Blancavictoria by Jenna Titko '12

On our trip to El Salvador, one of the greatest graces of the whole trip was the relationships we made. One relationship in particular that God blessed me with was a little girl named Blancavictoria. As if her name wasn’t beautiful enough, this 10-year-old girl was one of God’s true masterpieces. Her smile radiated love to all who saw her. Blancavictoria lives in the village of La Laguna and every day, after school, she works at the cafe that we brought coffee back from to sell here at church. At 10 years old, working seven days a week, you can imagine the hardships in her life. When you meet her, you would never guess it; she is so full of life and kindness.

My fondest memory with Blancavictoria happened one day when our group was walking through the streets of the village with Padre Rafael. We happened to be by Blancavictoria’s house, and she and her mother were home. They gladly welcomed our group, showing us through their home of cinder block walls and concrete floors. Blancavictoria was so excited to show us all her pig that her family had in her backyard. When we were about to leave, Blanca ran into her room and came back out with a porcelain doll figurine in her hand. She handed me the doll with the biggest smile on her face. I was so moved, and with my limited Spanish vocabulary just kept repeating, “¡Muchas gracias! ¡Muchas gracias!” Before I left, I told Blancavictoria that she was beautiful, that she would do great things in her future, and that I loved her.

I left her house feeling so heavy hearted. I was so grateful for Blancavictoria’s gesture, yet I felt extremely guilty for taking one of the few toys that this child had. That is when I learned one of the most valuable lessons of the whole trip from a man named Joe, who is a theology professor at Walsh University who is on sabbatical in El Salvador. He told me that by giving away one of her possessions, Blanca had gained a relationship that was more valuable than any one ‘thing’ that she could ever own. I will never forget Blancavictoria and the way she deeply touched my life.