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Guatemala Video Archive

Hear Their Stories

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Janeth Dalila Caal Choc 

Janeth is currently a 5th grader who resides in the Aldea called Salawim. She loves school, is a member of the chapel choir in her village, and is a leader in the youth group in Salawim. Janeth has also been a Bethany Center scholarship recipient for 2 years.

Read Janeth's Full Interview


J:
Before starting, good afternoon to everyone, and also thanks to Fr. Maxi that he has given us the opportunity to be able to study. I ask God for blessings for him so that he continues to help us and to give us a scholarship. I invite many people who study, to keep studying. I have the goal of graduating, and I want to reach my goal. Thanks to him for giving us this opportunity to study. I also have friends as well that he is giving scholarships to, their names are Julia Marizza, Wilfred Grayson, Jubita Olga, and Almaida Quiterio, and my name is Janeth Dalila. I give many thanks to Fr. Maxi, that he is helping us so that we are able to study. And I ask as well that he give us another opportunity to for another year that we can study so that we can get to where we want to be. I have to reach my goal and I want to go wherever. I also have duties in the Catholic church, I am a girl missionary of this center and I say that all year I have to study and also I have to participate in the church. Not only in the school, not only in other parts, but also in the church you have to follow in the way of Christ and all of that we are going to be following and studying.


CF: Share with me some examples of what you are doing as an evangelist for young people.

J: For example, I always, every Sunday, when Sunday comes, I am there singing and passing on the word of God. This Sunday, never has this happened there, but this Sunday yes I did. So I want I want to say to many kids, many young people, to do what I am doing. For example, some people waste their lives and that is not a step towards God and I want to tell them not to do that. To not waste their lives, that they may stay on the way towards God. That they go to church every Sunday, that they go to school, that they study, that they get to where they want to go (3:35-4:07).

CF: Perfect. Thank you very much. Thank you for sharing your life.

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Rosa Adelina Chocooj

Rosa currently resides in the Aldea San Benito Lachua where she is a primary school teacher. In addition to teaching, her family runs a convenience store located on the main highway in front of their home. She and her husband have three children that she loves dearly.

Read Rosa's Full Interview


R:
Before anything, good afternoon, my name is Rosa Adelina Chocooj. I live here in a part of San Benito Uno. Before, I was from San Benito Dos, on the other side. In October, it will be the one year anniversary of my living in an actual house. Presently I am living with my three children and with my husband, Uni Erda
, he’s the owner of the house. I feel happy to be here with my family and also to be involved in the church. When I was a girl I liked to share in these experiences because my parents also were leaders in the church. It’s been five years since my mother passed away and now only my father is alive. He has stopped helping the church because he cannot obligate himself to that because he contracted a mental sickness, and he still has it today. But thanks to God he has stabilized because he is alive still and I thank God for that, for the miracle he has done. In the case of my mother, God wanted her to find rest. We cannot do anything about this, but thanks be to God and also to them that they led me onto a good path because now I am helping the church. I think that although we can’t help 100 percent, we do what we can. We are looking for the salvation of each one of us and I think it is already in our hands. As a part of this (salvation), I am a coordinator of music, I have a duty there, I’ve already been helping with this duty for four years and I am also participating. Also, sometimes there are difficulties and obstacles but you always must lift yourself. I do not get discouraged, sometimes yes, but I know that God does not leave us alone. He does not leave us alone because without the faith we cannot live. This is why I feel happy and thankful as well to the parish because they also are trying by some manner to visit us more than anything. So in that way the change starts with us, not with the parish and not with the church, because we are the church. And that’s why, although the parish is small, and although we do little, it is something.

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Mynor Hugo Cu Cacao

Mynor has been a leader in the parish of El Calvario for 7 years and is currently serving as the coordinator of the Parish Council. His role requires him to fulfill many responsibilities on a daily basis. He currently resides in a small village outside of Coban, Alta Verapza, with his wife and three children.

Read Mynor's Full Interview


M:
Good afternoon, my name is
Mynor Hugo Cu Cacao. I live in Coban. I support El Calvario, I am, for the moment, coordinator of the parish counsel. Before, I was collaborating with the evangelization. I was coordinating the pastoral evangelization of the parish, coordinating activities in many different sectors. The parish has 15 sectors which we went organizing in capacities of formation in the communities. So my work is also like a missionary in the parish and also formation.

CF: And share with me your hopes to administer and the vision of the parish. It is very extensive, I know, but what are the most important things that you can share of your priorities and your vision and your hopes?

M: Well, from the Diocese of VeraPaz we have taken a method of evangelization with some objectives. Our hope or vision that we have as a parish is based on the objectives of the diocese. Apart from the evangelization, of the preaching and the stance of the church, we have taken the objectives of the Santa Mision, popular here in Alta VeraPaz. It is the integration of human development to ensure and make aware to the members of the community the respect and value of human dignity. So it’s the respect of adults, youth, and children, well not only respect, but also the valuation, it’s how we can grow the integral human dignity. Because, we can’t be in the church worshiping God if we don’t notice how we affect the rest of humanity. So in this objective we also have the clear hope that we will have that human dignity, wherever it may be, whether it is in the community most far away from the town or in the town. Our hope is that we make people conscientious of the fact that life needs to be lived with much dignity, because there is also a lot of abuse against life, in the communities, and even also in families. We are also taking an objective of taking care of the environment because it has a lot to do with the life of the people, with the cleaning, the decontamination, the deforestation, and all that. So, this is the vision that we have also as a parish. To make the communities conscientious of the fact that if we deforest our area, at some point we will have consequences. So we have those hopes to be a church in these times and in these moments with an objective to point our efforts towards social reality as well. That is what we hope to see in every community and every person and family as well.

CF: Please share some examples of how you are doing these things.

M: In terms of the human dignity that I talked about it’s more giving formation and giving reflections on the subject. In terms of the environment, we have invited our brothers to do working days of cleaning and countering deforestation. It’s about actually doing something and not only speaking about it, and we have started to do this, we have started doing some practical things in each one of the communities. Starting from the church, it doesn’t matter to us what the others say what the others think. These are some examples and some activities we do to promote to give a little. With my church as well we enter the situation. In the city it’s been a little harder because there are many classes of people, but we’ve tried.

CF: Can you share what’s happening in the development of the experience of being a community with Christ through the people that you are evangelizing to?

M: in the development…

CF: Is there development in the community? And a goal, as well?  

M: Yes, okay, yes we’ve noticed, and have been given stories as well, that some communities are taking steps to develop as a community, but not much, not in all. Because sometimes there are some conflicts between the members, the families, and neighbors as well. But always we’ve tried and we have had some experiences as well of reconciliation and we think this is good, that it is an experience that we take and that is shared with other communities that yes, difficult moments can be conquered. Because there have been moments in various communities where sometimes in a moment we see good development, that there is good participation, a union in the church in Christ. But sometimes suddenly conflicts arise for some or another situation. But what’s most important we think is that, okay, after a time the people reflect and realize that okay that is how things are. So their have been reconciliations that have allowed people to return and continue anew.

CF: Thanks be to God. Perfect.

Oraciones: Guatemala

A 9-Day Novena for Guatemala

Guatemala has the highest population and the biggest economy in Central America. However, it struggles with major issues of poverty, malnutrition, drug trafficking, government corruption, and much more. During this season of Lent, we ask you to join us on a nine day prayer journey for our brothers and sisters in Guatemala. Each day's prayer will focus on a specific issue that is plaguing the people of this region.

 

We ask that you lift up our fellow Guatemalans during this special time of year and pray for peace, love, and protection over those suffering in these difficult situations.



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