A letter from Ellen Dozier in Guatemala
December 3, 2007
Friends,
Ellen with children from First Presbyterian Church, Quincy, Florida, where she spoke as part of Mission Challenge '07.October was a full, exciting, tiring, intense and wonderful month for me as I participated in Mission Challenge ’07 and traveled to presbyteries in south Georgia and north Florida. I ate foods I had not had in years, boiled and fried okra, sweet potato casserole, creamed corn, sweet ice tea and lots of potato salad and fried chicken!
I met old friends and made new ones.
I shared some of the stories of my ministry with women in Guatemala and the ministry of other Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) missionaries around the world.
Ellen preaching at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Valdosta, Georgia.I preached in large and small churches, even spoke to a group of children at an after-school program. You never know when the seed of mission service might be planted in the life of a child. All the while I encouraged congregations to give and to support and be involved in God’s mission of sharing the good news both in their own communities and around the world. All was not work, as I had time to walk on the beach, attend a pumpkin festival, and visit a butterfly forest.
It was a privilege for me to be a part of this endeavor of our Church, and I rejoice in the interest and support I found in people wanting to see and connect with a missionary. As I talked about the need and importance of giving to missions, I also emphasized the need of North Americans to receive and so be connected in a new way to brothers and sisters far and near.
I talked about specific gifts the Guatemalans have to offer:
- their understanding of time, not measured in minutes and hours but in being fully present in the moment whether they are visiting with a friend, making tortillas, participating in worship, or planting corn.
- their joy at receiving the miracle of a new day of life, since they are never being certain that tomorrow is theirs.
- their trust that their lives and the lives of their loved ones are in God’s hand.
their understanding of an abundant life as illustrated by one pastor with a drawing of a large stalk of corn growing from the earth, being watered by a rain cloud; by the side of the corn stood his family, and he wrote the words, “education, health, a place to live, clothing.” Many Guatemalans see an abundant life as being connected to the earth and other human beings and having one’s basic needs met.
When I returned home to Guatemala I received several email notes thanking me for my visits. One of the notes came from a pastor in south Georgia who wrote, “Please convey our thanks to the folks in Guatemala for the gifts you brought from them.” I rejoice that this pastor heard the message of the importance of receiving.
In this season of gift-giving I think we all need to be open to gifts all around us, waiting for us, gifts offered to us both by sisters and brothers in far away places (which really are not so far away) and by those in your own families and communities:
- time to sit and watch the sun set
- a moment with your child as you place the star on the top branch of your tree
- time to draw your own picture of what an abundant life is for you, for your family
- a walk on the beach or in the woods or park
- welcoming the new day with a prayer of thanksgiving to God for the gift of LIFE!
- time just “to be,” to be fully present wherever you are.
But I must tell you, as I told congregations with whom I visited in the States, receiving gifts sometimes may be more difficult than giving because when we receive, we open ourselves—we are not in control, the gifts may change us. But isn’t that what Christmas is about? Receiving anew the Child Jesus into our lives and allowing the joy and peace and love of that child to mold us, day by day, into new beings.
May God grant us all spaces in our lives to receive transformation, day by day.
Ellen,
The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 63
