San Lucas Mission

The Mission is alive and well. I WAY enjoyed my discussions with Padre Juan Goggin. In my mind, Padre Juan was the muscle behind all of Father Greg’s effort. Prostate cancer is no match for Padre Juan. His sense of humor, understanding of everything San Lucas, and his infectious smile are nothing short of amazing. The volunteer program is Covid-small, but it is run very well.

Salvador Jacinto (Salva) set up a meeting with Katie Wallyn. Katie has lived in San Lucas for more than five years, first as a volunteer with the San Lucas Mission, and later as the new owner/manager of the Casa Feliz.

The San Lucas Mission ran the Casa Feliz for decades providing shelter for those orphaned or widowed from the civil war. Katie has installed a 600+ ft deep water well. With minimal chlorination and sedimentation she is producing up to 150 gallons per minute of potable water!

Our Magical Mystery tour also included a visit to the former home of Bonnie, Teresita and Graham Dadson. Their home was the site of many of the early brainstorming to create Agua del Pueblo.

I also worked with Salva on the three SunSprings in San Lucas. SunSprings are ultra filtration treatment systems with the capability to filter to the 0.02 micron level.

My take, after working a number of days with Salva, the SunSprings (and it’s big brother the WallSpring) will best be sustainable with the significant care and feeding of a local organization. They can be effectively installed in many well-run clinics and schools. In addition, I am now convinced that many rural Guatemalan communities can effectively SunSpring maintenance is beyond the capabilities of most rural Guatemalan Parajes, condones and aldeas. We have only been successful because Joe Wakely’s expertise and presence.