The Hastings Family

" I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth."

I Timothy 2:1-4

Happy New Year from all the Hastings!

We haven't blogged in a little while, sometimes the time just gets away from us. There's a lot going on here with AMG Guatemala with everyone returning to work, all of our ministry sites re-opening for a new year, thousands of children returning to AMG's schools and daycare centers to start a new school year, the Dennett family being here and working along side us (more about that soon!) and many other things.

This morning I read an article in the news from the Guatemala Times (below) that I thought I'd share with you. Please know up front that this is not to agree or disagree with any politicial opinions or viewpoints, just to help those of you who are interested to understand some more about where Guatemala is as a a country. Many people ask about how things are in Guatemala, so I thought this might help. The article does a good job of overviewing several of the challenges and issues that are present here and how the current administration is trying to deal with them.

As I read the article, I was reminded of the bible verse above from Paul's writings to Timothy. And I realized I don't make enough time to pray for the President of Guatemala, or the President or President-elect of the US. The verse clearly states that we should pray for them and other leaders that have authority over us, and that God may somehow use that to draw people to Himself.

So much attention is being paid right now in the US to the changing of the Presidents. The current President needs our prayers, and the new President needs our prayers. Agree or disagree with them, we are still commanded to pray for them.

This government has some particularities that are worth analyzing.

President Colom made the social agenda and the much needed help for the poorest of the poor his priority.
The policies implemented are a short term solution for a long term problem, but at least he is keeping people from starvation for the moment.
His policies in education and health are well intentioned; there has been progress in certain important aspects. In Guatemala's history, education and health have never received the required amounts in the national budget to satisfy the growing demands. The historic deficit of investment in these two sectors are a financial challenge of enormous proportions for this government and any other that will follow.
So, when will Guatemala ever catch up and satisfy the demands in health and education? When the powerful sectors of the society decide that it is the priority for the development of the nation. So far this has not happened.
The increase in violence, mainly caused by the invasion of narcos into the country form Mexico and the consequent infiltration of every sector of society and government, has complicated the security challenge that this government inherited.
Security was not the priority of this government but it will have to be. Otherwise all other government programs will not bare fruit and will always be overshadowed by the insecurity of the nation.
For President Colom it must be very difficult to feel that his social agenda is not appreciated, he is after all the first Guatemalan President who made the alleviation of poverty his number one agenda.
However imperfect his social programs have been in their implementation and financial transparency, so far he is the only Guatemalan president who has even tried to reach the poorest of the poor in his first year of office.
Bad luck for this government that the world financial crisis hit last year and the narcos decided to invade Guatemala all at the same time.
Regarding the so called "war on drugs" and the violence it brings, we have looked, researched and investigated to find a country where this war has actually been won. We couldn't find one single country.
Plan Colombia has failed after 30 years and billions and billions of dollars. Plan Mexico has failed, and not only failed, but Mexico is on the brink of collapsing as a state. Afghanistan is producing more poppies then ever, regardless of US policies and the war.
In fact the whole war on drug policy implemented by the US, who creates the biggest demand on drugs, has completely and utterly failed, inside and outside of the US.
If President Colom is to fight the war on drugs, where are the new ideas? Where are the successful models that can be copied?
Just to do more of the same, will bring the same result: cero. That would be insane.
To use the military to provide security for the nation means to give them a huge amount of resources and power. That will secure a repetition of the cycle of empowerment of the military and paramilitary structures that will eventually govern Guatemala again, officially or unofficially.
The Police forces, the court system and all issues related to enforcing the law and justice in Guatemala have suffered from chronically undernourished budgets and government support. A weak justice system benefits a lot of people, especially officials from previous governments and power brokers who could be investigated and brought to justice, if the justice system worked.
The state of Guatemala is currently in a very fragile condition. Some say: if Colom can't handle the problems he shouldn't have run for president.
The issue here is, there is nobody who has a magic solution to improve the condition of our chronic structural problems.
What we do know is that a weak state benefits a lot of sectors who want to expand their power and influence. Who are those sectors: the military, the paramilitary, the traditional power structure of CACIF that is currently fragmented because of internal power struggles, the narcos certainly want more power, and organized crime also wants more power.
What are the feasible options for the current government to fight violence and to strengthen the justice system in Guatemala in the short term and in the long term? There are many proposals, each little power aspiring sector sits in their own little corner and fabricates their own plan according to their own personal agendas. Everybody has a plan, everybody wants' to be the protagonist, the hero.Which plan is the best, which plan is feasible?
President Colom has called upon all sectors of Guatemalan society to work together on this challenge. The question is, can each sector put their own personal agendas aside for awhile and pursue a common national agenda for the sake of all Guatemalans and the future of our children? We do hope so. We need an all Star team, a security "dream team", no matter what their party affiliations are or their background or their status. We need the best of the best, and we need them to work together for a common purpose. The alternative will be a failed state and then we all loose.

And if you want to read a good sermon about how we should pray as Christians, go to this link

So remember to pray today for those in authority over you.

Love from all the Hastings.