Puzzling over the visit

Trip planning, especially for an international one, is not easy.  In fact, putting all the pieces together so the whole puzzle is completed often takes the help of many people. That’s why CHPC’s Guatemala Partnership Group needs your help. The plan is to bring four representatives from the Q’eqchi’ Estoreno Izabal Presbytery, which is part of the National Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Guatemala (IENPG), to Louisville and Southern Indiana Oct. 4-13.

Early this month, the outline of a puzzle will be on the bulletin board in our church’s gathering room off the narthex.  Below it will be puzzle pieces with specific tasks that volunteers are needed to complete either before or during our partners’ trip. The idea is to choose a task you will commit to do, write your name on the back of the puzzle piece and affix it to the puzzle outline. This will be a visible way for all of us to see what work tasks have been taken and what things we still need volunteers to do.

Some early urgent needs include:

·         Being on a team to park cars on the church lot on Saturday, August 9, from 11:30 a.m. – 10 p.m. during the St. Joseph’s Picnic to raise money for air fares for our partners. (Call Perry Chang at 457-7833.)

·         Meeting with the Guatemalan Partnership Group on Saturday, August 16 from 11 a.m. – 12:30 pm at the Castleberry/Zuniga home. New people with new ideas are welcome in discussions of trip details and covering any additional trip expenses. An added bonus is we usually talk with some of our partners by phone or Skype to share ideas and our “joys and concerns” prayers. (Call Soni Castleberry at 417-6481.) Follow up meetings will be Thursday, September 11 at 6 p.m. at CHPC and Saturday, Sept. 27, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., place to be determined.

·         Representing CHPC at PCUSA’s Guatemala Mission Network meeting Tuesday, September 2 – Friday, September 5 at Cedar Ridge Camp. Attending any part of it to listen, learn and share what other groups are doing nationwide would be a great benefit. (Call Perry Chang at 457-7833.)

The Estoreño Presbytery and our church have been involved in a presbytery-to-congregation partnership for the past six years.  Members of CHPC have visited El Estor and the surrounding area four times, and three representatives from the presbytery visited here in December 2011.

One goal of this trip is getting more of our members and visitors involved in the Guatemalan Partnership by getting to know some of our partners while they are here.

We are planning for four representatives to come. All are currently working on getting passports and visas for the trip and many prayers are being made that the U.S. government will approve all four to come. Believing that will be true, we hope you will begin learning their names and how they are involved with the presbytery. They include:

·          Ramiro Quib Caal who also came on the last visit. Ramiro is the treasurer of the presbytery as well as an elder of the Arca de Noe church in El Estor, Izabal.  He and his family live in El Estor. 

·         The Rev. Raul Contreras Tut who is the secretary of the presbytery and also the pastor of the Altar de Noe church in El Estor, Izabal.  He and his family also live in El Estor and hosted our pastor on one of our trips to Guatemala.

·         Rosa Marina Tacaj Pop is an organizer for the presbytery’s Presbyterian Women organization. She is also a deacon of the Monte Sinai church in San Carlos El Pourvenir, Puerto Barrios where she and her family live.

·         Byron Ottoniel Pop Paau is the president of the youth and young adult organization of the presbytery. He is also a deacon of the Arca de Noe church in El Estor, Izabal where he and his family live.

-Soni