30 January 2011
Caring for Creation in Guatemala
Earlier this month twelve team members returned from a Volunteers in Mission experience in Guatemala where they participated in a mission focused on the environment. Their primary task was to plant trees but team members also greatly benefited from extensive learning about the cloud forest and about the Queqchi, (one of the indigenous Maya groups) who live in the part of the country they visited.
Some of the trees the group planted around a school yard will bear fruit. There are now twelve different kinds of fruit trees in that location which, once mature will provide a healthy source of food throughout the year for the impoverished children who attend the school. As one team member noted, they serve as, “…the tree of life.” In Revelations 22:2, it states, “…on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, (was) yielding fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”
The cloud forest is spectacularly beautiful in the mountain communities the team visited but it is also vital to the environment in that part of the world. As the Mayan people say, “The forest catches the clouds,” and they are correct! Moisture in the clouds condenses on the leaves of the thick forest and other vegetation and drops to the ground. In the cloud forest, precipitation has been measured at seven meters (275 inches) per year while in areas where the forest has been cut, three meters (118 inches) has been recorded. The precipitation in the cloud forest is essential to all of the communities below who use it for water and for the livelihood of the plants, birds, insects and animals that live there. A highlight for all of the team was spending two nights in the homes of host families in the mountain community of Sanimtaqa. Communication provided the greatest challenge as no team members spoke Queqchi, (the language used by the women and children) and only a few knew Spanish which the men also spoke. However drawing pictures, pointing, gesturing and lots of smiles and laughter enabled the team to share with these loving and very family oriented people.
The team returned home much more knowledgeable about the importance of creation in this incredibly beautiful part of the world and with greatest respect and appreciation for the Queqchi and their way of life. This mission opportunity was truly an inspiration for all who participated.