Today’s adventure started bright and early at 6:30AM for
breakfast duty. Breakfast was early in order for everyone to go to a mass
dedicated to Father Greg, the man who founded the Mission, for the sixth
anniversary of his death. The church was full of all the school kids and many
locals. Whenever there was a song in mass, all the kids sang along; they knew every
word and sang loudly and proudly. When mass ended we followed a procession to
the San Lucas Toliman cemetery where we surrounded Father Greg’s grave site.
A song that was written about Father Greg was presented for the congregation, and
someone who had been close to him in life spoke of his generosity and passion
for the community. The memorial ended with all the kids releasing yellow and white
balloons in a chorus of cheers and singing. The celebration was very
lighthearted and was more about life than about the passing of the late Padre.
The mass and the memorial were vibrant and had upbeat songs and bright colors
as opposed to the dismal dark coloring and low-key music associated with
many funerals in the United States.
Next, we split off into pharmacy and engineering groups and went
to our final day of work at the project sites. The engineers went to the
school. More sand! The pharmacy students went to the clinic to help Edson in
the pharmacy brainstorm ways to better monitor controlled medications and keep
track of inventory in the storeroom. The real world application of their skills
and helping in the clinic has provided an experience for them in the Global
Health sphere never afforded to students on this trip before.
In the afternoon, we went to a presentation on the coffee roasting process used by the Mission. We also were able to try coffee prepared via french press. Delicioso!
It's hard to believe that this was our last work day.
Definitely not ready to say goodbye to this beautiful country yet!
-Emily and Kayla
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