Faith and Health in Guatemala

The Learning Tour Group in Downtown Guatemala City. From Left: Andrew, Daniel, David, Rochele, Nathan, Cate, Elisa, Kathy, and Mark.

Arrival

 
Arriving in the Guatemala City Airport is like arriving to a gigantic party (after you manage the slightly confusing immigration procedures!). Many people have gathered with baloons and welcome gifts to greet their loved ones – it was a bit of a challenge finding each other as most of us came in on different flights. Thankfully our hosts at GAHN, Dodanim – GAHN chairman, Gilma and volunteers Brian, Christian, and Yessica were determined to find and greet each of us personally and make sure we arrived safely and easily at Semilla and their guesthouse, Casa Emmaus.
 
As I (Cate) serve on the GAHN Steering Committee and have been working with our Guatemalan colleagues and leaders for a number of years, it was particularly joyful to finally see each other in person! Especially after over a year of planning and dreaming for this learning tour. A few times during the trip when we would visit a clinic or someone’s home I would laugh and say “Ah! That is where you do your Zoom calls! I recognize the background!”
 
[caption width="1024" id="attachment_35131" align="aligncenter"] Visiting Kaminaljuyu – an important Mayan site in Guatemala City
 

Exploring Guatemala City & Surrounds

 
On our first full day in Guatemala, we enjoyed a wonderful Guatemalan breakfast prepared at Casa Emmaus and then drove out to Iximche – an important Mayan cultural site a few hours from Guatemala City. It’s not possible to get to know Guatemala without understanding the deep roots of both her cultures and her struggles in history – especially the histories of the various Mayan people groups who have struggled for survival literally and in terms of linguistic and cultural survival. Many Guatemalan Mennonites either fully identify as Mayan and speak one of the Mayan languages (Q’eqchi’, K’iché, Tzutuhil) or have Mayan heritage they are proud of.
 

 
After a delicious traditional grilled-meat lunch, we learned from our guide at Iximche about Mayan football and saw an original stadium, and explored multiple layers and levels of a traditional Mayan village – now in ruins but with only a little imagination you can see the thriving place it once was. These ruins and others around Guatemala are still very sacred to the Mayan people, and although you cannot take pictures there, we were allowed to see the sacred area where Mayan families were practicing traditional religious ceremonies and prayers.

Throughout our visit we made visits to Mennonite Churches when possible – and our first visit was to Iglesia Evangélica Menonita Jesús el Ancia de la Fé where we were offered a wonderful dinner (we all thought the first plate brought out was the dinner – and it turned out to be merely the appetizer!). We also visited Casa Horeb, a Mennonite church in the heart of Guatemala city, where we were able to participate with local pastors in a workshop around resiliance and fostering resiliance in those we serve that GAHN generously set up. On the second night of the trip we visited Rocá de la Salvación Mennonite Church for a wonderful prayer service.

Throughout our visit we made visits to Mennonite Churches when possible – and our first visit was to Iglesia Evangélica Menonita Jesús el Ancia de la Fé where we were offered a wonderful dinner (we all thought the first plate brought out was the dinner – and it turned out to be merely the appetizer!). We also visited Casa Horeb, a Mennonite church in the heart of Guatemala city, where we were able to participate with local pastors in a workshop around resiliance and fostering resiliance in those we serve that GAHN generously set up. On the second night of the trip we visited Rocá de la Salvación Mennonite Church for a wonderful prayer service.

Food and the sharing of it was a significant theme of the trip – the many ways we experienced hospitality through being fed, often in churches and homes. We had dinner in Dodanim’s mother’s home – above one of the medical clinics Dodanim’s team runs and GAHN supports. We shared a meal in the homes of another GAHN volunteer, Yessica’s, grandmother and mother. We were served breakfast by host families in Santiago Atitlan. The list could go on! My mouth is watering for the thick, warm Guatemalan tortillas as I write this – but moreso, my heart is longing for the fellowship around the table we shared, often cobbled in multiple languages (Spanish, English, Spen-Glish most commonly, and a bit of French peppered in!), and with much laughter.

In every church we visited in Guatemala, and interacting with Gilma and others who provide leadership at the denominational level (IEMG), all of us as participants were very struck by how deeply engaged the Mennonite church in Guatemala is with social justice and serving those around them. One particularly moving visit we made not far from Guatemala city was to a community who was tragically impacted – decimated – by the volcano eruoption in 2018 of Mount Fuego. Hundreds died while others desperately tried to save them from the hot ash. The Mennonite Church was immediately active bringing emergency kits, later supplying new chickens for the families to raise, and helping to rebuild homes. This community cooked a wonderful meal for us and shared their homes with us – which were filled with beautiful art made from discarded tires and bottles. The whole group enjoyed watching the children break open a cow-themed pinata!

The view over Lake Atitlan

Visiting Lake Atitlan & Antigua

One of the real highlights of the entire learning tour was a trip Lake Atitalan a few hours away from Guatemala city. Despite a rather hilarious moment of meeting a river the van needed to ford – we arrived safely and enjoyed the incomparable beauty of this lake and its three volcanoes rising to the sky. We were hosted primarily by Anadesa, an MCC-connected ministry that was founded after another terrible natural disaster when storms caused a mudslide on the mountain to almost entirely eradicate some villages. MCC stepped in and afterwards with local community members began to offer empowerment opportuntiies for women and others in the community, including local children.

We had the fun experience of learning how to do beading like many of the women do at Anadesa in order to bring in a bit of money for their families! It was quite challenging but fun! Some of us hadn’t sat down to do a craft in a long while and it was a nice experience to relax with some coffee and sweet Guatemalan bread and bead!

We enjoyed a wonderful boat ride (on a boat named Elisa!) across the lake to enjoy lunch at a local restaurant overlooking the lake, and then had adventurous tuk-tuk rides to a viewpoint where we could see the entire area clearly.

That evening, after another wonderful cultural workshop in which we realized just how hard it is to grind corn to make tortillas, the group split up to stay with host families. It was a wonderful chance to get to know some of the people Anadesa serves and continue to experience the extraordinary hospitality of Guatemala.

The next morning the group headed to Antigua, Guatemala – an incredible, colorful city set in a perfect grid underneath yet another volcano. In Antigua we all enjoyed some rest after a busy week and explored the walkable city on our own. In the morning I (Cate) led a tour of some of Antigua’s most famous churches and church ruins which was very fun for me and I hope it was fun for everyone else!

Back in Guatemala City

We arrived back at Casa Emeus Guest House in Guatemala City and spent the last days of the Learning Tour visiting clinics and hospitals that the Mennonite Church and GAHN are involved with, continuing to share heartfelt and delicious meals, and visiting local churches. We had the joy of celebrating someone’s 90th birthday after church at Casa Horeb with tamales! Our last afternoon brought us to the Miraflores museum, where many artifacts found at Kaminaljuyu were on display and we continued to learn about the astounding depth and beauty of Guatemalan Mayan history and cultural stories.

[caption width="1024" id="attachment_35126" align="aligncenter"] A lab at one of the hospitals Dodanim works in that we visited.