Saint Andrew Events

Our Easter reading this year was from Matthew 28. Jesus, who has returned from the dead, tells his friends, “Do not be afraid!”

Do not be afraid because even the power of death has been overcome by God’s love. This is the key message from the Easter story. There are many things more powerful than us – disease, disaster, war, injustice – but in God’s love, we have the power to overcome all of these things.

We have been working in Guatemala for four years now, bringing solar power to a community in need of reliable and affordable electricity. However, last year, one of the community elders said this project, for which they were very grateful, was not enough. It was not enough because the community we are working with will never be able to afford the help they need without outside assistance. But this leader had a plan for a bigger and bolder project.

What if the community could begin a project of their own that would lead to economic sustainability? This new plan was to start a coffee-growing cooperative that would grow organic coffee beans, process them, and then sell the coffee directly to retail customers. This plan would involve no middlemen, no big corporations to take a cut of the profits. All of the profits would go directly to the growers.

This was an idea from a person of faith who had overcome fear. Even though he lived in a community that could not afford electricity, he could see a future in which the community could determine their own economic destiny.

This was a great example of God’s love in action. When our project first started, we were helping a community in need. Through years of work together, that community no longer sees itself as needy, but instead they see themselves as empowered and imaginative. The powers of poverty and economic domination are being overcome by cooperation and mutual love.