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Holy communing World Communion Sunday  It had been a week of hard work, up there in the mountains of north-central Guatemala. When you’re not used to mixing cement by hand, sleeping on hard ground, taking ice cold showers, the body grows weary rather quickly. And so it was with our team, which had been working alongside local volunteers from the little Methodist church of San Juan Cotzal. Together we had made giant strides towards constructing a new cement block church facility, which would even have cement floors! That may not seem like much to us, but the little church where the folks were now worshiping had ramshackle walls, old rusty corrugated tin sheets which served as somewhat of a roof, and a dirt floor –  mostly rocky, uneven dirt.  Our part of the task was done, and we were set to leave San Juan Cotzal the next morning, facing a drive of 5-6 hours on the rough, rocky ‘road’ out of the mountains. So this night, we were invited to be the special guests of the Methodist (La Iglesia Evangelica Nacional Metodista Primitiva de San Juan Cotzal el Quiche) Church. We were seated in a circle, with all the men on one side, all the women on the opposite side. Pastor Diego Chamay Toma led us all in prayer, and then the festivities began. The women had prepared a feast for the American guests, with homemade tamales (no, you can’t get them like that here!) and a special egg dish. The food just kept coming – lots of it, far more than we could possibly eat. And the drink? Proudly displayed in the center of the dirt floor was a whole case of Pepsi. Yes, Pepsi – a very costly drink for the local people. I suspect that most of them rarely drank any soft drinks, for they’re a luxury. These are people who have little or no cash, and who pay their pastor only with food products raised on their little farm plots. But for the special guests, ones whose bodies might not tolerate the local water – Pepsi!  After the meal – which took a long time – there were expressions of gratitude from all of the male elders of the church. They were nervous, for speaking in front of a crowd was hard, even harder when part of that crowd was foreigners – big, rich, white foreigners at that. But they did it, they offered that gift of themselves. Every member of our team received a special “Diploma” for our gift of work, and each of us received a woven cloth, handmade by the women. It’s on my wall at home, that gift. We received the very best the people could offer. All of the weariness in our bodies disappeared, for we communed together, and we shared the very best which God has to offer to all of us – in Guatemala, here at home, everywhere. The body and the blood of Jesus Christ, given for you and for me. It’s holy.  - Pastor Piet - October 1, 2006