The Iglesia Nacional Evangélica Menonita Guatemalteca (INEMGUA), Kekchi Mennonite Church consists of 128 churches divided into six regions throughout mountainous Alta Verapaz, Guatemala — home to the Kekchi, an indigenous people of Mayan decent — and extending into Baja Verapaz and the Petén, a remote area.
Deborah “Deb” Byler, a Mennonite Mission Network international service worker, lived in San Pedro Carchá (site of the Kekchi Mennonite Church offices) for 16 years, supporting women leaders in further developing their gifts for ministry. In partnership with Indigenous women, Byler developed and distributed materials in the Kekchi language to Kekchi pastors and hundreds of women, sponsored Bible studies, facilitated trauma healing workshops, and held Sister Care Seminars (a Mennonite Women USA program), all while encouraging confidence, leadership skills, and trust in one another. She also provided spiritual direction for a few of the women.
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might… Ecclesiastes 9:10 (NIV)
Byler grew up in West Liberty, Ohio, and attended Bethel Mennonite Church. At Goshen College, she was inspired to work in another country after a Study Service Trimester in Costa Rica. She earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and moved to Springfield, Ohio, to teach third and fourth grade students in Springfield’s Northeastern School District.
“My grandmother had a vision for being a missionary but was never able to do that. She prayed that her children and grandchildren would go into missions," said Byler.
Two of her grandmother’s children and several of her grandchildren did go into missions — some for several years and some for a lifetime — including Byler. In 1984, she went to Guatemala with Eastern Mennonite Missions and worked with Kekchi women in individual church groups with a focus on literacy.
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