A letter from David and Jeannene Wiseman in Guatemala
September 3, 2007
Friends,
Jeannene and women of Occidente Presbyterial doing group problem-solving exercise during the women’s course &ldquop;Alternatives to Violence.”,?p>
David and I have just begun to host an 11-day visit with a delegation of women seminarians from Princeton Theological Seminary. During their stay they will participate in a two-day faith-sharing retreat with eight Guatemalan women. As a way of getting acquainted, each of the women will share something she has from her grandmother or something learned from her grandmother. I’m going to show my Iowa grandma’s kitchen knife, which I often saw her use when she dressed and cut up a chicken. David and I use her knife every day in meal preparation.
One of the reasons I wanted to work in mission is because of my Iowa grandmother’s prayers and commitment to mission. As I remember her, she regularly prayed with the World Book of Prayer, which later became the Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study. When I was 10 or 11, my nuclear family made a trip to Albuquerque. We visited the Menaul School because of my grandmother’s and mother’s interest. A few years after my grandpa died Grandma took a trip with other Presbyterian women to visit some of the U.S. mission locations she had prayed for over the years, including Maryville College in East Tennessee.
I am grateful for this legacy from my grandmother and grateful for her devotion to mission. I know Jesus in part because I watched and learned from the spirit incarnated in Grandma.
Mission co-worker Ellen Dozier is also a part of the Princeton delegation trip. After 11 years in Guatemala, Ellen knows a lot about how best to relate with the women of the Guatemalan church. If consulted about plans for a workshop, for example, Ellen might say, “We need a woman translator. If a man is present the women won’t feel free to talk.” Or “I like the focus of Martha and Mary for a study, but remember that your questions need to be more concrete, like lsquo;What things do you think about as you cook and sweep?’” Ellen’s spirit of wisdom about the work comes from years of building relationships in Guatemala, and we all are blessed.
This morning the group also spoke with Dennis Smith, another PC(USA) mission co-worker in Guatemala. Dennis is another veteran, with 30 years service here in the area of education and communications. Because the Guatemalan presidential election is this Sunday, September 9, Dennis gave us a summary of the political candidates and the history and continued existence of violence and corruption that await whoever is elected. The cumulative spirit of knowledge Dennis shared gave us an invaluable glimpse into the climate in which daily life unfolds in Guatemala.
David and the 2006-2007 Young Adult Volunteers in Panajachel. The YAVs returned to the States in early August.
Mission is a network. It is a network in part passed to us by those who have gone before. It is a network of relationships, a network of the Spirit in our midst and the spirit of each person making up the network. Those of you who offer your prayers, your attention to the work and your financial support are as much a part of the network as any of those I have named above.
With all this in mind, during October, 47 of us PC(USA) mission co-workers will be sharing stories of our ministry throughout 143 presbyteries. Thanks to our wide network of support we will be bearing witness to water systems being installed, health facilities being built, women discovering their innate value and cultural barriers being bridged, not only in Guatemala but around the world.
Our passionate appeal will be that every church throughout the denomination will deepen their commitment to support mission co-workers so that one day our grandchildren will know how the prayers and commitments of those who have come before them have participated in making known the Spirit of Jesus Christ in all parts of the world.
Please be part of the generational network.
Jeannene Wiseman
The 2008 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 258
