Richard and Debbie’s Fall,
2015 ‘Mission Connections’ letter.
Dear Friends and Partners
in Mission,
“The former leadership is gone now. You have been
called to lead the people of your communities in matters of life and faith. As
you prepare for leadership, ask yourselves, ‘What is the mission?’ ‘What is the
charge?’ ‘What is the promise?’ ‘What is the method or the process that will
lead to success? ‘How are we to prepare for this call to leadership?’ The
answers to these questions are in the verses we just read. Look them over again
and work together to discover these answers.” We were visiting the class, “The Bible in Mission”. And because we’d
developed relationships with some of the professors and students over our time
here, we quickly learned we weren’t going to get by with just observing the
class. Shortly after dropping in, we were each assigned to participate in one
of the small groups into which the class had been divided.
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| Bird's eye view from the balcony. Looking down on the third year theological training class |
For the backdrop of this
particular exercise, the professor had selected the opening verses of the Old
Testament book of Joshua. Moses, the ‘bigger than life’, charismatic, gifted,
and clearly called leader of the entire Hebrew community was gone. Joshua was
now being called to fill some very big shoes. Professor Jorge, either by
providence, accident, or through his understanding of the context from which
this group of men and women from the indigenous communities arrived, presented
this text in a way that resonated with almost everyone there. We listened to
several powerful stories of several modern-day ‘Joshuas’ striving to live out
their calls to leadership in their communities under often very difficult
circumstances.
Observation, Interpretation, Application
What is the mission? Lead
this entire community across the river and possess a new land. What is the
charge? Do this with faith and courage. What is the promise? God will be with
you. The land is already yours. What is the process and how do we prepare? Sustain
and build your faith and courage through God’s Word and observances of
community worship. “These are good ‘textbook’ answers,” explained Professor
Jorge. “Now, how does this apply to your ministries?” In taking these students
through the process of reading, understanding, and finally applying the words
of scripture into their daily lives, these students were being invited out of
their comfort zones to relate Joshua’s experience to their own. Patrona, a
young female leader of her community’s ‘presbyterial’ or woman’s organization,
shared about the calling the members of her group felt to travel the often
dangerous roads in their presbytery to build community among women in other
villages. “That’s kind of like crossing a big river” she said. Gonzalo, a
pastor and family man, talked about being called to serve in a new community
that had recently lost their long-time and well-loved pastor to cancer.
“Everything was about how he used to do things. He might not have been Moses,
but it was really hard to continue after him.” An older pastor, shared memories
from his youth about their pastor and community leader who had to flee the
village during the country’s civil war as he had been rumored to be
collaborating with the rebels. “Others had to take his place, though they
didn’t feel ready and it was dangerous”.
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| Participating in the group discussion |
Often when we are privileged
to witness and be a part of the stories and experiences of our sisters and
brothers attending training classes, or we visit with the young people
attending secondary school on scholarships faithfully provided by their
brothers and sisters in congregations in the US, or we experience vocational
training projects that improve the lives of church family members, we think of
how we wish you all could be here to be encouraged by these accounts of growth
and transformation on so many levels. As we’ve said before, these are your
stories. Your support and encouragement of ministries so far away from your
places of work, life, and worship, brings these stories closer to you, just as
your participation in what is happening here, brings you closer to us. Still,
we wish you could experience each touched life firsthand.
Preparation without Passion - Passion without
Preparation.
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| Sharing our connections at the end of the class: Some have the preparation, some have the passion, Together we can walk in mission. |
At the conclusion of the
class session, the professor shared three possibilities for ministry. One is to
have good preparation for ministry, but not the courage to carry it out
effectively. The second possibility is to have the courage to step out in
ministry, but be lacking in the preparation necessary to effectively lead and
minister to the community of faith. Joshua’s story shows both his preparation
for his new and difficult role, as well as the courage he had to step into that
role and lead the people into new and unknown places. Before dismissing the
class, Jorge invited us to share anything we might want to share with the
class. Looking at the last slide describing these three possibilities, Richard
couldn’t help but make a comparison. The first one ‘preparation without
passion’ could describe his and many North American’s experiences. We’ve had
the privilege of experiencing excellent preparation for our faith journeys from
youth through our university years. Often times however, we lack the passion
necessary to step out in that faith journey. On the other hand, ‘passion
without preparation’ could describe the experiences of many in these classes.
They sacrifice so much to be able to participate in ministry, and in order to
take advantage of this training, they travel long distances away from work and
family. Perhaps in our experience of partnership, as we’ve helped provide for
their preparation, maybe we can gain from their passion and courage for
ministry.
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| Hermana Rosa preaching at the final gathering. Truly passion and preparation coming together! |
Our stories are truly
connected. We consider ourselves blessed and thankful for our connection with you
who read our updates, correspond with us, pray for us, and support us
financially. It is such a joy for us to benefit from your preparation and
passion. We invite your continued involvement as we keep these connections
alive serving together in Guatemala!
Thank-you and blessings to
you all!
Debbie and Richard Welch
PC(USA) Mission
Co-workers, Guatemala
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