pamela led for case workers from Young Moms and Migrant Education in Southern Chester County, two organizations that work with young Guatemalan mothers, and the interactive lesson Pamela facilitated for six young moms at the Kennett YMCA. Using the Tamar curriculum developed at CEDEPCA, Pamela led the girls in writing poetry, playing games, reading scripture, and sharing about the difficulties they have faced as young people. When one girl told her where in Guatemala she was from, Pamela said, “My grandma grew up in that town!” Oh, to see the flash of recognition and joy! It is impossible to imagine their challenges of navigating a new language, new cultural norms, and, in many cases, continued conditions of poverty and violence, but what a gift to have Pamela sit with them and listen. The girls were thrilled to meet her and to soak up the attention and encouragement she offered.

After our time in the New Castle Presbytery, Pamela and I traveled through DC, stopping to take in history and art and good vegan food, and continued with church presentations in Virginia. In every church, we sensed authentic interest, love, and solidarity. The church is alive when connections like these are made and reaffirmed.

It was a joy to travel with a colleague like Pamela who is open to the Spirit and willing to take risks. We were two women connected by our faith and a passion to help other women see themselves as beloved. All along the way, we would talk – sometimes in English, sometimes in Spanish – about what we noticed, celebrating the strides already taken in gender justice through the 38 years of CEDEPCA’s existence, dreaming about the future of what God still has in store.

Connections like these – connections across borders that lead to wondering and learning and dreaming – are possible because people like you are praying and cheering us on and giving.

I am so, so grateful: grateful to have been in the middle of these connections for four and a half years, and grateful that God will still keep involving us all in God’s work.

Grace and peace to you!

Betsey