In the latter part of the 20th century, a Catholic Saint from Albania named Mother Teresa began a religious order called the “Missionaries of Charity.” Her organization opened houses all over the world which served “the poorest of the poor.” Those who worked alongside her deeply valued the experience of “selfless service.” One of the houses started by Mother Teresa was in Los Angeles. The purpose of this ministry in Los Angeles was to provide a home for children who were fleeing Central America in order to escape the poverty and violence that surrounded their lives.

One of these children was Leonardo Aguilar. He came to the United States when he was 14 years old. He was born in a village called Santiago Chimaltenango. This village was engulfed in the Guatemalan Civil War beginning the early 1980s. The violence and poverty in the village during this time made it very difficult to live there. Eventually, the conditions in his beloved village became intolerable...he thus decided to make the trek to the United States.

This was no easy undertaking for a young man who had no economic resources. He had to work his way through Mexico by picking coffee and doing other odd jobs in order to stay alive with food and shelter and continue his journey by foot or by bus. After six months, he made his way to Union Station in Los Angeles. Beating the odds of traveling from Guatemala to the United States was a serious feat for a young person, but little did he know, this was just the beginning of the challenges that he would face.

He was in the United States alone and unable to speak English. In fact, he had just begun to learn Spanish as his primary language was the indigenous language of 'Mam'. Thus, when he arrived in Los Angeles, he felt lost and afraid. Luckily, on the day of his arrival at Union Station, a Missionary of Charity saw Leonardo and could see that he was in need of help. Brother Issac asked Leonardo if he would like to come to live in a house nearby that was set up specifically for kids that were in his predicament. Leonardo jumped at this opportunity and was filled with hope that he could create the kind of life that he was yearning for.

Over the next four years, Leonardo attended High School in Los Angeles. He studied very hard and became proficient in English and Spanish. He was a top student in his classes. He graduated with honors and desired to pursue a college education. However, upon graduation from High School, his time living with the Missionaries of Charity came to an end as he needed to make space for another person like him who needed help.

Aware of the Bread of Life Mission's affiliation with the Missionaries of Charity and having known Scott Otterness (founder of BOLM) over the years, Leonardo inquired about the possibility of receiving BOLM's support as he went through college. BOLM decided to support Leonardo through college as he helped out at the Mission house in return. He, himself, became a co-worker of Mother Teresa as he worked alongside others to care for the mentally ill and handicapped people who lived at the Bread of Life Mission. Therefore, Leonardo immersed himself in his college curriculum while devoting his free time to the service of those in need.

After receiving his Business Degree from California State University, Los Angeles, Leonardo set out to build his own business. He noticed that during the building boom in Los Angeles, there was a need to haul off debris from construction sites. With the help BOLM, Leonardo purchased a dump truck and began building relationships with businesses who needed his services. Leonardo was always honest, reliable, and trustworthy. The kind of person who you like to do business with. Needless to say, Leonardo built a thriving, successful business. Later, he got married to Mireya and had two beautiful children, Christian and Michelle.

Most people in the United States would say that the story should stop here, because from the looks of it, Leonardo was on his way toward attaining the American Dream! However, for Leonardo, there was a deep hole inside his heart, aching no matter how successful his business became. This pain was from the fact that he left his family in Santiago Chimaltenango more than 25 years before, and had not seen them nor heard from them in all that time. He was even wondering if his father who would be in his 80’s by that time was still alive. His new mission was to find a way to return to his village.

Leonardo did return to his village which is located in the “Mayan” region of the world (located in Guatemala and the southern part of Mexico). He was overwhelmed with the warm and loving welcome that he received from the people of his village. Although by this time he was fluent in Spanish and English, he chose to address the people in his village in the native Mam language. This was a sign of deep respect for the identity of an ancient and proud civilization.

While visiting his village, Leonardo’s thoughts quickly turned to the poverty and the lack of opportunities that were afforded to a person growing up there. He noticed young people drinking cheap alcohol and passing out for hours in the street. He knew that even though his ancient village was beautiful and filled with warm, loving people, the paucity of economic resources made it difficult to create a positive life.

There were several problems that Leonardo wanted to have addressed in order to improve the lives of the people in his village: A community center was needed for kids in order to provide recreation and learning opportunities. Economic and social resources were needed for the sick and the elderly. A reliable water supply was needed for most people. At this point, he was wondering how his personal resources could possibly make a difference to assist with these much needed services for his village. Knowing that a partner would be helpful, Leonardo decided to get BOLM involved.

BOLM’s founder, Scott, volunteered to take the plunge into the life at Santiago Chimaltenango and see firsthand what the village was like, to help assess the needs, and determine whether or not it was feasible for BOLM to assist with any potential projects.

Upon arriving to Santiago Chimaltenango, BOLM received a warm welcome. Leonardo’s family realized the close bond between their son and the organization in the United States that was able to give him assistance during the challenging times in his life in the United States.

So during the next several weeks Scott interacted with new friends in Santiago Chimaltenango and learned more about the people in the village.