Hello families and friends back home!

Today I had the pleasure of taking on the role of leader for our “living like a local” day. It was a very special day, and we all had very enriching interactions with the locals from San Luis. We were greeted on our arrival to this destination with love and with open arms by the women of the community. Upon arrival we were escorted by each woman individually in groups to each home where they graced us with their presence, wisdom, and many servings of fruit. These women treated their neighbors as family and also treated us as such, giving great effort to learning about our lives along with allowing us to take a glimpse into theirs. While we were eager to help the local families with chores, they tended to not feel comfortable with that arrangement as they viewed us as their special guests. We also had time to play dominos, watch a baseball game, while playing and dancing with the young children. It was all a truly amazing experience that I’m sure we all felt blessed to be a part of.

The locals of San Luis can be seen as exceptional people. They are happy and content with their lives because of the close bond they shared within the community despite the challenges they face. When asked what they believe is the biggest challenge within their community most responded with the trenches in the main road where drivers and many motorcyclists, motorcycles being the vast majority of transportation and being injured. They also desired that their community center be painted and made more kid friendly. Also that a fence be made around the center because people have thrown large amounts of trash into their space. Their wishes were never individual but for the community as a whole. As a team we are still debating what we will be able to provide in our CAP Discovery projects depending on our available budget, skills, time, and resources.

The selected quote for the day grasped a legitimate representation of the locals we spent time with, debriefing, “We are not rich by what we possess, but by what we can do without”. I hope that each one of us takes back home to you, our own communities, that in order to survive the most valuable things are not materialistic , but instead the unconditional support of each other.