Reflections on the trip by Ellen Dozier

In my 10 years plus of living and working in Guatemala, I have on ocasión had the opportunity to travel with a delegation from the U.S.A. visiting in Guatemala. I have always enjoyed these trips; it is a time to be with people from the U.S.A. who are interested in Guatemala and to share some of my experiences with them; it is time to eat in restaurants and sleep in hotel beds (when I travel with the Guatemalan women we eat in “comedors” (tortillas, beans and eggs for a dollar) and often sleep on church floors); and it is time to travel in a vehicle that stops for bathroom breaks!

So when I was offered the opportunity to travel with the group from Crescent Hills Presbyterian Church in Louisville, I immediately said, “YES.” The time with this group of 19 folks met all my expectations and more. There were hotel beds, restaurants, bathrooms, but far more important was the time to be with new found friends and fellow pilgrims “on the way,” trying to live in God’s Kingdom.

I especially enjoyed watching the group prepare and carry out the workshops – for elders and deacons, for youth, and for the women. Since my work in Guatemala is with women, I was able to share from my experience some of the realities of what it means to be a woman in Guatemala. For example, most of the women at the workshop had never had an opportunity to attend school, were unaccustomed to thinking abstractly, and lived in their small world of home, church, and market. The Crescent Hills group rapidly adopted my suggestions, such as drawing a picture of the Scripture passage to help the elders and deacons visualize the words they were reading.

After this experience I have a new understanding of how delegations can support and be a part of on going ministry in places they visit. Delegations can encourage, bring needed resources, and work alongside those of us – mission co-workers, long and short term volunteers, Young Adult Volunteers – who are already doing ministry in these places.

And all this is very Biblical! After all we read in the Old Testament that Moses’ father-in-law told him he could not take care of all the problems of the Israelites out there in the desert, he needed to appoint others to help him. And Jesus was not a “loner,” men and women traveled with him, learning from him, and participating in ministry with Jesus. And one of the most prominent images in the New Testament is of the Church called to be the body of Christ - feet, hands, mouth, arms – all are necessary and have a part in ministry.

My hope and prayer is that more delegations will work closely with those of us “on the field,” whether in Central America, Africa, Asia or any other part of God’s great world, that together we can be signs of God’s Kingdom in this world.

Ellen Dozier