Sandy Katzer and Jillian Kurz visited Anapra/Poleo the week after Easter.  It was during school break and many people were home on vacation. We were able to visit with, share a meal with, and check in on more people than usual. 

Families told us that their priority is still education for their children.  The factories, which are the primary employment options, provide more opportunities for people with high school degrees.  College graduates from our scholarship program are working and raising their own families now.  They also help financially with Manos Amigas programs.  For example, they paid for gifts for the elderly ladies at the Mother’s Day celebration and bought candy for the Children’s Day celebration.  We see positive results of scholarship support in the graduates and hope for the future in the current students. 

We had some heartfelt conversations with some of the elderly abuelas.  They shared stories from their past, some shared their current pain with us.  Relationships with the elderly are also very important to the community.  The elderly do not have opportunities for income and rely on their family and neighbors for physical and mental sustenance.

We attended a workshop for the early childhood program Pies Pequeños (Little Feet), accompanied the youth group on a service project, heard the concerns of families, enjoyed meals with families, answered questions, so many experiences in just a few days’ time.  We feel like an important part of the community.  Fr Bill Morton, a Columban priest who is the pastor for the three Catholic churches in the area, came to bless the mission house.  Several families came to be part of the blessing and share their experiences as part of the mission. 

From the littlest people in the Little Feet program to the elderly in the abuela program, they all say blessings and many thanks to the people who provide support through prayer and resources.  You make their lives a little less stressful and fill their hearts knowing that someone who doesn’t even know them cares about them.

It is always hard to convey what we see and hear and feel after visiting Anapra/Poleo.  The extreme poverty, the smiles, the hospitality, the resourcefulness, the pain, the gratitude, the strong family ties.   It is much easier to see God at work on that side of the border than in my little bubble on this side of the border.  We are offering a chance for you to visit Anapra/Poleo and find out for yourself in a retreat setting in September.  Watch for details.