Justo Rufino Barrios had a problem. He had big plans for
reform when he became president of Guatemala in 1873. He believed the Catholic
Church and the aristocracy whom it supported were the reason for the poverty
and illiteracy of the people. For the good of his people, he started public
schools, instituted civil marriage and nationalized much of the church’s property.
But the people trusted their priests more than their government and his reforms
were constantly being blocked.
He expressed his frustration one night at a dinner with
close friends. Mrs. Frances Cleaves, wife of an American businessman from
Boston, suggested an interesting solution. “Mr. President, have you ever
considered the expediency of having an Evangelical Church started in Guatemala as
a counter to clerical interference? It would at least divert the attention of
your opponents and keep them busy.”
President Barrios thought it was a brilliant idea. He asked
Mrs. Cleaves to contact church authorities in America to ask for a missionary.
The request eventually reached the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions. But
Guatemala was a tiny country and didn’t have millions of lost souls like China
and Africa. After months of delay, the Board finally decided to send John Clark
Hill to survey the country to see whether conditions justified devoting
resources to a mission there. But Mr. Hill was preparing to go to Ningpo, China
for a ten year term. He was in the midst of applying for visas, selling his
home, packing all his possessions, arranging to ship them and for passage for
his family. He was determined to finish his preparations to move to the Far
East before taking a side trip to a different part of the world.
The delay irritated Guatemala’s president. He needed a
missionary. So, on a scheduled trip to New York, he visited the mission board
offices. He guaranteed safety and support for a new mission and demanded that
Hill be ready to leave when Barrios returned from a short trip to Europe. The
board agreed, and a few weeks later the president returned to Guatemala with a
missionary in tow.
Mr. Hill’s assignment was to consider the need for a mission
and report back. Instead, he fell in love with Guatemala and stayed for five
years. In spite of opposition – he needed body guards at first - he was able to
start an English speaking church, eventually followed by Spanish services. He started
printing tracts to distribute on the streets. He also established a school
where President Barrios and his officials sent their children. He was blessed
to see a number of converts.
Justo Rufino Barrios probably didn’t get exactly what he was
looking for, but Guatemala got a thriving Protestant presence and the Gospel was
spread. More missionaries came; other churches and organizations established missions.
They spread out into the rural areas. Hospitals, a seminary, more schools, a
university, a printing press, and lots of churches were established. The Bible
was translated into Mayan languages. The president brought a missionary to
strengthen his government, but God had a different Kingdom in mind.
This story is based on an account written in 1946 by E.M.
Haymaker in “Footnotes on the Evangelical Movement in Guatemala.” Haymaker
replaced Hill when he left, and based his account on interviews with the people
who were there with President Barrios and Mr. Hill. You can read more about the
historical mission in Guatemala in my father’s book, Miracles at Midnight.
