La Semana Santa en Chimbote

Greetings! It´s been a while since my last post, so I`ll start with Holy Week. Overall, the lead up was very busy, including rehearsals each night until 10:00 pm for our Via Crucis (way of the cross) with the youth and young adults, English classes, and preparing for the visit of my mom and Janie. Also, the choir had a lot of singing obligations at the parish, which was both fun and tiring. On Palm Sunday morning a few of us were in charge of leading the singing for the procession from a neighborhood basketball court to the church. People brought their own palms (or other sort of branches), and we even had a donkey lead the procession -- although no one rode her in. Though it meant rising early, it was a cool experience. In the evening our choir had singing responsibilities at the mass itself, and I enjoyed the mix of `kingly` songs, including `Cristo Rey` and `Tù Reinaràs`. Monday I did laundry, cleaned the house a bit (including sweeping the very dusty extra room that Mom and Janie, my aunt, were to be using -- we hadn`t swept since Christmas and the layer was quite thick). In addition, I made copies for both the Monday and Wednesday English classes, since I was to return barely in time for the Wednesday class. Making copies is sometimes an adventure, since the close/inexpensive place is periodically closed due to copier problems, which then entails another 10 minute walk to near the main plaza to another copy shop. Right after English class, I joined the Via Crucis rehearsal (I had the part of John the apostle -- no lines, just accompanying Mary the whole time), and then headed to catch the night bus to Lima. After a day of resting and a little exploring of Lima (the ritzy area of Miraflores on the coast) with my friend Luzeliana, who I met during our Lima course, Sister Silvia accompanied me to the airport to meet Mom and Janie. I should have called ahead, because we ended up waiting from 10:00 pm until 3:30 am due to tornadoes in Houston area. The late night didn`t help my cold any, but it was definitely good to welcome my first visitors to Peru.

The next day we had panoramic seats on the bus to Chimbote, and soon after arriving at home we were off to my English class in the evening. Thursday, Mom and Janie accompanied me with Justina on our hospice visits, which was a powerful experience for them. They got a lot of practice with their spanish, and Mom`s classes have paid off -- she did well! The rest of Thursday we had lunch downtown with Emily and Nicole, explored a bit of the waterfront, and went to Holy Thursday Mass. Friday my friend Roberto accompanied us on a walk to the sand dunes where I often go running, a nice trip out into the farmland. Later Mom and I took a tour of the local outdoor market --fish section especially crazy with it being Good Friday-- and we all were invited to lunch at the home of a family I have gotten to know. Mom and Janie were a bit scared of catching something from the food, but we all survived well enough -- I was served three types of fish! -- Ceviche, fried bonito, and jugoso. Mom and Janie passed on the ceviche, but enjoyed the rest. Friday evening brought our re-enactment of the stations of the cross through the streets of one of the neighborhoods here, and though I had had doubts about whether it would come off, it was a moving experience for me and for mom and Janie. As John, I followed Jesus with the two Marys. Shouting periodically for mercy or in anguish. The soldiers were whipping Jesus and the two other theives (not really, though), with the screaming crowd behind them (25-30 young people), followed by the couple hundred folks accompanying the procession. Each station was acted out at a pre-designated spot, at which a `host` family had set up an altar with flowers, pictures and candles. Curious folks stopped to watch as we passed by, once we even interrupted a soccer game by acting out one of Jesus` falls right in the middle. The players disperesed and watched respectfully until the prayers were said and we moved on. Dark descended by the time we reached the crucifixion scene, which also was moving and not without some real danger (we had not rehearsed with the crosses ahead of time, and one of them snapped as it was being hoisted into its hole -- an improvement we could make for next year). Finally, helping to carry the `dead` Jesus back the 10 blocks to the church was more tiring than you would think. The young people were excited at how it turned out, as actors would be after a successful play, and it added a new dimension of the passion for me, trying to put myself in the role of one of Jesus`s close friends witnessing his death. The long day ended with an impromptu guitar/vocal concert by Emily and Nicole`s boyfriends, Roger and Elvis, at our house.

Mom and I began Easter Vigil by hiking with a few of my friends up the Cerro de la Paz, where a church overlooks all of Chimbote (through the smoke from the steel factory) and the coastal islands. Through this trip and other experiences, I was happy to have Mom and Janie get to know a lot of my friends here. Also, they are now able to picture my environment (including daily realities such as boiling water, cold showers, and dust) much more clearly. By Saturday both Mom and Janie had caught my cold, unfortunately, so they didn`t make it far into the Easter Vigil Mass. We did enjoy painting eggs with Emily and Nicole on Easter morning, followed by a good lunch and fun conversation with the IW sisters at their convent here: Sisters Juanita, Rosaleen, Katty, Pilar and Mirella.

Though the week was a blessing overall, it ended for me on a sobering note. On my way to choir rehearsal prior to the evening Easter mass, I was robbed by a group of four young guys just outside the church, still quite light at 5:45 pm. They initially tried to take my backpack (containing choir books) but were unable to because it was clasped in front. After a bit of a struggle -- I was able to keep them from getting behind me -- they did get my hat and gave me a good punch to face, leaving me with a swollen face that later turned into a black eye. A bit shaken, I caught a moto taxi home and we later went to the police station with Sister Juanita to make a report. It happened so quickly, though, that I was not able to describe any of the young men well. At any rate, it was good timing to be leaving the next day for Lima and Cuzco (though not so good for the trip photos, but oh-well). Thanks for sticking with this long blog, I´ll continue the report about our trip and add a good numbers of photos soon.

I wish you a blessed Easter Season.