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Email from Padre Livio Stella, 12/18/2005
Dear Jerry:
First I received your letter re:availability of funds, and then a note just saying that my E-Mail was empty.
Actually I tried to send some pictures using a Public Internet Service of Tecun. It failed.
So, I will try again in the next couple of days.
I will be traveling Mon 19 to Guatemala City and I’ll see what I can do from there.
The technology here at Tecún is stuck at the stone age of information.
I was not able to get the washroom project going. We still have people housed in the school building.
School will start around the 15 of January. I doubt that the temporary shelters will be ready by that time.
All public school buildings are used to house people affected by the tropical storm.
As I mentioned before, we will need around 23-25 scholarships.
The exact number will not be ready untill school starts.
As you may know, Bishop Ramazzini has been behind a project to expand the parish school.
In a tract of land about a mile from the town center, this past year he built 6 classrooms and two basketball courts.
He asked me to give him a hand in getting this project moving with the ground facilities.
That is a new entrance or access from the highway, water pump and water distribution to the washrooms,
a new transformer for electricity.
I told the bishop that the estimated cost will be around 90,000 quetzales (12,000 dollars).
I know that the bishop promised to look for funds.
This is project you may consider in place of the washrooms one we talked about,
since we cannot do anything for another year.
The money could be sent to the bishop or to the same banking route of the parish account,
and I will inform the bishop.
As for funds to meet with Tropical Storm affected people,
I know that CRS is helping with shelter projects, and the World Food Fund or FAO is already sending supplies.
Here in the parish we receive this food and we are organized in distributing it to the needy.
In my opinion there is no urgent need now to make contributions to this purpose.
You write about bracelets and bookmarks. I have received packages from the States with no problem through mail.
You may try with a small package just to see if and when it gets here.
And yes, in my family too we cook baccala’ during this time advent, not so much for Christmas.
At this season we eat risotto con funghi, and arrosto di maiale, or beef… plenty of new wine,
nuts, panettone, and torrone.
But traditions have changed greatly in Italy with coming of progress and consumerism.
In Guatemala, it’s posadas time, plenty of tamales of all colors, shapes and flavors.
Then on Christmas eve the Mass and people go home preparing for midnight meal, and plenty of fire crackers, fire works,
They surely spend a lot of money in this item.
Best regards to you and family with the new addition. Best regards to the Pastor and people at Good Shepherd.
Padre Livio
(The Tecún Umán Institute of the Parish of Our Lord of the Three Falls) is the Junior High School
for which Good Shepherd, through Good Shepherd’s Psalm 23 ministry, has provided scholarships for these
twenty boys and girls with a pledge of $10,000 per year for three years.
The pastor for El Señor de las Tres Caídas and its Instituto is Father Livio Stella, c.s.
Background
The city of Tecún Umán is a border town in the state of San Marcos, Guatemala,
adjoining Ciudad Hidalgo in Chiapas, Mexico.
The resident population in both towns is approximately 30,000 inhabitants, but in Tecún Umán
at any given moment, the floating population can be three times the resident population.
The border is marked by the Suchiate River that, along with an international bridge, serves to join both communities.
The bridge and the river see intense cross border population mobility the result of
commerce, labor, social needs and migratory movement to Mexico and the United States.
Tecún Umán takes it’s name from Guatemala’s national hero,
a Quiché prince who gave his life defending his people from Spanish conqistadors about 500 years ago.
The Department (or what we would call a state) of San Marcos is situated at the western edge of Guatemala,
with the Pacific Ocean to the south and Chiapas, Mexico to the west.
San Marcos is mountainous with several volcanoes (the Volcán Tajumulco (Tahk-uh-mool'-co), at 13,846’
is the highest point in Central America), and drops down to the coastal plain bordering the ocean.
The departmental capital city of San Marcos is the episcopal seat for Bishop Alvaro Ramazzini Imeri;
it is situated at about 7,700’ above sea level.
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