Parishioner Persists In Efforts To Get AA Message Heard By Guatemalan Sister Parish Members
I stayed with Laureano D. and his family in his humble home in TNII during St. Joan of Arc's first Sister Parish delegation to Guatemala in Holy Week, 1995. Laureano's twenty-five years and my twelve years membership in AA immediately bonded us. What impressed me was his continued dedication to the program in spite of his being unable to attend meetings. AA meetings weren't held in TNII and he was afraid to attend a group in the adjoining community because of the night time dangers.
On my next two trips to TNII, I brought AA and Al-Anon literature in
Spanish donated by several of my groups. Since that visit, Laureano began
holding meetings in his home and subsequently his group has moved to a
TNII leased home. There, over twenty of his neighbors regularly convene
to continue the recovery process. Laureano, with his now thirty years of
sobriety, remains a beacon and inspiration to the three year old
group.
It was the spirit of facilitating that community's AA and Al-Anon growth that gave me the inspiration to invite Laureano and his wife to the International AA convention that was scheduled June 29 to July 2 in Minneapolis, where I live. I COULD RECIPROCATE FOR THE TIMES THEY HOSTED ME IN THEIR HOME. Conventions are held every five years in various cities of the world. Over 50,000 people were expected to attend. For TNII residents to afford such a trip was impossible. Laureano had been laid off from his government job several years earlier and his wife barely made survival wages working a job that required some sixteen hour days six days a week. But with the strong encouragement and financial support from several twelve step groups, I invited Laureano to come to Minneapolis.
Communicating with Guatemala and TNII is difficult and extremely time consuming. First, Laureano has no telephone. Although Sister Parish has email connections with a TNII resident, email allows for public readership, preventing private conversations. Then of course, there is the private "King Express" mail service that charges eight dollars a letter and is prohibitively expensive to the TNII resident. The only reliable contact was with the Sister Parish representatives in Guatemala, Walter and Jackie Arreazas. Thank heavens for their help!
In October of last year, I contacted Laureno through the Arreazas and got the go-ahead eventually that the D.'s were willing to come provided Trancito could be excused from work, at no pay for her time off, of course.
In January I wrote to them guaranteeing personal responsibility for all of their expenses with an enclosure from the National AA office inviting them to attend the meetings in Minneapolis. I thought it was a done deal. Foolish me.
Armed with my letters and his best documents, Laureano made the arduous early morning bus trip to the U.S. Consulate in Guatemala City in early February. First he had to pay about $100 to secure the right to submit an application. Then, after arriving as instructed at 3 a.m. and standing in line until 9 a.m., he was denied the visitor's visa to attend the convention! He had failed to provide proof that he had enough money. The consulate representative didn't even look at any of his other papers.
In desperation, I emailed my Congressman, Bruce Vento, in February and poured out my sad story. Staff person Barbara Johnson picked up the cause, and a supporting letter from the ailing Congressman attesting to my credibility was sent to the Embassy. From that February day until June 30, the reality of their arriving bounced back and forth until my tentative deadline of June 19 passed, except for the unrealistic hopes and continued efforts of Congressman Bruce Vento's office.
Many phone calls and faxes from Rep. Vento to the Embassy went unanswered for several weeks. His staff kept working. It was only in the closing days of June that that they managed to reach a responsible contact at the Consulate, a Ms. Webber.
On June 20 Jackie informed me that Laureano met with a major disappointment when he went to the Embassy on May 26 when he had turned in all of his passports and papers as a guard had instructed. The papers "got lost." Congressman Vento's staff contacted Mark Mayfield at the Embassy and they "found" them several weeks later.
I was also required to fax the Embassy a list of all my worldly wealth and a copy of my 1999 tax statement for proof. So, AFTER the D's again PAID ANOTHER $100 for the application and with an appointment with Ms. Webber, on Monday, June 26, they were given the good news that all was in order EXCEPT FOR ONE MORE PAPER. They were to get it and return the next day. After another exhausting bus trip downtown, Tuesday, June 27, the visa was granted! Not just a short term visa, but one with a ten year exemption date!
The saga was not over. When they arrived at the airport ticket counter on Thursday at 7 a.m. for the 9 a.m. flight, the ticket agent told them that Trancito couldn't get on the plane because the last name on her ticket did not match her name on her passport. A frantic call from Laureano to Jackie followed by an urgent call to her ticket agent resolved the problem. Finally, Laureano and Trancito were able to board, only minutes before the doors were closed.
But the saga continued. Because of the late date in ordering the tickets, (May 27) all of the flights to Minneapolis were filled. In desperation, Jackie booked them to the closest available airport, Chicago. Problem was, the couple speaks no English and they had no money for bus tickets. As usual, the Divine intervened and I remembered a friend in Chicago who just might be able to help.
Again, through some the help of a Higher Power, my friend arrived at O'Hare with a Spanish speaking couple an hour after Laureano had expected him at a place where NO ONE knew they were suppose to be. The trio drove them to the Greyhound station in a rather rough area of Chicago, bought them their bus tickets, treated them to a quick meal and a few extra dollars and stayed with them for protection until the bus left.
Exhausted but ecstatic, they arrived at the Minneapolis bus station at 5:30 a.m., Friday, June 30. With meetings that afternoon in Spanish, they attended the Flag ceremony with over 55,000 people at the dome. The convention provided simultaneous translation into seven languages. Each person could wear an individual receiver to hear the translation and sit anywhere. The couple crashed that night. Saturday had all day hour long sessions followed by another concluding session at the dome. Sunday morning's meeting at the dome concluded the convention with a wind-up that Laureano told me gave him a resolve and inspiration to carry out the convention's theme, "Pass it On."
Their Twin Cities stay concluded with an emotional reunion with a daughter whom he hadn't seen in over eleven years. She took them back to her home in Nebraska and from there they traveled to visit two of his other children he hadn't seen for a long time. They arrived back in Guatemala grateful, happy, and exhausted on July 11.
The conclusion that struggling to get them here was worth it is an understatement. The help of so many people made it even more gratifying. Without the letter by Louise Eidsmoe on behalf of St. Joan's Sister Parish Committee, the local twelve step groups, the time and energy of Walter and Jackie, and especially the efforts of our ailing Congressman, Bruce Vento, who wrote so eloquently and pleaded so forcefully, along with his aide and St. Joan of Arc member, Barbara Johnson , the miracle wouldn't have happened.
Bless you all.
Bob H.
 |
 |