Guatemala Reflections

by Mariana Da Silva

My name is Mariana, and I’ve been a member of Cornerstone for about five years. I'm originally from Brazil and grew up as both a missionary and pastor’s kid. I've always had a heart for mission work—something God instilled in me through my upbringing and now through Cornerstone’s vision for local and global missions. This summer, I had the amazing opportunity to be part of the Guatemala team, and I’d like to share my experience with you.

We arrived on a Saturday and spent Sunday with Iglesia Missional, a small church located in the backyard of Pastor Eddy and Carla’s house. It wasn’t what I expected a church to look like—there’s a partial roof, a stage, restrooms, and chairs and tables that are set up as needed and then put away. All this is surrounded by construction equipment. Pastor Eddy later told us they improve the church when they can, but their focus is on the community. When we arrived, we were surrounded by children, who we later found out are members of the church and make up the majority of this 20-ish member congregation. Gladis, one of the church leaders, told us they run children’s programs that attract these kids to church, though most of their parents do not attend.

We had lunch with them when we arrived, and I got to know some of the kids: Zoe, Neymar, Jefferson, Jimmy, and Jade. We drew with them, played cards with them, and when it was time for church, we all helped put away the tables and set up the chairs. The service was structured similarly to ours, except they included children in the worship and in leading the service. After a wonderful message from Pastor José, we ended the service with tea and bread. It was amazing to get to know some of the women and the kids.

Part of ENLACE’s model for these trips is to bring along some of their staff and pastors. In our group was Kimberly, our translator and logistics queen; Cecia, who had just joined ENLACE after graduating with an English degree and was shadowing and learning to lead teams in the future; Pastors Bairon and Emerson; and our driver, Mario. Cecia and I are the same age, and I got to spend several bus trips getting to know her and building that relationship. She is super cool and loved sharing about her home country, El Salvador, while I shared about LA and Brazil as we compared foods and cultures. I attribute most of my Spanish practice to her!

Our second day in Guatemala was another day with Iglesia Missional, but this time it was a service day. Pastor Eddy took us to the farm they are renting as a church. The agreement with the owner is that they would cultivate the land and use the crops and space for the church and the community. We helped construct the greenhouse that will house fruit trees until they are big enough to be replanted outside and then eventually provided to low-income households, who can sell the fruits as a source of income.

After a few hours of hard work, Pastor Eddy took us on a beautiful hike around the whole farm. He talked to us about trees, bark, mushrooms, natural springs, crops, and more. He showed us the space he envisions for prayer and worship services, as well as a recreational space for families to have picnics. His passion for God’s creation and His people was very evident.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were spent visiting different churches that are adopting the ENLACE model, which in summary, trains church pastors and leaders to be more outward-focused and to build trust and relationships with community leaders. Together with the community, they identify needs, help fundraise, and implement community projects. Each church is deeply invested in their different communities. They took us around to houses of people suffering from disabilities, shantytowns, to those dealing with government pressure of displacement and gang violence. It was humbling to see people dealing with far more difficulties than I have ever experienced and still with incredible faith. We also met non-Christians who welcomed us into their homes, shared their stories and vulnerabilities, and let us pray for them. There were many moments of holding back tears, just listening, giving them a loving handshake, and saying “Dios te bendiga (God bless you).”

These were moments filled with conflicting feelings for me—seeing Christ being modeled by the church and our team, but also witnessing a lot of suffering and asking, “Why?” The thing that stood out to me most during these visits was the presence of the pastors and church leaders. The whole community knows them and greets them. They are known and know their community, which I found incredibly beautiful and something I hope we can learn from at Cornerstone.

The not-so-fun part of the trip was getting sick. I’ll spare you the ugly details, but on Wednesday, I got very sick. I was initially very discouraged because I didn’t want to miss out on anything, and I had come to Guatemala with the naive pride of thinking I never get sick and so I wouldn’t on this trip. I had been praying for a humble heart leading up to the trip, as we learned from Pastor José that we should do, and God answered that prayer in a painful but edifying way. The rest of my trip involved a lot of prayer for strength and energy to get through the day, which God also provided. It is interesting to look back and remember that He gave me just enough, requiring me to pray repeatedly, at each moment, allowing me to rely on Him at every turn. I still get emotional writing this as I think back. God showed me what it was like to not have control or the power to change my circumstances but to rely solely on Him, and that produced a lot of growth in me.

One of the joys during this trip was getting to know and build relationships with our team. We had many deep conversations over dinner, on the bus, and just an amazing time together as a church family. I was taken care of by Kristen and Jen. I had many laughs with Jeff, great conversations with Daniel, and was ministered to so much by Pastor José and Steph. We were protected by Anthony and learned from Linus. I had sweet conversations with Jubilee, and we were all loved in various moments and in their own ways by Chris and Laurie. I especially loved one dinner conversation Jen and I had with Pastors Bairon and Emerson, where we got to know how they met their wives, about their kids, and how they became Christians. I feel in a very tangible and real way that we are brothers and sisters in Christ with the ENLACE staff who accompanied us and the church families we visited. It's crazy how deep relationships can get in just a short week when Christ is at the center.

There are many more moments I could share, but these are the things that stand out most to me. I hope you get to experience local and/or global missions at Cornerstone. When you momentarily step away from our day-to-day lives and allow time to see God work around you and through you, I guarantee you will not be the same person you were. God transforms, grows, and brings revival to our hearts. We increase in love for Him, His image-bearers, and the rest of creation. Coming back from the trip, I hope to apply what I learned and continue to pray for ENLACE, the churches we visited, and Guatemala. I also plan to continue my involvement with the Global and Local Missions Team. I hope you might take some time to pray and ask God in what ways He might be calling you—there’s no more fulfilling and life-giving work than His kingdom work.