Greetings to everyone!

New photos of our youth council camping trip are posted on the photo site at right. Below, news about the past three weeks in Chimbote...

NEW MISSIONARIES
Last entry I introduced briefly my new companions in mission here: Julie, Jane and Courtney. Now, a little more detail as to where they come from and what their ministries are evolving to be here
- Jane Silcock is 22 years old and just graduated from The University of Missouri, her home state, with majors in communications and journalism. She worked there for a TV/radio station as a reporter. Here in Chimbote, she is continuing in her field by working part-time at Cecopros, a non-profit which puts out the diocesan newspaper, does TV journalism, and produces faith/justice-based videos about local issues, people and organizations. She does camera work, takes photos, edits, will write articles, and does upkeep on their website (www.cecopros.org). Jane has also joined the youth folkloric dance group at the parish and has performed in a few presenations already, the first IWM to do so, I believe. Jane`s other ministry is helping at the Center for Social Justice, where she will accompany the team on visits to the local jail along with other projects. Jane also keeps a blog, which is linked at right, will be living in Chimbote for two years.
- Julie Ramaley, 21, hails from Connecticut and just graduated in pre-med from Villanova University in Philadelphia. She intends to apply for medical school after her year of IWM service and currently splits her time between the Sisters` clinic next to our parish and a womens` hospital/birthing center called Maternidad de Marìa. Julie is a swimmer and played water polo for Villanova, and misses her pool time here. As a substitute she has begun running with me 3-4 days per week in the mornings before she heads off. Julie has been a vegetarian from an early age, though does eat fish -- so doesn`t miss out on ceviche, the local specialty. Julie is the primary assistant for our mid-level English group.
- Courtney Cranston, 21, grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, but also loves Chicago, where she graduated this year from the nursing program at Loyola University. Like me, Courtney adopted a new name--Corina--upon arrival, `Courtney` proving quite difficult for people here to pronounce. Corina works with Julie at the clinic and maternity center and also plays guitar and loves to sing. Roger has extended an invitation to join his band as a singer, which she is excited about. Corina is the primary assistant for our beginners in the English course.

RODENTS
Beginning a week or two prior to the arrival of Jane, Corina and Julie, we began having a problem with mice helping themselves to any food products not in the fridge or in plastic containers. Since then, we`ve taken both defensive (everything in plastic -- old peanut butter jars come in really handy) and offensive (mouse poison pellets) measures. For the poison, three nights in a row we left considerable quantities of pellets in the rodent-traffic areas -- all were gone in the mornings. Jane has had the most intimate contact, consistent mouse droppings in a corner of her room, plus incidences of such remains left under her pillow during our absence camping and in her sheets after a night when she slept in her bed. Needless to say, she was a little grossed out. All in all, the verdict is iffy -- either we were hosting a very large quantity of mice or the poison doesn`t work. Currently, we are coexisting.

CAMPING
As I mentioned above, I`ve posted some photos of our September 20-21 camping trip with JUMIFRA, our youth leadership council. As a reward for a series of events planned and carried out in the parish, Fr. Carlos suggested a recreation outing, and the group chose camping -- which many had never done here. Camping is not at all common here, except for maybe occasional sleeping on the beach. (I judge camping`s rarity a result of economics and the fact that the living situation of many here -- part inside, part outside -- itself resembles the US version of camping. It`s not a stretch at all to say that many families here live with less amenities (although a bit more space) than the standard RV provides, but that is another topic.) We had a great time camping at the farm of Father Carlos` uncle just outside the small town of Moro, 2 hours southeast of Chimbote in a fertile river valley. We had 2 1/2 actual tents plus one which we fabricated from sheets of plastic and wood poles -- it fell down in the morning when the guys got up, but served its purpose. In all, 15 of us, including Jane and Corina, made up the group which enjoyed the group games, hanging out by a small river, campfire songs, and hike to a nearby pre-Inca cemetery, now a small hill. For food we cooked in a pot over the fire quaker (the oatmeal/milk drink) and then chicken & rice for lunch. We returned Sunday afternoon content, tired, and filthy.

YOUTH DAY
Two weeks ago we celebrated the national youth day (23rd) by going with friends Yuri, Alex, and Colver to Nuevo Chimbote for a concert by Grupo 5, the band of the moment here in Peru. The huge plaza was quite full, the only problem was that Grupo 5 experienced some delay in coming on stage and the opening act played until 12:30, Grupo 5 not coming out until 1:00 am. We passed the time talking, people watching, and having anticuchos (skewered/grilled beef heart) but were too tired to stay much past 1:30 am.

FUNERAL
This past week, Alex`s mom died after a three-month battle with stomach cancer. I hadn`t seen Alex much lately, as he was occupied in caring for his mom and helping to run a restaurant his family had opened in his house in order to raise money for her care and treatment. A delay in diagnosis proved too much to overcome, however, and his mom died a week after returning to Chimbote after a stay in Lima in search of better treatment. We four joined a number of his friends from the choir and parish in accompanying Alex in the funeral process. Traditions vary much here from those in the US. When a person dies, that same day tents are erected in the street out front of the house for friends and family to gather, and a room within the house is transformed into the wake area, where the deceased rests in a casket next to lights, pillars, flowers, etc provided by the funeral company. For a couple days, family and friends come and go, offering their presence and support -- our choir participated by singing some songs on the first night to accompany a short prayer service performed by Father Carlos. After singing, we stayed until past midnight, sitting on chairs out in the street -- many stay all night. The whole experience seems exhausting for the family, since beside their grief they are expected to serve food and drink to the visitors periodically throughout the 2-3 days. Anyway, on the second day after his mom died we attended the funeral -- a procession with a small brass band the half-mile to the parish for mass, then additional procession out of the church for a few blocks after which we caught a cab to the parish (the two buses provided by the family were stuffed full). Burials are generally not underground here, but to save space they instead build structures five-levels high that the casket is slid into after family members have a chance to say final words of rememberance. The band plays and the family comforts each other while a cementery employee mixes a small batch of cement to seal up the tomb right then and there. Finally, we took a cab back to Alex`s house where the family served another meal and a small group of us sat and talked with Alex for a while. Alex is 27 and his mom in her late forties, and he is doing OK but definitely seeking to be with friends instead of alone. We have hung out a few times since then, including a gathering of about 15 of us from the parish downtown where we played group games in the two main plazas, walked along the ocean, and had pizza. I also joined Yuri and Alex for a visit with his family on this past Saturday -- they were making a huge pot of a dessert called Chiclayo in camp-style fire in the street in front of the house. It was my first time to try the dish, which consists of cooked fresh pumpking, sugar, water, and milk, and is eaten in a bowl like soup. Not bad -- different, but not bad.

GUITAR AND MUSIC
I have begun to meet regularly with Roger, a friend of mine and Nicole`s boyfriend, for him to give me lessons on playing guitar. He is a quite impressive guitarist, and I am learning a lot -- practice and theory. On the musical theme, I continue to practice on the quena (a flute) in free moments and am making gradual progress. For this weekend`s feast of St. Francis, patron of the parish here, our English class has been invited to sing a couple songs as a contribution to the entertainment during the lunch (following the mass during which a young man from the parish will be ordained a priest). We will sing Here I am, Lord and Amazing Grace -- Roger accompanying us on guitar and me maybe playing the zampoña for the first time in public. We had rehearsal last night with the group, and...we need some more work. But, I have faith it will turn out OK.

ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY
This past Thursday, September 25, I celebrated the one-year anniversary of my arrival here in Chimbote. I actually didn`t do too much to celebrate, but did some reflecting during down moments on my time here so far. Seems to have gone quickly in some sense, but also I feel that it was so long ago that I was in the US. Next entry I will share some more thoughts on this milestone, things I do/don`t will/won`t miss, etc. I`ve been asked how I`ve changed in this year, and I honestly have a hard time coming up with a solid answer to that question. Maybe I will only know for sure when I return...

Have a blessed week.