Meeting New People, by Sister Phyllis Tierney SSJ

Today Sister Martha and I were on the 7am to 2pm shift. Several other volunteers were scheduled to work. It was a "light" day because we weren't scheduled to accept guests. On Thursday they go to the shelter at St. Ignatius. Nevertheless there was work to be done!


We were responsible for serving breakfast. I made the coffee and Martha put out cereal. After that I checked to see who was leaving to make sure their rooms were clean. This morning I had a helper, a very cute little boy named Danny. He attached himself to me and went with me. He helped to carry  blankets and sheets and made himself very useful! I asked how old he was. He said "oçho"-8! I'm not sure that he was! His mother, Juana, was a very tiny person. They were from Guatemala as many who have come to the shelter are. She spoke Spanish, but she may have been indigenous.


We learned that many are Mayan and don't speak Spanish! Another surprise is that we have had several families from Brazil.



Juana and Danny left to fly to Atlanta, but I had a big hug from Danny before he left. It made my day!