Read letters from Amanda Craft
Winter 2013
August 2012
April 2012
August 2011
February 25, 2010
For older letters, contact Mission Connections
Amanda Craft
Mission co-worker in Guatemala
Serving at the invitation of the National Evangelical Presbyterian
Church of Guatemala
Write to Amanda Craft
Blog: Walking with Guatemalan sisters of faith
Subscribe to Amanda Craft's letters
Amanda will next be in the USA, based in KY, in 2015. Email her to extend an invitation to your congregation or organization.
About Amanda Craft's ministry
Amanda was appointed in January 2009 to serve in Guatemala with the IENPG (the National Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Guatemala) in the area of women’s leadership development.
Amanda works primarily with the “sinódica,” which is the name given by the IENPG to the organization of Presbyterian Women in the church. While Amanda serves as advisor to all the presbyteriales within the sinódica, her primary focus is on leadership development and Christian education.
The IENPG was founded in 1882, the first national church to result from Presbyterian mission effort in Central America. It has approximately 60,000 members, all in a single synod, with 6 Spanish-speaking presbyteries and 11 presbyteries, where indigenous languages are primarily spoken.
Meet Amanda in a video
Download a prayer card that lifts up Amanda's work in Guatemala
Country context
Guatemala is the most populous and the most industrialized country in Central America. It is also by far the country with the highest percentage of indigenous population. During the colonial period Guatemala was an agricultural region in which the Mayan majority served the colonial estate owners. Guatemala gained independence in 1821. The country has been ruled by the military for most of its history. The intense concentration of wealth and land has left the indigenous population and other rural poor almost totally disenfranchised. This is the principal cause of a civil war, which was only complicated by Cold War interventions. In 36 years the war displaced 1 million people, and over 200,000 people were killed or disappeared. Peace accords were signed in December 1996, but the country continues to struggle with violence, corruption, impunity, and global economic challenges.
About Amanda Craft
This is not Amanda’s first appointment by the PC(USA) to serve in Guatemala. She was a Young Adult Volunteer in Guatemala from 1999 to 2000.
Amanda has spent most of her working life serving the PC(USA). Prior to her appointment to Guatemala, Amanda served for eight years on the national staff of the General Assembly Mission Council as associate for education and advocacy for the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program. In that position she worked largely with young adults but also had responsibilities for interpreting the work of the church in peacemaking and interpreting the issues the church addressed in this area.
Amanda served as a young adult intern in the International Volunteers office in 2000-2001. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Denison University in Granville, Ohio, in environmental studies.
Amanda is married to Omar Alexander Chan Giron and is a member of Highland Presbyterian Church in Louisville, Kentucky
Birthdays:
Amanda - March 6
Omar - February 5
Ethan Alejandro - June 29, 2009
