Angel & Roberto by Bob Patrick

On our next to last night, we spent some time reflecting on our last few days and were asked, “Where did you see the face of Christ?” I saw the face of Christ so many times; allow me to share two examples with you.

Simply stated, my new friend Angel (pronounced ON-hel) was a true joy to be around. He is a retired musician in his early 60s and good friends with Padre Rafael. Angel travels to the U.S. with Padre for mission work. He lives in the capital of San Salvador and shared with me stories of his family and his life. In the late 60s and 70s, he was a famous musician in a band called “The Beats” that traveled around Central America in a VW bus. For our group, he traveled two hours each day to the school to translate for us and lead music at the Mass we had there. Angel’s ability to use music to allow the kids to share in the celebration of Mass was a blessing to witness. On March 24, he was with us for the anniversary of Archbishop Romero’s martyrdom, and he fed me stories that allowed me to truly understand what Romero meant to his people. I will not forget his gleaming face upon his arrival and his deep voice pronouncing, “Your angel is here.” His reverence for the Lord, his positive attitude, and his care for us was astonishing.

For our three nights in Agua Caliente, Jake Shurer and I stayed with Roberto and his family. The first blessing was Roberto’s ability to speak English, which was much needed for us. He has a large family with four sons ages 2, 4, 11, 15 (who lives in Boston), a daughter age 13 and one in the oven! His beautiful daughter was a student in our 7^th grade class, and I did not see her without a smile, even as she swept the house at 6 a.m. Yes, she and her brother were in the midst of doing chores when we woke up. When I was their age, I watched cartoons before school.

Roberto learned English while living in the U.S. for six years to earn money to build his family a dignified house, a two-story home with 3 bedrooms for around $50,000. Can you imagine being away from your family, friends, and children for 6 years -- in a foreign country? That is the type of sacrifices that these people routinely make for their loved ones. To see someone so dedicated to his family was a true blessing and more powerful than any lesson I have ever learned in a classroom.

I had heard about all of the splendor and virtues that El Salvador contains but none was more evident than the way the Spirit of our Lord is present in so many wonderful people.