3 female saints teach that Earth is our common mother and home

I was blessed in 2017 with a life-changing opportunity to travel to Guatemala with Catholic Relief Services and do nothing but sketch. I was only there for one week with a handful of other American observers, but what a life changing week it was. Our primary mission was to visit schools and other CRS-sponsored programs dedicated to education, but we also visited other sites and facilities such as the one depicted above in the drought-stricken and dusty hills of Quiche, home to Mayan Indians in the mountainous region of central Guatemala.

I couldn't wait to sketch the mothers, many with babies wrapped in colorfully woven blankets, as they explained to us their struggles in the midst of drought and devastation. It was dusty and dry with no evidence of green vegetation of any kind, yet colorful balloons hung above our heads to celebrate our visit in a sign of their joyful welcome.

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