Final Reflections from Dr. Gregory Cuellar: Dignity, Peace, and Justice

Our two-week mission in Guatemala and Mexico is now complete. Incomplete, however, is God’s Mission, which after this trip can seem more like a ‘Mission Impossible.’ It is apparent that the pervasive and chronic poverty in these countries is only the outer ripple of a broader Western hemispheric socio-economic system, beginning with the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. Traveling outside the ‘natural’ flows of the tourist industry, we were exposed to multiple and complex layers of indignity and injustice. Yet, even more disturbing is the nefarious use of Scripture to justify the inhumane treatment of thousands of indigenous groups in the region.

(The Ancient Mayan Arch, Uxmal Ruins)


In these margins of margins, the voice of the indigenous Mayan “other” speaks “from below” in a cacophony of dialects (i.e. Kaqichikel, Quiché, Bachajón, Tenejapa, Oxchuc, Chenaltio, Amatenango, Tzeltal). Weighing heavily upon their heads and shoulders are not only basic consumable goods, but also the adverse effects of our hyper-consuming practices and the skewing of justice by those in power. Indeed, the trail we followed took us to the starting point of our “guaranteed low price” merchandise. We came face to face with the women, men, and children who labor for a dollar a day, so that many in the “first” world can enjoy unrestricted access to discounted goods.


In the transnational network of low wage sweat shops (i.e. maquiladoras), many are driven to make the “extreme” decision of immigrating northward. With little recourse in exploitative situations, some inevitably become involved in gangs, prostitution, and drug trafficking. For others, however, the only “dignified” option is to immigrate northward, which means riding on the roof of the infamous migrant train “La Bestia” (The Beast) also known as El Tren de Muerte (The Death Train).

(See site: www.72migrantes.com)


At every stop in our journey, I would ask locals, “Do you have a family member or loved one in the U.S?” And with sobering eyes, their answer was almost always, “Si.” As one young Mayan woman said to me, “I have not seen or heard from my loved one in two years. His name is Vairo. If you see him—please let him know I am waiting.”


Rather than using the next few lines positing on a solution or response to the social and economic ailments of our region, I would like to leave you with an image of the world that I saw during our visit to Central America Evangelical Center for Pastoral Studies (Cedepca) in Guatemala City. This appears to be the best place for us to start.

La Bloga de Timoteo: Dos

On Wednesday, we visited a few points of interest on the Yucatan. Dzibilchaltun, Uxmal, and a few cenotes. A cenote is a sink hole where the large peninsula aquafir can be accessed via a hole on the ground. This aquufir spans the entire peninsula creating a network of underground rivers. The water contained therein is beautifully clear and just slightly under the air temperature; in short, it is wonderful to swim in one of these watering holes. The first of these pools that we visited was within the Dzibilchaltun campus. The pool here was beautiful: sparkling blue with lily pads in the center with a bottom that is shallow on one end and descends to the other into an abyss. It was about 10 am when we arrived to the cenote and i had already begun to sweat. Seeing everyone else wading in, I decided to cool off by jumping in. When I jumped in, I had fish swirling all around me. Each jump was as exhilarating as the first and we just drip dried back to the car.


Photo by Bruce Cebell of Tim jumping into the above ground cenote at Dzibilchaltun


After this we drove down a bumpy, nondescript farm road where we eventually stopped at a small concrete tube sticking out of the ground. Down through a small crack and into a cave, we found ourselves standing on a ledge over a giant pool of water. The only thing we could see was two small beams of light originating from the entrance while the rest was black. Small catfish swam silently backlit ever so slightly by the beams of light and a single bat would dart from one side of the cave to the other every once in a while.

Photo by Bruce Cebell of the sunlight shining into the cenote lake in the cave

Photo by Bruce Cebell of the APTS group swimming in the Cenote
From Left to Right: Gregory Cuellar, Greg Allen-Pickett, Cathy Stone, Beth Gleason, Tim Gray

The air was warm and humid as we all jumped in together.
As we sat in the water, enveloped by the cool blue light and smooth dark rock, my mind wandered. What can this mean? Where is God here?

Did you know that there are almost no above-ground rivers in the Yucatan? You can wander for days and never find any water. Although there is jungle everywhere, the majority of surviving plants are either cactus or have long roots to tap the deep water table. This is a desert.

How wonderous and awesome that there are these cenotes, that seem to just appear in the middle of nowhere. For me the teaching is obvious. Where is God? The sunday school answer is: all around us, but we don't always see this or trust in it. Sometimes we find ourselves in a jungle desert which over stimulates us with greenery and the cacophony of noise from a thousand birds and millions of insects. We can walk for days searching for God to quench our thirst, but when we only focus on what we see, we can't find anything.

Only until we find a cenote are we jarred from this desert. The water cools and relaxes us, but slowly we realize that this water, this agua de vida, streches far beyond this hole but is under the ground everywhere.

God was not hiding in a hole, but was under everything the entire time. We only allowed the desert jungle to maintain our focus when in all reality, we just needed to look under our feet. I'm not saying that we should ignore the desert and only focus on what is underneath. The desert is real, thirst is real. But we can quench that thirst and inform our ideas about this jungle when we realize that God is here. Now. With us.

God bless.

Liz Klar's reflections on the last leg of the trip and our first day in Merida

Buenos Dias mi Familia y Amigos!  

THE RIPPLING EFFECT OF A ROCK…MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 2012

We are travelers on a journey…a journey that will have a lasting impact.  For many of us we have no idea how this journey will impact others, much less ourselves.  We are traveling in kairos time and know that it is God’s work to transform us and maybe, just maybe through us and our journey, others will be transformed to God’s purpose.  This reminds me of the times my brothers and sisters would throw rocks into the water tank on our farm just to see who could have the larger ripple effect.  I believe God started forming our rock the day we were born…all the experiences of our lives have transformed our rock in some way and we have been thrown into the water many times.  This journey is just a continuation of our rock being transformed and thrown into the water day in and day out.  Some days our rock is just being transformed and other days it is not only being transformed but it is also being thrown into the water.  Each of us on this journey will experience a unique transformation of our rock and when thrown into the water a unique ripple, not concerned about how big or small the rock or the ripple is.  From my perspective, I believe the seven of us are all trusting God to lead us according to His will and purpose and be open to whatever the rippling effects God has in store for each of us. 

So our journey continues.  Today, we are traveling from Tuxtla Gutierrez to Mexico City and then connecting a flight to Merida in Yucatan, Mexico.  This traveling day has been much easier than the day we were on the bus for almost 12 hours going from Guatemala to Tuxtla Gutierrez in Chiapas, Mexico.  Personally not handling tight spaces and not taking care of my physical needs, made it a very difficult day for me to travel.  Because of my own self-absorption that day, my rock was not being transformed to God’s purpose or will and I don’t believe that my presence had any rippling effect that day at all.  However, through Professor Cuellar’s witness to this young Jewish woman and through Mark Nygard’s witness with this young Danish gentleman, my rock was being transformed as I listened to God’s work being done.  I also believe my rock was being transformed as I looked out at the beauty of God’s creation and reflected on the first part of the journey in Guatemala.  I am thankful for this kairos time to learn, to engage, to listen and to reflect.  I know when I return home, I will be back to kronos time and it will be up to me to make room for kairos time and continue to ask God to reveal his purpose for my life and to see where God is leading me from the experiences I have had on this trip.   

Boarding our flight from Tuxtla to Mexico City, a lot nicer than the bus ride from Guatemala!

THE FIRST FULL DAY IN MERIDA…MONDAY EVE AND TUESDAY DAY,

JANUARY 16-17, 2012

After we settled in at this beautiful hotel, we went to eat dinner.  We continued our quest to see who has the best Mexican food.  We have tried many different kinds of food and the local flavor is really good…not the Tex-Mex we are used to eating in and around Austin.  After dinner we made our way to the plaza (I just love plazas…a place to socialize and be engulfed into the culture).  We experienced the local dancers who entertained us for an hour.  I have inserted a photo of the dancers…it is just one of many songs they entertained us with.

This morning, our hotel provided us with a wonderful breakfast and then we made our way to a walking tour of the churches and buildings around the plaza in Merida.  Our tour guide, Jerry, shared with us some history of the Mayan culture.  Today about 80% are mestizos and about 80% still speak the Mayan language.  A mestizo is the term for a Mayan-Mexican.  Many of the buildings around the plaza are made up of rock from the Mayan ruins.  The Mayan culture has a lot of Spanish and French Influence.  Merida has the oldest Catholic Church on the whole North American continent.  Our tour guide told us that the Mayan and Catholic religions are very different.  Their beliefs are different about life, fertility, Gods, customs and traditions.   However in Chiapas and Guatemala, many Catholics and Mayans celebrate a bi-lingual mass together.  When the Mayan Indians were first seen by a Friar, he thought they were savages and must be taught the European way.  Many years later, Pope John Paul II, considered the bravest pope for apologizing to the Mayan community for how they had been treated and for the spiritual conquest. 

I am sure this apology took place in one of these chairs that we see in the plaza. 

These chairs are used for one on one conversation. Many lovers can sit face to face and stare into each other’s eyes. Dr. Cuellar immediately recognized these chairs as a symbol of what we have been experiencing this entire time in our Latin America Missiology course. We had to come face to face with what is going on in the 3rd World Country like Guatemala and in the rural villages of Mexico. We have looked eye to eye with many of the indigenous, the poor, the sick and those suffering in some form or fashion. We have also worshipped with these folks and have seen their faith strong in spite of the conditions that each faces. After worship this past Sunday, we were invited into the home of two sisters who served us some hot chocolate and pastries. I am sure they gave much more than they had, but yet wanted to share a part of them with us. What a gift and an expression of love. It is hard not to be changed when one looks eye to eye with someone less fortunate they we are and continues to be faithful in the one that created each of us. May God go with them each and every day and sustain them in every way.

Buenas noches y Dios los bendiga! 

Liz Klar

Sunday's visit to a small church out in the country. -Beth Gleason

Sunday, January 15, 2012Every journey you take into the world is also an interior journey. In a different place you are presented with a sacred opportunity to encounter the holy in others and in your self.
Sunday was such a day.

Cool and overcast, we journeyed out early for church in our big white van (aka the White Whale) to one of the poorest villages on the outskirts of Tuxtla.   Ocuilapa was on a hilly mountainside, at the edge of civilization, literally within site of the countrys massive jungle reserve. We picked up Rev. Sebastian's wife, Nellie and their two children, Hassidy and Gael on the way, as they were to be our official "hosts" to this remote church community.

Our APTS student guide Greg Allen-Pickett maneuvered the big van well in the rainy, rutted, dirt roads. Although these village roads were being resurfaced, as promised by the government, they had taken their time - over 6 months - and the roads were in tough shape (being polite here). So.....when we stepped from the van, which was several blocks from church due to the road conditions, one and all were ankle deep in mud......wet, thick, brown, suck-your-sandals-off mud. And then it started to rain. So, clinging to each other and some gracious local folks, we slipped and slided our way up to church. And, thank God, not one of us fell down! Si, se puede!

When we reached the church:

dressed in mud (feet, lower legs, pant legs, hems of skirts, you name it) we were met with pails of well water to wash ourselves off before entering the service. The host church, Iglesia Presbiteriana de Ocuilapa,  met us with smiles and laughter, helping us get clean(er)...it was truly a mud removal party for the Lord. When we entered the full (and patient) church we dispersed among the villagers in the pews and then joined them in worship. We were invited to share our hastily van-practiced hymn as their honored guests, and when our second hymn was in Spanish, everyone sang along. When we were invited to introduce ourselves at the end of the service every face was illuminated with love.

And then there was Dr. Cuellar's sermon. His sermon, translated by Greg Allen-Pickett, expressed a theme common to our trip, that of exile and return. This humble little church related to this theme. When Dr. Cuellar offered an altar call at his sermons conclusion, about two thirds of the church responded. Healing ensued among this body of Christ. It was amazing....but you will have to ask Dr. Cuellar to explain..... it would be safe to say that each of us experienced God's presence in our own way among our brothers and sisters in Christ.

APTS Student Liz Klar with congregation members

Fellowship with the Pastor, his wife, the congregants and their home made pan dulce (sweet bread) followed, and on our way out of town, we were invited to stop and visit two other families. More refreshments, more prayer together...such hospitality! And then Dr. Cuellar was invited to stay for the day with the church family, which is another story I invite you to ask him to relate. Grace abounds!


But, wait! Theres more! We had a grand lunch of roasted rabbit at a restaurant called _Cascada de los Conejos ("cascade of rabbits") before saying goodbye to our Tuxtla host, Rev. Sebastian and his family.

Then later in the evening we had the grand pleasure of travelling on the modern, mud-less Autopista toll highway over the beautiful mountains to San Cristobal for coffee with APTS alum (and middler Allie Utley's dad), the Rev. Carl Utley. Carl is on a Lilly Foundation sabbatical to study Spanish language for 3 months in San Cristobal. He had a great deal of enthusiasm explaining his love of the culture and mission work in Latin America. In closing I will quote Carl on Christian mission work from the indigenous perspective....."If you are here to help me, go home. If you are here because your salvation is bound up  in mine, then welcome, and let's get to work."

-Beth Gleason, APTS M.Div., 2013

Reflections on Mission from APTS Special Student Mark Nygard

Today is Wednesday Jan 11, We left the mission house and headed to a village high in the mountains called Buena Vista. The sights are breath taking. The city is about 7,000 ft in elevation and has a population of around 7,000, many of whom are children.

When we got near the village, we were met by two independent missionaries, Brock Johnson, and Mark Schmidt. Brock arrived at the village in 2008 looking for a place to serve the poor. He could not speak Spanish but remained in the village and learned the language and the needs of village people. His friend Mark arrived in 2009 with his family. Their first project was a home construction ministry called 12 by 12. This simply meant their goal was to build twelve houses in twelve months. This goal was accomplished, and they have now built seventy homes and already have twenty-one financed and ready to build this year.

They share their passion and their goals with us. They stated that domestic violence is high in Guatemala, even among Christian families. Men do not realize it is wrong to abuse their wives. A burden was put on their hearts to develop a sports academy for boys to teach them how to grow up and treat their wives properly. Their goal was completed last year with the building of a soccer gym and classrooms as well. Their next dream is to build a 14,000 sq.ft school. They stated that only 10% of the children of Guatemala go past the sixth grade. They want to see that changed. They have purchased the land for the school in the heart of the village and now are trusting in God to provide the funds for the project. They challenged our team to go out and be the church and to really live God’s word. They shared a statement given to them by a friend, which says, “Don’t be afraid to follow Jesus into the unknown, remember you are following Jesus, not the unkown.” It is evident that God is blessing their ministry. Their final challenge to us as we left was to go out and do something radical.

We visited several of the homes they had built in the village and met several of the people who live in them. I was very impressed with their ministry. We stopped in Antigua on the way back for a couple of hours.

Dr. Gregory Cuellar, Rev. Linda McCarty, APTS Student Greg Allen-Pickett and Faith in Practice In-Country Director Laura Shearer

In the evening, we met Rev Linda McCounty, who is CEO of Faith and Practice. She shared more about their ministry in Antigua. She stated that it was not just about healing bodies, but about the wholeness of helping the people in every way. She stated that even those who can’t medically be helped can still know someone loved and cared for them. She stated that often times the people who come to help are the ones who have the life changing experiences. She stated that even if one cannot speak their language that there is a lot of communication that transcends language.

Day four: Reflections on Mission by Liz Klar

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Buenos Dias La Familia y Amigos!

Another filled day learning about God’s mission in Guatemala.  After a wonderful breakfast fixed by Mark, our fellow classmate, we stayed at the Mission House which is our home away from home in San Lucas.  This has been our post as we go out and as we come back each day as we continue our journey on learning about short and long term mission in the Guatemala area.  Today, Rev. Dr. Karla Ann Koll came to continue the conversation that was started yesterday when we met with CEDEPCA (which is the Centro Evangelico de Estudios Pastorals en Centro America) on their campus in Guatemala City.  There are 4 components to the work that was started in 1979.  One is the Disaster Relief and Education Program, one is the Women’s Service Program, one is the Intercultural Encounters Program, and the last one is the Biblical, Theological and Pastoral Training which is administered by Dr. Koll.  

Dr. Koll is a professor of history, mission and religion and has been in Central America in various capacities before coming to serve as a mission co-worker assigned to the Latin America Biblical University in Costa Rica.  This university placed Dr. Koll at CEDEPCA.  She shared with us the information about the Colonization of Guatemala, the Chronology of Guatemalan Protestantism and Mission, the history of the Guatemalan Civil War, her own personal story and information about the relationships between the various Inter-religious organizations.  What she loves about CEDEPCA is that it is truly an ecumenical environment that is making a difference one person at a time.  The history of Guatemala has brought many challenges for modern day Guatemalans…51% live in poverty and 15% live in extreme poverty which is living on less than a $1/day.  We hear and we can see glimpses of the good that is being done but when there is so much corruption and violence, it is hard some days to realize that the reign of God is alive in Guatemala. Dr. Koll’s hope as well as many of the others working in the mission in Guatemala is that the reign of God will be present each and every day.

Dr. Koll joined us for lunch at Café Condessa in Antigua where we feasted on smoothies, sandwiches, soup and desserts made with the “best butter, thickest cream, and freshest eggs that money can buy.”

 Our student guide "Gregorio" enjoying a delicious dessert in Antigua

Tres Leches Cake!

After lunch we took a tour of Obras Sociales de Santo Hermano Pedro given by Vicki and translated by Laura, the program director for Faith in Practice in Antigua.  This is a Catholic hospital that provides much needed health care to the poor.  The objectives of this hospital are to give a home and help to malnourished children with cerebral palsy, to youth and adults with physical and psychological problems, older people and blind people that cannot find help in private or public institutions. Provide eye surgery at no cost for cataract, strabismus and tearing.  Offer general medical assistance, specialized and surgical, and many different types of therapy.  There are 34 surgical teams that come from other countries to perform the many needed surgeries.  The only cost to the patient for the surgery is a donation if they can afford it.  The hospital houses 230 patients in which 40% have parents and the other 60% have been abandoned.  There is education offered to not only the patients but also the employee’s children.  There is also a Birth and Nutritional Project that takes care of malnourished children and prepares children for cliff palette surgery.  These children all have families and are only there short term.  In addition they also provide outpatient services for gynecology, neurology and general medical needs.  It costs $250,000 per month to run the hospital in which 20% is from a government grant and the other 80% comes from donations.  The hospital was founded by Brother Pedro 300 years ago who was canonized a Saint.  Under the auspices of this hospital is an orphanage, rehabilitation center for drug and alcohol addicts and a nursing home. 

Another mission of Faith in Practice is Casa de Fe which is the Ronald McDonald House of Obras Sociales de Santo Hermano Pedro.  It opened in 2003 after there were great needs for those who were pre or post op to have a place to prepare or recover from surgery.  Without this place many would leave the hospital and sleep on the street or in unsafe hotels or travel long distances back home before they have fully recovered.  This house has 100 beds in the women’s and men’s dorm plus the family rooms.  In 2011, 26,000 patients were served.  The patients are provided free rooms with a free breakfast and dinner and possible lunch if one can’t physically or financially go and get it on their own.  This house is fully funded by a grant from Faith in Practice, the selling of tiles for those that have donated money to the house and medical mission teams providing a donation as well.  They provide spiritual care and education about specific medical needs.  There is a chapel for individual prayer.  The patients or families wash their own clothes by hand.  The goal of this house is for the patients of Obras Sociales de Santo Hermano Pedro to return to an active productive life. 

We ended our evening with a dinner meal provided by Pastor Julio and Jodi Rodriguez at the Mission House which is a retreat and house for mission teams.  Through their mission, they have not only built the Mission House but have also built the Getsemani School for 700 students in grades Pre-K through 12^th grade and started a Life and Light church which is housed in the school.   There are about to break ground for an actual church building on a piece of land outside of San Lucas.  After dinner, Julio and Jodie shared their faith journey and the mission work they are doing in Guatemala.  After a long day, we finally went to our separate rooms late. 

Buenas noches y Dios los bendiga!  Liz Klar

Bienvenidos and Welcome!

Welcome to the blog for the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary (APTS) Travel Seminar: Short and Long-term Missions in Latin America. We have a group of six APTS students and one professor in Latin America for the next two weeks (January 7-21, 2012). Below is some information about the class. Each day a student in the class will be writing an entry for the blog and posting it here, so stay tuned daily for some fresh content and a different perspective each day. Thank you for reading and following our journey!

The course description is:

Visiting Guatemala and Chiapas and Yucatan, Mexico, this class explores different approaches to short-term and long-term mission work. The trip includes meetings with Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission co-workers and with faith-based NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) to learn about their work. The group also visits with missionaries from other Christian denominations to explore differences in missiological philosophies and approaches. The trip includes conversations with students and faculty members of Presbyterian seminaries in Chiapas and Yucatan, and with personnel from a Catholic social service/social justice organization doing service-learning projects. Opportunities to explore Mayan ruins and sites of ecological interest are provided.

Our learning objectives for the class are:

By the end of this course, students will:

•             Have understood the historical significance of colonization and the role of the church and what impact these forces still have on missions in Latin America today

•             Have broadened their awareness of issues, such as immigration, relating to mission in Latin America and been exposed to a variety of models and methods for short and long-term missions

•             Be able to critically analyze different models and methods of missions based upon principles of sustainable development and missiology

•             Learn to bring into the critical learning process their own faith based questions, religious experiences, and fundamental convictions to missiology.

•             Have developed a skill set to explain and articulate different aspects of mission to congregations

•             Begin to understand what it takes to plan and implement a sustainable and responsible missions program in the context of a local congregation or ecclesial body

We arrived safely yesterday. Despite an early morning departure from Austin, student’s sprits were high. Our plane got in about 12:45 in the afternoon. After getting our rental van we headed up to San Lucas where we are staying. There is a family that runs a Missions House to provide lodging for short-term missionaries which is where we are staying. The facility is beautiful and very comfortable. You can see photos and learn more about it here: http://juliojodi.org/lamision/

After getting unloaded and settled in, we headed out to the grocery store to purchase food for breakfasts while we are here in Guatemala. We will be cooking our own breakfast together as a class each day. The grocery store was a fun experience for the class. Most of our students have never been to Latin America, or spent very limited time here, mostly in tourist destinations. So to immerse ourselves in the local culture was a treat.

After grocery shopping we loaded into the van and headed into Antigua for dinner. We met up with two missionaries from the Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) program that is run by the Presbyterian Church PC(USA). One of them is an APTS student who is taking a year off to serve as missionary. They joined us for a delightful dinner at La Pena del Sol Latino where we had delicious food and were serenaded by live music. http://lapenaantigua.com/

After dinner and our long day of travel, we headed back to our lodging and everyone was ready to sleep.

Sunday looks to be a very exciting day with worship services planned in both a Protestant and Catholic church and a lecture from Habitat for Humanity about their work here in Guatemala. Stay tuned for more blog updates and please pray for us on our journey.

Prayer requests:
Prayers of thanksgiving for arriving safely and having a GREAT first day

Prayers of thanksgiving for meeting up with the great missionaries last night

Prayers that our student’s minds and hearts will be open to where God is leading us on this trip

Prayers for the health and safety of our group