Praying for Guatemala - Week 7

This morning was somewhat emotional in church. I leave Saturday for language school in Quetzaltenango. After three weeks of school, I will join up with the Providence Health International/Faith in Practice mission trip.  The congregation sent me off with prayers.  Besides the pastor (Tim) and the moderator and chair of education laying hands on me while we prayed, almost everyone came up to me after church to hug and wish me well.  I definitely feel like Condon United Church of Christ will be with me in Guatemala.

This week we pray for our circulating nurses.  These nurses do exactly what their title suggests, they pitch in wherever they are needed.  Besides making sure that flashlights are everywhere with functioning batteries (power outages are common in Guatemala), they make sure us non-medical volunteers understand about sterile fields and keep us from going where we ought not.  May these critical nurses execute their responsibilities with compassion and joy.  May they feel the strength of God during their long days in Reu.

We pray for the faith communities of Guatemala.  Up to 65-70% of the population of Guatemala is Roman Catholic with Protestants making up about 35-40% of the country.  There are small populations of Jews and Muslims primarily in Guatemala City.  While only 1% of the population follow only indigenous spiritual practices, many Catholic and Protestant groups incorporate indigenous rituals.  We pray for continued respect and freedom of all religious groups in Guatemala.