June 3, 2000

Dear Friends,

Julie and I are firm believers that the results of community development work are often indirectly achieved as a consequence of small successes, some organization, fresh motivation, new uneasiness, prayer…. As we look back on our first two and a half years in Colima, here is what we see today that was not here when we arrived.

Positive developments in Colima, 1997-2000

As Archbishop Oscar Romero reminded us, "It helps now and then to take the long view. The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is beyond our view…. This is what we are about. We plant seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted knowing that they hold the future promise…. We cannot do everything and there is a sense of liberation in knowing that. This enables us to do something…. It may be incomplete, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and to do the rest…. We are workers, not master builders. We are ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own."

Promoted by ALFALIT

• Alfalit office established at Hacienda
• Room in hacienda fixed up for Dunsmores’ use when in Colima
• The hacienda’s swimming pool is restored, including new filters and pump
• Income from opening swimming pool to public
• First clean swimming water for residents of area—water is crystal clear
• Poolside dressing rooms are prepared
• Public bathrooms are constructed
• Hacienda bathroom remodeled, new septic lines installed
• A snack store by the pool is in process of being established
• 20-bed dormitory is set up, and ventilation fans installed in hacienda
• Seats and tables obtained for multi-purpose use
• Hacienda’s colonial kitchen is in process of restoration, sink repaired, and now used for on-site preparation of food for delegations
• Trash cans are installed
• The hacienda’s ancient marimba is restored
• A 3,000-acre national forest is being fenced, guarded, and reforested
• Forest guards now equipped with intercom radios, mountain bikes
• Miles of trails and two overlooks and fire watchtower built in reserve
• Two guard stations built in reserve
• Over 20 miles of living-post fences built to protect reserve
• Increase in deer, raccoon and other fauna and flora reported
• Over 50 jobs are created in forest and swimming pool
• Union of Organic Sugar Cane Growers of El Salvador in process of development
• Two successful retreats carried out at hacienda
• Many links established with national and international agencies
• Ten-year partnership covenant signed between Agricultural Coop of Colima and Alfalit
• Cooperative covenants established with several universities
• Bagasse fuel log project initiated and growing
• Bagasse fuel logs gain wide acceptance, demand is high in Colima
• 220 volt, 3-phase electrical station installed for fuel log machine
• Hammermill purchased to utilize 100 percent of bagasse
• New shed for bagasse fuel log factory under construction
• Community trash landfill identified and now in use
• Organic/inorganic trash collection program is being kept alive
• Composting project for organic trash started
• Project to drain street run-off and gray water initiated
• Sugar Cane Festival was held
• Delegations in solidarity arrive from United States and Europe
• New phone lines installed in hacienda
• Phone/fax installed in the office of Alfalit Colima
• Five guitars and small marimba purchased with donations for the children’s group
• folklore dance, music classes initiated, 30 children involved
• Workshops on stove and chimney improvements underway in community, to remove smoke from kitchens
• Thirteen very poor families paint and re-roof homes, plan to build latrines
• Tool storage rooms set up in hacienda
• Colima commemorates 1980 massacre at hacienda publicly for the first time
• Ecotourism route inaugurated in Colima by government Secretary of Environment
• National exposure to Colima as a "Gateway to Nature"
• New electrical system installed in principal areas of hacienda
• 220-volt lines extended to pool pump for more efficiency
• Low-interest agricultural loans made available for cooperative
• Youth arts and crafts program becomes very successful
• Arts and crafts outlet stores in capital request orders from kids
• Musical group gets national recognition at Romero anniversary
• Environmental awareness training underway in local schools
• Financial support received from churches, individuals
• Important tree in community saved from chain saw just in time
• Positive relationship established with Catholic Church in area
• Several inter-denominational services held in hacienda

Promoted by Colima Agricultural Cooperative

• Hacienda Restoration Committee meeting regularly with Alfalit
• Colima’s roads and streets improved in exchange for gravel
• Childcare center constructed
• New, more effective cooperative president elected
• Ineffective cooperative members purged
• New community water system under construction, including service to clinic

Promoted by community

• Regular doctors’ visits at health clinic established
• New Roman Catholic church building constructed and inaugurated
• Historic artifacts brought to hacienda for future museum
• Streets are cleaner, repairs underway
• School repair work initiated
• Clinic remodeled
• Direct private phone lines installed to homes and offices in Colima

Julie and Bob Dunsmore

The 2000 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 235