I flew to Guatemala on May 26, 2011 and was, as always, thrilled to see familiar faces when I arrived – there was Don Salomon, Doña Mery and Shelly Hernandez waiting for me. We went to the home Salomon and Mery share with their son Danny, his wife Rubi, and their children Rubita and Joash. On Saturday the women were all off shopping for clothes for the big anniversary party so Don Salomon and I went to the mall where I exchanged some cash and we had coffee and goodies. I was again impressed at how cordial and polite the Guatemalan people are, even in the small shops and cafes. Often quite a contrast to the employees we run into around the US.
On Saturday the 50th anniversary party was held at a lovely reception center – the tables and chairs were all decorated with gold cloths, making for a very festive scene. There was a program, aided by a band from a military school, and people from various parts of the Hernandezes’ lives went to the microphone to tell of what Don Salomon and Doña Mery had meant to them in their lives. There were speakers from their families – relatives, children, grandchildren. Also people from the south coast of Guatemala where they have gone to help, many of the teachers from the highlands were there, people from the Westmont Bethel Hospital, and even one of the 52 widows from Uspantan that Don Salomon and Doña Mery help. At many funerals one hears just that sort of praise but what a blessing that Don Salomon and Doña Mery got to hear them!
I was privileged to be the representative of the many people in the US and throughout this hemisphere who love and admire Don Salomon and Doña Mery. One of my greatest gifts was when approximately 13 years ago Bart and Linda Tarman introduced me to Don Salomon and Doña Mery. What a blessing!
On Monday we drove up to Uspantan and arrived at their home there. On Tuesday morning we took off for Macalajau, a bi-lingual school where they teach in both Quiché and Español. Remembering when I first visited that region (we had to walk across a field where awful atrocities had taken place during the 80s) and many parents were there asking for a school of their own. Victor was already the teacher at that time and I remember Don Salomon telling them that they had no money and neither did their friends, but they knew a rich God and if they all prayed and if they were also willing to work, God might send enough cash to build a school just for them. So great to see the brightly painted building! Later we met Victor who is still the community leader. Nearby is another school called Tierra Nueva with another enthusiastic group of students. At each school Salomon would introduce me and I’d say a few words of greeting, translated by Don Salomon. He would also teach them a little song that sounded very much like “This Little Light of Mine”.
Wednesday was an amazing day – we set out on the new road through the mountains. Don Salomon told me the mayor of Uspantan had gotten that road built – the government of the country paid for part and the taxes from the region paid for the rest. It is a good crushed-rock or gravel road, similar to many I’ve ridden on in Montana. We drove to Desangaño and visited the primary school first and then went next door to where the “instituto” (high school) meets. They had just had an hour or two warning that we were coming, but had organized an amazing program. They have a miramba (a gift of Don Salomon I believe) and several performed on that. Then they sang, accompanied by guitars, and then performed a folk dance. The girls all in Mayan skirts and blouses were so beautiful, and the young men wearing jeans and shirts were handsome. There had been a lot of rain and the metal roof leaked. There is a large field for playing sports. Probably they play soccer most of the time, though they have no nets plus they love basketball but have no backboards or nets.
Thirty seven students are in the high school – each had written a letter thanking Don Salomon for his help and one by one they proudly and formally brought up their often- decorated letters of gratitude, presenting each to Don Salomon, hugging him, then hugging Doña Mery and also me. After school we were invited to Jacinto’s home for lunch. Jacinto is one of the teachers at the Instituto and lives with his wife Maria and six young children in a home made of wooden boards just up from the school. We were in a wonderful Toyota four-wheel-drive pickup but when we tried to make the very sharp turn onto the road leading to Jacinto’s house, the pick-up couldn’t make it leaving us cross wise on the narrow road.
Several of the teachers and students came running up, put rocks behind the wheels of the pick-up – and spent some time pondering what to do next. Fortunately, two other 4×4 vehicles came by, someone produced a very strong rope, and one of the vehicles was able to pull us onto the upper road, with the additional help of all the young men who pushed while Don Salomon used all the turbo power the Toyota had! Salomon decided to pack up all the way to Jacinto’s house. We had a delicious lunch of what sounds like “boshboles” – a vegetable stem wrapped with a tortilla and leaves of some type of vegetable that must have been cooked in water. Was really delicious. The house was constructed of wooden boards, no windows, but the boards were set about half an inch apart to allow light to enter. A tamped dirt floor, a stove with a griddle top for cooking tortillas and wide sides to allow the children to use as a table for their plates. Baby chickens and a cat also shared the same space. There were several chairs and also a bench – I didn’t get to see the other room or rooms. They also had a one-month old baby who was brought out when he awoke in the other room and was laid on the bench beside his daddy. When he again began to cry, the only daughter, who was five years old, went to pick him up and tenderly carry him to their mother Maria. The young daughter was the very age Maria had been back when she went to live with the Hernandezes after being orphaned during the war of the 80s.
On Thursday the widow who had come to the Golden Anniversary party with the teachers from the mountains, came to the house in Uspantan. I remembered meeting her back in 2001, on my first trip to Guatemala, when she lived in a teeny dwelling with a roof of corn stalks, and walls of plastic. Later that day we drove to Cienaga, the school that formerly met in a rented (and leaky) building where Pedro was teaching. They now have a new building that was build by volunteer labor on land that formerly was almost flooded out. Several drainage ditches have solved the water problem and the school is new and bright and cheery. Sixty one students with three teachers –again, such a blessing.
We were unable to go to Chaj or to Xepequen as the doctors have told the Hernandezes not to walk so far. Those teachers had come to the Anniversary party, so they at least got to greet Don Salomon and Doña Mery. It is so great that the help comes through the Hernandezes as that makes it so much more personal. Is not welfare from a country far off, or from some organization or from unknown persons. Don Salomon and Doña Mery talked a bit about what might happen when they are no longer around or able to visit much. Shelly and Mery are especially interested in the schools and the relationships and even I could tell that these relationships are very long lasting as this was my seventh trip to Guatemala, my fifth time to Uspantan, and I kept seeing many of the same people.
The entire Hernandez family is very involved in the medical field, in caring for the people and their needs. I think that all of the grandchildren are studying some type of medicine, either planning to become a physician, a surgeon, or a dentist. They seem a bit cynical of the leadership of their country, but I kept thinking that this one family could truly change the direction of Guatemala!
Delores Franz
