Doña Catarina’s Story

This month we have had the privilege of hearing people share their personal stories. Below is the story of Doña Catarina, a woman we have grown quite fond of. She was very excited to share her story with us and with you. Please take a look.

My name is Catarina. I was born in San Juan Cotzal during the 1940’s, but I grew up in Santa Avelina. As a little girl, I only went to school for two years. When I knew the alphabet and could write my name, my mother told me that I could not study anymore. It was time for me to work. All of my life I have felt sad that my mother didn’t give me the opportunity to continue my studies. I have felt like this is a disadvantage in my life; that maybe I do not know very much or that I am not as smart as others because I only went to school for two years.

When I was ten years old my parents sent me to work on the coffee plantation with my father and three brothers. Life on the coffee plantation was very hard. The only good thing about it is that I learned to speak some Spanish. When people were speaking in Spanish, I would pay close attention and listen to what they were saying. That is how I taught myself to speak the language. But I suffered a lot living and working on the coffee plantation. I thought I found an escape from that life when I met Nicolás. He was eighteen at the time, and I was only fourteen, but we got married. Maybe I suffered even more as his wife. We were only married two years and then I left him. He drank all of the time and he beat me. So I took our baby girl, Griselda, and went back to live with my parents.

When I was eighteen, I fell in love and married a man named Gabriel. Oh, those were wonderful years! Gabriel was so good to me. He never drank, never hit me, and he cared for Griselda like she was his own child. We were married over seventeen years, and we had six more children together. We lived in the village of Cajixay.

Then in 1980 violence broke out in the Ixil. One day, I was in San Juan Cotzal taking care of my mother who was sick. Gabriel was at home with our kids. Early in the morning guerilla soldiers arrived at our house. They killed Gabriel. Our children watched it happen. Soon after all of Cajixay was destroyed. They burnt it to the ground and left us with nothing. In order to survive, I took my younger children and went to the coffee plantation. There I would work for several months at a time, earning all of the money that I could. On pay day, I would come back to the Ixil and give the money to Griselda and her husband, who were working to rebuild a home for us. I never returned to live in Cajixay, but stayed in San Juan Cotzal, and went to work on the coffee plantation every several months.

The 1980’s were really hard years for me. I lost my husband, I lost my home, and I lost two of my little boys ---one to the measles and another in a horse accident. But God was always watching out for me. In 1989, I married for the third time. Pedro and I have been together ever since. He has helped me to survive.

Now we live in the Agros village of Belén. I am so thankful to be here! We have a home, a place to grow our food, and a little bit of forested land where we can gather firewood. (Before we had to buy firewood.) Agros has helped us a lot and I am very grateful. Probably, the best thing I have received from Agros is learning how to work the land: how to plant, cultivate and reap a harvest. Pedro and I are working as part of the pea project. With the money I earn, I am helping to pay for my grandson’s studies at the university. Today, I am proud to say that all twenty-two of my grandchildren are receiving an education. That has been a dream of mine, something that I was denied as a child. It makes me so happy to see all of my grandchildren studying, and I hope someday when I am even more old and gray that they will all take care of me. I praise God for all the blessings in my life---- for my family, my home and that we now have the things we need. I am very blessed and happy.

A Good Harvest

On Tuesday we took a break from our project to help harvest peas in La Esperanza. These were some of the same peas we helped plant with the service team in January. The village planted several rounds of peas throughout the first few months of the year, and now they have been harvesting off and on since April. So far, La Esperanza has brought in 1,300 pounds of peas, and they estimate that they will double that before the season is over. The peas are a very important crop to the villagers since it earns them cash. Unlike corn and beans, peas are sold to outside markets (mostly the United States and Europe), earning the villagers money to pay back their land loans, buy cows or other animals and start up small businesses. Praise God for a good harvest!

God Provides!

Most of you know that in April we crashed on the motorcycle. It was a combination of a bucking horse in the middle of the road, a steep hill, loose gravel and a stuck throttle. Thanks to our helmets, we’re alright, but Brian got 5 stitches in his arm and both of us are still healing from bruises and scrapes. The accident was bad enough, however, to put us off riding the motorcycle on these roads. It is simply too dangerous.
Since then we have been praying for another mode of transportation and God has provided! We are now renting a 1986 Izuzu Trooper from a local Agros employee. The car is a huge blessing! And since we can now offer rides to other people, it opens up a whole new world of possibilities for our activities with the youth.
New Prayer Request: That God would keep the car going. “Rusty” (as we have affectionately named it) is old and has already had several small mechanical issues since we got it 2 weeks ago. So please pray that God would keep Rusty going, and us safe on the road.

Yummy Comida

Testimonies are well underway, but we are also still finishing up the video for culture. As part of the project we are “forced” to watch local women make yummy food, and “obligated” to eat some delicious local delicacies. It really is tough work! (BIG SMILES!) Today we visited the village of Belén where we got to share in the making and eating of tayullo – a food similar to tamales, but made with pepita, adding much more flavor. It was wonderful! Pictured above is Brian enjoying the meal with the señoras who made it.