Sheaf Espiga

Maria Juvilaju has been a significant leader within the Mayan native women in the Presbyterian Church in Guatemala. Before Christmas, she received a number of death threats for reasons which were never clear. A suspicious pick-up truck was parked repeatedly, and for extended periods, outside her home. Canadians took her case to heart and offered prayers throughout the Advent and Christmas Season. Maria reports that, recently, the threats have stopped. Give thanks for her safety and for her on going commitment.

Norman Bent has been pastor of the Moravian Church in Managua, Nicaragua for many years, including the difficult 1980's when the civil war split the loyalties of his membership. Recently, he has been failing and forgetful. Give thanks for his witness over the years and pray for his continuing retirement.

Gus and Joan Parajon have been missionaries of the American Baptists for a generation. Their son and his family have followed in their footsteps. Give thanks for their witness and pray for the ABC (American Baptist Convention) as it, like other mainline denominations in the US and Canada face budget restrictions and the temptation to focus inward, building staff at headquarters at the expense of those serving abroad.

Street vendors, many of them children, hawk their wares at every traffic light in the Region. Pray for their safety and for their incorporation into more productive work. Give them shelter from both the blazing sun and plastering rains. May the children find special safety as they deserve.

Carolina and Carlos are but two of the children adopted by missionaries in Central America over the past decades. It seems as if adoption is a route which many missionary families and singles follow. Pray for these young people as they seek to "catch up" on years of affection lost and to integrate into new homes. Pray for their parents whose responsibilities often extend long after those of most adoptive parents end. Pray that Carlos may find help to deal with his ongoing mental challenges.

Sheaf/Espiga has been supporting a number of women who receive small business loans. Each woman has to be convinced to take the chance on a new future, to dream the dream, and to cope with the challenges of small business management. Pray both for these women and for those who work with them to bring new lives and beginnings to those who live in economic poverty and struggle to build a better future.

The Batahola Community is a small Christian community that began in the mid 1980's in Managua. Using music as a point of entry, Father Angel Torrejos (now deceased) built a first rate choir. The community centre, now under the direction of Jennifer Marshall, continues the witness. Give thanks for the choir and for the new bonds of friendship forged with other choirs across Canada.

Nimehuatzin (Nahuatl for : "We rise for a just cause") struggles against the rise of AIDS in Nicaragua. Its work has been recognized by the UN and its Director, Rita Aruz, has been received by the Secretary General. In El Salvador, the YMCA carries on similar work. Dr. Belisa Lucila de Sanchez is a visually impaired counselor and specialist in HIV/AIDs who works in the area of AIDS prevention with the members of the National Civilian Police and their families.

Each year, a dozen children are badly burned in the Guatemalan highlands -- where it is cold. To keep their babies warm, families sometimes suspend small children in hammocks above or near the fires in their small homes. Unfortunately, some fall. Darren Jack, a concerned layperson in Barrie Ontario has worked to introduce safe, and fuel efficient stoves to their homes and to introduce dozens of Canadians to the problems there. Pray Darren and his work.

Sheaf/Espiga continues to target the generosity of corporate givers. Some may be motivated in part by a desire for favourable publicity, but the overwhelming majority are moved by a true desire to be good corporate citizens and to facilitate human development. Give thanks especially for the generosity of a major Canadian bank in fostering small loans for the poor of El Salvador.

Nicaragua is in the process of a peaceful presidential transition: Daniel Ortega, commandante of the Revolution and president during the Sandinista administration (1979 - 1990) has, after a series of electoral defeats, been returned to power for a new six year term. Pray that the US administration may respect the will of the voters; that Daniel Ortega may recognize that the vote was split four ways and that a majority did /not/ vote for him; that a peaceful transition may take place and that the people might catch some hope.

Etienne Michaud, Doug and Barb Christie, and Fairlie Ritchie are but some of the volunteers recently placed (and returned home). May the vision they have caught of Central America take hold in their own communities and may they find effective ways to fashion their on-going work and witness both in Central America and here.

Mary Hartman has served as a nun in Nicaragua for over fifty years, notably as the convenor of the Government Commission on Human Rights under the Sandinista Administration. More recently, she has been the moving spirit behind the Canteras retreat and conference centre. May she look back on her time among the Nicaraguans with both joy and satisfaction.

As main line denominations continue to decline numerically (my own denomination has lost 40% of its membership in the last twenty-five years), there is a natural tendency to become defensive and to centre on the head offices. May churches find vision and the strength to face reality, and may they be renewed by the faith and witness of churches in Central America and beyond.

Central America has a young population: half of us can barely remember the wars of the 1970's and the 1980's. May the youth not lose hope or become discouraged and discontent. May they find hope, dreams, and fulfilment and may their stories and testimonies strengthen our own youth.