Page 309 - tesis

Discrimination and exploitation in their own country marked the life of millions of Africans for many decades. However, the scene that he was able to observe in this visit was surprising. A multitude of believers both black and white were sitting together singing, worshiping, and listening to the message in the Afrikaans. It was possible to feel in the atmosphere the sharing together of brothers and sisters. This church was combining charismatic revival with a vision of holistic service. This church has various ministries serving the communities around and about.139\u000AThe following experience was enjoyed by the researcher in the one of the congresses of the ESH the researcher observed the joyful participation of a group indigenous men and women with their children from the ESH church of Santiago Atitl\u00E1n in the department of Solol\u00E1. With their colourful clothing the Zutuhil ethnic group danced and sang next to the rest of the congregation. The men too used their ethnic dress, which could imply that they were believers with some resources [Among the Guatemalan indigenous communities different social strata can be observed. The majority live in poverty or extreme poverty]. They were hugged with the same enthusiasm as the other members of the church. This image is repeated in other Evangelical churches in the urban and rural areas and they are all called brothers and sisters. As was indicated in Chapter three most of NPCs have indigenous churches inside the country. Indigenous men and women now have more opportunities to exert leadership in indigenous and Ladino churches. For example, the senior pastor of Miel church Gaspar Sapalu come from a Zutuhil ethnic group [a division of the original Elim Church in Guatemala City].\u000AThe term \u2018brother and sister\u2019 is fundamental in the religious language and Evangelical theology. The example that the Apostle Paul gives in the New Testament of Philemon and his slave Onesimus shows the radical change from slavery to a \u2018brotherhood in Christ\u2019. It indicates the new relationship that the person who has been born again\u000A139 Among the projects which the Church magazine shares is \u2018Operation Mercy\u2019 which the pastor of the Church Ray McCauley coordinated in response to the genocide which took place in Rwanda in 1986, also the \u2018Rhema Paradise\u2019 Project for Street Children and a Children\u2019s Home where approximately 250 attend each year.\u000A296\u000A