Two Histories

By Cathy Higgins and Carrie Saathoff, Co-Chairs, Guatemala Partnership of New Castle Presbytery

This post shares two histories – one of our partnership and one of Guatemala’s most well-known cities.

As we left the mountains of Totonicapán on our way to Antigua, Cathy was reflecting on all of the progress these faithful, hardworking women and men have made. She had a watershed moment during our visit with AJPU. There are currently 59 women of the Association who are on the waiting list to receive water filters. WHAT?? This was our first project with AJPU that began 15 years ago and now it is being resurrected.

Cathy remembers visiting the workshop for the first time in 2010, helping bang the molds apart with a hammer to uncover a new concrete water filter. It might seem as though we are regressing or going backwards, but in fact, this is a sign of progress and moving forward. Coming full circle.

Many of the women are new to the Association and have not received a water filter yet, while a few of the women are asking for a second water filter as theirs have lived the expected life of 15 years and counting, and they need a new one. How long does your home filter, Brita filter or water softener last? We think 15 years for such a product is pretty good. Anyway, more about the water filters later.

Later on Sunday, we arrived in Antigua – an old colonial city with so much history – to a lovely small garden hotel where Carrie’s husband, Shawn, joined the group. Antigua was the capital of Guatemala from the 1500s until 1776 when it was moved to Guatemala due to all the destruction caused by volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. 

After breakfast on Sunday, René Herrera (a wonderful guide – let us know if you ever need one in Antigua!) joined us and we were off just like Dora the Explorer. Remember Diego? Well, Diego Porras (1677-1741) was an architect who had the will, insight and knowledge to construct churches and convents in Antigua that were earthquake-proof.

Evidence of his success lies in the fact of that many of his buildings are still standing today. One of the best examples of his work is Capuchina Convent, constructed in 1736. Thick columns and strong archways are a testament to his engineering genius. And although the structure has been safe and sound for hundreds of years, Luis – our trip facilitator and member of the CEDEPCA Disaster Ministry team – still made sure we knew where the meeting spot was in case of an earthquake. Safety first, we joked!

Renee took us to a variety of other famous sights, including the cathedral La Merced where we had a random celebrity sighting of the current Miss Universe. Initially, we were thrilled that she was Guatemalan – but alas, a Google search told us she was from Mexico.

After our tour, we headed to an amazing organic farm for a fresh farm to fork lunch. The place is just beautiful, with flowers, plants, gardens everywhere, a lovely menu and inventive smoothies. They even had the NFL playoff game on a big screen TV, so we left the boys there (Shawn and Bruce) while the rest of us did our last-minute shopping.

We all returned to our homey hotel in Guatemala City to end our trip together. Carrie and Shawn left early on Monday for a week in Tikal and Belize to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. The rest of us are currently still at the hotel, two days later, with the snowstorm canceling our flights. We hope to get home by Thursday. But we have everything we need here – a lovely garden, warm weather, museums, a zoo – all good! Now we have extra time to work on our trip presentations while everything is still fresh in our minds. Hope you will attend! (February 22 at both Trinity and Westminster and March 8 at West Nottingham.)

Carrie will then return to Guatemala for another week visiting the Association and the communities they serve – and will be hosting Valery Nodem, international coordinator of the Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP) on this visit as well. PHP has made two $10,000 grants to the Association in 2025 and 2026 for cows and stoves respectively. So we have arranged for Valery to witness these funds in action. Carrie will also be scouting out rural schools to visit with a group of teachers and administrators from Kennett High School. This teachers’ week-long trip will happen in July, thanks to a generous grant from New Castle Presbytery to help cover the cost.

Finally, Carrie will stay in Guatemala for a fourth week to attend the CEDEPCA USA Board meeting. She has served a total of six years on the board, with three years as President. She will be rotating off this year and taking a much-needed break. She will send one or two more blogs in the coming weeks to share highlights (but not every day – don’t worry!)

Thanks to everyone for your support, interest and traveling with us this past week. None of this work would be possible without you! If you are interested in joining us in this work or on the next trip, please let us know.

Blessings to all/Bendiciones!