Visiting a remote caserio of 25 or 30 families, we found the whole community turned out to meet us. One man — Gilberto — who belonged to St. Michaels parish in Georgetown — introduces us as people embrace us.  We go into the chapel to pray; spontaneous prayer arises from all the adults simultaneously.  The village leader, a catechist, thanks God, and us, that we have been sent here as a sign that God loves and cares about them; tears flow.  These people who have almost nothing are so grateful. We are humbled, we who have so much.  Is this what Jesus meant: "Blessed are the poor"?

 

A spokesman in a different small community explains that everyone used to work on the coffee plantation (finca) but prices fell and work is scarce.  Some try to immigrate, but it costs $4,000.  What they really want to do is educate their youth past 6th grade, into high school, so they have a chance at a career.  It costs $158.00 a year per student.

 

In another plantation area, two men who give 20+ hours of their week to church work explain that their dream is to get 8 or 9 acre parcels of land for families to raise crops and be self-supporting.  But the cost is so astronomically high that we turn away and shake our heads.  For some problems, no answer.  But they keep on.

 

We all know we’re better persons by the end.  These struggling people stay close to God.  Some of them have settled here.  Their faith, hard work and family ethic are a gift to us.  We try to share ourselves a little in return through solidarity.  Our own parish has not participated because of the existing demands of our own Hispanic Ministry.  But we all can be aware.