Youth in San Lucas Tolimán are a lot like the hundreds of young people I have come to know and love through my work in youth ministry. They are also a bit different. I will try to paint a picture of the lives of San Lucas’ young people.

     Both guys and girls travel in groups and are rarely alone when just walking around. This is especially true in the evenings. They cruise the main drag of town – actually, it seems that they cruise all the streets – though here it is all walking (all the better to check each other out).

     They are very conscious about clothes and appearance. They place high priorities on friendships. They get to know members of the other gender (cruising comes to mind again). They are restless during Mass. They ponder the meaning of life from time to time. They start counting the number of days of school left starting on the first day.

     So far, I could be describing youth in the United States. Now, for some differences....

     Here in San Lucas, school is only a half-day. Before sixth grade, classes run from 7:30 until 12:30. Junior high and high school hold afternoon and evening classes. This means there is a lot of time during the morning or the afternoon, depending on one’s grade, for doing chores.

     These chores, which definitely spill over into Saturdays and Sundays, include cleaning, cooking, building, animal-tending, crop-tending, and sibling-tending. They cut firewood needs from the mountainsides and haul it back to the house; they may walk a mile or two with fifty-pound bundles of firewood strapped to their backs. I have seen kids come out of the hills at 6:00 a.m. carrying their loads of wood. They were coming back from work that early in the morning.

     Entertainment is different, too. Most homes have radios, many have televisions, a few have VCRs, a handful have computers, and I heard of one family that has video games – none of these, of course, are of much use when the electricity is out. Which brings us back to the idea of

cruising, almost everybody’s pastime, whether young or old. This slow walking throughout town enhances the social atmosphere of the late evenings. There is always the sound of youth laughing and talking excitedly, greeting each other, stopping to talk, finding out what everyone else has going on, catching up on the latest stories.

     Young people here are as interested in athletics as are youth in the United States. The chief sport is soccer, though many also play basketball. Informal and league games and tournaments abound. Whatever their sport of choice, youth do appear to keep athletics in proper perspective. I have seen many youth back home become so caught up in sports that it consumes their lives. I have not seen that happen here in San Lucas. When so much of one’s energy is spent in realizing what is necessary for survival as an individual, a family, and a community, I suppose that sports more easily remain the diversion they are meant to be.

     Fifteenth birthdays are very important here, a readily accepted aspect of the Spanish influence on the culture. It is a rite of passage from childhood to adulthood. Many people have a special Mass in their home to celebrate the occasion; they follow this with a party. I have participated in several of these celebrations, and it appears to be a wonderful way for a community to walk with an individual through the process of putting aside the life of a child and taking on the responsibilities of an adult.

     Youth do take on many responsibilities. From working in the family field (which may be a ten minute to two hour walk up the mountainside) to developing career skills to assisting the family in earning a living, youth have a lot of weight resting on them. For me, the bundles of firewood, farm tools, produce, construction supplies, and laundry that they carry on their backs and heads serve as a symbol of this weight. They know that life as an out-of-the-nest adult will be very difficult. They know that they need the support of their families and of their friends. I joke about their cruising the streets when not studying or working, but I think the weight that the youth carry and their need for each other’s support make this a healthy way for them to release life’s pressures.

     There is a close bond between young people and their parents, especially with mothers. Parents are very active in the lives of their children. On one hand, children and youth seem to be very free to come and go and to do what they want. On the other hand, parents seem to have the final say in what is going on with their kids. Overall, they seem to keep both of those hands well balanced.

     Faith plays an important role in the lives of youth. The parish has several youth and children groups that gather regularly. Ages in the groups vary from ten to thirty; the older members are the leaders.

     I have the honor of participating in one of the youth groups. La Voz de Cristo, "The Voice of Christ," gathers for different activities nearly every day of the week. They have many musicians and vocalists; some of their gatherings serve as a practice for providing music for a Mass. Other gatherings are for Bible studies, serving the community, celebrating birthdays, or just socializing. Getting together so many times per week might seem like a lot, especially to those of us who have grown used to living with a day planner, but these are very close friends. Not everybody sees everybody else in school, and there are no telephones to connect people, so coming together often like this keeps their friendships strong.

     The youth of La Voz de Cristo shared with me what they think and believe about God, church, prayer, salvation, etc. They see God as their Father. Faith in God is as much being confident in His presence and help as it is believing that He exists. Prayer is personal, intimate communication with God; prayer strengthens the Christian. Mass is a special time for people to be with God as a community, to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection together. The Bible is the word of God, a guide to live by. Jesus rescues from sin those who trust in Him. There is no need to be ashamed of or afraid of Jesus, because He loves each of us and wants all people to know Him.

     Overall, I would say that young people here are very similar to those in the States. They relate to others, react to themselves, treat authority, and look to heaven in mostly the same ways. What is different is their situations, their opportunities, the details of their responsibilities, and the resources they have available to them. What is expected of a member of a family living in the process of poverty is certainly going to be different than what is expected of one living in the North American "land of plenty," but they still deal with life as teenagers with curiosity, anxiety, and equal measures of fear and hope.

     Whether in San Lucas Tolimán or in communities in the United States, these facts hold true for all of the youth I have known: Youth are beautiful. Youth are worth every investment we can make in them. Youth need us adults to model for them what meaningful Christian living really is. And when we regard them as fellow Christians, fellow journeyers (fellow cruisers?), youth can and will reveal to us more about the love of God than we ever expected to share with them.