August
20th, 2011 was a historic day for the Reformed Churches of
Cubulco. It was the day that the
churches installed Edgar Xicara (shikarah) as their first Guatemalan pastor. It was a real privilege to be able to witness
this historic event. I was asked to lead
the service and Pastor Ken Herfst was invited to do the installation and preach
the message. This was special to see
since he was the one who started the work almost 20 years ago and he could as
former pastor hand over the care of the church to Pastor Xicara. Pastor Ken Herfst preached on 1 Thessalonians
2:1-13.
The road to
finding a Guatemalan pastor was a long and difficult one. It started several years before the Everts
left Cubulco in 2008. Together with the
churches we began talking about who should be the next pastor. As missionaries and mission we felt it would be
good if the churches have a Guatemalan pastor.
The churches agreed although they felt it would be better not only to
have a Guatemalan pastor but also a missionary pastor. We began praying about this and searching for
a candidate that would be willing to take up the task of shepherding the
Cubulco churches. This proved to be
quite difficult since it was hard to find a man who felt called and willing to
live and work in Cubulco. We had a
number of potential candidates visit and one by one it was evident that they
were not what the church needed. We had
one pastor who worked in Cubulco every other week for close to a year but
eventually the churches decided that he was not the right candidate due
differences in doctrine.
Finally,
in September of 2010 Pastor Edgar Xicara from a Presbyterian Church in
Guatemala City came down for 3 days to lead an outreach service in Pichal. The people were pleased with his style and
manner and so we started making arrangements to have him come and visit Cubulco
on a regular basis. Due to other
commitments, Pastor Xicara was not able to start visiting on a biweekly basis
until the end of December. After several
months it was clear to all that the Cubulco Churches wanted to call him as
their pastor.
In order to do
so however, many things had to be discussed and arranged. The churches had never called a pastor before
so they had no idea as to how to go about doing that. They had no idea as to how much he should be paid
and what other arrangements should be made.
We began the long process of discussing these items and making the
proper arrangements. We had numerous
meetings and often it felt like we did not get anywhere. Often in exasperation the obreros would tell
me that I should just take care of all these details and that they would trust
my judgment. I would reply each time
that I would not do this and that this was something they needed to work
through. Finally, after months of
meetings, long discussion and negotiations we came to an agreement as church,
mission and also with Pastor Xicara. The
churches agreed to provide 25% of the salary.
While this percentage does not sound like much it is a big step for
them. The mission will be providing 75%
of the funding in the first year, but this amount will be reduced each year and
the churches will be contributing more and more as the years go by.  |
| Pastor Edgar Xicara, wife Ericka, and son Juan Fernando |
It
truly was a special historical moment for us and it was a privilege to be able
to witness this. We ask that you will
pray continually with us for Pastor Edgar and his wife Ericka both of whom have
always been very active members of the churches they have been a part of. Also pray that God will give him the strength
to visit all the churches since he is in his early 60’s. Finally, pray for the churches that they will
give according to what God has given them and that God will multiply their
tithes and offerings in order to sustain their pastor and the needs of the
churches.
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