PEN PICTU RES
o f th e
MEXIC O AND GU ATEMALA
MISS IO N S
T H E
B O A R D
O F
F O R
E
I G N
i
De p a r t m e n t fo r S pe c fi c
T HE
W
O MAN S
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OF T HE P R
1
B O A RD
OF
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FO R
Ne w $
I S S I O N S
W or $
E S B $ T E RI AN C H U RC H
5 6 F ft h A ve n u e
M
or
E IG N
M I S S I O NS
IN T HE U
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P e n P i c tu r
e
o f th e
Me x i c o Mi ssi o n
E st abl ish m ent
work of the P res b y teri a n Bo a rd
Missions w as f or m a l l y op en ed i n 1 8 7 2
Th e
in Or d er o f
Mexi c o City
Ja l ap a
Vera C ruz
S t a ti on s
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of
F orei g n
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F oun di ng
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1 872
Merid a
1 897
Oa x a c a
19 19
1 897
Oriza b a
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19 15
Ou tst an d i ng F ea t ur es
work of ou r F o r eign B oard n e arest to the
United S tates
T he distinctive P res b yteri an fiel d of responsi
b i l i ty in Mexi co includes
of th e entire p op u l a
tion an d
of the total area
T wo thi rds of our field l i es within th e h ot coast
country with a co ast l i n e of abou t
miles on
both t h e Gulf of Mexico a n d the P acific Oc ean
W ork largely i tin er a ting coverin g exte n sive
terri tory an d not stron gly centr a lized b ut c a r
ried on from various loc al centers
Adva n c e of work slow durin g the l a st ten
years ( 1 9 1 2 1 9 2 2 ) b ecause of revolutionary con
d i ti on s i n th e country
E stablishment of free medical disp ensari es f or
th e p oor
Opening u p of soci al work i n various centers
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2 05 5 1 8 4
Ot h er
Mi s s i on s
Op er a t i ng i n th i s Fi el d
Church South ; A ssociated Re
formed P resbyteri an ;
Methodist
E p iscop al
C hurch North and S outh ; P rot estant E p iscop al
C hurch Congregation al Church ; B aptist C hur c h ;
The F ri ends ; T h e Disci ples ; American B i b l e S o
c i ety ; Y M
C A
P resbyteri an
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Un i on
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W or$
a Union T heological S emin ary was
Op ene d i n Mexico C ity with th e coop erati on of
ei ght soci eti es havin g work i n M exi co
In
1917
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In 1 9 1 9
by the m erging of several denomina
t i on a l p resses an d p eriodi cals a union p ress was
formed an d a uni on p ap er p ublish e d called E l
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Mu n d o Cr i s ti a n o ( T he C hristi a n W orld ) an d
also uni on S unday school literature T he P res
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b y ter i a n p ress and p eriod i cal called
E l Fa r o
( The Li ghthouse ) found ed in 1 8 8 4 j oine d in t h is
m erger
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L o ca ti on
Mexi co i s j ust south of th e United S tates across
th e Rio Gran de River Th e boundary b etween
Mex i co and th e United S tates i s 1 8 3 3 miles i n
l ength 7 5 0 mil es of which is the Ri o Grand e
River flowing b etween the two countries
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Ar ea
T he area of M exico is
square miles I t
equals the area of that p art of the Unite d S tates
b etween th e Mississi pp i River an d the Atlantic
coast from th e Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico
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or a little l ess than that of o ur five l ar gest states
T ex as C aliforni a Mon tan a New Mexico an d
A ri z o n a
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form Mexi co is not unlike a cornu co p i a
wit h its n arr o w end tap ering t o ward th e south
east and termin atin g in the P en insul a of Yucatan
Its m aximum b readth west from Matamor o s 0 p
T exas i s a b out 7 5 0 miles
p os i te B rownsville
Its minimum b readth at th e Isthmus of T e b uan
tep e c in th e southern p art is a b out 1 00 miles An
oc ean to ocean can al was at on e time p r ep osed for
this Isthmus Mexi co s entire coast lin e i s a b out
miles
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Clima te
Runnin g from north to south alon g the entire
eastern an d western coasts of Mexi co are hi gh
m o untain range s
T he interior b etween th ese
m o untains is a b road ta b l el an d more th an
feet abo ve sea level
Mexi c o li es wi thin th e
trop ics b ut an altitud e of
feet or m o r e
assures pl easant summer weath er in any lati
tude
It is th e altitu de n ot the l atitude th at
governs th e clim ate of M exic o T h e c o ast l a n ds
are h ot an d swampy Th e tabl e l and h a s a rainy
season from May to Octob er T h e coast regions
h ave a ra iny season throughout almost th e enti re
ye a r
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E arthquakes
are frequ ent and many of th em
are sever e an d destructive Of th e thre e snow
capp ed vol cani c mountains in Mexi co Mt Oriza b a
over
f eet hi gh is the secon d hi gh est p eak
on the North Ameri can contin ent
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V eg et a tion
i ts geographical p o sition combin ed with
i ts varyin g altitudes Mexico p ossess es a greater
variety of soil surface and vegeta tion th an a n y
equal extent of territory in the worl d T he v eg e
ta b le products includ e almost a l l that grow
between th e equ ator and th e arctic regions
Mexico p roduces in abundance b ananas coco a
nuts coffee vanilla b ean oranges chocolate b ean
sugar to b acco ixtl e fib er Man y of thes e are ex
p orted Th e p roducts of th e ta b lelands are corn
wh eat beans ch ili an d cotton
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Th e low trop ical lands in th e south p roduce
abo u t on e hundred vari eties of buildin g and ca b
in et wood inclu d in g m ahogany and rose wood
At least fi f ty n in e sp ecies of medi cinal plants
h ave be en classifi ed
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Res ou r
c es
Mi n i n g Mex i c o has been called the j ewel b ox
of th e world
It is on e of the world s ric h est
mi ning countri es
S ilver gold iron lead and
copp er are pl entiful
T her e are also mercury
tin antimony b ismuth marble and p reci ous
stones as well as valuable deposits of coal
During the three centuri es of S panish dom i n i on
( 1 5 2 1 1 8 2 1 ) silver to th e valu e of over thre e b il
lion p es os ( Mexican doll ar equival ent to fifty
cents ) were extracted almost on e third of whi ch
cam e from the wond erful mother vein at Guana
j u a to Most of this was s ent in a ste ady stream
Th e l argest silver nu gget
of silver S p a i n w a r d
As a
f o und in Mexi co wei ghe d
p ounds
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l arge a m omi t of t h e s i l ver m i ne d i s n ot co i n e d
but used i n the arts it is estimated that Mexi co
h as p roduced nearly on e half of th e worl d s sil
ver mined in the p ast fou r centuri es Mining is
carri ed on i n 2 4 of the 8 1 states an d territori e s
of Mexi co n early all of th e mines yi el din g silver
eith er alon e or in combination with other ores
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Oi l was discovered in Mexi co i n 1 901
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S ince then Mexi co h a s b ecom e one of the foremost
countri es i n oi l p roduction in the world Much
of th e oil territory is i n th e eastern p a rt around
T amp i co Most of th e w ells have b een gush ers
T he largest well discovered produce d a m illi on
barrels a day for five days
T he n ext well of
importance h ad a cap a city of
barre l s
every twenty four hours and p roduced for sev
eral y ears Many individual w ells h ave p rodu ced
millions of barrels of oi l during their lifeti m e
Th e output for October Novemb er and D ecember
barre l s of oi l
1 9 2 1 was a bout
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Anc i en t H i s t ory
Mexican civi liz a tio n i s kn own to be on e o f great
antiquity Mexico has a wealth of arch eological
reli cs remnants of an anci en t civilizati on of
whi ch no well defin ed trace exists Rock scul p
tures images i dols a n d an ci ent p ottery found i n
numerous localiti es a r e th e o n l y recor d s of p eop l e
wh ose h istory is unknown an d wh ose n a mes ev en
are l ost
S uch are th e ancient py ramids n ear
Mexico C ity th e Mitl a ruins i n Oa xaca th e
P al en qu e ruins in Ch i d p a s a n d the Uxmal ruins
in Yucatan
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T he earli est auth entic date i n M exi can history
is 1 3 2 5 when th e Aztecs founded wh at is n ow
Mexi co C i ty
T hey fixe d upon this location
claimin g it to h ave been pointed to them b y a
si gn from th ei r gods T his si gn an e agle p erched
u pon a cactus strangl in g a serp ent is n ow th e
coat of arms of the Mexi can Repu b li c
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S pa n is h Con q u es t
W h en the
P ilgrims
landed on P lymouth Rock
a hu n dred years had alre ady p asse d since th e
soldi ers of Cortez h ad b attl ed with the hosts of
Mont ezuma in Mexi co T h e lan ding of H ernan
dez Cortez i n 1 5 1 9 at Vera C ruz marked the
b eginning of S p anish domination whi ch lasted for
three centuri es Their greed f or gol d mad e th em
bold adventurers an d cruel despots T h ey intro
d u c ed Romanism an d th e country was p ri est
ri dden f or over thre e centuri es su fferin g from
a ll its atten dant results of sup erstition , i dolatry
and p o verty
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the T ribunal of the In quisition was
formally established in th e C ity of Mexi co whi ch
was the h eadqu arters for th e In quisitor Gen er al
ap pointed over Mexi co Guatemal a and th e P hil
D eath by burnin g was the p en
i p p i n e Isl ands
alty infl icted up on those whose Op inions were at
varianc e with th o s e of th e Roman C atholi c
C hurch
T h e first a u to d o f6 was e ffecte d in
Mexi co C ity three years later wh en 2 1 p ersons
p erish ed T he Inquisition was a p owerful factor
in th e p oliti cs of Mexi co down to th e tim e of its
final overthrow in 1 8 2 0
In 1 5 71
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Mexi can I n d ep e n d enc e
F r om S p a i n — I n 1 8 1 0 t h e Mexicans b egan their
war for fre edom from S p anish misrule In 1 8 2 1
after eleven years Of stru ggle sh e won her ind e
p en d en ce ; its centenni al was celebrated i n 1 9 2 1
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Rom e; S ep a r
f Ch u r c h a n d S ta te
E states worth a t least n inety million p esos more
th an a fourth of all th e lan ded p rop erty i n
Mexico b elonged to th e Romish C hurch T he
clergy w er e exemp t from the j urisdiction of th e
courts in all cases civil and crimin al I n 1 8 5 7
a revolution was b egun for reli gious freedom in
Mexi co an d B enito Juarez issued his celebrated
refor m l aws two years later whi ch separated
C hurch an d S tat e an d established reli gious fre e
dom
H is d ecree also n ationalize d all Church
prop erty an d dissol ved all rel i gious orders
It
establish ed the law of civil m arri age freeing it
from restraints and exp enses p revi ously im pos e d
up on it by th e clergy T h e Op eration of the r e
form l aws ch an ge d th e country from a p ri est
ridden to a free n ation
Fr
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Peopl es
a nd
Cu s t om s
T h e p opul ation is over
a large p r o
p ortion Of whi ch is Indian
In m any p arts o f
th e country th e an ci ent customs sup erstitions
an d langu ages p revail Th ere ar e sai d to exi st
over 1 80 dialects
T he Sp an ish l a n gu a ge i s
sp oken through o ut Mexi co
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T he n ative foo d consists mainly of corn b eans
an d chili p ep p ers
Th e corn i s made into flat
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cakes or tortil l as
th e Mexican sta ff of l i fe
Most of th e cooki n g u tensils are mad e of clay
Many n ative a l coholi c d rinks are mad e th e
most common amon g the p oorer classes b eing th e
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th e fer m ented jui ce of th e maguey or
p u l qu e
century pl ant P roh ibition s entiment seems to b e
growi n g th rougho u t th e Republi c
Restrictive
measu res are bein g establish ed in sev eral of th e
states P resi dent Ob r eg on s decre e increasing th e
tax on b eer 1 00 p er cent is int en ded to discourage
the manufactu re of th at d rink
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E d uca t i on
T he p rogress made in education has b een very
marked with in th e l ast quarter of a century
Illit eracy h as been greatly decreased A repub
lican form of government cal ls for a goo d school
system and our Mission schools h ave made valu
abl e contributi ons toward build in g up this system
After thre e centuries of complete dominat i on
by Romani sm wh en the p eopl e were n ot p er
m i tted to think nor to act for th emselves it i s
little wonder th at the system scored furrows in
th e s o ci al fa b ri c of Mexi co s o deep th at a hundred
y ears of freedom an d of industri al imp r o v ement
h ave n ot yet wip ed them out
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Go v ernm en t
Mexi co is a Republi c consisting of 2 7 states
3 territori es an d the F ed eral D istrict
The consti
tu ti on cl osely model ed after th e constitution of
th e United S tates p rovides for l egisl ative execu
tive and j udi ci a l branch es and guarantees r e
l i g i ou s free d om
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E arly
D ay s
Mi s si on W or$
of
N 1 85 2 Miss Melinda Rankin
a P res b yteri an
who labored faithfully for twenty y ears amon g
th e Mexi cans bega n m issionary work among the
Mexican p eople on the bord er at B rownsville T exas
T here sh e started a school that was maintain ed until
th e era Of our Civil W a r
Th e laws of Mexico at th at
time positively p rohibite d th e i ntro duction of P rotes
ta n ti s m in any form
In 1 8 64 Miss Rankin entered
Matamoros Mexico Opp osite Brownsville and sh or tl v
afterward mad e her h eadquarters at Monterey wh ere
sh e gathered about her a comp any Of teach ers and
S h e worke d largely throu gh others
colp orteurs
someti mes h aving fifteen workers at a time
Miss
Rankin also Op ene d a school in Mont erey wh ich was
later transferre d to th e P res b yteri an Board an d b e
came ou r Girls Normal S ch ool at S altillo
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Soon after the war Of 1 846 D r J M P revost who
had served as surgeon with th e army took up his
abod e in $ acatecas Mexico a mining d istrict \Vh i l e
accumulating a fortune h e p reach e d as a layman by
precept and example a saving an d p uri fying gosp el
This work b ecam e later id entified with our P resby
teri an Mission wh en our activiti es were f or m a l l v
Op en ed in Mexi co in 1 8 7 2 Ou r B oard thus rep resents
the first and Old est P rotestant mission ar y work in
Mexi co
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T he war with Mexico Op en e d th e way for the intro
ducti on Of th e B ible At this tim e an edition of the
S criptures in S panish h ad been issued i n th e United
States An agent Of the Ameri can B ibl e S oci ety a c
comp a ni ed ou r army and distributed many copi es
After the dep arture Of th e American s th e Rom a n
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C atholi c clergy coll ecte d all the cop i es of th e B ible
they c o uld find an d b urne d them In 1 8 60 th e Amer
i can B ible S oci ety establish ed a n agen cy in Mont erey
T h e B ritish and F o rei gn B i b le Soci ety Op ened work
in Mexico C ity in 1 8 64 Great credit is du e th e B ible
soci eti es f or their p i o n e er work in n ew territory
T hese efforts Often d evelop into organi z ed work
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Mi ssi on
P rogr ess
In Mexico City a group of indep endent Mexican
Christians drawn togeth er b y a study of the B ible
held th ei r own services T he leader of this group was
S enor Arcadio Morales who became associ ated wit h
our Mission an d wh en a littl e later a P res b yterian
Church was organized h e b ecame its p astor H e h a s
completed over fifty years of most activ e consecrated
and fruitful service in the ministry T h e year 1 9 2 2
marks the semi centenni al of P resbyteri an work in
Mexi co
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W hen the General Ass em b ly in
vote d to Op en
work in Mexico tw o of th e first missionari es s ent ou t
were Rev H enry C T homson D D who remained in
th e country f or twenty years and did great servi ce
as p ion eer educator and also Rev Maxwell P hi l li ps
who during h is t en years in the country endured
many h ardshi ps while itinerating H e Op ened up work
in Yucatan Rev T E W all ace after sixteen years
in Colombi a S outh A me r i ca
Of missionary work
came to Mexico in 1 8 7 8 an d labore d u nc easingly in
the north ern p art f or thirty two years H e carri ed
on an extensive evangelisti c work b elove d alike by all
Ot h ers
w h o knew h im both Mexi cans and forei gn ers
who did excellen t pion eer work were Rev D avid
1 872
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Stewart wh o i tinerated in northern Mexico Rev J
Milton Green e D D who did translatin g and te a ch ing
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and also founded th e chu rch p ap er
in
E l Far o
1 8 84
Rev H u b ert B rown D D was engaged in
editorial work and teachin g Rev Isaac B oyce D D
itinerated f or many years in th e h ot coast states of
Vera C ruz T abasco and Yucatan Rev C C Millar s
n am e i s closely a ssoci ate d wi th th e development of
the Coyoacan T heologi cal S em i nary
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P er
s ec u ti on
— T h e st eady p r o gress mad e in th e
or
g a n i z a ti on
Of churches and the interest awakene d i n
the study of th e B i b le called forth more or less p erse
c u ti on from th e Roman C atholi c C hurch and th e ea r l v
mi ssionari es were at times greatly endan gered by such
fanati cism
S ome sixty Mexi can P rotestants h ave
suffered m artyrdom On e Of the most severe p er secu
tions took place in A c a pul co Guerrero o n the P acific
coast three years aft e r our work Op ene d in Mexico
A mo b o f several hundred made a murderous assault
on the con gregation with machet es rifl es and p istols
Thirteen P rotestants were kill ed an d more th an
twenty seriously injured
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Tr
very
a vel
—T h e work of itinerating in e a rly da y s was
d i fli c u l t,
slow and wearisom e ; it was don e en
W ith th e exception of
ti r el y b y stage or on hors eb ack
a short lin e runn in g from Mexi co C ity to Ve r a C ruz
Mexico h ad no railroad communication with the ou t
si d e worl d until 1 88 4 T here are now over
miles of railro ads in Mexico running from th e Rio
Grande River on th e north to th e Guat emal an b order
T h is imp roved m eans of tr a vel h a s i n
on th e south
creased m a n y f o ld th e e fficiency of th e m i s s i on a r v
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T abasco is th e only state wi thout railroads in whi ch
we h ave work T ravel there i s h ard and wearisome
T here is l ittle h op e th at it will b e materially improve d
i n the n ear future for its immense swamp s make th e
bui ldin g of railroads difficult Owing to the moun
t a i n ou s con dition of l arge sections of th e states of
Oaxaca and Chi apas itinerating in th em will always
be arduous
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Our
S c h ool s
a nd
D i s p en s ar i es
Th e d evelopment of educational work has be en
interrup ted durin g recent years b ecause o f th e n u
settled conditions i n th e country Most of the
s ion d a y sch oo l s th at h ad to be closed during r ev ol u
t i on a r y times have not b een Op ene d for l ack of fu n d s
T he Mission has a Normal S chool for Girls at S a n
Angel i n the F ederal D istri ct tw o other schools for
girls at Vera Cruz and Meri da and a p ri mary schoo l
at Oriz ab a The only p rep aratory sch ool for boys is
l ocated at C oyoacan F ed eral District It is planne d
( 1 9 2 2 ) to op en u p anoth er school f or boys in Oaxaca
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Th e first me dical work of any kin d to b e undertaken
by th e Mission was th e establ ishment of the free m edi
cal di sp ensary for the p oor i n Vera C ruz It was th en
Th e Mexican physi ci an gives
t h e on l y one in Mexico
hi s servi ces fre e to the clini c an d th e wholesale a n d
ret a il dru g an d commercial firms h ave contribut ed
much of th e m edici nes and sup pli es Over
p re
s c r i p t i on s h ave been filled since the disp ensary was
establ ish ed five years ago
W ithin th e year 1 9 2 1
ot h e r d isp ensari es h ave b een organize d on the same
pl a n in Orizaba T i erra Blanca Ja l ap a P uerto
Mexi co a n d in T ab asco
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Th ere i s a notable op portuni ty for a P resbyt eri a n
Hosp ital in Mexi co and i t i s u rgently n eeded Greater
emp hasis shoul d b e plac ed u pon t h e valu e of su ch
servi ce as an ai d i n evange l izi n g M exi co
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Th e P r es s
pap er in Mexico the A n tor c h a
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E v a ng el i c a l
( T he E vangeli cal T orch ) was publish ed
by Rev H C T homson D D at $ acate cas early in the
seventi es About th e sam e time tracts an d a hymn
book were comp ile d by Rev M N Hutchinson a n
other p ioneer
In 1 8 83 R ev J M Greene D D
secured funds an d bought the Mission p ress I n $ a n
”
uary 1 8 8 5 th e publ ication of E l F a r o ( Th e Li ght
house ) b egan together with S unday school l esso n
h elps an d tracts
T he first
.
P rotestant
.
$
,
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,
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,
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$
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In 1 9 1 9 a Uni on P ress was forme d by the j oining
of the Methodist and P resbyterian pl ants T he Meth
odist an d P resbyteri an p ap ers were combin ed also in
a n ew publi cation call ed
E l Mun d o Cr i s ti a n o
T his p ap er h as been well receiv e d and has re ach e d
places where the missionary could not go
.
$
$
,
.
.
On e
of
the great ne eds today is th e generous d is
tribution Of th e ri ght kind of tr a cts a n d other l it er a
ture to accomp any th e distribution of the B i b l e th a t
Christian b elievers m ay b e firm l y rooted a n d b uilt u p
an d establish ed i n th e faith
.
D ev el opm en t
R
R es p ons i b i l i ty—A
conference of
f
th e various B oards a n d m ission ari es workin g in
Mexico was hel d i n C incinnati Oh io i n 1 9 1 4 At th at
time th ere was mad e a redistribution of resp onsibi l ity
ed i s tr
i b ut i on
o
,
15
,
.
for th e evangel ization of Mexi co By this arra n ge
ment th e P resbyteri an Mission withdrew from north
ern M exico as w ell as from the states Of Mi choacan
and Guerrero on the west coast giving up much of
ou r oldest and best establishe d work
.
,
,
.
In return the P resbyterian Mission assumed full
responsibility for th e work in th e enti re stat es of
Oaxaca Vera C ruz C hi ap as T abasco C amp ech e
Yu catan and the territory of Q uitana ROO ret ai nin g
work i n th e F ed eral D istri ct and Mexi co C ity
ou r
T his means th at our Mission is resp ons i ble for the
evang eli zation of a b out one fourth of the p eople Of
Mexico in a territory equal to a bout on e fi f th of th e
total area of th e Republi c
,
,
,
,
,
,
-
-
,
.
Na ti on a l
Ch u r c h — S ince
ian
our w i th
d r a w a l from north ern Mexi co an In dependent Na
T hi s
ti on a l P resbytery has be en formed in that field
P resbytery is under th e P res b yteri an Synod of
Mexico
Its church es include those of northern
Mexico whi ch were organized by ou r Mission an d th e
Mission of th e S outh ern P resbyterian Church
Pr
es by ter
.
.
.
Th e Mexi can P resbyteri an C hurch h as thus become
a Nation al Church in north ern Mexi co h avin g work
establish ed in most of th e large cities It is en ti r el v
self supp orting an d durin g th e year 1 9 2 1 raised $45
p esos or
,
,
.
-
,
S oc i al S erv ic e
In Mexi co C ity where home conditions are cramp ed
and cr o wded a soci al cent er h as b een Op ened H ere
the missionari es give the youn g p eopl e an attractive
place to sp en d the eveni ngs wh ere they will n ot b e
subj ected to t emptation b ut can h ave whol esome
.
,
,
,
16
tions and th eir deep sense of responsibility for th e
evangelizi n g of thei r own p eople This is esp ecially
tru e in the stat e of C hi ap as where 8 64 p ersons were
baptized and receive d into memb ership in 1 9 2 1 In
this fiel d th ere are fou r well organized church es
T hese churches h ave under th eir care more than 60
con gregations or groups of bel ievers Many of these
congregations choose one of their num b er to take
”
chaplain
charge of the servi c es and h e is called
Th e other congregations or groups are ministered to
regularly b y n ative volunt eer workers called mis
”
sent ou t from one of the four organized
s i on a r i es
church es
In this manner several hundred p ersons
are at present b ein g instructed and p rep ared to b e
received into full membership
.
.
.
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$
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$
,
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Owing to the extreme distance and cost of sending
workers from this fi el d to attend the Uni on S eminary
in Mexico C ity plans are being made for holding B ible
T raining C onferences at various centers on th e field
for the training of lay workers A like condition in
regard to distan ce from Mexi co C ity p revails in Yuca
tan and pl ans ar e being m ade th ere also f or the train
ing of workers on the field
,
.
.
T he Mexi cans as a p eople are very fond of music
a n d a feature in P rotestant worship that h as p roved
esp ecially attractive to th em is singing P rotestant
hymns are eager l y learned an d given an imp ortant
place in thei r lives
Durin g th e missi onary s visit
the congregation is taught new son gs and th ese are
most fervently an d j oyously sung over and over until
his n ext visit T hese songs becom e a sustainin g i n flu
ence and a m eans of expression in the religious l ife
of th e p eopl e
.
’
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18
A Un i q u e Res pon si b i l i t y
T he p oliti cal a n d eco n omi c rel ations b etween Mexico
and the Unite d S tates are of uni que imp ortance today
T h ey are uni que in th e first plac e b ecause with
Mexico is the on e foreign country
on e excep tion
nearest to our ow n nation H er boundari es are con
ti g u ou s with ours ; only a river an d an imagin ary line
sep arate th e two lands
Sh e is on the S outh our
n earest n eighbor ; h er interests and ours are i n ex
B etwe en the two nati ons exist
t r i c a b l y intertwined
all the Op p ortunities and responsibiliti es of such close
nei gh b orhood
.
,
,
,
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In th e secon d p lace America by r eason of the Mon
roe Doctrin e has a uni que relationshi p with Mexi co
No other n ation can com e into such close relationship
with her as can our country T h ere is th erefore an
added and singl e resp onsibility of servi ce upon ou r
governm ent a n d p eop le i n whi ch no other country can
share
,
,
.
,
.
.
F inally ,
in ou r relations with Mexi co is to b e found
the touchston e of our relations with other l ands all
over th e world Ou r Mexic a n p olicy is really th e test
of our enti re forei gn p oli cy $ wh ether it i s to b e a
policy Of imperi alism either economi c or military or
’
a policy of democrati c and disintereste d service VVe
cannot win th e friendshi p of Latin Am erica u nl ess
we wi n first th e goo d will and trust of Mexi co T here
ar e other ramifications of this p oli cy that affect inter
n ational attitudes n ot only to th e south of us but also
i n th e E ast an d in the W est
In this S ense wh at
America does politi cally an d economically in Mexico
takes on worl d wid e m eanin g and si gnificance
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,
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19
Wh at is true in the p o liti cal an d economic world is
even more true i n the worl d of C hristi an servi ce
”
connoted by the term F orei gn Missions
T h e field
of forei gn m issions is th e worl d ; b ut th e F ounder of
this world crusade in p recep t and p arable placed first
the duty of servi ce to on e s n ei gh b or Missionaries
go to the F a r E ast and to th e F a r S outh and to
Africa and to India $ they cross the Atlantic and th e
”
Near S outh
P acific $ l et them look also towards th e
and let th em cross th e Rio Grande for Christ s sake
,
$
.
’
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,
$
,
’
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Un es capab l e Du t y
Just as the Unite d S tates h as a uni que o b lig a
tion for servi ce i n Mexico b ecause of an establish ed
nation al poli cy so h as th e P res b yteri an Chu rch b y
an announced p rogram an unescap abl e duty i n that
land E i ght years ago b y agreement with th e oth er
Church Boards th e P res b yteri an Church defini te l y
committ ed itself to th e task of education and evan
g el i z a ti on in seven Mexican S tates a work in whi ch
no ot h er Church shoul d sh are If the work is to b e
done in those S tates i t must be done b y the P r es b v
teri an Chu rch alone
,
,
,
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,
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,
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F inally ,
th ere is involv ed in the relations of th e
two lands the l arger p rinciple of all forei gn mission
effort that h as b een phrased as th e b ringin g to b ear
”
on all human l ife th e spi rit a n d p rinciples of Christ
S uch an i deal involves n ations as well a s individuals
F rom thi s double standpoint of indivi dual and na
t i on a l n e ed and Op portun ity and from the larger
viewpoint of its strategic rel ationshi p to th e world
campai gn of th e Church th e work i n Mexico o ffers its
app eali n g ch all enge tod ay
$
,
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20
Note
F or
most re cent stati sti cs of th e Mexi co
Mission consult th e current Annual Report of th e
P resbyteri an B oard of F orei gn Missions
A P en P i cture of each Station of th e Mexico M is
si o n descri b in g th e work in d etail can b e se c ured at
five cents p er copy from th e D ep artment f or S p ecific
Wo rk P res b yteri an Bo ard of F orei gn Missi ons or
from th e W oman s Board of F orei gn Missi ons 1 5 6
F i fth Avenu e New York Ci ty
.
.
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Ma r c h
,
1 9 22
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21
P e n Pi c t u r
e
o f th e
M i ssi o n
Gu a t e m a l a
—
1 882
st
ab
l
i
sh
e
d
E
.
S t a t i on s i n Or d er
of
Guatemal a C ity
F oun di ng
.
Q u ezalten ango
1 882
1 898
Ou t s t an di ng F ea t ur es
A n egl ect ed but strategi c field which is p rae
tically our P r es b v ter i a n resp onsibility alone
A country with vari ed altitude p recip itatio n
temp erature and climate
F ertil e soil yi elding almost all th e p roducts
of the temp erat e and tropical zones
Mineral wealth only s l i ghtly develop ed
Two princip al races — th e In dian and t h e
Ladino a mixture of th e S p anish and Ind ian
Reli gion — Rom an C atholi c
Large p ercentage of illiteracy an d illegitimacy ;
p revalence of drunkenness an d cr i me
In 1 8 5 1 Guatemala becam e an indep en dent
rep ubl ic
I n 1 8 7 1 C hurch and S tate were sep arat ed
In 1 9 1 7 Guatemal a Ci ty was wrecked by a n
earthqu ake ; since rebuilt
In 1 9 2 0 a change of government brought a
brighter outlook f or th e p eopl e
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22
W i de influenc e Of th e Mission p ress
.
Imp ortance of sp readin g the Gosp el amon g the
Indi ans
.
A p reemin ent n eed— edu cation f or boys
.
T he p erio d of seed sowing is over ; th e h arvest
i s waiting for workers both n ative and foreign
f or th e ingatheri n g
-
,
,
.
Ot h er P ro t es t an t B o d i es Op era t i ng i n thi s Fi el d
American B ibl e S oci ety ; C entral A m erica n
Mission
.
L oca t ion , S i z e
an d
P opula t i on
Guatemala is i n C entral Ameri ca north of
P an ama an d j ust south of Mexi co
T he inter
section of th e m eri di an that runs through St
Louis an d New Orle ans with th e 1 5 th degree Of
north latitu de i s not far from th e t erritorial
center
Guatemal a h as an area of
square miles
an d is ap p roximately th e size of th e New E ngl and
S tates with a p opulation of
ei ght
or
tim es as many p eople as are in $ ansas C ity and
almost as m any a s are congested in Chicago I t
is religiously culturally and n ow p o liticall y on e
with all of C entral Am erica
,
.
.
.
,
,
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,
.
Geograp h y
and
Cl i ma t e
Guatemal a exten ds from ocean to o c ean Its
watershed is th e Rocky Andes system rea c h i n g at
places
fe et i n el evati on T his watersh ed
runs n orthwest to south east p arallel to the P acifi c
shore and sep ar a ted from it by a stri p Of l ow
.
-
,
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23
b ut very fertil e coast land from twenty to fifty
miles wid e Th e longer Atlanti c slop e is broken
by rugged spu rs stretchin g eastward i n some
cases to th e very sh o re T h e interior is a suc
cession of mountains and valleys
Rivers and
streams are num erous ; those on the western side
are shorter owin g to th e abrup t descent I n th e
rainy season th ey are dashing torrents and add
much to the diversity of the l andscap e
Guatemal a is on e of the most varied countri es
in the world I t vari es i n alti tude from sea level
to
feet ; in p reci pitation from rainl ess
d esert t o p erp etual rain ; in temp eratur e from
year long trop i cal summer t o a cold d eman din g
four b l ankets every ni ght in th e year As regards
vegetat i on it has also a wide range
.
,
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,
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Pro d uc ts
T he s o il Of G u atemala is largely of vol canic
ori gin and almost everywhere is fertile yielding
p roducts that vary greatly according to the eleva
tion of th e land above sea l evel Almost all p rod
trop ical zones may b e
n ets of th e temp e rat e or
grown wi thin th e bord ers of th e country ; cocoa
ban anas logwood a n d
on the P acifi c coast zone
m ah o gany On th e Gulf shores ; wheat potatoes
and all kinds of sub tropi cal fru its an d vegetabl es
in various p arts of th e t emperate regions T h e
low lyin g plains are cloth ed esp eci ally on the
Atlanti c side with a luxuriant vegetation h avi n g
all th e ch aracteristics of th e trop ical Ameri can
woodlands As i n Mexi co maize is ev erywh ere
grown yi elding on e crop annu ally i n th e tem
,
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,
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24
Comm erc e
While th e exports are varied th e ch ief arti cl es
,
are co ff ee bananas mahogany an d rubber Th e
United F ruit Comp any h as a plantation 60 miles
l ong b y 8 miles wi de from which it sh ips
000 bunch es Of bananas annually
If cultivated
to th e full ext ent i t would p roduce
b unch es Just p revious to the war th e coffee pro
d uction reache d
quintals a quintal
bei n g th e equival ent of a hundre d wei ght T he
gross valu e of th e exports amount ed to
000 and of th e imports to over
more
t h an
comin g from th e United S tates
,
.
,
,
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,
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.
Rac es
There are two p rincip al races th e Indian or
abori ginal a n d th e Ladino or mixtur e of S p anish
and I n di an w h i ch though less numerous than th e
Indi an h as inh erit ed th e wealth p ower and soci al
sta nding of th e S p anish conquerors an d lords it
ov er th e subj ect Indi an T here are also r ep r e
s en ta t i ves of many oth er nations the S p ani ards
G ermans an d Chinese p redominating
Th e
Indi an i s resp ectful law abiding cap abl e and
relatively ch aste In th e dep artment of Guate
mal a C ity th e Ladinos register a 6 7 % i l l eg i t i
macy ; th e Indi ans register
,
,
,
,
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,
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,
Rel i gion
Roman C atholicism is and h as b een the on e
chief religi on T h e conversion Of th e Indi ans to
Roman C atholi cism consisted in great p art in sub
mission to the ecclesi astical control of Rome a n d
.
26
h aving th eir ol d beli efs and p ract i ces d esi gn ated
by Christi an nam es As i n Mexico so i n Guate
mala Rom anism has sunk even lower than the
p eop le whom it h as d egraded T h e resul t is th at
they have l o st confiden ce in the ir Chu rch Noth
ing i s d on e to su pply th e sp i ritu al voi d and i t i s
assume d that a pu rely secular education is t h e
only n eed of the countr y H ence educat ed p eopl e
are dri ftin g into all forms of infidelity wh ile th e
condition of th e p eopl e at large is that of gross
i gnoranc e of tru e sp iritual C hristianity
.
,
,
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,
,
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S o cial Con d i t i on s
Roman C atholi cism crush ed out th e mi ddle
class after it got compl ete control l eaving th e
e cclesiastical class and th eir rel atives wealthy and
the rest of the p eopl e p au p eriz ed
S in ce th e
sep aration of Chu rch and S tate in 1 8 7 1 a mi ddl e
cl ass has b e en slowly formin g T he Church of
Rome after 400 years of absolute control l eft a n
illiterate p opulati on After fifty y ears of publ ic
schools an d compulsory educati on under th e
”
free thinkers
the illiteracy has been onl y
Th e bad sh owing of th e Rom a n
s li ghtly r educed
Chu rch i s du e to the policy an d the d ri ft of th e
system an d that of the Liberals is due to we a kn ess
of th e moral factor
,
.
,
.
.
$
.
,
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D runkenness an d crime p revail In 1 9 1 3 t h e
governm en t i ssued
s a loon l icens es that i s
for every 3 6 i nh a bitants countin g men
on e
F amil y
women and children for all drink
mora l s are in a b ad condition As the p eople do
not fight with th ei r fists but with t h e deadl i est
.
.
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$
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27
weapons they can command crim e statistics run
enor m ously hi gh
On on e occasion wh i le some
of the missionari es were at churc h on S u nd ay
morning fi v e m u r d er s occu rred in their ward in
the C apital C ity and in the entire city the known
record reach ed twenty one that same day As
to la b or th e p eonage system prevails and f or
unskilled l abor th e wage is from three fourths of
a cent a d ay to fifte en cents
As p eopl e c a n
n ei ther b e starve d nor frozen in this warm frui t
laden country wages drop to the irreducibl e
minimum
,
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,
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-
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,
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-
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,
.
H i s t ory
of
Guatemala
N 1 5 02 C olumbus dis c ov er e d th e c o ast of th is
r e gi on
Th e c ountry w as m ad e a S p ani sh
dep en dency in 1 5 24 an d was erected i nt o a captain
gen eral cy in 1 5 2 7 b y Ch arl es V In 1 8 2 1 Guatem al a
thre w off th e yo k e of S p ain and in 1 8 2 3 b e c am e a
p art o f th e C entral Am eri c an F e d eral R epubl i c In
1 8 3 9 th e t erritory o f th e l atter w as di minish e d b y
th e s e c e ssi on o f Hon duras and in 1 8 47 Gu atemal a
s ep arate d from th e c onfe d erati on as an ind ep end ent
repu b li c
.
.
.
.
In th e y ear 1 8 7 1 Churc h an d S tat e w ere s ep arate d
in Guat em al a an d a n e w era o f fre e dom b e gan Th is
w as on e of th e m o st d e c is iv e an d far re ach in g
ch an ge s th at h ad ev er tak en pl ac e in th e h istory o f
L atin Am eri c a
A n e w spiri t m ani fest e d its elf
am on g th e p e opl e Th e rul e or d omin ati o n o f th e
cl ergy w as ov erthro w n an d a l ib eral gov ernm ent w as
e stabl ish ed
W h en th e Lib e ral P arty c am e into
p o w er in 1 8 7 1 m any rem ark abl e ch an ge s to ok pl ac e
.
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28
T w o y e ars l ater b y p ro cl am ation o f P r esi d ent
B arri o s reli gi ous l ib erty w as gu arante e d to all and
durin g h is admini strati on trad e and general p ros
In 1 8 84 w ar b rok e out
p er i ty gre atly i ncre as e d
b etw e en Gu at em al a an d S a n S a lv ad or in c on s e
q u en c e of a d e cre e fro m P re sid ent B arri o s for th e
uni on o f all C entral Am eri c an state s At th e outs e t
o f th e c onfl i c t th e P re s id ent w as k ill ed Hi s suc
c e ss or s
t o s o m e e x tent p ursue d h i s enli gh ten ed
p oli cy In 1 8 9 0 w ar w as a gain d e cl ar ed a gainst S a n
S alv a dor b ut after a fe w m onth s o f a c tiv e h ostiliti e s
p e a c e w as pr o cl aim e d
,
,
,
.
,
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.
.
,
,
.
P oli tical
D ominanc e
a form er p re si d en t b e c am e t o all
int ents and p urp o s e s a d i c tator In 1 9 2 0 th e p e opl e
c omm en c e d t o ass ert th ems elv e s in ac c ord an c e w ith
th e ri ghts of any fr ee p eople This was done i n the
p re ss an d in p ub li c a d dre ss es M any o f th o s e t ak in g
th e l e a d in th i s m ov em ent w ere c ast int o p ris on and
h el d w ith o ut l awful ac cus ati on or j ust tri al E v en
w ith th i s prov o c ati on th ere w as n o upri sin g
p e opl e
On th e 1 1 th of M arc h 1 9 2 0 s om e
m arch e d throu gh th e stre ets t o th e p l ac e w h ere th e
n ati on al c on gre ss w as i n s essi on in ord er to pro t est
a ga i ns t th e p assin g of c ert ain l aw s th at h ad for
th ei r p urp o s e th e suppre ssi on o f fre e sp e e ch and of
a fre e p r ess Th es e p e opl e w ent un arm e d an d w ith
ou t sh outs or thre ats and th e w h ol e c on duc t of th e
pro c essi on w as ord erly Th e p oli c e or s oldi ers fired
on th es e inno c ent p e opl e bu t ev en th en th ev m a in
t a i n ed th e ir p e ac eful b e arin g
A c ompl et e ch an ge of go ve rnm en t h as b rou gh t a
n e w re gim e A n e w sp irit anim ate s th e p e opl e an d
F ro m 1 900 1 9 2 0
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29
th e ou tl o o $ i s b r i g h t Th e v ery d i scuss i ons t h at h av e
tak en pl a c e i n sp e e ch and p ress h av e d ev e l op e d a
n ew ch ar a c te r amon g th e p e opl e It i s si gnific ant
th at when pol itical tyranny had become unendur
ab le th e p e opl e o f Guatem al a aros e al m ost as on e
m an and b rou gh t ab out a ch an ge of gov ernm ent
th at i s qui e tly establ ish in g its elf in a w ay th at c all s
for m ark e d c omm en d ati on T h e stru ggl e h a s b e en
i n fav o r o f tru e fre e d om
P ers onal and selfish
mo tiv e s h av e n ot b e en c ontrollin g th e n e w gov ern
m ent
.
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Mi s s i on D evelopm ent
In 1 8 7 1 th e Rom an C ath oli cs th ems elv e s i n w h a t
”
is kn o w n as th e
Lib er al R ev oluti on
reb ell e d
Lat er in 1 8 8 2
a gainst an d d esp oil e d th e ir Church
P resid en t B arri o s wh en on a v isit to th e Unite d
S tate s inv ite d th e P re sbyteri an B o ard o f F or ei gn
Missi ons to s end its missi onari e s to Gu atem al a
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In th e s am e ye ar th e Guatem al a M i ssion w as
found e d in Gu atem al a C ity th e c ap ital Th e Rev
John C H ill and Mrs Hill w ere th e first m issi on ari es
ap p o inte d and th eir trav ellin g e xp ens e s to Guate
m ala w er e p aid b y P r esi d en t B arri o s He als o p ro
Th e p l an ad op te d w as
v i d ed th em a dw ellin g h ou s e
t o gath er an E n glish sp e ak ing c on gre gati on an d
organiz e a P ro testan t Church
S ervi c es w ere h eld
for a tim e in pri vate resid enc es w ith an incre ase d
attend an c e from w e e k t o w e ek A h ous e n e ar t h e
center of th e city was rented an d by Ap ril 1 8 8 3 th e
ne w m issi on ari es w er e fully estab lis h ed A S u n d a v
sch o ol w a s organiz e d an d attend ed b y th e ch ildren
of th e P re sid ent an d o th ers in hi gh p ositi ons
By
t h e cl os e o f th e y ea r th e n ew ch ap el w as fill e d B o th
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E n gl i sh
and S p a n ish s e rvi c es w ere m a inta i n e d u ntil
Mr Hill s r esi gnati on in 1 8 8 6 Hi s p l a c e w as fill ed
t h e n ex t y e ar by th e R ev E M Haym ak er A ch ap el
w a s built an d d e d i c ate d in 1 8 9 1 w i th m any m ar $ s
of appro v al from th e P resi d ent an d th e auth oriti e s
Tw o church e s w e r e or ganiz e d i n 1 8 9 2 on e of S p an
ish sp eak in g and th e o th er o f E n gl i s h sp e ak in g
p e opl e I n 1 8 9 4 th e E n gli sh Church b e c am e i nd e
p en d ent
In 1 9 02 Mr H aym ak er s h e al th fail e d ;
this l ed him to resi gn
Rev W illi am B Allison
and Mrs Allis on and R ev W alt er E Mc B a th w ent
out in 1 9 03 In 1 8 8 9 th e first S p anish ev an geli c al
p ap er of C entral Ameri ca was foun ded
E l Men s a
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A mi xed school was esta b lished in 1 8 83 and
j er o
w as susp end e d in 1 88 9 wh il e in 1 8 8 8 a b o y s sch o ol
w a s starte d wh i ch w as cl o s e d at a l ater d at e
A
girls s ch o ol w as or gani z e d in 1 8 8 4 b ut cl os e d i n
1891
At th e b e ginnin g of 1 9 1 3 a n oth er s c h o ol for
girls w a s op en e d i n a fin e n e w b uildin g M e d ic al
w ork w as st art e d in 1 9 06 and in 1 9 1 3 th e h osp i tal
w as op en ed In c onn e c ti on w ith th e h osp ital th ere
i s a trainin g s ch o ol for nurs e s
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In 1 9 1 7 th e entire p lant of mi ssi on b uild in gs i n
Guat emal a C ity w a s w r e ck e d b v si x s ev ere e arth
qu ak e sh o c k s th e l ast on e o c currin g J anuary 2 8 th
In th e sam e y ea r th e missi on ary re sid enc e
1918
and p rintin g h ous e w er e reb uil t an d a n e w r esi d en c e
c onstructe d In 1 9 2 1 th e church girl s s c h o ol and
h osp it a l w e re r epla c ed and th e pl ant i s n ow r ea d v
for p ro gress
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( Green feather town ) the sec o nd
Q
city of Gu atemal a was first occupi ed as a Station in
1 8 9 8 b y R ev and Mrs W F Gate s al th ou gh m ore
uez a l tei i a n g o
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l es s d e sult ory w ork h a d b e en d on e th ere p rev i
In 1 9 03 a ch ap el an d p ars on a ge w ere b uil t
ou s l y
after th e p urc h as e of a l ot b y th e gi fts of th e p e opl e
th ems elv e s L ater an oth er l ot w as p ur c h as e d b y th e
B o ard in a m ore c entral l o c ati on an d a c omm o d ious
ch ap el re adin g ro om and m an s e ere cte d T h e ch ap el
h as s in c e b e en enl arg e d to an imp o sin g chur c h b y
n ativ e c ontributi on In April 1 9 02 th e t o wn w as
n e arly d estroy e d b y an e arth qu ak e w ith gre at l oss
A t errific v ol c ani c erup ti on
of li fe and p rop erty
foll o w e d in Oc to b er w h ich ruin e d th e ri ch farms
and pl antati ons around th e c ity Th es e c al amiti es
with the resultin g distress an d p r o strati o n of b usiness
for a time int errup ted all p rogress Mr an d Mrs
Gates resigne d on account of ill h ealth
T he gir l s
sch ool wh i ch h ad b een temporarily transferred from
Guatemal a City to Q uezalten ango di d such ex c ellent
work that the Board saw the wisdom of continuing it
but adaptin g i t rath er to m eet the needs of th e
Indians while the school i n th e cap ital cares for th e
Ladinos T he two races cannot b e educated together
with th e b est results
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Th e I n di a n s
W hen the
of
Gua temala
S p ani ards
under their i ntrep i d leader
Hern ando Cortez came to Mexico and C entral
Ameri ca they found a civilization not far inferior
to th at whi ch they had known i n E urop e
The
S p anish conquerors destroye d completely th e political
institutions of the Indians reducing th em to slavery
or h andin g them over to some Sp anish grandee to b e
mercilessly exp l oited
T he e ff orts of th e Sp ani ards
were directed with e qu al zeal against th e reli gious
institutions and p ractices of th e Indi ans Th e su d
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e ff o rt to teach th e Indi ans Sp ani sh
T h e few w h o
learn i t can read the Bible and other evangelical
literatu re an d then transl ate i t into the language of
thei r p eople In this way the lack of lit erature in th e
n ative languages is to an extent overcome S econd
T he p eon age system although i t h as not d estroyed
th e Indian communi ties h as stol en thousan ds of th ei r
b est sons from them Th ey are p ractically s l aves on
the coffee and sugar p lantations wh ere the r es tr i c
tions of the villages are largely broken down T h ere
th e Indian must work with and for p eople of other
m odes of thinking and actin g
H e oft en h ears the
Gosp el and then tells h is p eopl e a b out it when h e
goes home on a visit or wh en his free relatives come
T hird — Th e government is forcin g th e
to vi sit h im
well to d o Indians whom p eonage does n ot touch i n to
military servi ce H ere too they are push ed ou t of
th ei r narrow local ci rcle and come into contact wi th
other p eopl e and as there is h ardly a garrison with
out a t least on e zealous evan geli cal i n i t th ey he ar
the Gosp el E vangelical Christi anity when once a c
c ep ted by the In di a n is followed most h eartily
Idols
are th rown away vi ce is renounced and wonderful
ze a l is m ani fested
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P robably
nowhere on th e glob e is a gen eral upli ft
work more n eed ed th an among the Guatemal a Indians
T hei r unsp eakable l i v m g conditions th ei r squalor
high mortality the l ack of sani tation and their gen
eral hop elessness call f or a broad work such as n eith er
the government nor any other factor in th e field can
give sav e E vangelical P rotestant Christi anity T he
eva n gelizing and general upli ft work of our Missi o n
shoul d b e steadily pushed
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A P erio d o f H ar v es t
T he Guatemala Mission h a s n OW p a s s ed through
the p eriod of seed sowing a n d through th e long an d
tryi ng time of waiti n g and b y p erseveranc e i n s p ite
discouragem ent and obstacles has entered th e
of
p erio d of overwhelming h arvest
E ncour a ging de
v eIOp m en t s are now ap p e a rin g on every h a nd ; in se l f
government self support and self p ropagation
T he
first missionari es had no followin g but there are now
E vangelicals in the Republ ic ; th ere
( 1 9 2 2 ) over
were no congregations now there are more th an 5 00
At th e beginning the missi onari es had t o w a lk th e
street of the cap ital p rotected by armed gu a rds a gai n st
a threatening fanaticism ; now even in th e villa ges it
i s h ard to fin d a fan ati c who will throw a bri ck or
utter a mal ediction Advertisements for help n ot i n
”
frequ ently end with A P rotestant p referred
A
b rewery lat ely requ ested th e P rotestants to find t h em
an employe e from th eir numb er b ec a use th ev wanted
” $
a man who woul d n ot drink
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Wh y I n v est i n
Gua t ema l a $
As an attractive m i ss i on a r v investment with gilt
ed ged securiti es Guatemal a can comp et e with a u v
fi eld in the world
1
It is p reeminently our resp onsi b ilit y
If w e
do not attend to it nobody wi ll
2
In i gnoran c e sup erstition an d de ep sp iritu al
ni ght it makes a strong app eal to th e C hurch
3
It is an overlooke d field a n d is so n e a r to us
that we fai l to see it
4
It i s strategi c
Guatemala h as a lw a y s deter
mined th e religion p oliti cs a n d culture of C entral
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America and n ow C entral Am erica with the P anama
C anal in Op e ration is bound to have immense in fluence
on all L atin Ame r ica
.
Note
most recent statistics of the Guatemala
Mission consult the c u rrent Annual Report of th e
F orei gn B oard
F or
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Ma l c h
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19 2 2
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36