How Many Cows

On my last day in San Antonio, we had a big ceremony to celebrate the new water tower, electric that has been installed in two homes (the rest of the homes should be on-grid within 6 months) and the new latrines!

It was a lovely sunny day with music and food and small speeches by the community and the organizations that helped them over the years.

The day before the ceremony, I was given a skirt and shirt from the ladies in San Antonio. It was a sweet and unexpected gift. It was also quite funny to me that I was given a typical Guatemaltecan outfit to wear when the ladies themselves wore jeans just like I usually do. When I showed up the morning of the ceremony, I wasn’t surprised that I was the only one in a typical outfit. I had to laugh at myself and smile for them. The ladies were so happy to see me wearing the outfit that they had given to me and even though I felt extremely out of place (I was the only “gringa” in attendance), I knew it meant a lot to them (or it was an elaborate prank that they will finally share with me next time I visit 😉 ). 

During the ceremony, I had an opportunity to share with the attendees. In my speech, I spoke about Mark 12:30-31 ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’There is no commandment greater than these.” Most of the residents of San Antonio acknowledge God – they know him in their heads, so I was sharing how important it is to know Him in their hearts. I have a deeper love for San Antonio than the other communities I have worked in over the years. I know I shouldn’t have favorites, but as I was preparing to leave, I was thinking about how sweet it has been for me to see the children grow into teens, new babies come along, etc.  I don’t know when I will return. They have water, they have toilets and they have an awesome God who continues to pour love into their community and bring different people into their lives. I don’t know if I will be one of those helpers again in the future, but I am grateful to have played a small part in their lives over these past 8 years.  

We had ribbon cuttings at each major location – the water tower, one of the latrines, the home with electric and one of the water faucets.