I wanted to share a story about how I answered God’s call and made a connection to an amazing man.
Our group, Hearts 4 Guatemala, spent a week with Father Anton at Posada Stella Maris. Our main goal was to visit several of the villages. in order to deliver Days for Girls menstrual kits and education and also install smokeless stoves that our home parish raised funds to provide!
While in Izabal, Kathya from Stella Maris accompanied us on each visit.
On our third day, we took pickup trucks to Rio Salado, a remote Q'Eqchi Mayan village. Father Anton warned us that rain might make the road too muddy and we may have to walk up a long path to reach the village.
The pickup trucks carried us to the foot path.
We were met by two men from the village, dressed in jeans and tshirts, who climbed in back of pickup with us. They had walked down to meet us and guide us back up to their village.
I’m trying to learn Spanish, but it is quite a challenge for me. I have a few phrases that I can “parrot”.
One of them is “Ola, me llamo Juan ?Como te llamas?” (Hello, my name is John. What is your name?)
I quickly introduced myself, asked their names.
The men smiled and shared their name with me
Will and Juan.
With Kathya’s translation help, I told Juan that since we have the same name, maybe we are brothers. Juan laughed and agreed. When we got out of the truck, I asked Juan to take a selfie with me, we put our arms around each other and smiled for the camera.
That morning, I had been ill before leaving the Posada. Our group, still getting accustomed to the heat and humidity, underestimated our water needs. This combination was too much for my body to handle. On the way up, I became dehydrated, resulting in accepting a generous offer to ride a horse so I could rest and take in some additional fluids.
Our group reached the top, slowly but steadily.
We were hot, thirsty, and tired.
Father Anton and our group were greeted in the most amazing manner.
A canopy of palm shade had been erected for us to sit under. The children of the village, dressed in ceremonial clothes, danced and sang a greeting and presented each of us with a coconut.
I am not sure when I have ever felt more like an honored guest.
Our group split up, the women to do the Days for Girls education, the men to attend Mass being celebrated by Father Anton.
Well, all the men but me.
I still was not feeling well, so I stayed near the presentation and got to witness my wife talking to the young women of the village, giving them education and reusable menstruation kits that will be life changing.
I saw love and compassion and the face of Christ in my wife because she said yes to God’s call.
I was finally starting to feel better at the end of the presentation. We made our way over to the church where mass was wrapping up. The simple church was crowded, so we stood just outside a side doorway to hear a villager, wearing a crisp white shirt and dark pants, dressed nicely for mass.
I think he was talking about providing the children education on our Catholic faith. Fr Anton continued to speak, introducing some of our group to those at mass.
After speaking, the villager stepped outside the door and we made eye contact. With a now familiar smile, he greeted me once again with “Juan! Me hermano!”. With more translation help from Kathya, I was able to introduce Juan to my wife and he introduced me to his wife and 2 of his 4 children.
I was able to share with him that we also had 4 children, but they were not with us on this trip. He thanked us for visiting. We continued our joking conversation and I said the next time, he will come to my town. Laughing, he said he will do it. I asked him when, and Kathya told me he was in university. We agreed his visit to my town would have to wait.
We then enjoyed a delicious fish taco lunch. After eating, I asked Juan if we could get another picture together, this time with our wives. Of course, he obliged with a smile.
We parted company and I told him I would see him again.
As we were preparing to leave, I asked Kathya to quickly coach me on how to say “Goodbye my brother in Christ.” I saw Juan one last time that day, saying in my poor Spanish “Adios, me hermano in Cristo”, sharing one final smile with each other.
On the way down, Kathya told me more about Juan. There are issues with property rights in his village, so he is going to school to become a lawyer. He is part of the Cocode, a village council. He is involved with the Eucharistic education, and is a loving husband and father to his family.
I just had a lighthearted, fun conversation, filled with laughs and smiles, with this incredible and devoted man. I felt honored, humbled, but mostly inspired to be more and do more, like my brother Juan.
That alone is enough of a story on how I made a connection.
But this story is really about how God makes
connections that are much deeper and complex.
The next day, Fr Anton shared terrible news with us. Juan and his son Hector were working in the field that morning and took a quick break. When his son reached for his water bottle, he was bitten on his thumb by a Barba Amarilla pit viper, one of the most poisonous snakes in Guatemala. The venom causes extreme pain and attacks the blood and tissue; it can quickly lead to necrosis and even death.
Six months prior, through the grace of God, Father Anton had arranged for some people, including Juan, to get training on basic field care and triage. Juan had learned he needed to open the bite to try to remove venom and to tourniquet his arm to slow the spread. The trip to the hospital was not an easy one. It took hours, but Juan was able to get his son to the hospital for emergency care.
Hector had to stay in the hospital for at least a few days. Fr Anton arranged for Juan to stay at the posada that evening.
At this point, I need to pause my Guatemala story to share some background information. I believe it reveals the reason God brought us together.In July 2020, one of my sons was in a skateboard accident and sustained a traumatic brain injury. We came close to losing him that night, but we didn’t. All thanks to God’s grace - as well as an amazing ICU nurse, a talented neurosurgeon, and the prayers of over 100 people from our families, friends, and church community. My son had successful brain surgery and he was restored back to health in a matter of weeks, not months or years.
Truly, a miracle!
Juan arrived at the Posada as we were headed to dinner. With the help of our group’s tour guide, Monica from Highland Tours, my wife and I were able to talk with Juan and try to comfort him.
This was a heavy conversation, so we didn’t share as many smiles. Although we did share a small smile when I apologized for saying “I’ll see you soon” the prior day, as it was not my intention for it to have been this soon!
Juan was understandably upset and needed to talk. We listened with compassion, understanding how he felt and that he needed to tell his story. We were able to share our story with him, deepening our connection. We told him that we sent a prayer request and that Hector now had those same hundreds of people praying for him that had powerfully prayed for our son. We also shared with him that our personal prayer was for God to give Juan’s son the same miracle he gave our son.
The second day after Hector’s accident, Juan saw us at the Posada and joyously shared the good news that Hector was recovering well and would be going home soon!
Fr Anton, Kathya, and others do so many good works through Stella Maris. One small thing was to lighten the financial burden of Hector’s injury and also arrange for comfortable transportation home (rather than Hector having to ride in a pickup and walk hours up to his village).
It is now clear that God challenged me to step well out of my comfort zone and called me to this beautiful country. I am fortunate to have a strong faith which allowed me to say yes to God's call.
Because of this, I was given the opportunity to meet a remarkable man and provide him some comfort. I think I made a difference during Juan’s time of need. I know the experience made a difference in me, inspiring and giving me the courage to continue saying yes to God's call.
Please consider helping Hearts for Guatemala to continue their support to Fr Anton and Stella Maris, financially - and - through acts of service.
Open yourself to hear God's call.
Have the courage to answer yes.
Make connections.I promise it will inspire you to become the best version of yourself.
~ John Montville