Why another trip?

We need to try hard to have in-person, face-to-face contact between Crescent Hill folks and folks in our partner presbytery, eastern Guatemala’s Q’eqchi’ Estoreño, Izabal Presbytery, at least once a year. It is true that we have been maintaining almost monthly e-mail and phone contact, and we have been engaged in some events that have brought each other closer (speakers from Guatemala, prayer vigils both at Crescent Hill and in Guatemala in which we pray for each other, weekly prayers, teaching local Guatemalan Americans English). And it is true that mission trips (depending somewhat on the numbers) are costly for the church, for trip supporters, and for those involved. However, the phone calls typically only involve one Estoreño person (Pastor Gerardo Pop Ich) and a half dozen or us who have been to the task force gatherings .

Especially in the early days of a partnership, it’s hard to develop personal relationships, hard to see where God is pointing us, and hard to sustain partnership momentum without worshiping in person with each other, without visiting with each other at each other’s churches and homes, and without being able to explore in person each other’s culture, beliefs, and practices. At some point, we hope that this will include visits by some Guatemalans to Louisville.

The 2010 summer mission trip – as we have envisioned it– would helps us take a big step in this process. We would be going to a “neutral site” where we would both be exploring together, but one relatively near to El Estor so that a number of Estoreño folks would be able to participate (as opposed to the November 2008 meeting further away at Amatitlan that only two pastors attended). We would be going to the metropolitan center of Q’eqchi’ culture, so together we would be able to learn more about Q’eqchi’ culture and religion. And we would be going to a place with affordable, but not too rugged accommodations, only a five-hour drive from the Guatemala City airport, so that a wider array of Crescent Hill folks (including those who would probably not be able to do the 10-hour, bumpy trip to El Estor or stay in people’s homes there) would be able to participate in this trip.

Yearly person-to-person contact, joint exploration/learning, directly engaging a broader array of Crescent Hill and Estoreño folks – all great things about the planned-for summer 2010 trip.

-- Perry