Commentary: The walk to Avacado

Friends Sharlene, George, and William said, “We’re going to Guatemala for Thanksgiving, ‘Wanna go along?” We couldn’t think of a reason not to.

Guatemala is an incredibly beautiful country in November: lots of flowers, beautiful green vegetation. We spent a couple days high in the mountains above Guatemala City at the Hogar Maguel Magone, an orphanage for sixty boys; spent some time painting beds, learned to know Karen who began the orphanage ten years ago with three boys, learned the challenges of running an orphanage in a country with no government help for education, no help for orphanages for boys.

Sunday was a special day. A Rotary Club from Guatemala City brought games, a jumping gym, and pizza for an afternoon of fun. Added to the boys from the orphanage were children from a little hamlet close by called Avocado.

The sun began to set and we joined the kids for the short walk to Avocado, past a Catholic church, back a long narrow path to the home of Loraina, a young woman of 17 years who works at the orphanage. With an absent mother and father, she cares for her six younger siblings in a tiny shack. Two strong young men had to help us navigate the muddy hill to the most meager of living arrangements.

I stood there in the dark with the delightful chatter of neighborhood children all around me. And once again in my life, I tried to reconcile the plight of so many living in a world where so many have so much and so many have so little. At home I imagined there were shoppers dashing about, grumbling, still stressed from Black Friday, grabbing more stuff to pile on top of the stuff already piled up.

In contrast were the goodbyes from little people in Avocado and Hogar Miguel Magone, hugging us around the knees, and little smiling faces looking up and saying, “Gracias, gracias!”

Glad we could get together.