I wrote the last post form atop my beloved soap box. This post,
I write from my knees. It has been so humbling to be around such generous people.
There has been no end to their ability to give of themselves. Examples of it
have included the bus driver who called his taxi driver uncle to drive us, the
people in the wrong house we knocked on who sent their 12 year old (?) son with
us to make sure we got to the right house, Nena (who I stayed with last time I
was in Llano Bonito) who gifted us with light-up crucifix from her mantle, and
the Fernandez family, who let us stay with them and fed us endlessly. One of
the most startling examples of generosity, though, has been that of Eligio’s
time.
As I mentioned before, there are only two months in which
coffee can be harvested – December and January. We didn’t learn this until after we had arrived, otherwise we maybe
would have avoided Llano Bonito out of fear of being a burden. I know that in
the United States (and especially in my own life), there is a
stressed-work-aholic mode when timelines are near and the work is yet to be
done. Socializing is one of the first items to drop off the calendar when work
is needed, and I would be unlikely to accept guests at that time. Even when it’s
not a huge deadline – even if it’s just mildly inconvenient – I’m likely to
make up excuses not to be generous with my time. I think my time is my resource
that I’m most tight fisted with. I’m happy to give/share/lend my stuff or money,
but my time is often relinquished reluctantly.
Then there’s Eligio. Not only did he let us stay with us in
his family’s home, he also sacrificed his work at a really crucial time of the
year. Whereas his usual work day is from 5am – 6pm, for two whole days, he
played host to us. He took us on coffee tours, brought us out to lunch, and
really showed us Llano Bonito. We also saw him sacrificing his time for other
people. We went with him to fix a plug at a friend’s house and later to pick up
and drop off a computer for someone. I
think that I’m struggling to put into words how much his example of generosity
meant to me. But that’s okay – it still made its impact, even if I can’t
explain it. Hopefully I explained it well enough that the uniqueness came
across. J
Ken’s Thoughts: Even though they have extremely little, they’re
not afraid to give what they have. They reminded me a lot of the minister in
the begging of Les Mis. Every meal they made for us was a different dish, and
they were all delicious, and yet simple. I think that’s all my thoughts.
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| Us with the Fernandez family |
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