After a number of years of installing water purification systems in Guatemala, we found our outreach work expanding in ways we never could have anticipated. In 2013, First Presbyterian Church Kingsport entered into an intentional and reciprocal relationship with the congregation of the Bethel Presbyterian Church in Guatemala City. We do not go there to minister to them, but to do ministry with them. Despite the language barriers, we engage in fellowship with them, worship with them, work together on projects around the church, and engage in outreach ministry to their neighbors with them. Ask anyone who has spent time with our brothers and sisters at Bethel and they will tell you how it has changed their faith and their understanding of what it means to be a part of a church.
We have also been privileged to participate in a project of the Guatemalan Presbyterian Church, a complex in the northern city of Coban that houses a church and seminary to train indigenous pastors. Through the generosity of the Bee Rigby Foreign Missions Fund, a gift from FPC made possible the construction of a multipurpose building at the site. We are also enjoying getting to know our missionary in Guatemala, Eliane Menezes.