Heather Langness
English 121
12:00pm
Gregg Aamot
Father Gregory Schaffer
This real life experience is about a priest who had the courage to stand up for the rights and privileges of the oppressed natives of Guatemala. When he was thirty-eight years old, Father Gregory Schaffer, whom I traveled with on a mission trip to San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala— in July of 2011— who, had helped Father Gregory with the missions, made the self-sacrificing journey of walking from St. Paul, MN to Guatemala, which is approximately 3,000 miles. He made this difficult trip for the sole purpose of raising money to aid his project of helping the poor of Guatemala.
The natives, or Mayans, lived in inhumane conditions such as dirt-floored huts made of tin with no electricity or clean water. Father Schaffer wanted to help these people so greatly, that he was willing to sacrifice the comforts of living in the United States to live with and like the people he was determined to help. The Mayans had been oppressed by a dictatorial government for years, which had badly harmed their environment and kept them in a constant state of fear. In the midst of these problems, Father Schaffer came to offer help to the poverty-afflicted peoples.
Father Schaffer's true courage to stand up for the poor of Guatemala was put to the test, when, in the 1980's, there were armed campaigns pointed at the natives of Guatemala. Even though he knew that he could be killed at any time for helping the people of Guatemala, Father Schaffer remained with the people he had come to love. He was in an especially dangerous position, since he was aiding the innocent of Guatemala as well as being a Catholic priest. Through his many acts of charity, which were professed through the very fact that he was still living with the poorest of Guatemala, he spoke plainly and boldly that the poor cannot be ignored, and that we are called to help the less fortunate. Soon, Father Schaffer found that he had been put on a death list. Although the fact of possible death would have scared many people to leave the terrorized country, Father Schaffer remained in Guatemala. During this time period, when Guatemala was still in turmoil, Father Schaffer barely saved his life by convincing a military commander that he was not an ally of the guerrilla terrorists. This courageous priest has remained loyal to his calling to help the poor even though there were many difficulties and the possibility of death.
Through all of his hard work and perseverance through faith, Father Schaffer has made a great difference in Guatemala and especially in San Lucas Toliman. He has founded a hospital, a parish school through which the students are endeavoring to attain sufficient education for good jobs, a reforestation project to keep the environment healthy, a coffee bean market, which is San Lucas's largest income, and has led the people of San Lucas as their pastor for over 40 years. Before Father Schaffer came, the poor of Guatemala had been looked down upon, and so their self-esteem had suffered. Father Schaffer has taught them that they can learn to support themselves and that we are all equal in God's eyes as his children. We should look at Father Schaffer as an example of what good we can do when we listen and respond to God's call in our lives.