The Land and Its People
Guatemala is located in Central America, bordered by Mexico on the north and west and by Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador on the east. The Pacific Ocean forms the southern border. It also has a very short segment of Caribbean coastline in the east. Guatemala has three major geographic regions. There are narrow, tropical areas along the Pacific and Caribbean coastlines. The highlands are volcanic mountains that cover most of the southern half of the country. This area is cool, with some peaks as high as 13,000 feet. Finally, the sparely populated northern half of Guatemala, called Petén, consists of lowland tropical jungles.
Guatemala was the ancient home of the Mayan people, and the Mayan ruins throughout the country are favorite tourist destinations. Natural wonders including rainforests, volcanoes, and beautiful mountain lakes such as Atitlán also attract visitors from around the world.
Half of the approximately 13 million Guatemalans live in urban areas. Most of the people and all of the major cities are in the highlands or along the Pacific coast. Almost one-third of the population lives in or near the capital, Guatemala City.
The majority population of Guatemala, almost 55 percent, is Maya—descendents of the various indigenous Indian groups. The next largest group is the mestizo (mixed Amerindian-Spanish) at over 40 percent. The official language of Guatemala is Spanish, but it is not spoken by many of the people—even as a second language.
Bible Translation Needs
The New Testament is available in all 23 of the languages of Guatemala, but only eight of these have the entire Bible. Bible translation continues in the other 15, as well as in the 30 additional dialects. Even a printed Bible in a particular language, though, does not guarantee that God’s Word will be accessible to everyone who speaks it. Some people are illiterate and need to be taught to read their own language. Others, influenced by a tradition of oral communication in many Guatemalan cultures, have little interest in reading the Bible. Thus, an unprinted format is used to make the Scriptures more acceptable to these cultures.
Viña Recording Studios, the Wycliffe Associates partner in Guatemala, is responding to the need of reaching oral cultures. This ministry prepares audio and video presentations of the Bible. Viña is located in the city of Sololá in the mountains of Central Guatemala. Here, Wycliffe Associates volunteers are helping Viña to improve their ministry by expanding their facilities in Sololá or helping to finish one of the media centers in other parts of Guatemala. With more studio space and facilities, the pace of production of Bible recordings will be able to increase, and Scriptures will be made available to those from an oral tradition. Would you consider how you can pray, give, or go to help them hear God’s Word?
See more details about volunteering in Guatemala
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