In 2012, a team of KUCC members traveled to Guatemala to learn about life and God’s handiwork in this part of the world. They met with representatives of CEDEPCA, the Evangelical Center for Pastoral Studies in Central America. Visiting a variety of different agencies in the area, the team learned about the strength of the people CEDEPCA serves and the challenges they face.

Our travelers were deeply impressed by CEDEPCA’s manifold ministries:

• offering theological education for seminarians.
• empowering women economically and combatting violence against them.
• supporting those afflicted by natural disasters.

This trip was the beginning of a partnership which in 2015 and again in 2017 brought pairs of CEDEPCA workers to St. Louis for a month, visiting relief agencies and practicing their English skills which would help them network on behalf of CEDEPCA.

Two more teams of KUCC members & friends have gone to Guatemala to continue this partnership. In 2019, six members of Kirkwood UCC and Eliot Chapel-Kirkwood, traveled to Guatemala, seeking to understand —from the Central American perspective—the root causes of people immigrating to the United States. The 2019 team returned praising the courage and resiliency of the CEDEPCA staff and the people they serve.

We understand, after years of “walking with Guatemala,” that the United States’ policies and actions have contributed to the tragedies occurring daily in their country. We want to help CEDEPCA in its efforts to cope with and overcome adversity.