15. Summary of the lesson

The story, "A Letter to God", was written by Gregorio Lopez y Fuentes. The story follows a farmer named Lencho who prays for rain to fall on his cornfield that promises a good harvest. He and his family became overjoyed when the rain started to pour. However, the gentle raindrops turn to ferocious hail, destroying his crops. His sons remark that they have no one to help them and would inevitably starve to death. Lencho reassures his family that “no one dies of hunger”, placing his only hope on God.

 

The following morning, Lencho writes a letter to God asking for a hundred pesos to sow his field again and for his family to survive until the crop comes, and he drops it into a mailbox. Understanding the depth of Lencho’s faith in God, the postmaster decides to answer the letter. Despite the postmaster, other workers, and some of his friends donating everything they could, they could come up with only seventy pesos. The postmaster dropped the money in an envelope addressed to Lencho, and with it a letter containing only a single word as a signature: God. When Lencho came to the post office, he wasn’t surprised to see the letter. However, he became angry when he counted the money. The story ends with Lencho writing a letter back to God, demanding that God send him the rest of the pesos, and also asking Him not to send them through the post office because he believed that the employees had stolen the rest of the money.