How long is your shadow?

A challenging part of our work in Guatemala is deciding what may be the larger and the longer term impact of our activities and decisions. This does not mean that we freeze in our decision-making process aka "paralysis by over-analysis". Yet - to keep the metaphors coming - we have to determine how long of a shadow that we may cast.

There are a few things that we have learned along the way that are touch-points to help us along the way. First off, the people that we work with are very resilient to change and are obviously aware that we come from another culture. Now, this does mean though that we have to be careful adjust our Western ways to them.

This issue comes up all of the time in our communication styles. A classic example that was taught to me was regarding a well-intentioned team member several years back. When this bilingual team member was visiting with some local leaders in Chicabracan, he asked them about their sources for fuel in both cooking and illumination. The leaders notably expressed concern about their growing usage of wood. This is observable in the countryside as many of the pine trees have their lower branches removed up to a certain canopy height. The local people do this to preserve the trees and hopefully strike a right balance with their fuel needs.

As the team member and the local leaders spoke, our representative inquired about their use of the sun for power generation. The local people are keenly aware of this potential, but lack the resources for how they can maximize the potential. Yet, in discussing the team member's familiarity with solar power, the Maya thought that he would provide them a solution in a future visit.

See, the cultural divide was in the local Maya leaders interpreting the team member's query into his action.

A second touch-point is that the mission team leaders know that there are numerous issues to address and we will not have all of the answers. Specifically, some of our great challenges will be solved by those unexpected individuals placed by God in our path. We really feel blessed by being involved in this parish-based mission as this allows the creativity and energy of the entire community to spring forth in helping the mission grow. Even if you never travel to Guatemala, you are not limited in helping people that you won't meet in person. How exciting!

Thus, I look forward to sharing other learned guidances with you, but here is where I ask for your own sharings and thoughts. In relation to the paragraph above, we really do need feedback and thoughts from the readers of this blog.

Please feel free to contribute any of your thoughts by clicking the "Comments" link below. (I have highlighted a picture of where I speak in the bottom image.)

If you just want to say "Howdy" or offer up a prayer or suggestion / critique or encouragement, we will really appreciate it. :) We know that we don't have all of the answers, but you may!