Transitions...

Greetings from Chimbote, on a gray and cool winter day. To go with the recent photos that you can access with the link at right, here are some highlights and reflections on life here in Peru since my last blog a month ago:

FRENCH CYCLIST VISITS
As a member of the `Warm Showers List` website, I am on a list of people who are willing to host traveling cyclists with a place to stay, food, and a warm shower (we are lacking in the `warm` part at the moment, but we do have showers -- see below). I have been on the list for a few years, but was never contacted while in Oregon. Here in Chimbote, three travelers/couples have written me emails, with one visit coming to fruition. Nicolas Carron, a 30-year-old from France who has spent a year in Tennessee in grad school and is in the first month of a year-long trip around South America (partly by bike), stayed a day and night with us in August. Having trouble with his vision near Huaràz, he took a bus to Chimbote to have his eyes checked (turned out to be nothing wrong) and pick up some bike tools. We had a pleasant visit, and below you can see a photo of him as he rode away (a very light packer, I must say).

ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS EVENT
In the month of August our youth council organized and pulled off two successful events for youth and adults of our community. First, on August 16, we hosted a profesor from the local national university who spoke about the sober reality of how we as a city are massively polluting the bay on which we sit. I joined teams that went to neighborhood schools ahead of time to speak with science teachers, several of whom brought with them 10-25 students, for a crowd of about 100 people including parishioners. I enjoyed the chance to enter inside the various high schools and elementary schools, to see a little of that reality. In truth, I sensed a wide range of upkeep, professionalism, order in the several schools we visited -- though nearly all the teachers we talked with were excited about the invitation and opportunity to bring students. For the event itself, JUMIFRA youth council members cleaned, set-up, welcomed, and made/served chicha morada, a very popular drink here made by boiling purple corn with cinnamon, cloves, and pineapple and then adding sugar. Though it ran a bit long, the presentation was well-done and supported by a number of graphics and photos which we displayed with a digital projector borrowed from one of the parish priests. The assembled public learned of the initial pristine condition of the bay (as late as the mid-50`s) and the causes for its steady degradation: fishing industry, steel mill, sewer, hospital waste. For example, all sewers -- 100% -- dump directly into the bay just off the shore from downtown, industrial construction has changed current patterns and increased coastal erosion, and there is no longer a beach that fronts the `tourist hotel.` We collected names and contact information from attendees, and plan to follow up with the schools themselves and with other parish events and projects. Lots to do...

COMPAÑA COMPARTIR
Next, we turned our attention briefly to the Compaña Compartir (Sharing Campaign) that is an annual initiative of the Peruvian Catholic Church to collect funds for a particular cause, maybe similar to the Catholic Charities collection. The difference is that you see the posters everywhere -- post office, stores, etc. And, though with late notice, our pastor asked the youth council to take charge of visiting the neighborhood schools to take up collections there. So, early in the week I went with Lucciani to leave official notices from the pastor requesting permission to return on Friday, August 22, to present/collect in each classroom. On Friday, teams of two young adults went to five neighborhood schools, I with Nelly to Corpus Cristi, a few doors down from my house -- the theme this year was `Toward a World Free of Drugs.` The striking part about the whole experience was the access on behalf of the church to the school system -- the letter from the pastor was all we needed. Definitely different from the US.

YOUTH MUSIC CONCERT
Following the Compaña Compartir JUMIFRA (Juventud Misionera Franciscana -- Franciscan Missionary Youth) bore down on pulling together a youth music concert for August 30th. A big event that came off quite well, aside from some confusion on who was in charge of preparing the food (a form of hotdogs, even less apetizing in my view but popular here) to sell during the event. Nonetheless, the food we sold covered much of the cost for renting the sound equipment. Although the event started late (surprised?), it featured good quality and variety of music: both youth choirs (including mine), Franciscan postulants, Cumbia singer, Christian music group, Latin American Music, an `all-star` group from both our choirs, and a local high school rock band. Our new missionaries -- Julie, Jane, and Courtney -- even joined me in our choir on their second full day in Chimbote. A lot of work cleaning up and decorating during the day, but worth it in the end. Besides music, we continued with the environmental awareness theme, making posters with anti-pollution and pro-conservation messages as decoration and running a loop of photos of local environmental pollution on a screen above the stage during the show.

NEW INCARNATE WORD MISSIONARIES
I missed some of the run-up preparations for the concert because I made a trip to Lima to meet and welcome our new IWM`s -- Julie, Jane and Courtney (Corina). They arrived at 12:30 am on Tuesday, August 26, and I met them at the airport with Sisters Mirella and Pilar. We took two taxis back to the sisters` house, where we stayed for three nights and two days for a quick orientation to Lima. Activities during our stay included a visit to the National Museum (with a sobering exhibit about the years of terrorist violence in Peru in the 80`s and 90`s), downtown Lima and the Plaza de Armas (see photo below), the Convent of Santo Domingo with the tombs of Saint Martin de Porres and Saint Rose of Lima, the Park of the Waters with its beautiful lit-up fountains, and visits to both additional houses for Incarnate Word sisters in the capital city. On Thursday we were back in Chimbote for a welcome dinner with Emily, Nicole, and the sisters here and then a full weekend at the parish with the concert, a trip to mass at Nuevo Chimbote`s Cathedral, and their first taste of ceviche (no major damage). Since then, Jane, Julie and Courtney have gradually been visiting various sites where they might choose to devote their time in service: a Catholic radio station and video/publishing center, Hospice, the medical clinic, birthing center, women`s education center, prostitute ministry, and of course they`ve taken turns assisting with our growing English class program. Additionally, they helped with and enjoyed the Goodbye/welcome party we held in our back patio (see below). With Emily and Nicole now gone a few days, we are working to settle into our new community and routines, and its been positive so far -- I look forward to a good year ahead. You`ll hear more about each of my new housemates in future posts...

DESPEDIDA
With the welcoming of my new housemates came of course a goodbye to my companions and friends of this past year, Emily and Nicole Tardio. Both helped a ton in showing the new missionaries around, and I feel that Julie, Courtney and Jane are at least more aware and less naive than we were about safety issues and practical tips from the several conversations that the six of us shared. I feel sad to see Emily and Nicole go, after many shared adventures and laughs, but my overall feeling is one of gratitude for walking alongside them for this chapter of our lives. We most likely will find our way to a reunion back in the US at some point, so the goodbye is not forever -- as it likely was with them and their Peruvian friends. They are currently in Huaràz, Peru, and will be in Lima later today. Tomorrow they fly to Iquitos in NW Peru, where they will spend a few days in a jungle lodge on the Amazon. They are both excited and nervous -- Nicole especially about the 5:00 am canoe rides to view wildlife :). On the 19th they will be on a plane back to Cincinatti, their excited family members, and their next adventure. I pray that this experience continues to live on in their hearts, minds, and lives.

To say goodbye to the many groups of friends they`ve gotten to know here, we decided to throw a goodbye party (despedida) at our house. We cleaned, shopped (5 kilos of ground meat and 8 kilos of potatos) cooked (I made cookies, girls made hamburgers and french fries with the help of hospice friends), and cleaned. Colver and Cuder lent their music and stereo system, and we danced until almost 5 am -- OK, I ran out of energy around 2 am and mostly talked after that. For once, we were the noise of the neighborhood, but a lot of fun in all with invitees from our English class, the parish, hospice co-workers, and a few extras. On the night of their final departure, the four of us remaining IWM`s and several guys from the parish -- all went to the bus terminal to see them off, waving goodbye as a few drops of rare rain came down.

CUYADA (GUINEA PIG LUNCH FUNDRAISER)
On September 7 the parish held an annual fundraiser, this year a cuy (guinea pig) lunch). We missionaries and youth helped set up, manage food lines (Peruvians don`t wait in line well, not seeing the point) and also to peel potatoes amidst de-haired, gutted, cuyes hanging inside-out on a clothes line over our heads (see photos). Julie is a vegetarian (although she eats fish) so didn`t sample the finished product, but Jane and Courtney liked it OK. I don`t see cuy as the delicacy that it is viewed as by most Peruvians, but will eat it when served. (see photos below)




MISCELANEOUS...
With time for this session running short, a quick summary of the rest: I planned and led my first Confirmation session in Spanish on Tuesday, English class is steadily growing, we had fun watching Peru tie Argentina in soccer at Alex`s house with he and Yuri a couple days ago, I am initiating a long-term youth visiting program with members of JUMIFRA to various neighborhoods, and our electric showerheads have once again stopped working, leaving us with cold showers once again, but this time during the winter -- every day another chance to live simply :).

Until next time, God bless!