Father David Roney has been involved with Parroquia San Lucas since its association with the Diocese of New Ulm. After visiting the community with a tour group he organized, he began coming every year either with groups or on his own. Fascinated with the people, admiring them for how they live, David worked in the Mission Office in New Ulm to build awareness and to raise funds; with this position came more visits in order to keep up with the life of the community. On March 18, 1994, he came to live full time in San Lucas.

     David notes that he is here for very personal reasons. It is no sacrifice to be here; he is happier here than he would be back home. He is adamant about these personal reasons: "I did not come down here to work; I came down here to retire." He is not on the parish staff; technically, he is in residence.

     Though retired, he is still involved in the parish’s service. He leads worship at Mass both at the parish church in San Lucas and in the chapels in several surrounding communities. He has remarked that there are probably more requests for Masses because he is here, since people think there are four active priests; he may be right that his presence leads to more requests, but he always responds to them with a generous heart.

     Having moved out of Casa Padres and into a private house, David now has the time and opportunity to get to know more of the community. He also has the opportunity to get away from English and regularly speak Spanish. It is quieter at his new house without having to continually step around the bustle of Casa Padres and Father Greg’s office.

     A peaceful life is David’s ideal right now, and he spends time reading and writing. The quiet does diminish, though, when young Sabina is around. Sabina is a wonderful, abandoned five year old girl who now lives with Chona Ajcót, head of the Parroquia’s kitchen. For several years, she lived at Casa Padres, where David lived, while one of the cooks, Berta, took care of her. During the day, Berta’s work in
the kitchen took her time and attention, so David watched Sabina at
his house. When Berta no longer worked for the parish, Sabina moved in with Chona.

     The relationship between David and Sabina changed in the fall of 1997, when Chona accompanied Father Greg to the United States for two months. David took care of her in his new house during the day, since she had not yet started school. Though Chona is now back and school has begun, Sabina still comes to David’s house when she is free. He is both a father and grandfather figure in her life. They share a unique and special relationship.

     David has seen the town change and develop throughout his many years of involvement with the parish.

     "Twenty-five years ago, San Lucas was a small town with a small town attitude, with a street crier disseminating news." There was electricity, but no water; he notes the visual absence of women walking up from the lake with jars of water on their heads.

     Now, San Lucas is a thriving business community, filled with small enterprises that serve San Lucas and the surrounding fincas. There are many visitors, but it is not a tourist town like nearby Santiago Atitlán or Panajachel. It is an agricultural community, serving the area’s agricultural needs.

     He has seen education develop through the years. In the earlier days, the parish school was small but good; it was good because of the Sisters who ran it and also because the families involved looked forward to the advantages of a good education for their children. There were six classrooms, and it was the only school in the area. Dave remembers helping with the first Ash Wednesday in the school’s existence; Father Greg explained to the children what it was, and most of the kids ended up not receiving ashes, because they were not Catholic. Now, there is much more classroom space in town with the four newer elementary schools, so the Catholic school is mostly Catholic.

     Through the parish’s and the community’s educational efforts, David has seen the area’s literacy rate climb from next to nothing to 85%.

     Looking at the work and the service of the parish, he remarks that the parish has succeeded admirably in its development programs, spreading out into many diverse areas. He sees the parish emphasizing social development over religious matters, but he also notes that the people seem to take care of their spiritual growth on their own. Youth groups take care of sacramental preparation for their members. Enough catechists have been raised up to take care of religious education in the fincas. There has been great spiritual revival in the area; Charismatic Renewal is a strong group. He hopes that there can be a more aggressive program of education and outreach for kids who are not in the parish’s school. He also hopes for greater community participation in the liturgy.

     David wants people back home to grow in understanding the real problems of developing nations such as Guatemala. The people are neither unintelligent nor lazy; they need opportunities to develop their own lives. Most people in San Lucas do not have hot water heaters at home; consistently cold water is normal. People at home would probably be uncomfortable living with cold water. It is too easy to grow so accustomed to the comforts of life that we can’t comprehend poverty. Enjoying the comfort of hot water, we might look at cold water as a problem. Cold water is not the problem; the lack of opportunity to develop one’s life and perhaps one day purchase a hot water heater to enjoy that particular comfort for oneself: that is the problem. Most people here can get enough to eat, but they can’t do much else. They have to stop and think and work at purchasing something for ten centavos cheaper. They don’t consider such comforts as having a refrigerator – or hot water.

     Though he has come to the community to retire and to selfishly enjoy a quiet life, David serves as a model for the parish’s many visitors and volunteers. His affection for Sabina is beautiful. His willingness to lead worship several times per week (in the midst of his "busy" schedule of reading and writing) is admirable. And his quiet acceptance of the situations and the lack of comforts with which the people of San Lucas Tolimán live is exemplary.

     "If I can help, I’ll help." Simply being here and being true to who he is and how he wants to live, Father David Roney is a help to all who are involved in the life of Parroquia San Lucas.