Each Tuesday morning at 6:30, men from the Presbyterian Church of Stanley meet to study the Bible and share concerns.  And each week each participant gives a dollar or two to benefit a cause chosen by the group.  Since 1999 we have been supporting Esteban Vasquez Mejía in his studies at the Seminario Evangélico Presbiteriano in Guatemala.  During a visit to Guatemala several years ago with a group from Heartland Presbytery, John and Joan Stretcher visited the Seminary, and their story led to our desire to support a student and the mission of the Seminary.  We work with the Seminary to make arrangements to pay for Esteban's tuition and some of his expenses.  In November 2000, my wife Margie and I visited Guatemala on another Heartland Presbytery Guatemala Partnership trip, and had the great pleasure of meeting and talking with Esteban at the Seminary.
            Esteban travels to the Seminary one to two days each week for classes and study.  He is married, and has three children and four grandchildren.  He is also pastor of a church (Santuario Olivos del Sinaí) and supports his family with another job as well.  When I asked him when he slept, he just shrugged his shoulders.  Esteban is very friendly and outgoing, and I took an immediate liking to him.  He is currently steadily progressing through a course of study that will gain him the equivalent of a high school diploma with an emphasis on theology.  His education corresponded to the sixth grade level when he started.  He is very appreciative of our support, and expressed a desire to continue with advanced levels of study after completion of his current curriculum.
             We ate dinner at the Seminary, and had a nice conversation with Esteban over a meal of black beans, rice, boiled greens, plantains, and tortillas.  He was patient with my halting Spanish, and spoke slowly and distinctly for my benefit.  We also met Marlin Ramirez and Liliana Estrada, secretaries at the Seminary with whom I have had frequent e-mail correspondence.  After dinner, I presented Esteban with a wooden cross made by John Stretcher, and signed by members of the Men’s Tuesday Morning Bible Study.  Below is the text of my presentation in Spanish and English: 

Esta cruz se le da a Esteban Vasquez Mejía por las hombres de la Iglesia Stanley en el estado de Kansas, EEUU.  La cruz fue hecho por John Stretcher, y él y otros miembros de la iglesia firmaron el inverso de la cruz.  Se hizo la cruz de madera salvó de nuestra iglesia cuando se empezó expansión de la iglesia en 1996.  La cruz es proporcional a una gran cruz en nuestra iglesia y se colora como la madera en nuestra iglesia.  Así, por el uso de materiales de nuestra iglesia y nuestras firmas, les enviamos parte de nosotros a nuestros hermanos cristianos en Guatemala.  

This cross is given to Brother Esteban Vásquez Mejía by the Men’s Bible Study of the Stanley Presbyterian Church in Kansas, USA.  The cross was made by John Stretcher, and he and other members of that group signed the back of the cross.  The cross was made from wood salvaged from the narthex of our church when church expansion was begun in 1996.  The cross is proportional to the on in our chancel and is finished with the stain color used in our church.  Thus, through the use of materials from our church and our signatures we are sending part of ourselves to our Christian brothers in Guatemala.    

On behalf of the Men's Bible Study of the Presbyterian Church of Stanley, Eric Dyck presents Esteban Vásquez Mejía with a commemorative cross signed by members of the group.

              Esteban presented us with remembrances as well, and then Seminary gave the Presbyterian Church of Stanley a wonderful gift in recognition of our support of Esteban.  Jenner Miranda, Director of the Seminary, and Carlos Ortiz, Academic Dean, presented the gift.  It is a hand embroidered, framed commemorative plaque consisting of a Mayan glyph (similar to hieroglyphic writing) and a clock with numbers in the Mayan numbering system.  The inscription says:    

            Seminario Evangélico Presbiteriano  
            Reconocimiente a:  Iglesia Presbiteriana de Stanley  
            Por su compromiso y entrega a la misión del 
                 Seminario Evangélico Presbiteriano de Guatemala  
            San Martín Tzapotitlan, Noviembre 2000  

The Evangelical Presbyterian Seminary  
            Recognizes the Presbyterian Church of Stanley  
            For your commitment and dedication to the mission of the
                Evangelical Presbyterian Seminary of Guatemala  
            San Martín Tzapotitlan, November 2000

On behalf of the Presbyterian Church of Stanley, Eric Dyck accepts the commemorative plaque from Carlos Ortiz of the Seminario Evangélico Presbiteriano.

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