On our first full day in San Lucas, we settled into our typical routine: morning prayer together ash the hotel, meals at the mission biblioteca, various activities in the morning and afternoon, and a time for evening prayer and reflection back at the hotel to end the day. This morning, we visited a number of mission programs. First we stopped in the the mission school, Colegio Monseñor Gregorio Schaffer, and were warmly welcomed by the children there. We heard about how the mission has developed its education program in San Lucas. Nearly all of the students are unable to afford the cost to attend the colegio (which is about $19/year for each student). 98% receive scholarships from the school, and the other 2% receive financial support from other institutions. Several years ago, they implemented Montessori education for their 4-year-old class and found that these students began picking up mathematics and language skills faster than students who used the traditional methods of education.

Next we went to the women’s center, where women (and some young boys and girls) can take various free courses that teach them skills like sewing and gardening. These skills are invaluable and provide a source of income for women in the community. Recently the women’s center received a state-of-the-art, computerized embroidery machine that will allow them to quickly add logos to shirts they sew. 

We then made our way to the health clinic. When the mission founder, Fr. Greg Schaffer, first came to San Lucas Tolimán, a woman handed her sick infant to him. The child died in his arms. This experience deeply impacted him, and he saw the need for improved health care. The mission soon after founded the health clinic. It has grown over the past several decades. From January to March of 2023, the clinic served 10,000 people. Many are unable to afford pharmaceuticals, but they simply pay what they can. They also can receive life-saving surgeries for Q200 (approx. $27).

Finally we visited Café Juan Ana. Coffee Director Edy Morales Alvarez explained the process of coffee production from planting coffee plants to roasting the processed beans. The mission coffee program purchases coffee from local coffee growers for above-market rates and provides other resources, like plants and mulch. 

After lunch, we returned to the café to try three varieties of coffee. We visited the coffee museum and saw the older manual equipment they used to de-husk and roast the coffee beans. Then we walked up a hill to see the facility in which they wash the beans. There is no waste in this process. The filtered material is used to create mulch and the extra water feeds into a lush green area on the edge of the property.

At the end of a long and full day, we had dinner at the biblioteca and then went out for ice cream at a local shop with our wonderful visitor coordinators, Kadence and Sasha. Then we returned to the hotel for evening reflection and some intense games of Uno (both of which were won by Greg).

And now let’s hear from Tate:

I think I speak for the whole group when I say that we all had such new and incredible experiences today. One thing that especially stood out today was the school. As we walked in, all we heard was the joyous sounds of children screaming, laughing, and talking. There was not a drop of negativity in that entire building. As we were walking into one of the classrooms to talk to the teacher, there were two little children who were going person to person, hugging everyone. The genuine compassion they had, hugging each and every one of us, was such an incredible feeling. I can’t wait to go back to that school and get to know those children and get to know their experiences. Another life altering experience I had was meeting Pablo, a hospital worker. He continued and continued to thank us for coming. He was so grateful we were all here, and you could hear it in every word he said, even though it was in a language I didn’t understand fully. There were so many other things that I saw today, like the coffee making process or the women’s center, that were such cool experiences. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings and I’m so excited to find out!
 

After morning prayer and breakfast, we returned to the Women’s Center for “Living Class”. The director, Güicha, taught us the traditional way of making tortillas. The mix of blue, white, and yellow corn gave the tortillas a grey color. But after adding lemon juice and salt, they turned a reddish purple and tasted delicious.  Then we went to a large basin wish smaller pilas used to wash clothes. Karina, the sub-director, showed us how to wash clothes in the piilas. Many families do not have running water in their home, so they are free to come to the women’s center to wash their clothes there or to take water from the basin to wash at home.We each brought an article of clothing to wash using this method.  Karina also had each of us try to carry the laundry basket on our heads as is done by many women in San Lucas Tolimán. Next, Mario showed us the process by which many men in the community produce firewood (“leña”). This involves a 3-hour trek to the mountain forests, then using a machete to cut wood from fallen trees, and finally a 3-hour hike back down the mountain with 100 pounds of firewood. We enjoyed some cake and fresh passionfruit juice made at the women’s center.

In the afternoon we heard from Señor Gustavo, a man who grew up in the Casa Feliz (“Happy House”) orphanage. He spoke about growing up in the orphanage, his relationship with Fr. Greg, and eventually learning to weld from a patron from Minnesota. Now he runs his own workshop and has done numerous projects for the community, such as building the roof of the school. Gustavo credits the charitable work of Fr. Greg and the mission with providing him invaluable opportunities. 

Doña Terri and the staff of the coffee program surprised the group with a little fiesta back at the café. They set up a piñata which the group attempted to break. Then we enjoyed more cake and drinks.  After dinner, we returned to the hotel for evening prayer and reflection.

Let’s hear from Tess:

Every day in the morning and evening our group gathers in prayer to read scripture, journal, and talk about the day. There is a daily challenge that we all talk about at the end of the day and today’s challenge was “To find God in the midst of poverty and in our surroundings”. Today, there was an abundance of examples where the group found God in our surroundings. We spent the morning at the Women’s Center where we heard from two women and one man about the daily tasks that each of them do. Some women wake up before dawn to start making tortillas for their families (sometimes the only food they will have that day) while the men walk sometimes three hours out to find firewood and carry it on their backs home only to sell up to 100lbs for $13 a day. It was incredible to see the work ethic in the women and men who make barely as much in a day as in the US some people make in an hour. However, the people we met at the women’s center were joyful, faith filled, and so present to us. I saw God in their joyful hard work. It has been incredible to meet some of the most joyful and spiritually strong people I’ve ever met who sometimes do not have a meal to go home to like I do every day. It is a great reminder to me to focus my life’s goals not on material things but on faith because that is the one thing that is truly sustaining and continually fulfilling.