A LETTER TO GOD
- G.L. Fuentes
Introduction
to "A Letter to God"
The story A Letter to God by G.L. Fuentes highlights a strong belief in faith and trust. It takes place in a Latin American country and follows Lencho, a poor farmer who depends on his crops for survival. When a terrible hailstorm destroys his entire harvest, he writes a letter to God, asking for financial help. The postmaster and his colleagues, touched by Lencho's faith, secretly collect and send him money in God's name. However, when Lencho receives only part of the amount he asked for, he becomes upset and doubts the honesty of the people who actually helped him.
This story teaches three important lessons:
- Faith
in God – Lencho’s unshakable trust
in God shows his deep faith, even in difficult times.
- Innocence
and Simplicity –
Lencho’s character reflects a pure heart and simple thinking.
- Unrecognized
Kindness – Sometimes, acts of charity
go unnoticed or are misunderstood. The post office employees, who helped
Lencho selflessly, were wrongly accused of being dishonest.
Summary
of "A Letter to God"
Lencho, a hardworking farmer, eagerly waits for rain
to water his cornfield. When the rain finally arrives, he feels hopeful about a
good harvest. However, his happiness turns to despair when the rain turns into
a destructive hailstorm, ruining all his crops. With no way to feed his family,
Lencho remains hopeful and decides to write a letter to God, asking for 100
pesos to survive.
When the postmaster finds Lencho’s letter, he is first
amused but then moved by his deep faith. Wanting to help, he gathers donations
from his colleagues and contributes from his own salary. They manage to collect
only 70 pesos, which they send to Lencho, pretending it is from God.
When Lencho receives the money, he is not surprised
but disappointed. He believes that God sent the full amount, but the post
office employees must have stolen the rest. Without realizing who truly helped
him, he writes another letter to God, asking for the remaining money but
requesting that it not be sent through the "dishonest" post office
workers.
Chapter at a glance
- Ø Lencho, a poor farmer, writes a letter to God asking for 100 pesos after his crops are destroyed by a hailstorm, seeking divine assistance.
- Ø A postman, amused by the letter, shows it to the postmaster, who is deeply moved by Lencho’s strong faith. Wanting to help, the postmaster gathers 70 pesos from his colleagues and donates it to Lencho.
- Ø When Lencho receives the money, he firmly believes it has come from God. However, upon realizing it is only 70 pesos instead of 100, he becomes upset and suspects the post office employees of stealing the remaining amount.
- Ø The story highlights themes of faith, trust, and irony, showcasing Lencho’s unwavering belief in God and his misinterpretation of human kindness.
TEXTUAL QUESTIONS:
1. What did Lencho hope for?
Answer: Lencho hoped for rain, as his fields of ripe corn needed a shower to ensure a good harvest.
2. Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like ‘new coins’?
Answer: Lencho’s crops were ready for harvest, and the rain would have helped increase his yield, leading to greater prosperity. Because of this, he compared the raindrops to new coins, symbolizing wealth and fortune.
3. How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho’s fields?
Answer: Initially, the rain fell steadily, but soon, strong winds began to blow, and large hailstones accompanied the rain. The hailstorm completely destroyed Lencho’s crops, leaving his fields devastated.
4. What were Lencho’s feelings when the hail stopped?
Answer: After the hailstorm ended, Lencho was heartbroken. He saw a bleak future for himself and his family, as the destruction of his crops meant they would face hunger in the coming year.
5. Who or what did Lencho have faith in? What did he do?
Answer: Lencho had absolute faith in God. He believed that God could see everything, even the deepest thoughts of a person. Trusting in divine help, he wrote a letter to God, asking for a hundred pesos to replant his fields and sustain his family.
6. Who read the letter?
Answer: The postmaster read Lencho’s letter.
7. What did the postmaster do then?
Answer: Initially, the postmaster laughed upon reading Lencho’s letter, but he soon became serious. He was deeply moved by Lencho’s unwavering faith in God and did not want to shatter it. To help Lencho, he decided to collect money and send it to him.
8. Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it?
Answer: No, Lencho was not surprised at all. His strong faith in God made him believe that he would receive a response, so he fully expected the letter with the money.
9. What made him angry?
Answer: Lencho became angry when he counted the money and found only seventy pesos instead of the hundred he had requested. He was certain that God could neither make a mistake nor deny him what he needed. As a result, he concluded that the post office employees must have taken the remaining thirty pesos.
10. Who does Lencho have complete faith in? Which sentences in the story
show this?
Answer: Lencho had unwavering faith in God. The following sentences from the story reflect his belief:
ü "But in the hearts of all who lived in that solitary house in the middle of the valley, there was a single hope: help from God."
ü "All through the night, Lencho thought only of his one hope: the help of God, whose eyes, as he had been instructed, see everything, even what is deep in one’s conscience."
ü "God," he wrote, "if you don’t help me, my family and I will go hungry this year."
ü "He wrote ‘To God’ on the envelope, put the letter inside and, still troubled, went to town."
ü "God could not have made a mistake, nor could he have denied Lencho what he had requested."
ü "It said: ‘God, of the money that I asked for, only seventy pesos reached me. Send me the rest, since I need it very much.’"
11. Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the
letter ‘God’?
Answer: The postmaster was deeply touched by Lencho’s strong faith in God. Wanting to preserve this faith, he decided to send money to Lencho as an act of kindness. He signed the letter as ‘God’ to make Lencho believe that his prayers had been answered directly.
12. Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him? Why/Why
not?
Answer: No, Lencho did not make any effort to discover who had sent the money. His faith in God was so absolute that he never suspected anyone else could have sent it. He firmly believed that God had provided for him.
13. Who does Lencho think has taken the rest of the money? What is the
irony in the situation?
Answer: Lencho believes that the post office employees have taken the missing thirty pesos from the amount he requested. The irony in the situation is that these very employees, out of kindness and generosity, collected and sent the money to help him. However, instead of appreciating their efforts, Lencho wrongly accuses them of theft and even calls them “crooks.” This unexpected twist makes the situation ironic.
ADDITIONAL
QUESTIONS :
Q1: Why do you disagree with Lencho
calling them "a bunch of crooks"?
Ans: Lencho was wrong to call them crooks. The postmaster and his staff were kind and generous. The postmaster even donated part of his salary and asked his colleagues to contribute money to help Lencho.
Q2: Why did Lencho’s happy mood
change to worry?
Ans: Lencho was happy when it started raining because it would help his crops grow, bringing him money. However, soon a strong wind blew, and hailstones started falling. The hailstorm destroyed his crops, making him worried about his loss.
Q3: Did the letter reach God? Why
did the postmaster reply to Lencho?
Ans: The letter did not reach God, as that is impossible. The postmaster received it. He wanted to keep Lencho’s faith in God alive, so he collected money and sent it to him as a reply from "God."
Q4: How did the postmaster feel
while opening Lencho's second letter?
Ans: The postmaster felt curious and satisfied when opening Lencho’s second letter, expecting a thank-you note. But he was shocked to see that Lencho was angry and accused the post office workers of stealing part of the money.
Q5: What is the irony in the story
"A Letter to God"?
Ans: The irony is that Lencho had complete faith that God had sent him money, but in reality, it was the kind post office staff. Instead of being grateful, Lencho thought the workers had stolen part of the money, showing his innocence and misunderstanding.
Q6: How can positivity help in
difficult situations?
Ans: A positive attitude can bring hope even in hard times. Despite losing everything, Lencho did not give up. He had faith in God and courageously wrote a letter asking for help, believing he would receive support.
Q7: Why did the postmaster send
money to Lencho and sign the letter as "God"?
Ans: The postmaster did not want Lencho to lose faith in God. So, he and his staff collected money to help him. He signed the letter as "God" to make Lencho believe it was truly from God.
Q8: Did Lencho try to find out who
sent the money? Why or why not?
Ans: No, Lencho never tried to find out who sent the money. He was certain that God had received his letter and answered him. His strong faith made him believe that God had personally sent the money.
Q9: "I wish I had the faith of
the man who wrote this letter." What does this statement tell us about
Lencho?
Ans: The postmaster said this because he was amazed by Lencho’s strong belief in God. Lencho was a simple farmer with complete faith in God. When his crops were destroyed, he turned to God for help, believing without a doubt that God would provide for him.
12. How did Lencho feel when he received the money?
Ans: Lencho was not surprised when he received the money because he had full faith that God would help him. However, when he counted it, he found only 70 pesos instead of 100. He became angry and thought that the post office employees had stolen the rest.
13. Why was the postmaster surprised to see Lencho’s
letter?
Ans: The postmaster was surprised because he had never seen anyone write a letter to God before. He was amazed by Lencho’s strong faith in God. Instead of laughing at him, he decided to help by collecting money for him.
14. What lesson do we learn from ‘A Letter to God’?
Ans: The story teaches us the power of faith and kindness. Lencho’s unshakable trust in God helped him stay hopeful in tough times. The postmaster’s generosity shows that good people exist who help others selflessly. However, Lencho’s misunderstanding also teaches us to be practical in life.
15. How is the story ‘A Letter to God’ an example of
irony?
Ans: The story is ironic because Lencho, who had strong faith in God, could not recognize the real help he received. He thought God sent him money, but it was actually the kind-hearted postmaster and his employees. Instead of being grateful, he suspected them of stealing his money.
16. Why did the postmaster feel happy while opening
Lencho’s second letter?
Ans: The postmaster expected a letter of thanks from Lencho and felt happy while opening it. He thought Lencho would appreciate the help. But he was shocked to read that Lencho was complaining and calling the post office employees ‘a bunch of crooks’ for taking his money.
17. Why did Lencho not try to find out who sent the
money?
Ans: Lencho did not try to find out because he had complete faith that the money came from God. He was so sure that God had sent it that he didn’t even think about any other possibility.
18. What do you think about Lencho’s faith?
Ans: Lencho’s faith
was strong and inspiring, but he was also very innocent. His trust in God gave
him hope, but he failed to see that real people helped him. This shows that
while faith is good, we should also be practical and grateful.
