Day 6 Goodbye Guatemala

As always, God never seems to lack connections in my life, which I love in the human experiences I encounter. Guatemala ended with breakfast with what remained of our group, a man named Doug and myself were the last 2 to leave. There was a range of emotions, first saying goodbye to an amazing experience with amazing people, second to realize I wasn’t going home like everyone else (to see my wife and daughter), three I was now going to El Salvador, a place I had never been before, with no one to assist me.

As I sat in the airport, God made sure to send me a sign everything would be ok. He really raised the bar on this one however, and sent me a sister from Mother Teresa’s group. We happened to be on the same plane, as she was wrapping up some time off visiting another congregation in Guatemala. It was especially providential, considering we just finished visiting many in poverty through a charity serving the poor, and now I’m crossing paths with one of the greatest servants of the poor. So great, that out of 5000+ members, almost none are from the United States due to their own choice of living in poverty to serve those most in need. These sisters do it for free as well. As I have shared before, I like to send them a couple dollars of left over change at the end of every year. The first time I did this, they insisted that I didn’t fund raise on their behalf. I assured them, these were just free will tips people gave me, that accumulated.

With that said, I just wanted to share a small reflection while things were fresh in my mind about the people I saw in Guatemala, and the experiences I had. Despite living conditions you and I would find quite challenging, there was extreme gratefulness to the little they had, in addition a joyful dignity to everything they are. The closest thing I would think is in some parts of Alaska, or Appalachia, especially Appalachia where the poverty might rival what I saw, but I’m pretty confident it’s not as vast. In some respects it reminded me of growing up in the church communities of NYC. Despite poverty in many areas, they came together and supported each other, sharing meals, and helping each other as best they can. In the case of Guatemala they really go the extra mile.

One such example I noticed was when we were having a chicken soup at one of our locations. Almost everyone, including myself ate all the chicken off the pieces we were consuming. As they cleared the tables, there was a lady collecting all of the chicken pieces in her apron, as she planned to do something with the fully finished chicken. On another occasion of course is my sponsored child. The family was so grateful, despite being in a very challenged position, they brought me a basket of gifts, which took 7 hours on a bus ride or two. I was humbled by their extreme efforts. Even when the piñata broke, and Nircia my sponsored child picked up the candy, she shared some with me. Again, despite having so little.

Moments like this and the entire trip was an even greater refresh on serving the poor. I shared with this nun who was sitting with me at the airport, all the little connections I had with Mother Teresa, they were small, but the point was how the sisters inspire me. I shared with her that I was sitting there, because I watched a documentary on Mother Teresa on her feast day of Sept 5, 2023 and shortly after that, during Lent I was doing a Lenten reflection that challenged me to do more for everyone in the Church, especially the poor.

In close, while there’s a part of me that says I need to figure out how to sell more coffee to do more, there’s the other part that says “be the mustard seed, and grow as God wills”. The reason for this thought, is just like the days I used to manage stores. Initially you think you can do it all on your own, and that’s a great lie, you just get burned out. However if everyone chips in and does their part, the store runs smoothly at a highly successful rate. This is my current state, we all must do something small to contribute to our challenges. Our culture has moved into the realm of “I pay my taxes, let the government fix things”. Then we complain every election cycle, because in all reality, there’s never been a government that solves the problems, it’s always the people collectively, who understand each others needs, then they work together to obtain what’s necessary to help themselves or others around them.

The spirit and mission of UNBOUND embodies this, which was founded through the Catholic faith of Bob Hentzen who understood his calling to do his part in the spirit of Catholic teaching, which now with God’s blessing has gone from the mustard seed to a full bloomed program in 17 countries. God willing, they continue, so long as they stay close to that spirit of Mr. Hentzen, which was rooted in his faith and Church teachings.

This man man decided to walk 4000 miles to Guatemala his first pilgrimage to raise money and awareness, then the second trip was 8000 miles to Chile, then when he was asked the third trip, he said “you all are the third phase, when you begin to sponsor these people.” I consistently enjoy learning and experiencing these scenarios, in hopes one day of finding solutions to some of our toughest challenges. Please consider doing a little more than you did yesterday. It’s only been a year since this renewed spirit to serve the poor, but for me personally it’s been transformational.