presbyterian church Archives - Page 2 of 12

Grace Upon Grace

January 22, 2025January 21, 2025Guatemala Partnership

By Cindy Dower

Sixty-three years ago in sixth grade, I made a friend with an extraordinary person who would lead me to this extraordinary and spiritual experience of expanding my world.

I have watched and listened to Cathy Higgins as she followed her calling to Guatemala. Hearing the stories and seeing the pictures have inspired me, entertained me, and brought me to tears.

Puzzle Pieces and Growing Connections

February 8, 2024February 7, 2024Guatemala Partnership

By Tracy Keenan, Missional Presbyter

If you have ever put together a jigsaw puzzle, you’ll know that you start with the borders and, working from the picture you were given, put the pieces together. I’m new to jigsaw puzzles, and I’m fascinated by the detail, how deeply you can examine even one small section of a complex picture, and how you can organize pieces by shape, color, or region. The image on the box doesn’t quite do justice to the big picture.

This was my third trip to Guatemala with our NCP Guatemala Partnership, and the picture, for me, is not only a puzzle taking shape but an image spilling beyond the edges and rising into multi-dimensional animation.

Contrasts of Santiago Atitlán

February 5, 2024February 5, 2024Guatemala Partnership

Nearing the end of our visit to Guatemala, we visited the small town of Santiago Atitlán, across Lake Atitlán from our hotel stay the prior night. This town is scenic and interesting, but also suffers a tragic history, so we experienced many contrasts.

Stoves, a bakery and chocolate – a delicious combination

February 1, 2024February 1, 2025Guatemala Partnership

One of the New Castle Presbytery projects, in combination with CEDEPCA (our Guatemalan partner), is providing more fuel-efficient stoves for people. These cost $250 each, with $200 contributed by churches/individuals and $50 paid for by the recipient. It’s a lot of money for these people, but having ‘skin in the game’ is quite important.

About 10 years ago, I traveled to Guatemala with others from Concord Church to help build a stove in a Mayan house. Their cooking/heating was done with an open fire on the dirt floor of their house, with nowhere for the smoke to go. The stove we built, made from cinderblocks, sand, and other items, is much more fuel efficient than the open fire and has chimney to ventilate smoke outside.