We Are Called to Love

A letter from Sandi and Brian Thompson-Royer  serving in Guatemala

Spring 2015

When we hear from churches and friends in the U.S., they often ask:  “What do you do in Guatemala?”  Frankly, there are days we wonder!  And then God speaks loudly and reminds us.  We are called to love.  Our lives are being transformed each and every day in Guatemala through our partnership with the Sinodica (Presbyterian Women’s organization in Guatemala) as well as with our new community here in Quetzaltenango.
It’s been a year since we arrived on Mother’s Day, May 10, 2014!  By U.S. standards, we live simply.  Our apartment has two bedrooms, one bathroom, a tiny kitchen and a small dining room.  Cold water comes out of the two sinks, and we heat water to do the dishes.   One evening we had new Guatemalan friends for tea and cookies.  One of their children, Gilbert, who is 5 and has spent time here was excitedly showing our apartment to his sisters.  Then he snuggles up to Brian and asks, “Do just you and Sandi live in all these rooms?”  Maura and Werner have four children.  They live in a two-bedroom Habitat home and have “enough.”  When we miss our grandchildren, Gilbert’s love helps fill that hole.  They are a beautiful, loving family and we are finding ways to support each other.

…We Are Called to Love (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Berta, a seminary student

Maura is an indigenous woman from a Mam community fairly close to us in Quetzaltenango and was recently elected onto the Directiva of the Sinodica (the leadership team of the Presbyterian Women of Guatemala) as the Vice Moderator.  She is the only indigenous woman serving on the Directiva, yet more than 50 percent of the Presbyterians in Guatemala are indigenous.  Maura comes with much experience and passion working within the Presbyterian Church, serving in her presbytery.  She is the moderator of her presbyterial and teaches the children in her church.  When we visited her church we heard the children sing familiar songs (“This Little Light of Mine” and “Jesus Loves Me”) in Mam, Spanish and English!  Maura is a bilingual preschool principal/teacher working in a government school here in Quetzaltenango.  Unlike many of the women in Guatemala, her husband, Werner, is her biggest supporter!  He makes sure she gets to her meetings, helps with their children, and helps with the many activities of the women.  I can’t imagine being as busy as Maura.  It is God calling her to make a difference.  She is following that call to “love”!

Since December our home has been filled with both U.S. and Guatemalan guests most nights.   Providing hospitality is part of our call.  There are over 20 U.S. presbyteries with partnerships in Guatemala. We spend time connecting with many of these partnerships.  We are a bridge, bringing the people of God together and learning what gifts we all have to share and how we can work and be together.  Brian continues to be the bridge that connects both the Western North Carolina Presbytery Partnership and Covenant Presbyterian Church in Madison, Wis., to our church partners in Guatemala.  These U.S. Presbyterian partners have programs for scholarships/becas, educational improvements, water filters, stoves, health programs, and a seminary-style School of Social Change and Theology.  All of these efforts depend on careful and loving relationships in which we combine our call and what we are learning from our Guatemalan sisters and brothers about the best way to help increase their capacity.  Like 1 Corinthians 13, as our hearts break open, we can handle more suffering and love more.

One of the scholarship recipients is Bertha.  Her father was a pastor and she is following in his footsteps.  She is a young woman with a family, yet feels called to attend the theology school.  Her dream is to deepen her faith, help her people, and become the eighth woman pastor in the National Presbyterian Church of Guatemala.

Juana, Maura and Sandi

Brian and I were invited to a very rural Maya Quiche community near the coast by another U.S. Presbyterian church partnership.  From Matzatenango, the closest city, we traveled by bus for two hours.  Then we climbed into the back of a pickup truck and held on tight, winding our way up the mountain to the end of the road.  We are learning well how to navigate chicken buses and pickup trucks, and we have walked many miles this year!  Over 30 women attended the domestic violence awareness workshop that I led.  We discussed how Scripture does not condone violence and identified ways they could support their sisters in their churches and communities.  The women realized they had sisters suffering from violence and promised to listen more and support each other in a community with little resources to help families suffering from abuse.

The afternoon was spent with a lively bright group of teens and young adult women still in school.  The focus was on empowering these young women to be safe from sexual abuse in their community and appreciate how wonderful they are.  There had been rumors that there had been inappropriate touching by a teacher and they wanted to learn ways to protect themselves.  I was impressed with their confidence and ability to discern their gifts of intelligence and beauty and begin to realize their personal dreams!  I’m excited to be going back again in August and be with all of these women again.  Like many teens discussing difficult subjects, there were many giggles and yet serious listening.

On the days we receive emails and snail mail from you all, we are thrilled!  We want to hear from you.  We are in the U.S. most of April and May visiting many of you and are very excited to deepen our relationships.  Remember your financial assistance is what keeps us going! Please visit our World Mission profile page for updated information and newsletters.  Email us at sandi.thompson-royer@pcusa.org or brian.thompson-royer@pcusa.org (you can use the links below).

Sandi

The 2015 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 70