Student reunites with uncle while on college trip

The parishioner of St. John the Evangelist Church in Schenectady was completing her first year of graduate study at St. Bonaventure University in Allegany, when she seized a double opportunity: She could learn about social justice efforts in El Salvador through a service-learning trip offered by the university and reunite with her uncle, Maryknoll Father John Spain. He is a missionary near San Ramon.

The trip taught her and her classmates methods of advocacy for the poor and underprivileged of El Salvador, who are continually assailed by natural disasters, high crime rates, widespread gang activity, the aftermath of civil war and extensive economic decay. The participants spoke with lay missioners, ex-gang members working with an anti-violence network, and scholarship students and Jesuit missionaries at the University of Central America.

"The week wasn't so much a hands-on service as it was a learning experience," Ms. Spain explained. "We spoke with someone who grew up in the countryside. He told us about his life growing up, before the war, during the war -- what he saw, what he went through. It was sad, and it was hard to listen to."

Uncle's ministry

"He definitely saw what was going on," said Ms. Spain of her uncle's correspondence during the civil war in El Salvador. "He wrote to me about how sad it was and how people were getting killed for no good reason. Then, I really didn't understand the stories."

Ms. Spain sees her uncle once a year during Christmas visits to the U.S. "He's one of my closest uncles," Ms. Spain said. "We've kept in touch. I still have letters from him when I was little."

Next step?

"Since I've been back, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it," she said, mentioning that she may want to use her degrees in elementary education and counseling for service in El Salvador, enabling poor children to get the education they may be otherwise denied by their economic status.

Seeing Salvadorans practice their Catholic faith was a memory Ms. Spain will treasure for a long time.

"The most amazing thing about El Salvador was the people," she said. "They have been through so much tragedy in their history. It was amazing to see how much hope and faith they have -- and how happy they are, despite all their difficulties. These people look towards God for happiness -- and for survival, really. They taught me what's important in life, and it made me realize there are so many things that we take for granted."

(08-22-02) [[In-content Ad]]