Teen’s winning essay inspired by mission trip to San Lucas Toliman in Guatemala and witnessing first hand priest’s concern for the poor

Kayla Ann Smith hasn’t decided on a college, but the home-schooled sophomore has $1,000 to go toward her education, thanks to winning a Maryknoll essay contest.

“I read through my dad’s Maryknoll magazines and I just happened to find the essay contest,” she said. “I like writing essays. I think it’s interesting to find a topic and find out more about it and write about it.”

Smith’s topic was Father Gregory Schaffer, a priest of the New Ulm diocese, and his work with the people in San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala.

More than a year ago, Smith and her family went to visit the Diocese of New Ulm’s Mission parish of San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala, along with about 15 other high school students and members of St. Michael in Stillwater, where the Smiths are parishioners. “We got to talk to him quite a bit while we were down there,” Smith said.

When she saw the essay contest, Father Schaffer, who has served Guatemala for over 40 years, came to mind.

“Father Schaffer was probably the most prominent person I could think of, who stood up for serious injustice in a good way,” she said. Although Smith remembered quite a bit of his story from the trip, her parents, James and Vicki Smith, helped her with some details, and a magazine article provided some additional facts.

Smith said serving in the mission helped her learn about real poverty and faith.

“I learned the real meaning of living your faith every day and how important it is to take care of other people who aren’t so fortunate,” she said. She added that writing the essay helped her to “re-experience what I experienced in Guatemala - to remember how important it is to take care of the poor.”

“That’s why I think it’s important to go on a mission trip every couple of years.”

After she completes her high school education, Smith said she might consider serving as a missionary for a year or two before using her scholarship for college, where she might consider studies to become a doctor.

In her winning essay, Smith wrote:

“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 came to know through a mission trip I was part of to Guatemala in 2003, 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 indigents 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 impoverished of Guatemala, he spoke plainly and boldly that the poor can not 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.

Father Rother, who was a priest in the neighboring town, Santiago de Atitlan, was not as fortunate as Father Schaffer. Father Rother was murdered by the death squads, which caused great sorrow among the parishioners he had shepherded. The farmer's son turned priest from Okarche, Ok, paid the ultimate price for being a soldier of Christ. The loss of Father Schaffer's fellow priest and friend saddened him almost to the point of anger, until he realized that Father Rother's passing would be a powerful event that united all of the people.

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.

story by Pat Norby, The Catholic Spirit