Tree of Life Imports

GRADUATE: Hope for the future

	The public grade school of La Palma, El Salvador sits on top a hill. From its courtyard I can see for miles, forested hills and then mountains surrounding us on all sides. Now in mid November we should have been a month into the dry season, but the rains keep coming. This morning is a clear, a rare break, and most convenient for the graduation ceremony scheduled shortly. Tomorrow a tropical depression will move on shore from the Pacific and drop a foot of rain that will flood the rivers down on the coastal plain and kill hundreds. Today diplomas will be handed out to students completing kindergarten and the ninth grade. All students first will parade down the hill to attend mass at the parish church. The principal does not hesitate to invoke God’s blessings on all. The small graduates are dress in mortar board caps, gray capes and white gloves, each one being escorted by a proud family member. So much hope and promise. And so the graduates walk the five blocks to Mass along narrow streets lined with old adobe houses, the clay tiled roof lines merging in a continuous line. The bullet holes in the walls have long since been plastered over. The rest of the grades had assembled already on path leading to the church door and applauded vigorously at their arrival. Throughout the liturgy and prayers emphasized the nurturing role of the community toward the students and a shared sense of admiration and responsibility.

the graduates offer to answer a question posed by the pastor	handshake of peace during liturgy	graduates carry symbols of their lives to be blessed
the pastor greets children during the exchange of the sign of peace	my first dipolma	working to master the this tie thing

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