The village of Se'mesche' is one of the many indigenous villages on the 16 plantations of the Diseldorf family. Sebastian grew up in a very religious family. It upheld both the Catholic and Mayan faith and traditions. His father and mother were religious leaders in the community. Passed on to him by his parents is the belief in the sacredness of all God's creation and our responsibility to care for the environment, including the land, water, trees and corn.
Corn is sacred.
Much of their life and many of their celebrations revolve around the preparation of the land and the planting and harvesting of corn. Sebastian's family of six consumes approximately 125 tortillas daily, half of the calories of their diet Sebastian was asked by participants in a recent MCC learning tour how he brings together his faith in Christ and his Mayan culture which revolves around corn. Without it we would die. Christ came to give us eternal life. Both are sacred and essential for life.