Aventuras Nuevas en Peru

Reflexions on leaving

2009-09-14T18:35:00.000-07:00

A short entry about leaving Chimbote, written from the hostal in LA Paz, Bolivia, the first stop on my month long travels. So far here I have visited the ruins of Tiwanaku, pre inca civilization (interesting but far from impressive in terms of remaining structures) and gone on a downhill mountain bike from 4800 m to 1200 m on the world`s most dangerous road ( for cars -- now open only to bikes), a blast and beautiful.

Apart from goodbyes to family, leaving Chimbote was the most painful parting from a place that I can remember. As the bus pulled away and the 12 or so folks that had gathered on a Thursday morning to see me off waved their farewells, I snapped a couple fotos and then cried. Packing the day before, I had to catch my breath thinking that the missionary life in which I was so happy was coming to an end. In truth, I found amidst the dust, heat, and pollution a peace and contentment that has escaped me in several other places I have lived. As the reality of my departure set in, I didn`t want to leave. It`s true that my heart longs for the reunion with my family and to see old friends back in the US, but it`s hard to imagine what my life will be like back there. This trip is a good chance for reflection.

I arrived in Lima on Thursday the 10th, my Chimbote departure being postponed a day by the removal of the toenail from my big toe -- it had ingrown and become infected. Not the most convenient thing to have to change dressings on the road, but so far so good, no infections. On the 10th my friends Sisters Pilar and Mirella invited me to join them and friends at a folkloric dance/music night, which was fun -- we left `early` at 12:30 am because we were all tired. The next day I made the trip to Susan`s house in south Lima to visit and have lunch with her family -- she also moved out of Chimbote this week to return to live with her folks. As is common in Lima, we had trouble connecting at a meeting point (I got off a the right supermarket chain, but in the wrong town, about 25 minutes too soon). She came to pick me up and eventually we ended up at her house, an enjoyable visit. I am happy to see her again when I come back to Lima on October 10.

I hope to return to Peru, at least to visit, in the near future. Leaving was harder than I expected even just 6 months ago. I am grateful for my time in Chimbote, and I pray for the people, friends, community that I left behind. I hope we can stay connected.

Tomorrow, Tuesday 15 Sept, I explore La Paz markets and museums before traveling to Potosì tomorrow night to spend a couple days. So far, Bolivia has been an enjoyable and intriguing country to visit.

Hasta Luego!

Goodbye, Chimbote

2009-09-09T09:53:00.000-07:00

A short entry using the few minutes I have left in the internet cafe on the day before my departure from Chimbote.

The past week and a half have been busy, emotional, fun, sad. Events have included the following:
- 8/28 Arrival of new missionaries, Jennifer and Marcella, I moved out of my room and sleeping on a mattress in the hallway
- 8/29 Goodbye event at the parish with all the parish groups, sponsored by JUMIFRA and including musical numbers, games,sharing stories, theatre group
- Two goodbye events by the English groups, on the last day of classes and during our final conversation practice night at our house, to which a youth folkloric music group (directed by one of our students) showed up as a surprise and gave a short concert.
- Coordinating the continuation of English classes -- Paul and Roberto, two current advanced students of ours who have been in our classes since the beginning, will be handling coordination, copies, and teaching some of the basic material. The five missionaries will continue teaching classes and hosting conversation night.
- Passing on the youth center project to Jennifer, who is the new IWM at the parish, and a solid committee who I trust will carry the project forward
- goodbye gatherings with the choir, theatre group, confirmation, a party at our house, final mass singing with the choir and a little speech at mass.

my time`s up, more reflections later...

Entering the home stretch

2009-08-05T12:14:00.000-07:00

Before you get to the more reflective part of this multi-day blog, a quick listing of happenings here in July:

1. `Kina,` a Peruvian woman from Lima, defended her women`s world boxing crown against a Brazilian, much to the delight of people and the national press. The guys all stayed home from choir rehearsal to watch the fight.
2. The Peruvian women`s volleyball team keeps winning, qualifying for the world cup next year, while the men`s soccer team remains much more popular, better funding, and has yet to win a single qualifying match.
3. We attended with youth a fun and inspirational Catholic music concert here in Chimbote by a group called the Alfareros, from the Dominican Republic.
4. JUMIFRA put on a 150-plate barbecue fundraiser at our house on July 25, to raise money for a group trip to Cajamarca the weekend of August 22-23. Chaotic, fun, successful – and delicious with a half-found slab of beef, corn on the cob, potatoes, sweet potato, and salad.
5. We are tackling various home-improvement projects in light of the imminent arrival of our two new missionaries, Jenn and Marcelle. Jenn will be working in the parish and I am making efforts to document what we`ve done, current projects, etc, to help a little with the transition on both ends.
6. Youth Center project is slowly moving forward, looks like we`ll start the remodelling phase the middle of August. There is a lot of excitement about this project to create specific space for youth activities.
7. With the theatre group, we rehearsed and performed (at a Bingo fundraiser for the sisters` clinic here) three short, comedic scenes about health care at different stages of life. I played a foreign doctor on his first day here in Chimbote.

ONE MONTH MORE…
I have reached the point of having just one month left here in Chimbote, and I alternately feel two very distinct sets of feelings: excitement for going back home (especially for seeing family), and sadness at leaving. I have been reflecting on the state of youth ministry at the parish, nearly two years after my arrival in September 2007, and I see some concrete steps forward (forming the active youth council JUMIFRA, a solid English education program, more youth-planned events in the parish, a new and active theater group, a youth center initiative with much potencial), I also see some setbacks: both youth choirs and the Confirmation group are down in numbers, I don`t see the new young faces we had hopes of inviting into parish life, efforts at outreach into the community in general stalled. Chimbote continues with the same struggles of crime, poverty, and pollution as before. There is so much to do. A recent volunteer support publication I was reading asked the question: how have you changed since beginning your volunteer work? I have become less idealistic, I believe – or better put, more realistic. I haven`t lost my hope or my conviction that change is possible, but have indeed realized that noticeable change takes a lot of work, a lot of hands, and a lot of time. Coming down with visions of helping create links between US and local parishes, we have yet to achieve any significant link between even one parish here and one parish there. It seems that some ideas for projects I had in my mind more realistically would require five or ten years, not two. Nevertheless, I trust that the seeds I have helped to plant, the five loaves of bread and two fish that I have offered, God can indeed take and use to do great work through the hands of others, such as my fellow and incoming Incarnate Word Missionaries. I am thankful for being here, for knowing and working alongside hopeful, dedicated people here at St. Francis Parish, who will continue their lives, work and ministry after I depart. I will miss them. Thoughts to stay longer have periodically entered my mind during my stay here, but the pull on my heart for home and family has proved stronger, and I will indeed soon leave. Will I feel the same after a few months back in the US, I wonder?

The above stream of thought reflection started with a more practical list-making exercise to help process my upcoming transition out of Chimbote and back to life in the US – what will I miss and not miss about my life here, and what am I looking forward to and worried about concerning my re-entry. Enjoy!

What I will miss about my life in Chimbote
1. People
2. Speaking Spanish
3. Running down Avenida Perù in the mornings through the fields to the big sand dune
4. Wednesday and Friday afternoon guitar classes with Courtney and Roger
5. Early Sunday morning walks downtown to the waterfront
6. Hanging out at the rotunda by the parish for a few minutes with friends before heading home at night.
7. Theater group rehearsal on Sunday mornings (and our performances)
8. Singing with my choir Trovadores at Mass, Friday/Saturday rehearsals
9. Hearing the live folkloric music that our choir plays, including the quena and charango (Peruvian folk music instruments)
10. Dancing
11. Informal gatherings with music and singing in our living room
12. Buying fresh bread in the morning and evenings
13. Not having to drive, but instead walking everywhere
14. Afternoon walks downtown to make copies, navigating the hum of evening life, maybe meeting up with Susan for a few moments in the plaza or at the waterfront
15. Nightly English classes
16. Greeting and buying from known shopkeepers in the Progreso Market
17. Ceviche
18.That people take time to greet and say goodbye to each other individually
19. Here, I`m still a joven (young man)
20. English class conversation practice gatherings at our house Friday evenings
21. That people are so willing and eager to get up and dance at any chance
22. That I feel useful and needed in my work at the parish – with youth/young adults and English students.
23. Giving `missionary` as my profession.
24. Comaraderie of JUMIFRA events
25. Being present as the youth center project moves forward.

What I will not miss about life in Chimbote
1. Having to watch my back every time I go out.
2. The noise (horns, music at 4 a.m., etc)
3. People yelling `gringo` in the street
4. That everything starts late (though I`m adapting a bit )
5. People stay up late into the night.
6. That there are no (or very few) traffic laws that are followed
7. The dust
8. The trash
9. Washing clothes by hand.
10. Having to get up early to run safely.
11. Transportation strikes
12. Having to always boil the water.
13. Putting toilet paper in the trash can
14. The way Peruvians are generally very poor at patiently waiting in line
15. (Most of) the smells

What I am looking forward to about returning to the United States
1. Sharing moments and celebrations with my family
2. Spending time with and helping out my mom and dad with projects at their house
3. Fall (and seasons in general)
4. Natural beauty of the green-hued variety
5. On cold mornings, I will love the hot showers.
6. Peanut butter, ice cream, cold cereal with milk, oatmeal that you don`t drink 
7. Seeing Ryan`s (my brother) and his wife Michelle`s new house (almost two years ago)
8. Visiting old friends
9. Rain and storms
10. Sharing about my Peruvian experience with family, friends, and others (music, stories, photos)
11. Soft couches
12. Future of posibilitéis
13. Riding my bike
14. Seeing my new nephew Timothy.

What concerns me about returning to the US
1. That I will not fit in, out of place, or will have trouble relating within US culture
2. How will it go in my relationship with Susan
3. Missing my life here
4. Losing my Spanish skills
5. Spending money in $ instead of soles.
6. Uncertain future

UNA SEMANA DE MI VIDA…

2009-07-24T10:07:00.000-07:00

About a year ago, I believe, I kept track of my activities for a week and shared in this blog the daily routine of my life here. As I get close to my departure from Chimbote, I thought it would be interesting to repeat the excercise, without reviewing my previous effort, as a comparison and record to look back on. Therefore, for those who might be interested you can continue reading to get an idea of my current weekly schedule and activities, specifically from Sunday, July 5, to Sunday, July 12. I like that in my life here, no week is exactly the same, but the schedule and commentary below gives a basic idea how I pass my time.

SUNDAY, JULY 5TH
7:30 Get up, boil water, buy bread, head weights
8:30 Walk downtown, buy blended papaya/pineapple/apple juice, quick market trip
10:00 Meeting/rehearsal: parish theater group
12:30 Go to lunch at the sisters` house with housemates to celebrate July 4th.
2:00 Talk with family on the phone, friend Roger stops by
3:30 Walk downtown with Courtney and Jane – they go shopping and get coffee, I make some copies of song sheets for choir/confirmation in the evening
5:10 Meet my confirmation group (called Friar Bernard) so they can practice a song and dance for the competition next weekend. At 5:10 one person (out of 17) is there, at 5:30 eight, at 5:50 they start rehearsing with 12. I visit with them and others who gradually begin arriving for the normal 6:00 pm meeting.
6:30 Begin confirmation meeting with a couple games, and then my choir comes to rehearse the songs that we will be singing shortly in mass.
7:20 I go with the choir to the church to set up for singing at the 7:30 mass.
8:45 Mass ends, we start our weekly JUMIFRA (youth council) meeting, focusing on a fundraiser we will be doing in a couple weeks for a planned trip to Cajamarca in August.
10:00 Return home, a snack and then off to bed.

MONDAY, JULY 6TH
6:00 I get up, stretch
6:30 put on water to boil, leave to go for a run into the country a bit
7:05 buy bread, shower, eat breakfast
7:40 out the door – to catch a car to the National University of Santa in Nuevo Chimbote.
8:05 Arrive and lead a conversation class for second year students studying to be English teachers (I started going one Monday a month in June). The last 20 minutes they serve papas a la huancaina (potatoes with cream sauce) to celebrate Teachers` Day – all grade and high schools have the day off.
10:30 take a car back home
11:00 Help Courtney and Jane clean the kitchen, smash and take the pile of plastic down the street to recycle them, repair the faucet in front of the house that broke on Friday evening and since has been temporarily fixed by inserting a large screwdriver, wrapped with a rag, into the pipe end. At 12:00 Julie gets back from work and begins cooking lunch
1:15 Lunch, prepared by Julie (rice, beans, cucumbers and tomatoes).
Wash dishes
½ hour nap
3:15 Prepare plans/lessons for evening English classes
Do some work on drawing up aproxímate plans of the existing parish buildings, using measurements that Padre Carlos and I climbed onto the roof last week to obtain. With approxímate existing plans, we can work out possible floor plans for the planned youth center addition. No AutoCAD, just graph paper and a ruler.
5:30 Walk to an Internet café for an hour to send a mixture of Confirmation, JUMIFRA, and personal emails.
7:15 Pack my bag and head to the parish for English classes. Tonight I teach our intermediate students – our highest level group – theme is adverbial clauses of time.
9:30 return to the house, and walk the couple blocks to Susan`s house with Courtney. The two of them have some coordinating to do for their Confirmation group (called Santa Clara). I tag along to visit, and end up also helping Olga – Susan`s older sister – a little with questions about her English homework. Afterwards we hang out and watch a little TV on their very comfortable couches.
11:00 Return home and head to bed, after a snack of some `quaker` -- oatmeal drink with milk

TUESDAY, JULY 7TH
6:10 I get up, stretch, run, boil water, buy bread, eat breakfast (bread and quaker), shower, journal/reading in Spanish
9:15 Go downtown to buy tickets that we`ll sell for our upcoming JUMIFRA barbecue fundraiser, stop by the supermarket and the Progreso market.
11:00 On the way home, I stop by the sisters` house to use the Internet, among other things to send invitations to various groups of young people to planned weekend activities: concert by Alfareros (Catholic music group) on Friday and the Confirmation morning of games on Sunday.
12:15 Head back to the house to cook (pasta with tomato sauce, meta/non-meat versions)
1:30 Lunch with Courtney (Julie working, Jane out with visiting aunt and uncle)
2:15 Work on plans for evening English classes, drawings for youth center plans
4:00 siesta
4:40 Make copies nearby
5:00 meeting with Father Carlos at the parish about youth center project, trip to Cajamarca, upcoming fundraiser
6:15 hang out at the house with Jane and her aunt and uncle, Roger, Courtney. We sing few songs (her uncle also plays and sings)
7:00 go to parish – coordinate English plans with Roberto and Paul, intermediate students of ours who tonight are covering the Basic Level class, since none of the girls are free. Also, our Confirmation group meets to practice the song/dance for Sunday.
7:30 English class -- with the beginner group tonight I teach colors, clothing, and possessives.
9:15 back at the house, Susan and Roger stop by to visit
11:00 Time for bed

WEDNESDAY, JULY 8
7:00 get up, buy bread, boil water, head weights
7:30 walk downtown, take some photos of different neighborhood sites where our mayor is working (she puts up/paints `thank you` signs to make sure people don`t miss the fact that she is working.)
8:45 breakfast back at the house
9:00 Friend and English student Laura stops by for help with a translation that she is doing for someone else.
10:00 Shower, work on projects at the house: plans for English classes, organize ticket sales for JUMIFRA fundraiser
1:15 Go to lunch at Victor`s with Julie and Courtney when they get back from hospice work (Victor`s is our favorite `menú` (soup or ceviche, main dish, and drink) place, price is 4 soles ($1.40).
2:15 Write in journal, work on writing up reports about a couple of past JUMIFRA projects – starting to think about how to leave a trail about my work here, so Jenn and the group don`t have to start from scratch on activities next time around.
5:15 Guitar class with Roger and Courtney
7:10 Pack bag for English class, head to the parish
7:30 English class – with our Basic I group, I teach imperatives, body and health vocabulary.
9:15 After English, I join the in-progress JUMIFRA meeting. Topics include the upcoming fundraiser as well as a city-wide art/poetry/choir contest that the we will put on in late September to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the approval of the Franciscan order by the pope.
10:15 I arrive at the house – we were to have community night with the four of us, but Julie is sick and Jane is tired, so both are in bed. Corina and I have hot chocolate and we do some guitar practice.
11:30 Go to sleep.

THURSDAY, JULY 9
6:00 I get up, stretch, put water on to boil, go running with Susan (stop at her house to pick her up), buy bread, eat breakfast, head weights, write in journal
9:00 Give myself a haircut, shower
10:00 Computer work in the house (JUMIFRA fundraiser/trip, Vìa Crucis report, blog)
1:30 Lunch made by Courtney (fish/noodle soup)
2:30 Finish off June blog update
3:15 Visit Susan at her house
5:15 prepare English class plans for the night
6:30 Guitar practice
7:15 pack bag and got toe the parish for 7:30 English class – with the Basic II group I teach there is/there are, houses/rooms/furniture
9:30 Back at the house, meet with Yuri, Consuelo, and Courtney to plan for the Sunday morning confirmation morning of games. We usually use this time to plan for the Saturday evening Confirmation session, but instead we coordinate details for the upcoming special event.
10:00 Friends Anthony, Colver and Roger stop by to visit.
11:00 Go to sleep.

FRIDAY, JULY 10
6:10 I get up, stretch, start garbanzo beans cooking, put on water to boil
6:40 Go running – Susan was going to come, but overslept
7:15 head weights, eat breakfast, journal, wash socks and a couple dark shirts
8:40 Susan stops by to visit for a little while on her way to work
9:20 Shower, dress
10:00 Walk downtown: buy a Peru soccer jersey (on the list of things to do before I leave), pay water and electric bills, stop by friend Lenin`s house to talk and drop off his fundraiser tickets to sell, trip to the Progreso Market, quick internet at the sisters` house to send a couple emails and print something out
12:30 Return home to cook (make hummus, tortillas, rice, tomatoes, red pepper, cucumber)
1:45 Lunch
2:15 Clean house (my job this week is to sweep inside)
3:00 Four friends of Jane arrive from the US to the house
4:00 Courtney and I go to the parish to meet young people who are gathering to go to a Catholic music concert. We are the third and fourth people there.
4:45 The 15 people gathered head in three cabs to the concert, which is taking place at the fairgrounds near the bus Terminal and soccer stadium.
5:45 The 5:00 concert begins, with a couple of opening acts
8:00 Headline group, the Alfareros from the Dominican Republic, begin playing. Their mix of salsa, merengue, rock and ballads is catchy and prayerful. I enjoy sharing the experience with Susan.
10:00 Concert ends, we return home. Gathered with Jane and her friends are a few folks from the parish and we talk, play music until nearly 12:00. Then, off to bed.

SATURDAY, JULY 11
6:00 I get up, stretch, put water on to boil
6:40 run, head weights, breakfast, journal
9:00 wash and hang clothes, shower
10:00 Some fun brainstorming/drawing of possible plans for the new youth center
12:00 Cook and eat lunch (beans and rice)
2:00 Go to Susan`s for a visit, help her with some English homework
4:30 back at home, I practice guitar
6:00 Meet with Yuri and other Confirmation leaders at the parish to plan the evening`s session
7:00 Confirmation meeting – theme is the life/person of Jesus, who is Jesus for them. At the end, each of the two Confirmation groups has a short meeting to coordinate for Sunday (pay for our group T-shirts, who is going to bring materials, etc). There is a little tension in that a couple of the kids who have leadership roles within the group feel that others have not contributed their fair share, but all ends well.
9:15 I join the in-progress theater group rehearsal (we are preparing a doctor`s office themed series of comedy skits for a bingo fundraiser that the sisters` clinic will host on Saturday, the 25th of July).
10:15 Choir rehearsal, which I join slightly late (the 9:30 rehearsal itself began late).
11:15 Return home, begin typing up song lyrics for Sunday night`s mass.
12:15 Go to bed.

SUNDAY, JULY 12
6:30 Get up, put on water to boil
6:50 Walk to Progreso market to buy snacks for the Confirmation games event, buy the daily bread for the house on the way home
7:30 With Courtney, prep materials for the day, make a bucket of `chicha` flavored drink with water I`d boiled in shifts the day before and powder packets bought from the store down the street.
8:10 Courtney and I head to the parish
8:30 youth begin showing up, little by little, preparing shirts, cheers, etc. We set up the sound system in the patio, benches, etc.
10:15 Games finally begin, beginning with a `concurso de barras`-- basically a competition of a group cheer and introductions. Sack races, three-legged races, water balloon toss, dance competition and several other contests follow. Despite some minor disputes as to which group won a couple of events, the morning goes well and we all have fun.
1:45 After the groups left around 1:00 and several of us stay to sweep and clean up It`s Jane`s turn to cook today, but she is out showing her visiting friends around Chimbote. Julie had joined us the second half of the morning at the parish, so we three have lunch at Victor`s.
2:30 Return home, finishing typing song lyrics for the choir to use at Mass in the evening.
3:20 Show up late for a 3:00 choir retreat at the parish
6:00 make a printout and copies of songsheets at a nearby Internet café
6:30 Choir rehearsal
7:30 We sing for Mass
8:45 JUMIFRA meeting, a bit longer than normal
10:30 Arrive home, have a snack of quaker with milk, and say goodbye to Jane`s guests
11:30 Happily, it`s time for bed.

Fiesta San Pedrito, etc.

2009-07-10T10:17:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Chimbote! June 21-29, Chimbote was in the midst of a weeklong celebration of its patron saint, the fisherman St. Peter, which falls on June 29. Officially in the church, St. Peter shares a feast day with St. Paul, but the great evangelizer of the gentiles takes a second seat in this port that lives on the fishing industry (the resulting odor is the `smell of money`, as I`ve been reminded many times). All week there were parades of various sorts downtown, at least three separate artisan fairs, concerts and music shows. It culminated Sunday and Monday, June 28-29, when a group of us took in a concert and fireworks downtown, and then waited three hours with a group of youth from the parish to climb aboard a fishing boat in the bay early morning for a maritime procession following the image of St. Peter. Last year it was a unique experience, with maybe 30 large and small boats, loaded with people, following the lead boat to the mouth of the bay, where the bishop prays for blessing on the bay and the people of Chimbote. Already very polluted and receiving more daily from the city sewer system, fish factories and steel plant, the bay needs all the help it can get. A friend was commenting to me recently that even if the pollution entering the bay was halted now, it would take 100 years for the bay to naturally recover from the past 50 years of human abuse. Unlike last year, however, we weren`t ever allowed onto the pier because there were apparently fewer boats this year – so we returned home tired and disappointed (though a plate of ceviche on the way home brightened our mood a little).

Anyway, Monday the 29th is a national holiday to celebrate the feast, and so we canceled English class and I had the first completely free evening since April. Very tired, I took a nap and then Corina and I watched a movie on the laptop of Julie (her sister, Beth, was here for a visit and brought it with her). We watched Juno, which I enjoyed, though I was surprisingly struck by some common US scenes that have been unfamiliar to me these past couple years (especially since I rarely watch movies here): nicely paved residential streets lined with grass and trees, well-equipped and modern high school science classroom, etc. Watching a video felt like something I used to do in a former life.

PROTESTS IN THE PERUVIAN JUNGLE
I´m not sure that it reached international news agencies, but during the first part of June there was substantial unrest in the Amazon region of Peru – demonstrations and protests by the indigenous communities of the area that turned violent with the intervention of the police and military. To be honest, I don´t know the blow-by-blow details, but the result was 50-100 police and civilians killed, and all over Peru – including here in Chimbote – demonstrations were organized in solidarity with those in the jungle and to protest the government´s handling of the situation. The complaint, as I understand it, is two-fold: total non-inclusion of native interests in the formulation and signing of the new trade agreement with the United States, and a new law that makes it legal for the government to seize local land in order to harvest mineral and oil resources. I believe the protests were successful, at least for the time being, to the extent that an agreement was signed with the government and the offending law repealed.

PROGRESO MARKET
Our unique but not-so-modern-or-sanitary mercado Progreso has taken a couple of blows recently, but remains stubbornly resistant to change. First, the city has plans to relocate the vendors (small and larger scale, receiving daily shipments from surrounding rural areas) to a newly `constructed` market site near the stadium and bus terminal. Unfortunately, the site is not finished and lacks basic services, `pure sand` they tell me, and despite a few days in which there were very few vendors in the market area (really a taken-over street) and a lot meandering the streets, the market returned to normal within a week or two. I don`t know if the city has given up or is just waiting/regrouping. It would be back to normal, that is to say, were it not for the replacing of the sanitary sewer system in the area, huge trenches and mounds of dirt forcing stalls to cram the street edge, the shoppers clogging the various catwalks and climbing up and down the smaller mounds. Even this disturbance is subsiding as of early July, the larger trenches mostly filled back in and only a small number of stalls remaining relocated.

JUMIFRA UPDATE
Our youth council continues with 10-15 people at our weekly meetings following the Sunday 7:30 pm mass. Following the Pentecost Vigil at the end of May, we organized a smaller scale celebration of Fathers` Day – the new theater group at the parish (of which I am a member) presented an original short play at the end of the morning mass and then JUMIFRA organized and prepared a free breakfast in the hall afterward. The 16 members of the theatre group – ranging in age from 9 to mid-50`s – had a blast preparing the play and we were all happy with how it turned out (I played an evil spirit). We have our regular meetings/rehearsals on Sunday mornings from 10-12, and it helps me with my Spanish in addition to being fun to hang out with a very positive and enthusiastic group of people. Sister Katty is the director.

We in JUMIFRA (Franciscan Missionary Youth) are also preparing to purchase our own identifying polo shirts, and at the moment we are in midst of plans and fundraising for a weekend trip to Cajamarca – the reputedly-beautiful city in the northern mountains and the site of the infamous capture of the Inca Atahualpa by Francisco Pizarro and his fellow conquistadores. Though each person is contributing a portion of the cost, we are also organizing a 150-plate barbecue fundraiser lunch for July 25th that we hope will cover the remainder of the costs. The trip is planned for August 21-24, Friday night 9 p.m. to Monday morning 6 a.m, including two nights on the bus, one night lodging, and two days exploring Cajamarca and the surrounding area. Each person is given 10 tickets to sell ahead of time for the event, and we`ll cook most of Friday evening and starting early-morning Saturday. Such fundraisers, usually Polladas – featuring a large portion of chicken – are quite common here for organizations but also for families who need a sum of money to meet an unexpected or out of the ordinary expense, such as hospitalization of a family member or house repairs/construction. The trip – besides being a chance for all of us to see Cajamarca, only a couple of the group have been there before – also will be a time to share together as a group before I leave, so say goodbyes and hopefully solidify for the future.

It appears that, unfortunately, my goal of achieving a larger-scale survey of youth in the parish neighborhoods will not be realized – at least not in my tenure. I went out one weekday morning with Roger, but we only had minimal success finding people at home and we kind of got discouraged. The size of the undertaking coupled with with my imminent departure have made me accept that we won`t arrive at the vision I`ve had almost since arriving – a more comprehensive network of visits and personal connections with young people who live in our community. Still, the small-scale experience we achieved was a positive one.

YOUTH CENTER PROJECT
Our project to open a youth center at the parish continues forward but in an alternate form. In order to avoid the substancial cost of sustained house rental, Fathers Raùl and Carlos at the parish suggested that we instead pursue construction of a second floor to existing classroom space, with the addition having its own entrance to the street and being dedicated solely to serving youth of the community. In the meantime, we would do some small-scale remodeling to four existing, non-used rooms on parish grounds in order to begin a few of the proposed programs of the youth center on a smaller scale. Those of you who offered to financially support the original proposal have liked the new idea even more, so I have been involved in climbing onto roof and taking measurements as first steps to developing construction plans. I also have prepared pencil/ruler drawings to scale of the existing rooms that we hope to modify, a phase of the project I hope is underway before I leave in a couple months.

CONFIRMATION
I continue as a co-leader of one of two twenty-member confirmation groups with Consuelo, a recent high school graduate who was confirmed last year and who I also know from her being in our choir. It is going well, again having to lead a group gives me valuable practice in speaking Spanish strongly and loudly – sometimes I feel successful and sometimes not. We meet with the other leaders (Courtney, with friends Yuri and Alex) on Thursdays to plan and our meetings with the kids are Saturday evenings 7-9 pm for lessons and Sunday evenings at 6:00 – we do a couple games, prepare for mass, and choir directors alternate in rehearsing the Mass songs with the kids so that they can participate more. I have taken on the role of typing up and copying songsheets each week, which I then distribute to the choirs and to our confirmation youth. In addition to a booklet guide to Mass prayers that I developed and that we hand out to the group each week, I think the song sheets help them participate more actively in the Mass and to know a bit more what is going on (the general congregation does without any song guide – the songbooks are for sale in the office but few actually buy them). Of course, the choirs hope to gain new members through their colaboration.

This Sunday, 9-1, we confirmation leaders (they call us `animadores` here – animators) have organized a morning of good-natured competition among parish groups – the two confirmation groups, the two youth choirs, last years confirmation group, theatre group, etc. Besides a cheer and choreographed song competition (change lyrics to fit your group), there will be relay races, volleyball, and soccer. Added to a choir retreat 3-6 in the afternoon, and singing with the choir at Mass plus JUMIFRA meeting at night, it will will make for a fun, long day.

MISCELANEOUS
I continue to enjoy and progress slowly but surely on the guitar, learning to pick out some lead melodies and to strum a couple new rhythms – cumbia and marinera. I have made general arrangements for a month of traveling after I depart from Chimbote the second week of September.

I fly to La Paz, Bolivia on September 12 and plan a loop south through the Bolivian highlands, turning east in northern Argentina to visit the famous Iguazù waterfalls and the well-preserved Jesuit missions at San Ignacio Mìni. Then, a swing south to spend a few days in Buenos Aires, visit to Corvallis friends living in Còrdoba, and finally a cross into Chile where I will visit longtime friends of my folks in Temuco before returning to Santiago and an October 10 flight back to Lima. From there, two last days in Perù before a day-long flight to San Francisco and the United States on October 13.

In addition to ongoing English classes each night at the parish, I began in June going one Monday morning each week to teach a conversation class to English-education students and the National University of Santa in Nuevo Chimbote. The hour and a half time together goes quickly, but I enjoy the new setting and they value the chance to interact with a native speaker.

With my departure from Chimbote now less than two months distant, thoughts of how my girlfriend Susan and I will handle the separation are more frequent. I have found that in these last couple months, getting to know her better, I like her more and more – which on one hand is exciting and on the other hand complicates things. I am praying that God will guide us through this time, and am thankful to have met and had the chance to get get to know her in these months.

I wish you all a beautiful day, God bless.

Pentecostès

2009-06-13T15:44:00.000-07:00

Greetings! A few minutes in an internet cafe to write a short entry, so I`m sure some things will get left out, but here goes:

PENTECOST
We celebrated the feast of Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples, by holding an all-night vigil May 30-31, from a 9:00 pm service in the church to a closing mass at 5:15 am (I was impressed that Father Carlos was up for it -- I myself was falling asleep in the pew). The light ceremony during the opening service is shown below (I helped make the styrofoam flames).

Other activities to pass the night included group games in the patio, a music concert with Roger and other guys from the parish, a talk and small group project, and a bonfire in which we alternated singing songs with people sharing prayers/testimonies(see below, and more photos at link at right). We had a great turnout, about 80+ people (even a dozen or so adults from the community) started and we finished with over 60 tired folks at 6:00 am. It was a first of its kind event in the parish, and was organized by JUMIFRA in conjunction with the Carismatic Renewal group at the parish.

WINTER
It`s refreshingly cooler these days, some days sunny and others a bit cloudy. Our electric shower head provided luxurious hot showers for about a week and a half before giving out, so we`ve resigned ourselves to do without. Courtney and Julie opt to heat a bit of water on the stove, and Jane and I just tough it out and try to shower at warmer times of day if possible.

PROGRESO MARKET
Big local news is the impending closure of Progreso Market, the colorful but unsanitary and chaotic open air market where we buy fish, vegetables, and most other food. It apparently is all city land, gradually confiscated by squatters over the years and now the city is opening a new market at another site and for a couple days last week cleared everybody out -- though at least for the moment the stalls have returned as of a couple days ago. The small-time sellers will not be allowed in the new market, so there is a lot of consternation and protest -- and for us it might be a lot more inconvenient to shop soon.

That`s it for now, will fill in more gaps soon. God bless.

Resumen de Mayo

2009-05-27T08:23:00.000-07:00

Arriving back in Chimbote on the 28th of April, I found it good to be home, and the month back has been a busy and exciting one, even as I am in some sense preparing mentally and practically for the moment when I will leave. Some highlights…

MOTHERS DAY
Celebration of Mothers´ Day, which falls on the same date as in the US, is even bigger – or at least a more public – celebration here. Most schools put on shows, in which youth act/dance/sing in honor of their moms. The parish is no exception: JUMIFRA was in the midst of organizing the parish Mothers´ Day celebration when I returned, each parish group being asked to perform one or two artistic numbers on Saturday, May 9. Members of JUMIFRA took charge of organizing the food that would be served, buying and putting up decorations, and hosting in general. Quite a success apart from the fact that we actually had too many numbers and a couple groups didn´t get to perform their second acts. A sampling: a song by one of the youth choirs, a couple songs by a an older gentleman who is a member of the adult choir, a solo by Father Raúl, a couple songs sung by a pair of sisters from last year´s Confirmation, Confirmation group 2008 did a choreographed dance, the new parish theater group (of which I am a part) did a short play, the Franciscan postulants also did a short skit, a boy and girl 8-9 years old danced marinera (a popular dance of northern Peru), two youth from one choir performed a song with guitar, and a rock band of parish young adults played a few songs to close the evening (see cell phone video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyVOOvwPK8E ). Afterward, we gathered with a dozen friends to celebrate Alex´s (friend and JUMIFRA coordinator) birthday on our back patio.

THEATER GROUP
As mentioned above, a new theater/acting group has formed in the parish, the project of Juan and César from JUMIFRA and directed by Sister Katty, a 26-year-old Incarnate Word Sister who has background and interest in acting. All ages are welcome, and we have participants from 10 to 50-something in the group. During our weekly meetings on Sunday mornings from 10:00-12:00 in the morning, we do excercises in corporal expression and vocalization in addition to rehearsal for upcoming presentations, such as the Mothers Day play and a music-based mime that we will present at this Saturday´s all-night Pentecost Vigil in the parish (also a project of JUMIFRA along with the charismatic renewal group of the parish). I have fun with the group members, and it helps me with my Spanish as well.

CONFIRMATION 2009
We´re up and running with the Confirmation program for 2009, this past weekend being our fourth gathering. Leaders (we are called animadores here, literally ´animators´ or ´encouragers´) are myself, Yuri, my housemate Courtney, Alex, and Consuelo – a 17-year-old from last year´s group. Our meetings are Saturday evenings 7-9 pm and we divide the group of 40 into two – Consuelo and I have one, Alex and Courtney the other, and Yuri as the coordinator goes back and forth. On Sundays we gather for a few games and short discussion on Sunday evening before going into Mass together at 7:30 (I go a bit early to sing with the choir). I really enjoy the experience of accompanying the youth, many of whom have little experience of participation in the church. We had hoped to do more of a concerted invitation campaign that included visiting in the various parish neighborhoods, but to reach that level of coordination will have to wait until next year, just too many other time demands. I won´t finish with this group, since the sacrament is given at the end of November, and I feel it will be difficult to part – especially since this year I have more responsibility as a co-leader and not just helping out.

YOUTH CENTER PROJECT
I have mentioned previously in this space our hopes for a form of youth education/gathering center, and I am excited that in these weeks the hope has taken steps toward realization. Across the alley for the parish a large house, in good condition, has come up for rent, and with Alex (JUMIFRA coordinator) I put together a proposal to rent the house for use by the young people of the parish. Next came presentation of the idea to the parish priests and the Incarnate Word Sisters (Sister Juanita has had this idea since my arrival here), visits to see the house and converse with the owners, and an exploratory appeal to friends and family for funding support. As of last night, May 25, we agreed to rent the house and now it remains finalize the form of the contract, gather the money to start, and tackle the process of making a few small repairs/improvements and furnishing the space for use as a social and education center specifically for young people. For those who are interested in more information or possibly in financially supporting the project, I have posted the draft proposal in the entry below and you can contact me at tschmidt19ARRhotmail.com for more details. A joint committee of one parish priest, one of the sisters, on of the Incarnate Word Missionaries, and one representative of JUMIFRA will oversee the youth center project and finances. The generous individual promises of donations thus basically covers the monthly expenses for a year, and we are now seeking both local and outside help to gather furnishings and materials. For long-term funding, several supporters are searching out grants that would be able to keep the project going after the first year. We haven´t made public the project here beyond a small circle, but I am excited to see what might come from this endeavor.

Relatedly, we have recently learned who will be joining our IWM community here when I leave – Marcelle, who currently works as a nurse in the US and will continue in that line of work here, and Jenn, who is a new graduate from St. Louis University with a theology/international studies major with minors in Spanish and Woman´s Studies. Jenn´s primary work will be at the parish, and I am excited that a new Incarnate Word Missionary will be coming to continue the work we have begun in these two years. Helping coordinate youth center programs could be a part of her ministry here, if all goes well.

EVERYDAY LIFE
In addition to the new projects and groups described above, existing activities and programs have continued and/or re-started in May. I continue to sing with my choir, rehearsing on Friday and Saturday nights from 9:30-11:00 pm. We have been purely a men´s choir for about three months now, as the several girls who were participated have stepped back for various reasons. Aside from occasional frustration with fluctuating commitment of the members, I really enjoy the singing and camaraderie of the group. I also continue practicing music on my own, almost-daily personal practice of guitar and quena (flute), and Roger comes Wednesday and Friday afternoons to teach guitar to Courtney and I. I recently have borrowed a charango (miniature guitar-type instrument) and Roger has given me some pointers to get started with. English classes started again the first week in May, and though numbers are down compared to the summer cycle, we have about 25 students attending weekly in four groups, two nights each. I teach with one of the girls Monday to Thursday evenings (we each take one group) and Fridays we open the house 7-9 for conversation practice, to which 10-15 students come to practice their speaking and listening skills. As I have role of planning the classes and coordinating the course, there is some concern among the students about what will happen when I leave – my hope is the new group of missionaries will be able to continue to offer courses so that those who have begun can keep advancing in their studies. As I also mentioned above, I began dating Susan in January, and most days we find some time together, although usually in the afternoons as my nights are booked and women here aren´t don´t enjoy, as do many of our male friends, the freedom of staying out late very often. Two or three times (such as last Friday) we have joined Jane, Courtney, and Julie with other friends to go out dancing (she, as many Peruvians, loves to dance and says I´m getting a little better). I run four mornings a week, walking downtown the other days to save my knees a bit. Also in the mornings, I write in my journal and read a few pages out loud in Spanish to work on vocabulary and pronunciation. I find an hour or two here and there in the mornings to work on ministry projects/communication and to keep in touch with family via the internet, and I shop/cook on Fridays and Saturdays. Most afternoons will find me at the dining table planning for evening English classes, making a copy run downtown, and when I can I lay down for a short siesta.

Thanks for tuning in again, and I wish you a blessed week!

April Update

2009-05-27T08:21:00.000-07:00

Greetings! My last entry came as we were preparing to celebrate Holy Week, so there is much to catch you up on – beginning with the Way of the Cross in the streets and the visit to Peru of my brother and sister. Returning to Chimbote after the visit to Cuzco, I´ve been involved in our JUMIFRA Mothers´ Day Celebration, the beginning of the 2009 Confirmation program, the first steps in an exciting youth center project, the formation of a new parish acting group, a new cycle of parish English classes, and the standard choir and personal music rehearsals – even warmer showers in the house with the coming of a bit cooler climate (finally). So, here goes an attempt at a concise summary (some new photos are posted a the link at right)…

HOLY WEEK
The central event of Holy Week for me was rehearsal for and the acting out– on Good Friday – of the Way of the Cross in the streets of the neighborhoods around the parish. I was chosen to play, somewhat by default due to lack of others willing to take the role. Despite initial fears that I wouldn´t have the power of voice necessary for the role, the procession – punctuated by short, acted scenes at each ¨station´ -- was a success even given a couple last minute no-shows. My friend Roger served as the main soldier, duly castigating and pushing me around, red water-based paint smeared around my face and over the white tunic I was given. I drug the cross behind me until Simon of Cyrene gave me a hand, and I remember vividly lying flat on the dirt street after one of my falls – youth actors and the general public gathered around in the growing dark – listening to Brother Tino give a short reflection. One arm of my newly-built cross busted as it fell to the pavement at the station where I was stripped of my outer garment, and the soldiers switched my cross for one of those of the two thieves, rapidly tying the other one together. I was a bit scared at the precariousness of being on the cross, picturing going over face first – but the soldiers and other actors successfully kept my cross, wedged into a hole in the ground, from tipping over. The point of view – looking over the assembled crowd in the dark, the disdain of the priests, Mary and John at the foot of the cross crying – all part of a very unique and moving experience that I was honored to have. Had to keep from smiling (I was dead, after all) on the 10-block trip back to the church after being taken down from the cross – friends from JUMIFRA carried me, wrapped in a sheet, on their shoulders, complaining about how heavy I was and even tugging a couple times at my chest hairs to see if I would respond. Will definitely remember the whole experience next Good Friday.

SCHMIDTS IN PERU
While I was being whipped and crucified, my brother Ryan – and his wife Michelle – and my sister Suzanne with her boyfriend Cory were arriving in Lima. The next evening, Holy Saturday, I was very excited to meet them at the bus terminal, where we had a short scare when Suzanne couldn´t find the luggage claim tags. We packed in a great amount of visiting and activity during their four-day stay in Chimbote, as I wanted to help them experience some of the sites, sounds, tastes, and friends that are a part of my Chimbote life. Our time together here included: Easter egg dyeing with friends (a foreign curiously-viewed custom here), a Sunday morning walk to the waterfront and shopping/tour of the chaotic Progreso Market, preparing and sharing Easter lunch here at the house with the Incarnate Word Sisters (they loved the Easter egg hunt, a first for the Peruvian sisters), Easter night mass (I sang with the choir, complete with drumset and electric guitars for the occasion), music and song with friends on the patio after Mass, a climb up the nearby Cerro de la Paz with Courtney and my girlfriend Susan (since January) for a great view of the city and the bay, squeezing seven people in a small taxi, eating hot soup and sweating profusely, a fun en-of-term potluck with our English class, a morning walk out in the fields where I usually go running, a tour of the sisters´ hospice facility, ceviche (no one got sick, and they actually liked it), shopping and Chinese food downtown with friends, and of course the daily afternoon nap to make up for the early mornings. Suzanne just barely tolerated the various smells (lucky it wasn´t full fishing season), and Cory was a good sport about getting up early and compiled a great collection of mototaxi photos, Ryan received a number of ´Oh, un otro Raymundo!´ greetings, Michelle would hear ´chinita´ in the street, and everyone made good efforts with their Spanish. They did manage to avoid hand-washing their clothes and made limited use of the cold showers .

Following our stay here, we traveled to Lima by bus and then by plane to Cuzco. Though I had been there with my mom and aunt Janie, and with Michi, the year before, we had a few new experiences. First, staying overnight in the Sacred Valley town of Ollaytantambo – a small town with a difficult name, more-impressive-than-Cuzco Inca stonework and a substantial set of ruins which we explored in the early morning before the tour buses arrived. From Ollantaytambo, we traveled to Pisac, where we navigated negotiations in the large tourist market and make the substantial climb to the hilltop Pisac ruins on a beautiful Sunday morning, getting the lungs accustomed to the altitude for our four-day Inca Trail trek a couple of days later. As before, the walk through the misty Andes on actual Inca paving, great food and beautiful campsites, all topped by arriving at Machu Picchu on the final morning made for a beautiful shared memory. Our area tour was capped by a visit to Chilean missionary friends Claudia and Teresa in Combapata, a very non-tourist mountain small town two hours south of Cuzco complete both tranquility and the hard reality of life for its inhabitants. Unique memories include high-pitched bus singers in Quechua, a nauseating ride for Michelle on the local bus returning from Combapata, some cool folks from our Inca Trail group, climbing Wayna Picchu with Cory and a couple other guys in just 32 minutes, popcorn at campsite happy hour, hit-and-miss hot showers in our hostal, and tasty vegetarian restaurant in Cuzco as a nice change from the ubiquitous French fries and rice. We spent the final evening navigating Miraflores and downtown Lima, completing a decent introduction to the wide variety of geography, cultures, and demographics that make up today´s Peru (and contribute to a general lack of national unity/identity). I was sad to see everyone fly away, but knowing that I will myself be home in a few months made the parting easier. I am grateful that my family, whom I love, were able to taste a bit of my life experience here.

Reference: Youth Center Proposal

2009-05-27T08:18:00.000-07:00

Below is the text of the draft proposal for a new project we are working on with the youth council in the parish (see Resumen de Mayo entry above for more details).

Proposal: Franciscan Youth Center
Chimbote, Peru

I. Mission: To open a welcoming space to complement youth ministry efforts of Parroquia San Francisco en Chimbote, Peru, and allow for increase outreach to young people that live in surrounding neighborhoods.
II. Background
1. The city of Chimbote
Chimbote is a port city of about 400,000 inhabitants in the coastal desert of Peru, about seven hours by bus north of the capital of Lima. The fishing industry flourished here – at the price of substantial environmental pollution and disappearance of tourism – from the late 1950´s through the late 1980´s. The fishing industry remains a central economic activity, though due to overfishing the quantity of related jobs in this sector has shrunk considerably. Even in its 1970´s heyday in which Chimbote produced world-leading volumes of fish products for export, the vast majority of owners and beneficiaries of this wealth were either foreign or Lima-based, and little of the substantial income was invested in Chimbote itself in the form of infrastructure, etc. A general search for good work in recent decades has brought to Chimbote a steady stream of immigrants, largely from the Sierra, the mountainous inland region – a trend which continues to the present day. Especially with the current downturn in employment within the fishing industry and its smoke-belching processing plants, steady jobs are few and far between, poverty is widespread, and many turn to very creative means (legal and otherwise) in order to generate income, create a very large informal economic sector. Socially, the handicaps of corruption, crime, and drug and alcohol abuse stem from and contribute to climate of economic hardship and insecurity faced by many Chimbotanos.

2. St. Francis Parish
St. Francis of Assisi Parish is located in the sector of Chimbote called 21 de Abril, established in the late 1950´s. Administrated since the mid 1990´s by the Conventual Franciscan Congregation of priests and brothers, the parish includes two chapels in the outlying sectors of 2 de Mayo and Santo Domingo in addition to being the primary place of worship for the Catholic majority in the sectors of 21 de Abril A & B, San Isidro, 12 de Octubre, Magdalena Nueva, and San Francisco de Asís. Since total residents in the eight sectors number approximately 30,000, cautious estimate puts the number of young people (15-25 years old) at nearly 10,000 – of which only a small fraction are touched in any significant way by parish programs and services. As of February 2008 current active young leaders, mostly in their late teens and 20´s, came together to form JUMIFRA, Juventúd Misionera Franciscana – Franciscan Missionary Youth. JUMIFRA has served since then with about 15 active members to plan, guide, and motivate ministry to and with their peers within the parish, guided by Father Carlos Gómez, who has the charge of parish youth and children´s programs, and Todd Schmidt, an Incarnate Word Missionary in the parish since September 2007. The Incarnate Word Missionaries are participants in a lay missionary program of the same name that is sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, who have been in Chimbote providing health services (currently two medical clinics and the only hospice in Peru) since 1964. Currently participating in the parish, spread between two youth choirs, JUMIFRA, English classes, a charismatic prayer group, a recently-formed theater group and the current Confirmation preparation classes, are approximately 70 young people.

III. Objectives
1. Help the parish offer to young people a space that they can call their own, along the way encouraging and teaching the responsibility required to take care of and maintain it.
2. Support parish youth groups by offering a larger availability of gathering times and rooms for meetings, projects, workshops, activities, socializing, etc.
3. Offer opportunities, space, and guidance for the development of small business projects by groups or individual young people whom have the desire and determination to do so.
4. Increase our capacity as a parish and youth ministry of bringing to local young people educational and formational activities, including talks and seminars, skill training workshops, classes, retreats, etc.
5. Widen our efforts in the evangelization of our young people by means of creating a space that might generate in participating youth a greater identification with their parish and promoting fellowship among themselves as a community of faith, in such a way encouraging to grow in spiritually as people and as committed members of today´s church.
6. Create a space for safe, healthy fun and socialization.
7. Be a base within the youth community that provokes the and initiates service and social justice projects within the larger community.

IV. Budget and anticipated expenses
1. Monthly expenses
A. House rental: $250 (a lower price may be able to be negotiated)
B. Water and electricity: $35
C. Telephone and internet: $40
2. Kitchen needs
A. Stove
B. Gas (tank refilled periodically for about $10)
C. Plates, cups, pots, utensils, etc.
3. Furniture
A. Tables
B. Chairs
C. Stereo/CD Player
D. TV/ DVD player
E. Whiteboards
F. Second hand couches, etc.
4. Miscellaneous
A. School supplies
B. Art supplies
C. Cleaning supplies (detergent, brooms, mops, etc)
D. Games (table games, chess sets, etc)
E. Ping pong table
5. Computer and printer for ministry use by JUMIFRA (with 3-4 more computers, we could offer them to youth for completion of homework, for computer classes, etc)
6. Musical instruments (guitars, flutes, etc) that would stay in the house for classes and general use during gatherings, events, etc.

To cover the long-term monthly expenses we are researching grant possibilities because the parish will not be able to cover the cost, but for the first year and start-up expenses the Incarnate Word Missionaries are contact friends, family and parishes in the US to seek complementary monetary support in order to initiate the project. We view this first year also as a test period for the center, evaluating progress and success more formally at that juncture in addition to regular ongoing evaluation by JUMIFRA and the administrative committee (see item V below).

V. Administration
1. The Franciscan Youth Center will be a joint project of Parroquia San Francisco de Asís by means of the group JUMIFRA (Franciscan Missionary Youth, the youth council of the parish) and the Conventual Franciscan priests and brothers, the Incarnate Word Missionaries in Chimbote, and the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word. Each of these groups will select a representative to participate in the administrative committee for the project, which will have the duty of guiding and overseeing the Franciscan Youth Center. In addition to the groups already mentioned, each parish youth group (choirs, theater, English, charismatic prayer, confirmation, etc) will have on representative on the committee.

2. The committee will meet monthly to accomplish the following:
A. Share budget report for the previous month.
B. Report on activities and events at the youth center since the previous committee meeting.
C. Present plans, goals and suggestions for the upcoming month and farther into the future.
D. Evaluate progress toward goals stated in the annual plan, previously developed by the committee
E. As a product of each monthly meeting, a monthly report will be prepared and sent to individuals and organization who collaborate with the project.

3. Roles of groups represented on the administrative committee
A. Incarnate Word Missionaries – contact person for the youth center, will have the duty of managing the center´s budget and finances in addition to working with JUMIFRA to provide general oversight of daily programs and activities.
B. JUMIFRA – in charge of planning and organizing specific programs and events that are offered in the youth center and of being present as well as providing or arranging for responsible supervision in the center during hours in which it is open (see Section VIII, Rules).
C. The Conventual Franciscan priests and brothers, who have charge of the parish, will designate a representative from their community to serve on the administrative committee in addition to supporting JUMIFRA in their work in the center, providing guidance and spiritual direction as being a contact person for the Conventual Franciscan community.
D. Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word – seeing that the community of Incarnate Word Missionaries has fluctuating membership, the sisters will provide continuity of presence on the administrative committee as well as support the IWM´s in their ministry in the center.
E. Representatives of parish youth groups – will serve as communication links between their respective groups and the administrative committee of the youth center, bringing ideas and suggestions to committee meetings and communicating the committee´s decisions and general youth center news to their group´s members, thus facilitating collaboration of parish youth in communal parish youth projects and events.
4. In order to provide additional security, JUMIFRA members will sleep at the house on a rotating schedule.

VI. The house itself
1. Being directly across the alley from the parish, the house location brings many advantages in terms of maintaining a strong identification of the Franciscan Youth Center with the parish itself.
2. The house has three floors, the first two consisting of a large open room and 2-3 bedrooms that could be used for group meetings and classes. It is equipped with a kitchen, stove, and hot water heater. The third floor also includes several separate rooms, but is unfinished and would be good space for craft, carpentry, or other workshops. The entire rooftop is open as a patio/porch.

VII. Why is a parish youth center needed?
1. It would make the parish more accessible to young people, offering a more flexible and expanded schedule for holding programs with young people without inconveniencing the Conventual Franciscan Community in always asking for keys, wanting to stay later than the current limit of 10:00 pm, etc. Tentative weekday schedule would be to open the center in the mornings, 9 am – 1 pm, for academic programs for youth who study during afternoon shift at their schools. Then, to open the center from 4 pm to 11 pm in the evening as a gathering place, for classes and meetings, etc. Weekend schedule be the same, with the possibility of later hours at night for special events or gatherings.
2. Projects such as workshops and the library that we propose would occupy the current small number of available parish rooms, making them unavailable for use by other parish groups.
3. To generate a greater identification of young people with their parish community through having a space that is more their own, which sends the message that the parish indeed welcomes youth and invites young people to actively participate in parish and community life.
4. Offer the possibility of adapting and customizing spaces for specific uses and ends, thereby creating more opportunity for the development of skill training workshops and projects with youth that require specialized materials, avoiding the necessity of always brings and removing materials each day.
5. To make possible more opportunities for skill training and personal development for young people in our community.
6. In additional to and by means of the programs, fellowship, and fun that the youth center could offer, we can further various aspects of mission of the parish and of the larger church, evangelizing young people and forming Christian citizens that participate actively in society in order to help others and change our current unjust reality. The parish has the unreached potencial to be a base of positive influence and change for youth, and opening a youth center would be a step toward making this potential a reality.

VII. Examples of possible programs
1. Meeting space and resources for existing and new parish youth groups.
2. Spiritual retreats and workshops.
3. Formation and maintenance of a small library for youth.
4. Academic support and guidance by older youth and young adults to younger peers.
5. Informative talks and job skill training.
6. Art and drawing workshops
7. Music classes
8. Movie nights
9. Celebrations (i.e. New Years, independence day, monthly birthdays, etc)
10. Communication and cultural interchange between Chimbote and US youth.

VIII. Proposed Rules
1. For reasons of security and safety, sign-in system for entering and leaving the house will be instituted.
2. No drugs or alcoholic beverages of any kind will be allowed.
3. No violence.
4. Maintain an attitude of respect toward the people, house, materials.
5. No foul language.
6. Each group that utilizes a space within the youth center should leave it clean, and neat, materials stored away in their place in good condition.
7. Groups will have responsibilities to help take care of the house (cleaning, maintenance, etc).
8. There will always be at least three people (one for each floor) present in the center with supervisory responsibility whenever the center is open to the general youth community. JUMIFRA members themselves – or persons of maturity designated by JUMIFRA – will assume this role.
9. Rooms in the center will be opened only when they are going to be used.
10. In the case in which overnight retreats or events are held, men and women will sleep in separate rooms and will be properly supervised.
11. Individuals who don´t comply with the above rules may be restricted from entering the youth center.

Semana Santa Preview

2009-04-07T08:54:00.000-07:00

Greetings! A short entry today before we jump into Holy Week and, this Saturday, the visit of my family – brother Ryan and his wife Michelle and my sister Suzanne, with her boyfriend Cory.

We actually began Holy Week preparations in earnest last Sunday, when our young people began rehearsals for acting the Way of the Cross through the streets on Good Friday. The surprising part for me was that, after originally volunteering for the part of Simon the Cyrenean, I was pulled into playing Jesus by the vacuum that existed – none of the several guys we considered were willing to do it. So, despite doubts about my ability to project my voice loudly and clearly in Spanish, I am scheduled to be carry the cross to my crucifixion in what will surely be a unique experience. In many ways I feel honored to play the part, even with the doubts that I am the best one available here for the role. We´ve had rehearsals all week, directed by Ginno and Sr. Katty, and we´re getting better all the time. Some new faces, apart from the existing groups, are participating and it is fun to get to know them.

As a prelude to Holy Week, Courtney and I joined a small group from the parish in participating in the yearly diocesan youth pilgrimage/ stations of the cross up a mountain just outside of town that has a church part way up. We joined about 1500 people, many of them from local high schools, in the two hour journey of walking, singing, praying, and watching the various groups of youth that were immersed in the experience to various degrees. Without the cloud cover we had last year, the sun beat down strongly upon us and therefore mass inside the open air but roofed church at the top was a welcome and celebratory break. I´ll soon be posting photos of the trip and of Chimbote taken from the church.

Our last regular English classes of this term are Monday and Tuesday of Holy Week, though we´ll have a closing party Easter Monday. Also this week, we have Way of the Cross rehearsals Monday and Tuesday evenings and youth of the parish will gather to watch The Passion of the Christ on Wednesday before the Mass of the Last Supper on Thursday and then acting out the way of the cross on Friday. Besides acting, I´m also coordinating the costumes that a woman from the parish generously loans us each year for Christmas and Advent. Courtney, Julie and Jane are also joining in as actors (crowd, women of Jerusalem) in the Way of the Cross, which makes it a fun group project. Corina and Julie especially are great at yelling ´Kill him!´ and ´Crucify him!´ (I´m assuming that they are just really getting into their roles and it´s nothing personal ).

In national news, the jury verdict and sentencing of Fujimori is going on now (president/dictator during the 1990`s who is accused of numerous human rights violations that occurred during his tenure in the process of battling the terrorist Sendero Luminoso, Shining Path). Although you will find a variety of opinions concerning Fujimori, the majority of folks we know agree that he is guilty. He spent eight years in exile in Japan before being recaptured last year while visiting Chile.

In house news, we finally did get a new refrigerator, so we have enjoyed things like ice, cold drinks, storing food until the next day, buying milk, etc. I wish you all a blessed Holy Week.

New IWM Website

2009-03-31T08:17:00.000-07:00

Just a heads up that the Incarnate Word Missionaries volunteer program, of which I am a participant, has recently launched their own website -- videos, information about mission sites, how to apply, information about current missionaries, etc. Check it out using the link above right.

Retiro Anual, etc.

2009-03-31T08:10:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Chimbote! I write this new blog over several days from Wednesday, March 25, to Monday, March 30 – with still one written blog yet to post from earlier this month. I´ve had some technical difficulties transferring from our home computer to an internet connected site using floppy disks, but am hoping to post them both soon. I have, however, succeeded in posting some music from our choir on our music site, link at right, from a wedding that we sang at in January (songs with ´W´ preceding the title). Also, the photo site has some images from March, including our yearly retreat in Tortugas. Before going on to summarize recent life, I wish you a happy feast of the Incarnation (9 months before Christmas). March 25th is the patron feast of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, so we four gathered with the local sisters, IW lay associates, and others from the parish for a 7:00 mass and then a compartir – a simple sharing of food – at the sisters´ house afterward.

VISITS TO HIGH SCHOOLS
Elmer, an acquaintance from the parish who is finishing his studies to be an English teacher, asked me to accompany him on two visits to classes at a local public high school. As part of his student teaching, he has to do some communal work and asked me to present on the importance of learning English, the school system in the US, and bring a song in English to look at the lyrics. We visited a fifth grade class – students were about 16 years old, since high school here is five years – and a fourth grade class on two separate days (see photo of the fifth graders below). Impressions: a scarcity of resources and amenities within the rooms themselves, which were basically concrete with desks, a few tables and a whiteboard; students all wore uniforms; the first day we tried to have them do group work without much success; not a lot of respect for the authority of their teacher, though I know this depends a lot on the teacher´s work beforehand; all students in public schools wear uniforms; curiosity about school system in the US; they really liked hearing the U2 song, though didn´t understand much of it since their English is really basic, maybe similar to the Spanish of many US high school students. We arrived in the second week of classes for the year, and were told that some students had still not started attending for the year. While waiting for the watchman to let us out the second day, I had a group of 7-8 second grade youth gather around me with tons of questions about the US, why I was here, etc, realizing at that moment that in their enthusiasm youth in various parts of the world are not really that different.

ANNUAL IWM RETREAT
A couple days following the visits to República Peruana high school, we four joined Sister Leonila – a recently-arrived IW sister from Mexico – for the 45-minute ride to Casa Galilea, the retreat house owned by the Diocese of Chimbote on Tortugas Bay, where we held our yearly Incarnate Word Missionary Retreat. Though the rest of the IWM´s in Mexico, Guatemala, and Texas gathered together for a joint retreat in Mexico, travel distances oblige us to make our own retreat, united in spirit. Like last year´s retreat in Lima, this five-night experience was restful and fruitful spiritually and personally – but the site was definitely an improvement in my book. For one, we avoided the eight-hour trip to Lima and instead of being in a compound within the city, we were right on the water of the bay, the most consistently heard sound being that the small waves coming ashore down the stairs from the nice covered patio. We had a small, simple house with six bedrooms and a living room, pretty good food served three times a day (lots of rice and potatoes, not surprisingly), lukewarm showers if you waited until the afternoon, a swim most afternoons, and a refreshing ocean breeze. Tortugas itself is mostly vacation homes with a handful of hotels/hostals and a few restaurants. Though on the coast, there are few signs of greenery about – rocky shores and beach, mountains of sand and rock, dirt roads. It felt fairly abandoned with the summer over, schools back in session, and most of the families from Chimbote, Lima, or Trujillo gone for the year until next summer. There is no electricity anywhere except for 6:45-11:45 in the evening – weird to see all the lights in the homes across the bay come on at the same moment. Water is delivered by truck to private tanks which feed each individual home or complex, and a guy with a big basket strapped to the back of his small motorcycle makes bread deliveries each morning. Our schedule included prayer and scripture sharing at 9:00 at 4:00, one interview each day with Sister Leonila, guides for personal reflection, lots of personal time for journaling, reading, thinking, etc, and a time of sharing about the day with the group after dinner each night. I did some running around the bay or climbed the mountain behind the house each morning, and one afternoon we all four climbed up to watch the sunset. I went to bed early, took a short nap each afternoon, and generally caught up on a lot of needed rest (although three days back in Chimbote I felt very tired once again), and had plenty of time to play the guitar. Themes for my own reflection included my personal relationships, how I´ve grown in the past year (helped to read my journal from last year´s retreat), and priorities/hopes for the my final six months here in Chimbote. My list of last project ideas and goals from our 2008 retreat was, I now realize, quite naively over-ambitious – though I might very-well look back on my revised goals for this period as a bit far-reaching as well. I guess better this tendency than the opposite – see next headings for discussion of ministry goals.

CHOIR
I still much enjoy being a part of my choir, Trovadores del Evangelio (Troubadors of the Gospel), though we admittedly are suffering through a bit of a transition period as a group. Several veteran members have dropped out – at least temporarily – largely due to time restraints from studies and/or work commitments. As it happens, those 7-10 of us left are all guys, several being quite good musicians on guitar, percussion, and/or wind instruments. Ginno, our repeat coordinator, is deeply committed but at times lacks a little tact in managing the group and stimulates unnecessary tensions. I have taken on the role of typing up the lyrics every two weeks of the songs we will be singing at mass, and still have the goal of playing the guitar with the group, but would also like to help more. What we really need, maybe, is to invite new members for a new group make-up, though we need to work a little on creating a welcoming environment for new people. This may be an area of focus for my ministry – to help strengthen the choir an provide a place for new people to be involved in the parish life. I was discouraged this past week by a couple things with the group – first, that Ginno told his fellow coordinator – and a main guitarist – on the night before we were to sing at mass that he wouldn´t be singing because he wasn´t leading well by example with the group. Partly true, I think, but could have been handled better. Anyway, he didn´t sing – and three other guys also boycotted in protest, leaving three of us who had rehearsed. We requested some emergency help, and it turned out a little off key, but acceptable. Then, this past weekend, a couple group members got on Ginno´s case for inviting others to sing with us who hadn´t rehearsed (a rule of the choir is that you have to rehearse to sing). Ginno got upset and there was an argument. I just left feeling – besides tired, at 11:00 pm – but discouraged that if even within parish groups we have trouble working with each other, how will we tackle the larger problems that face us all and face society?

BIBLE WORKSHOP
A very positive recent experience was a Bible workshop in the parish every evening during the week March 23-27. All parish groups and meetings were suspended (including our English classes) for a Lectio Divina workshop led by a team from the diocese of Chimbote. Primarily, following the first hour on Monday for introduction and orientation to they why of Bible study, we spent each evening in groups of 10-12 reading, discussing, and praying in response to a different short scripture passage each night. Each evening about 80 leaders and participants from the parish – primarily adults, but also some from our JUMIFRA youth leadership group – met to read, pray and share. Besides the benefits that it had in connecting members of the parish, I found it spiritually rewarding, something I´ve missed. I kept wanting to share all sorts of ideas and thoughts, and a couple themes kept jumping out at me. One, the missionary call of the church – to go out, no just wait for folks to come to us. As you know if you´ve read my blog for a while, I´ve had for some time a desire to initiate a more concerted effort to visit youth in their homes. The reality is that we communicate with a very small fraction of the young people that live within our parish region, the majority of whom are Catholic culturally or in name. Previously also, I´ve realized that the consistent time commitment required to plan and prepare for eight English classes per week indeed takes away energy and time that I could put at the disposal of other parish youth projects. In these weeks as we come to the end of a third English class cycle, I am discerning again my priorities in my final months – how do I best invest my limited time and energy in these five months that I have left here?

ENGLISH CLASSES
Even given the time commitment mentioned above, I do enjoy teaching English and the community that has developed within the group. We are just today getting back to our normal schedule after a two-week break – one for our retreat and the second for the parish Bible workshop. We tried to hold make-up classes on the Saturday afternoons before and after, but just a few students came. This actually is our final full week of classes – the second half of next week we will be suspending classes for our Holy Week celebrations. I took advantage of the class being cancelled last week to finish the project of an English Class IWM CD. Each of us four chose 9 of our favorite songs that we have access to here on CD and we compiled a two-disk set of music in English, accompanied by all the lyrics for students to practice – and for the fun of sharing our own musical culture with our students. Initial response has been positive, music being so popular here. We´ll finish this three-month cycle the Monday after Easter and are scheduled to start a new cycle the first week of May. Also at that time, I will again be assisting with the Confirmation program one or two nights per week and therefore am considering consolidating two of our four groups and not, this cycle, starting a new group from the very beginning.

UPCOMING VISIT OF MY FAMILY
My family is again coming to visit! A little more than a year after my mom and aunt Janie braved the summer heat of Chimbote last March, my brother Ryan and his wife Michelle, along with my sister Suzanne and her boyfriend Cory, will be arriving for a 2 ½ week sojourn in Peru. They arrive in Chimbote Saturday, April 11, and after four days here we will again travel south to explore Cuzco and the Inca trail. I feel blessed to be able (thanks to the generosity of my parents and aunt) to be able to visit for the third time sites that for many are once in a lifetime experiences. I also can´t avoid a little guilt knowing that my friends from Chimbote will likely never be able to visit Cuzco, although it lies within their own country. Still, I can´t help but be very excited for the upcoming visit – to see my brother and sister after 20 months, to share with my life and my temporary home country, to have them meet my friends. An ironic note is that thinking of the upcoming reunion I am missing home more – a feeling no doubt increased by the ill health of my dad and wanting to be able to help more.

ON THE HOME FRONT
One welcome development that came out of our retreat was the development of a more structured sharing of house responsibilities, important to me because at times I have felt recently that I was having to assume a larger than just share of taking care things around the house (cooking, shopping, cleaning, etc). With Julie and Courtney now each having two mornings free during each week, they have more time to cook, and actually wanted to take on more of this job. So, I now am responsible for preparing lunch on just two days – Friday and Saturday, and we have a rotating schedule of home cleaning responsibilities.

We still don´t have a new fridge, though our friend Alex did help us to sell the old one for parts. As a splurge, we used some of the 50 soles to go out for ceviche. We returned from our retreat to a burned out pump, once again leaving us without running water in the house. This time the bucket showers and filling buckets morning and afternoon lasted less than a week, our landlord Hector getting to repairing the pump fairly quickly. Lifting the faucet in the bathroom and having water come out is, hopefully, something I will not take for granted for a long time to come.

Last week we welcomed a two-day visit from Zach and Tad, two representatives of a US Christian organization called Harvest. The mission of Harvest is to train local missionaries in practical methods for transforming their local community socially, politically, and spiritually through concrete acts of love, of meeting peoples´ real needs. Zach´s job (he is a friend of Jane´s), as a journalist, as been to travel around three continents (Asia, Africa, South America) to record stories of the activities of local churches that have Harvest-trained missionaries. Peru is the midway point of his four month, eight country South American loop – the last of the three continents. I was intrigued to hear his stories of adventures while traveling and he was definitely interested in the activity of the local church here. It was interesting to hear that although Harvest trains missionaries from all sorts of denominations, he didn´t know of them working with any Catholic churches.

EVERYDAY IMAGES
With the months that I have left here sure to fly by, I am trying to remember more of the images of daily life here that I strike me as I walk through each day. 1) Every morning as I go running on Avenida Peru out into the fields of corn, rice, and cotton, I pass numerous two-wheeled donkey carts on the way from field to market and several groups of children I regularly see being driven to school using this means of transport. On one particular morning, I was struck by three very young school children, maybe 5 or 6 years old, perched high upon a mountain of cornstalks being carted into town. Another father can often be seen driving his two young daughters to school over the sandy dirt road – by bike – one perched on a back rack and the other between her father´s legs on the cross bar. Then there are the two sisters, maybe 12 and 8, who daily make the mile+ walk into school, almost invariably the older sister about 10 paces ahead of the younger. It strikes me that, pulled out of their radically different setting, these kids – in their well-kept uniforms of skirts and blouses – could just as well be piling out of an SUV at a Catholic school in the US. 2) I regularly see as well, walking about, people transporting large loads by their own power. The primary means for accomplishing the transport of whatever large item – a pile of furniture, scrap metal, bricks, sides of beef, crates of chickens in their last hours of life – is the ´triciclo´, or tricycle. Triciclos have one rear wheel, two wheels in front to support a large cargo box, and just one gear. For this reason, and because of the sheer weight of some of the loads, often the owner is seen pushing or pulling the card instead of actually riding, unless he is heading downhill. Apart from the triciclos, I saw a man this week carrying a metal tray – with an incredibly tall pile of cookies – on top of his head. How he managed to maintain the cookie mountain intact must me a feat of practice (and a strong neck) – anyway, the cookies must have been fresh baked, because they definitely smelled good as he walked past.

JUMIFRA
Our youth leadership council, JUMIFRA, has continued to be busy with a variety of projects, though it seems we are often a little behind in getting started. Projects accomplished recently include a first draft of a proposal for group statutes, or norms, in an effort to formalize membership a bit and emphasize the identity of JUMIFRA – a gathering of young leaders within the parish in order to serve their fellow youth and the parish at large. In fundraising efforts for a cross to use in our street Way of the Cross on Good Friday and for T-shirts that identify us as a group, we have held breakfast fundraisers on two consecutive Sundays after the 7:30 am mass. Instead of the pancakes and eggs that would be served in the US, we actually have it a bit easier – shredded chicken sandwiches (with lettuce, mayo, and thin-sliced fried potatoes on a French roll) and a hot drink, either ´quaker´ (oatmeal drink with cinnamon, cloves, and milk) or quinua, prepared with cloves, cinnamon, pineapple, and chuño (freeze dried potato flour).

Selling 120 sandwiches and 120 cups at 1.5 soles each (about 50 cents) yields us about 100 soles profit each time. Apart from visiting area schools to invite registrations for confirmation and first communion preparation, our major project of the moment is rehearsing for the acting of the Vía Crucis – Way of the Cross – that our young people (and me – I will be Simon of Cyrene this year) will perform on a route through a couple of our parish neighborhoods on Good Friday afternoon/evening, complete with crosses and a mock crucifixion.

Have a blessed Holy Week.

Back to School (written March 8, 2009)

2009-03-31T08:09:00.000-07:00

It´s still hot here, but summer has officially ended for students in primary and secondary schools, who went back to school this past Monday or will do so today, March 9. Apart from uniformed kids walking (or getting walked by their parents) to classes in the mornings as I go running or make the daily trip down the block to buy bread, other signs of the yearly ritual include busy tellers at most librerías (book stores) and workers giving a yearly coat of paint to the outer concrete walls of educational institutions. Students here are given a list of supplies that they need for the school year, as the schools themselves provide few resources – at some schools, at least, teachers even charge students for photocopies. Purchasing supplies such as notebooks, etc, follows the pattern of most stores here: the US norm of browsing through aisles to fill a cart or handbasket is rare except in a few supermarkets. Instead, one gives a list – written or oral – to a clerk or attendant (for larger stores downtown) or to the owner at smaller neighborhood shops, after which they look for and pull out items one by one. On the subject of schools, I hear from multiple sources that in Peru there exists a surplus of teachers and it is very difficult for a university graduate to find a job, especially on the coast. Apparently in the more remote Sierra, or mountainous region, teachers are still sought out, but such posts are not desireable for many due to the lack of services, infrastructure, and distance from family. Other oft-mentioned concerns over public education concern the quality of instruction methods (a lot of dictation, memorization) and systematic corruption and misuse of resources. A large number of private schools, both large and small, religious and not, also exist here and reputedly offer a higher level of education – at a price, of course. Monthly tuition at the small school down the street runs 70 soles ($20) per month, and other larger private schools, such as the Christian Brothers´ Mundo Mejor (Better World) must cost significantly more. It seems that the majority of primary school students attend school in the morning shift, 7:30-12:30, with high school students alternately drawing the morning (7:30-1:00) or afternoon (12:00 – 6:30). For this reason, all of our youth meetings at the parish begin at 7:00 or later to allow time for the afternoon students to arrive.

In other news…
At the house, Courtney´s sister Allison visited last week – they spent the first few days seeing Cuzco and Machu Picchu and then a couple nights here in Chimbote, where she met a ton of people in a short time, saw Courtney´s work sites (Hospice and two medical clinics), went to the beach, joined in on English conversation night, and of course tried ceviche. We four IWM´s met with Sr. Juanita on Saturday for a long overdue check-in on ministry, etc, and cleared up some miscommunciatons concerning our house budget – the way appears clear now for us to receive the money to buy a fridge soon. Another current project is the compilation of a two-CD mix of selected favorite songs, each one of us contributing nine songs that we have on CD here. Together with a booklet of the lyrics that I am putting together, I hope it will be a fun way for them to learn new vocabulary and practice their listening. In addition, it´s a fun way for us to share a little bit of our musical culture in a culture that is itself enamored of music. JUMIFRA commissions have started working on preparations for our Way of the Cross in the streets that will take place Good Friday – costumes, the crosses, fine-tuning the script, inviting parish youth, etc. I also met with a subcommittee on Sunday to develop a draft of statutes for the group – structure and expectations that we hope will help JUMIFRA be a successful, functioning group of youth and young adult leaders in the parish into the future. Articles treat areas such as the group mission, how new members join, member rights and responsibilities, roles of officers, etc. I think it is a positive step. Well, I´ll sign off for now – have a great couple weeks! Look for another entry after we return from our annual IWM retreat, this year five days in Tortugas, on the coast about 45 minutes south of Chimbote. God bless.

Enero/Febrero Update

2009-03-02T08:33:00.000-08:00

In an attempt to bring this blog up to date so that I am not always writing about what happened a few weeks ago, I offer some notes on the last couple months here in Chimbote…

AT HOME
For the first two weeks of January, our house community dropped by half as Jane and Julie traveled to southern Peru – Cuzco, Puno, Machu Picchu – with friends and sister, respectively. January marks the start of the rainy season in the Andes, but the girls dodged most of it and had great trips. While they were gone, Courtney and I had an eventful time. First, we hosted a husband and wife from Israel, traveling cyclists who made a three-night stopover here after nearly a year after starting from the southwestern US and making their way through Central America. Gael and Raki were busy getting their bikes fixed, updating their blog, (http://ourbicycletrip.blogspot.com/)
, and washing clothes, tents, etc. Though busy ourselves at the time, we had some interesting conversations about their trip, Peru, etc. Their impressions of Peru had been relatively unfavorable as a whole, and they apologized later for doing some venting upon their arrival. While they were here, we experienced several days in a row with at least some rain – on night in particular we were dumped on more severely than any other time during our stay. The results in a town that in no way expects rain were predictable: flooded, muddy streets and lots of water in houses. Many people here have bamboo sheet/tarp roofs, which do little to hold out moisture. Our laminate roofing did better, but the dining room in particular experienced several leaks and water just came in through the walls in general. Folks here were excited/scared by the novelty of the storm, alternately playing in the downpour or hunkering down at home – mostly the latter. While Jane and Julie were away Courtney and I, both wanting to work harder on our Spanish, made the decision to speak only Spanish in the house – I really liked it. It helped me to think more in Spanish and pushed me to seek and learn a lot of new vocabulary. Jane and Julie weren´t as excited about the idea, and as a whole we have unfortunately gradually let the habit die.

Our home continues to serve well as a gathering place for friends and the occasional youth ministry event. Most recently we hosted friends from the parish for Valentine´s Day. The youth council, JUMIFRA (Franciscan Missionary Youth), held a party/meeting at the parish until 10:30 with games, songs, food, and reflection/sharing that actually went pretty well – and an hour when our high school aged youth could attend. After, some of the group came over to continue the party. Unfortunately, we hadn´t coordinated well the music situation and were without a stereo that played CD´s – but ours still has functioning radio, so we made due. We saw the return of running water inside the house in late December (our pump´s wiring had fried and the whole thing had to be replaced), but mid December also witnessed the demise of our recalcitrant refrigerator. We expect to receive money to buy a new one by the end of this month, but we have adapted to life without refrigeration – only buying meat/fish and vegetables on the morning it is to be cooked, keeping leftovers from the noon meal just into the evening, switching to powdered milk, going to the market every couple days to buy vegetables, etc. Maybe the hardest part is not having anything cold to eat or drink in the house during these hot summer months. One thing for sure – when we are served a cold beverage (sometimes in restaurants or homes people give in to the heat and risk the sickness-inducing cold drinks) we definitely appreciate it. It may or may not be a coincidence that in this new year the girls have suffered stomach discomfort/malfunctioning more often than before – maybe I have been here long enough develop resistant to some of the food-borne ailments.

Since my schedule this new year has become busier, I have cut back to just a couple times a week on sweeping, picking up trash, and watering the dust in front of the house – the neighbors haven´t complained yet, but I sometimes wonder if they mutter under their breath (helps, maybe, that our immediate neighbor family has never kept that neat of a front sidewalk). Summer is harvest time, and our back yard is yielding its share – tomatoes (amazingly sprouted from compost trash, we assume), guanábanas (white, slimy, sweet fruit that hangs high and is hard to pick before it ripens, falling with a splat to the pavement), and figs (the neighbor boys do a good job of harvesting the high-up figs from the top of the wall in between our houses). I´ll wrap up the house news on a negative note – I again had articles of clothing stolen from my room during the night while I was sleeping. We have had bars installed, so the thieves were not able to enter – but satisfied themselves with pulling a few nearby items to window (open due the above mentioned heat) with a stick, it guess. I was frustrated to have gotten lax enough to leave the window open and have things close to the window after being careful for so long.

¡QUE CALOR!
Did I mention that it is hot here? Not sure of the temperature, as no one has thermometers up and I have seen a weather program since being here (if they if fact exist), but some days the sun in the street 12-5 pm beats down mercilessly. I have become accustomed more or less to usually being hot and sweaty – I seek the shady side of the street when possible and just sweat if out when I´m indoors. Inside temperatures in the evenings (for example in the rooms were we hold English classes) usually stay higher than those outside, where generally a relatively cooler breeze of some form offers relief. As a household, we have adopted the Peruvian practice of trying to cook the food a little ahead of time in order to let it cool down before we eat. I never realized before that eating hot food on a hot day – lacking everywhere the luxury of air conditioning – produces quite a bit of perspiration. One positive aspect: the cold showers are now quite refreshing, leading me often to shower twice daily. Other ways to deal with the heat include going to the beach – once more, with JUMIFRA, since the new years trip – or to a local swimming pool. In early February I made my inaugural visit to the pool at the Vivero Forestal (local public park) with a group of the recently-confirmed youth from the parish. The pool is actually quite big – Olympic sized – but the vast crowd of people that shows up to seek relief from the heat has to squeeze into roped-off sections at either end, about 30% maybe the pool´s area. The middle section, as it were, is deep – about three meters – and since most people here have never learned to swim, this section is closed to all but a privileged few who pass some sort of swimming test (or, as for Julie, who is a swim team and water polo veteran, just be a gringa and ask the group of guy lifeguards who were more than happy to let her swim anywhere she wanted – and even invited her back after hours to teach them how to play water polo).

One coping mechanism that children and youth employ to beat the heat is called carnivales – related to the festive celebrations leading up to Ash Wednesday and Lent. Somehow, carnivales here has evolved into primarily a tradition of having water fights in the street with buckets, water balloons, squirt guns, whatever. And sometimes it’s a very one-sided fight, one participation not knowing at all that they were even playing – for example, the bucket of cold water dumped on my head from a rooftop by a couple kids as I walked down the street one hot late-afternoon. I was surprised, but actually didn´t mind the refreshing dousing. Supposedly the game is on only on Sundays, when even public transit vehicles such as the minivan-like combis and taxis are fair game – but often hot and over-zealous kids on summer vacation conveniently forget this limiting convention.

CURSO DE INGLÉS
After a three-week break we began a new three-month cycle of English classes in the parish on January 13 – increasing by one the number of groups to four: Beginner, Basic 1 & 2, and Intermediate. The three higher groups are continuing on from where we left off in December, and the new group is starting from scratch. Because of increased word of mouth and it being summer vacation here, we had a large group of students enroll this term – the highest yet at over 50 registrations. A significant number of people start the course and later find it too much time to continue, but we still have over 30 attending on a regular basis. Two groups meet each night Monday-Thursday, with all invited to a conversation practice at our house on Friday evenings. Jane, Julie and Courtney all have one designated group/night that they help out with classes during the week, and they rotate on the fourth night every three weeks. In addition, they also all make an effort to be there for the conversation time, which helps a lot because with the higher turnout we are dividing the group into two parts so that each person has more chance to talk. Below is a photo of the group that came to our house one Friday evening, 7-9 pm.

I am excited by the growth of the program and that we are able to help with this need that people feel, but I have felt the impact of the increased time commitment. Every night I plan and prepare for two classes, many nights needing to make a copy run as well. Combined with choir rehearsal on Friday and Saturday nights and mass/choir/JUMIFRA meetings on Sunday evenings, I effectively have obligations every evening. I have recently felt the fact that the English class commitment diminishes my flexibility in coordinating other parish youth activities with JUMIFRA, a truth I will have to reflect on how best to handle as I look to plans for our next (and my last) English-class cycle of May-August. For one, the Confirmation program starts up again in April, and I want to be a part of that group. I will somehow need to combined English groups and /or lessen the offerings, I believe. Also looking ahead to my departure, I have requested that our IWM directors seek new volunteers to continue on the work with both the English students and parish youth. They are taking the wise, I believe, approach of looking for separate people to coordinate the two aspects of my ministry that are each growing in scale and potential.

JUMIFRA (Juventud Misionera Frannciscana – Franciscan Missionary Youth)
I have already mentioned JUMIFRA (which celebrated its one-year anniversary in mid-February) a few times, but here I give a brief summary of our projects that we have undertaken during January and February. These months are summer vacation for students – primary and high school return to class on March 2 and most university students have freedom until early April. We first offered a four-week summer program for grade school children, three mornings a week with a mix of courses, each taught by a different professor – some from our own group members a few invitees: theater, modern dance, folkloric dance, English (I and two intermediate students taught), math, and chess. We hit a few small snags and could use a bit more organization, but still the results were positive for the 35 students ages 4-14 that participated.

Second, we just finished a week-long offering of ministry-training workshops for teenage youth (we invited several of the surrounding parishes as well as our own youth) to the 3:00-7:00 pm Monday to Friday courses, February 23-27. The project of organizing and offering youth workshops arose out of our trip with 14 youth/young adults (many of whom are now in JUMIFRA) to Lima for two weeks of youth ministry training. For various reasons, including my own decreased flexibility to miss English classes, we decided to try to share what we had learned last year in Lima right here in Chimbote – inter-parish cooperation and relationship building a definitely part of the objectives as well. Although turnout was less than we originally anticipated and we ended up keeping the 10 participants together for the week instead of dividing into the five distinct workshops of Youth in Christ, Motivation and Theater, Mission of Youth in Society, Leadership, and Singing to the Lord, those that attended and the JUMIFRA team/presenters took away a very positive experience of fellowship, reflection, learning and fun. The project team from JUMIFRA additionally had a positive experience in planning and orchestrating a large event that reached outside our parish walls – we learned some lessons for next time and, I believe, planted a seed that might grow into a periodic event that helps build leadership capacity in individual parishes and fellowship collaboration on an inter-parish basis. I must say, though, that the schedule of the week exhausted me – with English classes immediately following the workshops each day, I planned classes in the mornings and found zero down time. Still, the testimonies of participants during the closing ritual made the full schedule definitely worth it.

The third major project we chose for the summer – a concerted effort to visit homes of youth to survey and give invitations to parish programs – has not yet gotten off the ground. Though the project commission planned training for parish youth in hopes of gathering a team to go out en masse, the session never drew enough participants. I hope to continue in March a scaled back effort with JUMIFRA members, adding to a couple cycles of previous visits/surveys in February and September of 2008. I just believe that a personal invitation is far and away the most effective way to show that we care about the youth of our community, and after overcoming the initial fear I have had only positive experiences during our visits to youth in their homes to hear their concerns, gather contact information, and seek suggestions of what more we can offer in service of the our young people. As we have now entered the liturgical season of Lent and the start of the school year, the attention of JUMIFRA will turn now to preparing the Stations of the Cross street drama for Holy Week and recruiting/ planning for the start of the Confirmation program in early April.

PERSONAL AND MISCELANEOUS
A few personal notes to close out this long blog entry, after which I hope to most shorter, more frequent updates in order not to let small, day-to-day details fall through the cracks. After 15 years of mostly daily running, I have recently cut back to 4 days a week in response to sore knees. It requires discipline not to run on the off-days, though an hour-long morning walk downtown is a passable substitute. I am very much looking forward to the visit of more family in mid April, over a year since my mom and aunt Janie boarded the northbound plane and 20 months since I have visited in person with my brother Ryan, his wife Michele, and my sister Suzanne. I have not yet met Cory, Suzanne´s boyfriend since last year who is also joining the expedition. The five of us will spend Easter and a few days here in Chimbote before traveling south to visit Cuzco, Machu Picchu the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

I feel like I am gradually making progress in both guitar playing and singing – in the former learning to strum some local rhythms such as Cumbia, Saya and Huayno in edition to increased dexterity in picking. In singing, I definitely sing with more strength than when I began, though still find it much easier to follow another than to hit the right notes all on my own. I did, however, succeed in singing a solo verse during a wedding mass at which our choir was contracted to sing. I recorded several of the songs from that night which I will soon be posting on our music site for a sample of our choir´s sound. We have recently had our several female members take a break from the choir, so we are in a stage of recruiting new members and the group is excited for the new ponchos that we are having made using money from contracts (funeral and wedding masses) from 2008. When they´re done, I´ll post a photo. A second upcoming trip will be our yearly IWM retreat, this year at Tortugas Bay, about 45 minutes south of Chimbote, at a retreat house that the diocese owns. From March 15-20 Julie, Jane, Courtney and I will have time to step back from the busyness of life here to look back, forward, around, and inside – guided by Sister Leonila, a member of the IW sisters Mexican province who arrived just after new years to live and serve in Chimbote. We four are definitely looking forward to the opportunity.

OTHER PROJECT IDEAS
i am considering the feasability of a youth center here in the parish neighborhood as a gathering/educational center for meetings, workshops, skill training, and social gatherings. If anyone has recommendations for grants that I could look into that might fit such a project, or expertise/time to offer in helping to prepare such a grant, please let me know. The idea could be to buy/rent a house or property close to the parish, fix it up, etc. Though I (and Sister Juanita) have had this idea since my first weeks here, I had reservations about separating youth work from identification with the parish community. Recently, though, I have found that the sometimes limited access (hours, keys) to parish facilities, the increased potential for training in a space that we could modify for our purposes, and the simple shortage of rooms on busy nights could make a separate, close-by space a welcome addition. Secondly, something a lot smaller – a stereo. For both parties that JUMIFRA has hosted at our house and youth events at the parish, we have repeatedly scrambled to put together a sound system by borrowing. My idea is to seek donations for a moderate, portable stereo that would be officially property of the IW missionary house but be designated for parish youth events. I have not yet researched exact prices, but I believe that somewhere around $100-$150 would be sufficient. I have lent out my small ´CD-cube´ -- which I use in English classes -- a number of times, but the sound output is significantly lacking for a group or room of any size. Third, our choir has the tentative idea of recording a few songs with my digital recorder in order to put together a small CD that we could sell in order to raise money for new instruments. In the next few months we might have the CD´s available to be purchased for a small donation – just a head´s up.

Thanks for hanging with me through the whole blog (or maybe you skipped to the end). God bless!

Año Nuevo 2009

2009-02-12T08:06:00.000-08:00

On Christmas and in the days following, I enjoyed a little rest and a few phone conversations with my family, all gathered together at my folks´ place in Redding, CA. Other activities in for the final days of December included finalizing and posting the music that I mentioned in my last entry (see also music link at right), a year end get-together and evaluation with JUMIFRA (Franciscan Missionary Youth, our parish youth council), a soccer game at the local stadium, preliminary planning for summer youth activities and our next cycle of English classes, a lot of singing with the choir, and preparations for the arrival of houseguests (Julie´s sister Clare and Jane´s friends Jenn and Robert). Just before New Years the girls traveled to Lima to do immigration paperwork and meet their visitors, returning on the 30th in time to prepare for a New Years Eve party that JUMIFRA had asked to hold in our back patio.

Our celebration of the New Year 2009 was unique and memorable – something I know I´ll remember fondly wherever I happen to be welcoming 2010. On the 31st, a team of friends and youth council members came by in the morning to begin cleaning and decorating for the evening – sweeping, washing, blowing up and hanging balloons and ´crepe paper´ (TP), making a sign, etc (parties aren´t as hard when others help you clean the house ). Due to heat and the need to buy a few more supplies, we agreed to gather again at 5:00 pm to finish the job. In the early afternoon after my mostly unsuccessful attempt build up strength by taking a nap, our friend Alex showed up with a load of food, which Julie and he had bought earlier at the market, in order to cook a fancy dinner for us that we would share later – he and his family run a small restaurant out of their home. [The New Years celebration here takes a distinct from that in the US, where parties begin at 8:00 or so and the climax is more or less at 12:00 midnight. In Peru, families eat wait until near midnight to hold their dinner – at the strike of twelve, people flow into the street to burn life size dolls, set off firecrackers and give new years´ hugs. Only after this, at 1:00 am or so, do people head out to the jam-packed (so I hear) discotecas or other parties, staying out until daylight oftentimes]. So Juan, Lenin and I took charge of hanging the rest of the balloons and spraying down the patio, while Alex and the girls worked away in the kitchen, breaking only temporarily to buy a replacement gas canister from our friend and English student Anthony, who runs a small store from his house down the street.

I left the preparations part way through, a busy night of singing ahead of me. First, our choir had a contract to sing at a 7:00 pm wedding (two parties with one expense). Next, I joined members of the three parish choirs to rehearse for the 9:00 pm New Years´ Mass. The fact that the church would be nearly full on New Years´ Eve at 9:00 pm still surprises me, but I guess if your night will last until sunrise the next day then 9:00 pm is like the morning . At any rate, I really enjoyed singing in the new year in such a fashion, returning quickly after Mass to help at home. Alex, Yuri, Juan Carlos, Lenin and Nelly joined us four and our three guests for the New Years´ dinner – they gave up spending the moment with their families to help us have a festive holiday away from home (and to have a great meal). Though very hungry, we held off on the food until midnight, at which time we went out into the street, gave the new years´ abrazo all round, and were one by one doused with sticky glitter by Lenin and Nelly – we all shone the rest of the night. Up and down our street, Avenida Perú, life-sized dolls made of old clothes and sawdust – and doused with kerosene – burned brightly, giving a strange TV-news war-zone shot feel to the whole thing. The hiss and bang of fireworks provided background for numerous photos and a genuinely beautiful, heartening, (though slightly bizarre) moment of friendship and joy. Soon enough, hunger drew us inside to the waiting dinner of roast stuffed chicken, mashed potatoes, Russian (potato-beet) salad, champaigne, and (of course) panetón.

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The arrival of the finishing touches to the sound system for the night (speakers from Yuri, CD player from Ginno, amplifier borrowed for the occasion by Anthony) and the first guests at 1:00-1:30 left us no time for doing dishes (a mess the next day). After some early-arrivers helped us out by going home to bring back music CDs, the party was off and running – or dancing, I should say. By 2:30 most guests had arrived, I estimate 60-70 or so in all, youth from various groups within the parish – and they all stayed until at least 5:00, dancing most of the time (with the exception of everyone going out into the street to watch a short fire-breathing/spinning exhibition by a friend of Courtney and Julie). With the help of some extra caffeine I made it until 6:00 am, when it was already starting to get light, and the last stragglers didn´t say good-bye until 7:30. A photo as folks just started to arrive:

Though a recuperating sleep would have been nice, instead a band of us shook off the fatigue and headed to the beach (another common New Years custom) at about 9:30 am, alternatingly swimming at taking short naps on the sand. Arriving back at the house at 5:00 pm, I had just one more commitment – singing at the New Years Day 7:00 pm mass with a combined choir before coming home and falling into profound sleep. Happy New Year everyone!

Navidad Chimbotana...la segunda

2009-02-04T09:10:00.000-08:00

I´m back – the IW sisters have recently handed down to us an older computer of theirs that serves well in our house for writing blogs, etc, that can be saved and transferred later to my blog. So, I write these next blog entries from the relative comfort of our own house, where we do our best in the afternoon to lay low and stay inside, away from the strong afternoon heat of full summer.

My celebration of Christmas this year was very distinct from that of 2007, in many ways I was able to enter more fully, I felt, into the rites, festivities, and traditions. In general, I have noticed a big change in my perspective as I experience life here the second time around – for example this January I noticed clearly that the funk of homesickness and feeling out of place that I struggled with last year was not to be found. Below, you will see that even with all the new traditions we encounter, we still found time to bake and decorate Christmas cookies.
At Christmas, instead of just surviving, I participated much more – as an example, I learned a number of Peruvian Christmas carols, both through my singing in the choir and on the guitar from friends Roger and others. I took part, through our much-more-involved youth council, in the actual planning and orchestration of events – a children´s Christmas party, first-ever Christmas Carol festival in the parish, and a Christmas play at Christmas Eve mass – that left great memories for myself and others in the parish. Children´s Christmas parties here are called chocolatadas, because – copying their cold weather counterparts in North America – they serve hot chocolate, even though the heat has already made its first inroads. In addition to hot chocolate, a chocolatada necessarily includes panetón (see previous blog entry), songs and choreographed dances (our parish youth dance group took this on), games and contests, and giving presents. Coordinators of our eight parish neighborhoods invited specific families whom they felt were of the most need, and the youth council decorated the parish hall with lights, balloons, paper-cutout snowflakes  and a large Nativity Scene of styrofoam cutouts (picture below).

Taking advantage of the decorations, we had planned a first-ever Christmas music festival for the evening, following the afternoon chocolatata. Various groups within the parish prepared acts, including a first-communion children´s choir, the two youth/young adult choirs, a couple solo singer/guitarists, our English class (classics in English!), and a composite ´all-star´ group from the two choirs. All in all, December 23 was a beautiful night of music and fellowship, the black styrofoam silhouettes of Mary/Gabriel, the shepherds, and Mary/Joseph/donkey that the youth council had created at our house adorning the candlelit walls. Unfortunately, I accidentally deleted photos of these decorations before saving them – but I did record several of the songs from that night on a new digital recorder, a Christmas/birthday gift from my brother Ryan. As a sidenote, several of these songs, plus some English Christmas carols that my housemate Courtney and I recorded, can be accessed for your listening pleasure at www.reverbnation.com/raymundoycorina. I performed in two groups that night, singing with my choir Trovadores del Evangelio (Troubadors of the Gospel) and accompanying Julie, Jane, Courtney and our English students on guitar (see photo of us on stage below).

Not taking much of a break following the chocolatada and music festival, at 9:00 mass on the 24th a group of 20 of the Confirmation youth put on a Christmas play in the church – a combo of the classic Nativity story and a telling of how St. Francis initiated the tradition of Nativity Scenes by orchestrating the first ´live´ nativity scene in the 13th century. We lacked a couple actors to fill all roles, so I stepped in as Friar León, companion of St. Francis. Unknown to all of us, the priests envisioned the entire cast remaining up front, as a living nativity scene, during the entire mass. Sitting on the floor in bare feet and my Franciscan robe, surrounded by teenage Mary and Joseph, angels, squirrelly young shepherds, etc – a Christmas Eve memory that I will not soon forget.

Though utterly exhausted due to the event, rehearsal, and preparation schedule of the previous days, mass here marks just the beginning of the Christmas celebration, which for all takes place on the 24th and not on the 25th. Tania, a friend of ours from the parish, invited the four of us foreigners to her home for Christmas Eve, la Noche Buena. Tradition is to, at midnight, place the baby Jesus in the Nativity Scene, give hugs all around, and open presents (they had one or two for each person, including one for each of us). Also at midnight, some folks set off fireworks in the street. Finally, a Christmas dinner is served: chicken (or turkey), potatoes, and of course panetón and hot chocolate. Following dinner, the prerequisite for any party – music and dancing. I have only foggy memories of the next couple hours, fighting doggedly to avoid falling into a deep slumber on the couch. Mercifully, we left ´early´ and I was in bed by 3:30 am or so. Christmas itself was low-key – we had a lunch invitation at the home of a community of Dominican sisters here, the same place I shared Thanksgiving with the year before with Emily and Nicole. Several other displaced norteamericanos were also present, as were our own IW sisters for a pleasant outside lunch of chicken, ham, yams, mashed potatoes, salad, and ´pumpkin´ pie. Finally, we four held our gift exchange at home around our two-foot artificial tree and under our hanging snowflake decorations and then laid down for a well-deserved rest.

Panetones

2009-01-18T07:10:00.000-08:00

If you`ve read the entry on November, one thing missing is a description of our our youth council`s panetòn project. Friends Lenin and Nelly, students at the local state university, got the idea while giving me a tour of the campus of renting the agro-industrial center`s kitchen in order to make and sell panetones for Christmas as a fundraiser and service project. First of all, to describe a panetòn: it is a 1 kg cylindrical sweet bread loaf, with a hint of orange flavor and filled with raisins and candied fruit. Sold and eaten by the truckload from late November through New Years, the panetòn is immensely more popular than it`s northern cousin, the similar but heavier fruitcake. With origins in Italy, I have no idea how it became a Peruvian holiday staple, and neither do most people here -- they are just really surprised that we don`t eat panetòn in the US (I assure them that we more than make up for the calories with fudge and Christmas cookies). Anyway, Lenin and Nelly attended a three-day training course on making panetones (I accompanied them the first day) and did a ton of research on prices, products, etc and presented a plan for making 300 panetones in one day, using a popular pre-mix that would greatly simplify the shopping and measuring/adding of ingredients.

Originally nixed by the parish council for fear of not getting their loan of 2000 soles returned, Michi saved the day with a loan to finance the project. To summarize, I spent Thanksgiving Day with about 12 of our youth/young adult leaders, making 312 panetones that we easily sold for 10 soles each (3 soles = $1) -- and we could have sold double for 12 each (next year they plan to make more). Out of the 312 we saved 34 for a Christmas party for parish kids and our Christmas carol festival, more later on those events, with several hundred soles profit and a great group project. To top it off, the panetones turned out very well (maybe its an adaption process, but panetones tasted better to me in general this year than last, and ours was the best I`d tried).

What goes into 300 panetones? A lot: 750 egg yolks, 38 kg raisins, 38 kg candied fruit, 175 kg panetòn mix (flour, sugar, butter, flavorings, etc), water, yeast, elbow grease. I spent three days with a smaller group buying the ingredients, separating egg yolks, and -- most tediously -- sorting through the raisins to remove the overly-dry ones and the occasional stem. How nice that in the US raisins come cleaned already! Overall, a very positive experience for our group, gave us good PR (label read `Panetòn Francisco`), and some funds for future group efforts.

Some Catching up...November

2009-01-17T08:53:00.000-08:00

Hello again! Except for a very brief entry in mid December, I have not managed to post much about my life here, which is not to say that things have been dull. On the contrary (as you may have noticed), as I get more involved in life here, I find it more difficult to sit down and write about it. This is a first 2-3 entries attempting to download some details about the last couple months.

Beginning with November...

CONFIRMATION RETREAT AND MASS
With the group of 35 high-school age youth (whose comments you may have read in previous entries) we held an overnight retreat Nov 8-9 and celebrated a confirmation mass on Sunday, November 23. I was more involved this year in organizing the retreat (transportation, materials, etc), though a team of two guys (Soto, Tino) from the parish who lead youth retreats for a living led the actual talks, dramas, music, etc. Memorable moments, after waiting two hours for the team to show up :), included a campfire songfest with Soto, Tino and my friend Roger. After a number of songs with actions, of prayer, etc that are common in youth settings, the girls and boys had an informal singing competition. With a few seconds to think, the group(girls, then guys) had to sing the chorus of a song in unison. Whichever gender did it better or louder, won that round. First, the theme was 'guys/girls are the cause of pain` type songs, followed by numerous rounds of love songs back and forth. This must have gone on for 30-45 minutes -- definitely a musical culture!

Second, the leaders had invited parents to come on Sunday morning as a surprise to youth, preparing the young people for a reunion with reflections on family life, how they treat their parents, and finally with letters that parents had written beforehand. The moment of reunion was moving for most involved, with tears on old and young faces alike. Many of the parents had been very reluctant to let their children (especially the girls) participate, they having never slept outside the house before, and Yuri (coordinator) and I had to make a few house visits to ease parental concerns in the days before the event. Another notable aspect of the whole experience was the relatively short time in which the retreat was organized, parents informed, etc. With less opportunities and activities to be involved in, youth did not have the conflicts that arise in US parishes -- some of the parents only found out a few days ahead of time when we visited their homes. The experience of accompanying this group of young people for a few months as they learned and grew closer to each other was an enriching aspect to my year here, in this aspect resembling the Confirmation process in the US. Though I will not be here for the next retreat or Mass, I plan to help with the new group when it begins in April until I leave in September.
(For more photos from the retreat, follow this linkhttp://toddsiwmphotos.shutterfly.com/2427)

The Confirmation Mass was, as in the US, a joyful occasion for all on the late Sunday afternoon of November 23. Girls wore nice pearl colored dresses and guys shirts and ties, several kids showed up after the Mass had begun, there was a party and dance in the hall afterward, and we leaders were in charge of keeping the eager family photographers from overwhelming the bishop at the altar during administration of the sacrament. Having also served in a similar crowd-control capacity during the morning First Communion mass, it wasn`t too stressful.

For more pictures of the Mass, follow this link http://toddsiwmphotos.shutterfly.com/2456.

TRIP TO ECUADOR
Soon after the busy schedule of wrapping up the several month Confirmation process, we four missionaries embarked for an all-night bus ride to Machala, Ecuador -- the motive being to get the girls` religious/residency visas to replace their temporary tourist visas. You might remember that Nicole, Emily and I made a similar trip in November of 2007, and I technically did not have to go again. But, we decided that my previous experience would be helpful and that the trip would be good community bonding. This year, however, we made a couple strategic errors: arriving on a Friday and not calling in advance. These errors were key because the Consul, who needed to sign our visas, was out of town until Tuesday morning and we were left with no option but to stay three extra nights in Machala, the self-proclaimed banana capital of the world. In this pleasant but not overly-interesting (in a tourist sense) city in far south Ecuador, we spent our time reading and watching cable TV movies and CNN when we weren`t on our outing to the mall (wonder of wonders), the beach, or cruising around the small downtown with its very attractive main plaza. The beach was a treat, involving a short bus ride and then a boat ride through mangrove swamp from the harbor to the beach.

The trip ended successfully with the girls getting their visas, though through a misunderstanding with the hotel staff we had agreed to a price more than double what we thought. Photos from our adventure in Ecuador (where it is hotter but they use ice in their blended drinks) can be found by following the photo link at right.

More later, as my internet time is about to expire...
God bless!

New Photos

2008-12-15T09:15:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! After a decent absence, a short entry for now to let you know that I`ve posted some photos from the past couple months on my photo site, link at right.

Life has been full here, as I prepare for my second Peruvian Christmas. Also since my last entry, we had our Confirmation and first communion masses, a trip to Ecuador with Jane/Julie/Courtney to get their residency visas, our youth council shopped for, made, and sold 300 panetones (1 kg sweet bread, super popular here for Christmas time), we`re preparing a Christmas music concert and Christmas play with our young people (including our English students singing some English carols). My internet time a this moment is running out, but soon I will write some more details and reflections. God bless.

Peruvian youth: What do you know about the US?

2008-11-13T09:21:00.001-08:00

I asked Confirmation youth here in our parish (14-18 years old) to answer a few questions about themselves in order to begin an interchange with Confirmation youth from my former parish in Corvallis, Oregon. In this entry I have posted their responses to the question of what they know about the US, and in the previous entry I share what they like and dislike about Peru.

What do you know about the United States?
That it is a globalized country and is very developed as much in technology as in its people.

That is is a very big country, with a lot of people with charitable spirits.

Well, it is a country that is very developed in all aspects.

nothing

It is a country that is considered the greatest world power that has an excellent government that helps the country advance more and more each day.

I know that it was the first country to develop and libertate itself in all aspects in respect to the 13 colonies, and that this stimulated Latin America to be free. There is acid rain there and it is polluted; in truth I know a lot of other things also.

That it is very beautiful, very well organized, and has a good government.

Well, I just know that there a lot differences between the United States and Peru.

That it is very populated, developed, orderly, nice, and has big universities and casinos.

That it is a very developed country with the most opportunity of any country in the world.

Well, I only know that it is nice there. I have an uncle who lives there in the United States.

That it is a very developed country, technological, but like all countries has defect; but very beautiful.

That it`s a very nice country, the majority speak English but like latin features and customs, the same as we like their features and customs, and that it is a very developed country.

That it is a very modern country with a lot of technology, and with many nice people.

It is a very big country that has a lot of work and opportunities,, and there is a lot of technology.

Well, that it is a developed country and that the things there are good in comparison to the things in Peru.

It`s a country, considered the biggest world power, that has an excellent government that helps the country move forward each day

It is very beautiful and calm, there are many pretty things.

That it is a very developed country, it has a lot of riches, it is very beautiful, and it is very big.

That it is a very beautiful country, orderly and very clean. In addition it is very beautiful and that there are many beaches and casinos there.

That it was a world power and that currently it has been surpassed by Japan.

The United States is a country of many qualities (riches, poverty, good wellbeing); mostly I hear that it is a country that is very advanced, full of free people, work can be found, it has a good government, very civilized country and very developed. Although sometimes Peruvians there are a little discriminated against and treated poorly, but only in their work.

That it is one of the biggest countries in economic development, it’s another life. My dream is to be able to step on a soccer field there.

That it is big, beautiful, full of hard-working people, but they don`t have time for God.

That it is one of the most important countries in the world and that it has an economy that is very stable. That it supports many Latin American countries.

That it is a great world power, that it participated in World War II, that it had a rivalry with the Soviet Union, in the 90`s its economy was very good.

That it is a very nice country, they speak English, the people that live in the United States are kind and good.

I don`t know anything.

nothing

That it is an underdeveloped country, with a lot of technology and it offers jobs.

That it is a very developed country.

That it is a very developed country, very nice, big, and its language is English

I think it is an important country where there is work, and I think it is a country that is very far ahead.

Peruvian youth: What do you like/dislike about Peru?

2008-11-13T09:13:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in my previous entry, I asked Confirmation youth (14-18 years old) to answer a few questions about themselves in order to begin an interchange with Confirmation youth from my former parish in Corvallis, Oregon. Below I share their responses to a couple of the questions:

What do you like about your country?
I haven´t visited every part, but it´s a country very rich in natural resources, architecture, its people.

Well, almost nothing.

That we have many riches to share and our people.

The traditional food, the groups of people and dancing

It`s people, customs, cities like Mancora, Lima, etc.

I like the customs.

I like the archeological sites

I like all things we grow here and our cultures.

I like the tourist places.

I like its landscapes, its museums of the great cultures that it had, Cuzco (Machu Picchu).

I like it`s tourist and recreation sites.

I like its people, their way of treating others.

I like the landscapes, the food, and the people.

It has places for recreation, tourist sites, and good food.

What I like about my country is that Peru is the only country that has such a diversity of cultures, beautiful places, etc.

That it has a variety of tourist attractions.

I like its mysteries.

I like the people.

I like our food.

Well, about my country, I like the beaches (Mancora), its museums (like the Lord of Sipàn), the ruins of Machu Picchu (Cusco), and all that is related to the Incan culture.

I like Machu Picchu since it is a wonder that is in our country.

I like its people, its recreation centers, everything there is here.

Almost nothing

I like that Peruvians are hardworkers.

I like the tourist sites that exist.

Machu Picchu and Cuzco.

What I like about this country is Machu Picchu.

What I like are its tourist sites, beautiful places to visit, and the food.

I like the food and dancing.

I like the climate and Peruvian food.

The great riches that we have, like for example, Machu Picchu, and the food is delicious.

What changes would you like to see in Peru?

In truth, a lot more work, opportunities, and that poverty stops.

I would like that the governors change so that the people might be able to change.

That it would be cleaner and that we would take better care of our riches.

I would like there to be no corruption, violence, etc.

I wish that the politics were more clean, just, and not corrupt.

I would like to change the social and economic aspects, and the politics of the whole government

I would like it if there were no more crime and delinquency.

I wish that there were no gangs.

I would like there to be more order in Peru so that there could be more development and progress and also that there wouldn`t be so much gang activity.

I would like to see all the change that is possible.

I would like there to be no deliquency or crime, and that the people here would change.

I would change the pollution and the bad leaders of the state (presidents).

I don`t like the crime and delinquency, the pollution.

I would to see the following changes: no crime or delinquency, no gangs, no poverty, etc.

I would like it to be more united, respectful, and that people would say no to injustice and corruption.

I would like to see my country more united and that there wouldn`t be people who are indifferent to the needs of others.

I would like the politics to change

I wish it would be more calm and with a lot of peace.

I would like there to be more work opportunities that jobs would pay well.

I would like there to be no gangs, for it to be cleaner so that it could develop more.

What I would like to see changed is that foreigners aren`t taken advantage of and that they treat them in a friendly way.

I would make changes in the form of government, in that they would do a little more of what we as citizens do in order that Peru could grow more.

Perhaps if there were social changes or improvements in politics.

I would like that there would be nobody in gangs and that that everyone would know how to read.

I would like to see more opportunity for Peruvians and foreigners to visit the tourist sites

I would like there to be no poverty.

I would like to change the president.

The changes that should happen are that there should be more organizations that take care of the natural environment.

more work and help for the most needy

I would like to see changes in the conduct of our citizens, that they would have more love for their country an take care of and value it, not make it dirtier.

I would like to see less poverty and environmental pollution.

Un Halloween Peruano

2008-11-13T07:54:00.000-08:00

Greetings! Some snapshots of events since my entry on October 30:

HALLOWEEN/DIA DE LA CANCIÒN CRIOLLA
Although the US customs of Halloween (costumes, mostly) have made small inroads here, the primary celebration on October 31 is Criolla (Peruvian Spanish) Music day, in which this style of music -- usually slow-tempo, with a lot of intricate guitar work and a cajòn drum (which is a box you sit on an hit with your hands) -- is celebrated. Also, the fact that the following day, November 1, is a national holiday due to being All Saints Day gives more reason to celebrate late into the night (Peruvians don`t need much push in that area). Our choir planned a social event, though in typical style the nature of our outing was in doubt until the day before, when we decided to have a party in the house of Alex (a friend of mine and a member of the choir) instead of braving the crowds at the karaoke places or discotecas. At the designated meeting time of 9:00, a couple people besides myself were present, but by 10:00 a few of the guys were there and they began an impromptu concert in the street outside the house where we rehearse while we were waiting for others. With two guitars and a cajòn they played and sang out on the sidewalk for nearly and hour, me enjoying the live and unique concert and appreciating their substantial guitar skills, wishing I could somehow record such a Peruvian moment. At around 11:00, we walked with instruments to Alex`s where the show continued -- mixed in with CD recordings -- until around 2:00 am. At this point I called it quits and walked home with my friend Roger, but Julie, Jane, and Courtney stayed dancing until nearly 5:00. In typical fashion for our choir (unlike the usual case of US parish choirs, ours is predominantly guys) we were about 10 guys and the only girls were my housemates. A memorable night all in all.

CONFIRMATION GROUP
We are nearing the close of this year`s confirmation program, with the ceremony coming up on November 23. Their initial offerings in the Corvallis-Chimbote interchange have been translated and sent, and in my next entry I plan to share a few of their responses that might interest you. Our one-night retreat took place last weekend, November 8-9, and though was organized a bit last-minute for my taste, the two-man team who led the retreat (a part-time job for them) did a solid job -- they have a gift for being crazy, goofy, funny, prayerful, and powerful at the appropriate moments. On Saturday night we had a bonfire at the retreat center just on the edge of town, with lots of music and singing. For at least a half-hour the girls and guys traded turns singing songs to each other: first `guy hate girl and girl hate guy` songs and then love songs. Then, just general singing to religious and popular music. Par for the course, I didn`t get much sleep. On Sunday morning, youth were presented with letters their parents had written ahead of time and at the closing their parents entered the room for a pre-planned but surprise (for the youth) visit, which for many was a powerful moment of reconciliation.

GENERAL REFLECTIONS
I`ve been missing home a little more recently, the season of fall seems to be when I notice the lack of beloved seasonal rites the most: birthdays, football, fall colors, Thanksgiving, etc. Summer is not here yet, so -- knowing this year the heat that will inevitably come -- I am doing my best to appreciate and savor the still-cool mornings and refreshing breezes. It strikes me that despite the distinctly slower pace of life here compared with the US, it is still quite easy to become involved in the day-to-day of the local community and personal relationships to leave undone efforts to build wider networks or projects for societal change. The gospel today is about the kingdom being among us, and this is a good reminder -- God is already working here. My role isn`t to start from scratch but to notice where the spirit is moving and to nurture/encourage/build on this. Not every moment or every day in any place, ministry, etc. will be gratifying or fulfilling, but if I look attentively I will find small moments to savor. Some of these moments come from the slow but steady progress in the area of guitar playing as I continue my twice weekly lessons with Roger, who is also becoming a good friend. We have changed the time and day so that now Courtney can join Roberto and I in the group. When we are all three practicing different strums, etc, at the same time the sound is a bit discordant, but a joyful one. Yesterday was Julie`s 22nd birthday, and I helped the celebration by preparing a US-style cake from scratch and, with Roberto`s help, a homemade ceviche lunch. Saturday evening the youth council has planned a Festival de la Risa (Festival of Laughter), with several parish groups preparing and rehearsing short comedic skits or routines to share. Also this weekend, Fr. Carlos has arranged for a seminar on parenting, obliging confirmation parents to attend two mornings and one afternoon. It would never work to add an obligatory gathering like that with two weeks notice in a US parish.

Anyway, I`ll sign off. Have a blessed day -- may you savor the small joys.

13 meses...

2008-10-30T09:43:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Chimbote,
(Author`s note: After writing this entry, I realize that I have rambled in a haphazard, stream of consciousness type manner. I hope you will forgive the disorganization as I share with you a dumping out of some of my recent thoughts.)

Time seems to go by quickly here, just passed the 13-months-in-Chimbote mark this week, and my time remaining here seems short now rather than long. I am celebrating events and seasons for the second time around now, from a perspective that can only come as a result of the intervening months. A year ago I was still in a sling from my dislocated, looking for where I might be useful, Emily and Nicole were doing my laundry, and I was going on four weeks without a shower, getting ready to start English classes the first week of November, and not really knowing enough people to to have a birthday party. Now, Emily and Nicole are back in the US, I have three great new missionary companions, we have grown in numbers and organization in our English courses, my arm is good and strong, and we just had about 70 people over, with a live band, to celebrate my birthday at 9:00 on a Sunday night. It was actually visits from the two choirs last year for Emily and I`s birthday that began a process of meeting more people in the parish. I have ideas for more projects than there are time for, I have adapted more to the flexible rhythm of life, and have gotten a lot better at subjunctive verb forms. I still miss fall and its rites -- football, leaves, crisp air, etc -- but not as poignantly as last year. I have found a few good friends that I know I will miss, even as I also know I will be excited to return to the US to see and be with family. I missed being with Suzanne, Ryan, Michelle, Mom and Dad as they gathered in Redding during this week when my dad had a major surgery, but the marvels of modern communication have also helped keep us in better touch that we imagined before I came. I am enjoying the guitar lessons from Roger, finally getting a little grasp of the theory behind it all, and still pick up the quena and zampoña now and then. Our JUMIFRA youth council has big plans for advent and Christmas -- posadas, Christmas play, Christmas music concert, Christmas party and gifts for parish children, our own website through a free program offered by the archdiocese -- I`ll be sure to share stories and photos from all this as it comes along. On Sundays, instead of running out into the fields as I do most mornings, I continue my custom of walking past downtown to the ocean (about 30 minutes each way) -- past the honking cars, the combi assistants drumming up business, the elderly ladies selling all shapes and sizes of fresh-baked bread from huge baskets on the street, the greasy feel and smell of the sidewalk along Galvez Street near the market, people stopping for fresh-squeezed orange juice at street stands where the reuse the glasses after a perfunctory rinse, the smell of meat frying and fresh fish all mixing together. There were Sundays last year at this time when, upon arriving at the (very polluted, I now realize) bay, I wondered to myself what the heck I was doing here. Why had I come? I still might not know exactly the end purpose of my stay here in this desert port city, but thoughts of regret stopped coming to me a long while back. I know I have -- and will be -- changed when my time comes to return to the US, even though I struggle when asked to define the exact nature of this change. In a discussion with my housemates this week about our spirituality as missionaries, we agreed that in some ways we are not challenged as much here in our faith: sermons are only occasionally engaging or inspiring (aside from the language issue) and faith of people as a generalization tends to be less intellectual and individual than we are accustomed to in the US, instead the focus being on community, ritual and feast day celebration, and music. The parish here, we are discovering in our survey conversations with youth, has a huge potencial to be a place of gathering for youth: to learn (faith based and otherwise), develop skills (art, music, carpentry, baking, etc), socialize (a safe place to interact with others in a neighborhood and city that holds so many potencial dangers and detours for young people), and work toward societal change (environmental pollution and conservation, less corruption and better use of resources, etc). We have thus far taken a few small steps toward addressing these potencial roles, but so much more could be done (I am finding that even writing this reflection is newly inspiring me to keep striving onward). Though I am sometimes not challenged or inspired intellectually as I might be in a US parish, we agreed that just living here daily challenges us to solidarity, to simplicity (those cold showers will never be easy), to self-reflection on priorities, to a weighing of this new culture -- its positives and negatives -- that I am immersed in. I pray each day that I might be open to what God might want to teach me, that I might have eyes to see and take in even the small details of this gift of an experience, and that somehow I might be able to plant seeds that will someday grow into a harvest of a better, saner, healthier and more just life here in Chimbote, Peru.

Fiesta de San Francisco

2008-10-08T09:25:00.000-07:00

Greetings! Before beginning, an editor`s note: Courtney is not from St. Paul, as I mistakenly indicated in my last entry, but from Minneapolos. Apparently there is a rivalry between the two cities, and she wanted to make sure I knew the true site of her origin. I hope that by writing a bit more often, I can avoid the extra-long entries such as last week`s and give a few more details along the way. Within the next few days, I`ll post photos of some of the events described below, but for now a summary...

FIESTA PATRONAL
Last week and weekend was occupied with activities surrounding the parish celebration of its patron saint (St. Francis), and with the parish run by Franciscan priests, the feast holds even more weight. As they do each year, we first had a procession through some of the parish neighborhoods carrying the large platform with the image of St. Francis, accompanied by a band and various parish groups (Confirmation, choirs, prayer groups) and a number of students from the public high school (Santa Marìa Reyna) across the street, many carrying signs. As happened last year, I was drafted to take shifts helping to carry the image, and my memory of the moments of marching through the evening streets, alegre music, watching out for dips in the dirt, the people watching from the houses, is one that will stay with me and return, I hope, each year at this time. In addition to the normal parish festivities, this year a young man named Elmer, who grew up in the parish, was ordained at a Mass on Saturday the 4th, the actual feast day, with a lunch and entertainment following. Youth of the parish were in charge of decorations and of organizing the entertainment for the 500 people who were to attend. Each night during the week about 10 of us gathered to cut out stirofoam letters, paint, etc, and then arrived 6:00 am Saturday to sweep, blow up balloons, make a balloon arch, etc. Our English class performed a song (Here I am, Lord) in English and several of the members helped serve food. They were nervous, but did pretty well -- Jane, Courtney and Julie joined the singing and Jane also performed later with the parish folkloric dance group. Several other individual youth and my choir also sang. We finished the day tired but satisfied. The Saturday ended with a birthday party of one of the girls in my choir, which I departed from `early` at 1:30 a.m. very sleepily.

ONE YEAR REFLECTIONS
On Sunday we rested a bit before going with the confirmation group to a multi-parish youth rally in downtown Chimbote, 3-9 in the afternoon/evening. A few short talks and testimonies, lots of music (with associated actions and dancing) and finally a festive mass to close made for a fun event which was also valuable for me in a reflective sense as I evaluate my goals for the coming year. A few main general goals/plans as to what my next year here might look like...
1)Neighborhood intra-parish youth communities and home visit initiative -- I envision working with current leaders and group members to make personal contact with more youth in the various sectors that the parish serves. Having made personal contact these next three months, I picture inviting them to a retreat during the summer (Jan-March) for the dual purpose of spiritual growth and motivating the formation of small fellowship communities that will continue meeting afterward in their neighborhoods. These small groups would then be a base for continued growth personally for the youth, but also for initiatives concerning the environment, local social change, parish events, etc. As a start, I went out the weekend before this last one with Lenin and Nelly and we had some good conversations with about 12 young people over the course of a couple hours, using a form of our earlier survey which I have modified to provoke a bit of faith-based conversation and discussion.
2)Inter-parish networks for change -- The experience of meeting with youth leaders from various parishes in advance of this weekend`s rally, and seeing the success of the effort (400-500 youth for the first time event), inspired the idea in me to work toward building relationships between these leaders/groups and those of our own parish, especially around issues of common concern (again, pollution comes to mind) as a step to more coordinated church-based effort to effect actual social change. In addition, I believe that if youth see that their church in truth takes real-life problems seriously and is working to improve the world, they may be more likely to see it as worth investing their time in becoming involved. A start would be to go with members of our youth council to visit leaders from other parishes, and then meet together with those who are interested to come up with a common vision. I know the diocese here has monthly meetings for youth workers, but I don`t see much real connection or coordinated efforts.
3)Continue to offer English classes, which can empower and create more opportunities for those who apply themselves to it but has the side benefit of being another way to connect with the parish.
4)Continue to take advantage of opportunities to learn and grow in musical endeavors: guitar, flute, etc. I am learning a lot from Roger and am excited about the opportunitiy to develop this part of me. Julie commented to me in her first couple weeks here about how musical a person I am, which struck me because I have never seen myself in that way. Here, though, I feel more freedom to explore and do what I can, even if I will never sing amazingly.
5)Accompany the confirmation groups, and attempt to initiate a program of follow-up for those who are confirmed, a plan for helping them continue to meet and build on both the fellowship, personal growth, and parish involvement that have definitely grown during their experience of preparation. As in the US as well, it is such a shame to lose that by forgetting about the confirmed youth as soon as the ceremony is over. I hope to take some time to brainstorm and formulate a strategy.
6)Corvallis-Chimbote confirmation interchange. I have had our kids here in the confirmation group fill out forms about who they are, what they like, their impression of their country and of the US, etc, and have had our advanced English students help me translate them. In these next few days I will be sending them via email, with electronic photo, to the confirmation youth in Corvallis -- who are working on a parallel intro-form in English. After translating to Spanish, we will have the first step of a cultural exchange and hopefully continued contact between some of them, to encourage the realization of the larger body of Christ and how people in another part of the world live.

Well, I realize now that though this entry does have more details, it is no shorter than the last one -- sorry! As always, thanks for reading and God bless.

2008-09-30T11:28:00.000-07:00

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.

Transitions...

2008-09-12T08:23:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-09-11T10:41:00.001-07:00

I have been away from the blogdesk for some time, but promise a thorough update of the past month within a few days. Until then, I offer the text of an article that I recently wrote for the Peruvian Incarnate Word Sisters` bulletin, in which I reflect on my experience after nearly one year here. Also, I have posted a couple of albums of recent photos which you can see by accessing the link at right. Enjoy!

THE CHIMBOTE MISSIONARY LIFE (written August 4, 2008)

I found the Incarnate Word Missionaries ad in the Response catalog of an organization called Catholic Network of Volunteer Service, or CNVS, in the spring of 2007 as I was exploring options for living and serving in Latin America for an extended period. Two previous visits to Guatemala and several service trips with youth to Tijuana had triggered and sustained this calling, this tug on my heart that did not go away even amidst the busy and fulfilling life of youth ministry in a U.S. Catholic parish. This interior stirring, combined with a growing sense of the ignorance of most US citizens (and Catholics) of life outside the US and a desire to help build bridges and encourage increased solidarity in my fellow US Christians, was plenty of motivation for sending CNVS interest forms to about 10 congregational volunteer programs. About four later I had chosen – and had been chosen by – the Incarnate Word Missionary program of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate word.

Following a three-week orientation and retreat period in San Antonio, I embarked with my fellow Peru IWM`s – Emily and Nicole Tardio, from Cincinnati, Ohio – on our adventure into the unknown. Our daily sessions and discussions at the University of the Incarnate Word had included a wide range of topics, from cross-cultural sensitivity and culture shock to CCVI history, journaling, and recommendations for living together in community. Still, we grew more and more eager to actually see our new home, city, country – what would our new life be like? Despite the best efforts of Meg and Tere, we all three feel that the true orientation was `on the job,` so to speak. What have we learned these eleven months? From the unique perspective of this August Monday morning in Chimbote, I seek to share with you some reflections as I ponder this very worthy question.

RAW FISH ISN`T THAT BAD
Though fans of sushi might already have learned this, we have come to enjoy this concoction of raw fish (can also include shellfish), garlic, lime juice, ajì (hot pepper), sweet potato, yucca, and corn. The typical Chimbotano eats ceviche multiple times each week – if not every day – usually as a mid-morning snack, at home or one of the ubiquitous formal and informal (i.e. the clean and the hygienically questionable) cevicherìas.

MOPPING THE FLOOR IS A LOSING BATTLE
Dust is a reality of life here – it keeps coming, and coming, and coming. We began by mopping the whole house each week, only to judge the effort pointless – we succeeded only in moving the dirt around and removing a few footprints. Though we now have settled into sweeping once per week and mopping occasionally, we have developed a certain dust tolerance and never go barefoot in the house.

WHAT SMELL?
Warned numerous times before our arrival how Chimbote smells strongly of fish, we were pleasantly surprised not to smell anything out of the ordinary as we got off the bus for the first time, Sister Juanita there to meet us. Nowadays, we learned, fishing periods are limited due to past over-fishing – which is bad news for the local economy but good news for local lungs. Still, we have had a taste of `the smell of money`, as they say here, for a few short periods.

TIME IS RELATIVE
I have adjusted somewhat, but I don`t think I will ever fully get used to the flexible conception of time and schedules, i.e. `Let`s say the meeting starts at 7:00 so that we will be sure to start by 7:30.` Why not just say it starts at 7:30 and actually start then? I naively ask. Because then everyone won`t arrive until 8:00. On the positive side, I love how I can organize an outing with 5-10 friends with a day`s notice.

ENGLISH IS A DIFFICULT LANGUAGE TO LEARN
As one of our steady ministries here we offer a program of English classes within the parish, now with three different levels. A couple realizations: English pronunciation is difficult, we have many expressions that make no literal sense, and teaching English is a lot more complicated than just knowing how to speak it.

PERUVIANS LOVE TO DANCE TO LOUD MUSIC
What`s a party without dancing? Well, here it wouldn`t be a party at all. I enjoy the festive culture, but the noise level of parties (like from the `social and cultural association` across the street) and life in general has taken some getting used to. We can sleep through the dogs no problem by now, though the garbage truck`s horn remains impossible to work into one`s dreams.

OUR WORK AND PRESENCE IS APPRECIATED
Though my parish work in the US was more involved, took more time, and sometimes produced more tangible `results` than my efforts here, I have experienced genuine welcome and appreciation that in my own culture we often don`t take the time to express. Especially in my first couple months here (complicated by a dislocated elbow playing basketball) I felt like I was floating a bit – looking for where I would find a niche, where I would do my `work.` Now I have more projects in mind than there is time to start, yet have adopted a slower, more patient rhythm and expectations.

CHIMBOTE IS NOT A TOURIST CITY
A major struggle for the three of us has been the general lack of security here coupled with our glaring `non-anonymity.` With few gringos around, we attract attention (especially Emily and Nicole) wherever we go. Experiences of being robbed in the street have made us more watchful and careful as to when, where, and carrying which things we will walk around. Though we are more obvious targets due to the association of gringos with money, our friends who live here also are victims of crime and have to take precautions.

PROBLEMS ARE BIG, BUT PEOPLE WANT CHANGE
The struggles that many here face – individually and as a society – can seem overwhelming and an adequate response impossible: pollution and garbage, lack of work, poverty, the humble living conditions of some hospice patients, corrupt and inefficient government, inadequate health care services, despair and drug use, gangs, crime, etc. Still, especially among the young people I have met in my work at the parish, hope and desire for change are alive and well. How do I help them take their own steps toward transforming their reality? I feel that my first year has been full of learning – now how do I convert some of my new found understanding into concrete actions that make a difference? Even that statement, I realize, reflects my own bias toward action as more important than presence.

I CAN SING?
I have loved my experience of Peruvian music here – not so much the cumbia/pop of Grupo 5 (the group of the moment) flowing out of the mototaxis and late-night parties, but my opportunity to help create music as part of a parish youth choir here. I have generally enjoyed singing in church in the past, but with an admittedly soft voice and very little confidence. Still, I was invited to join one of our two youth choirs and have seen significant improvement in both qualities. Inspired by the talented musicians in the choir and among our friends here, I have increased my guitar skills and taken up learning to play the zamponia and quena, two styles of traditional Andean flutes.

THE INCARNATE WORD SISTERS IN PERU ARE COOL
When we arrived to Jorge Chàvez airport in September, Sisters Silvia and Elia were there to meet us. Sister Juanita met our bus in Chimbote and gave us a several-day tour and orientation to our new city. Sister Pilar, Sister Hirayda and Sister Elia helped make possible the attendance of 14 Chimbote youth at a two-week youth ministry training course in Lima. The communities of Comas and San Juan Lurigancho made my stay in Lima in June – for a Peruvian reality course at the Bartholomew de las Casas Institute – both possible and a lot of fun, and Sister Teresa de Jesùs in Huancanè showed us great hospitality in cold Huancanè. Being a missionary here I have genuinely felt a welcome and included member of the IW congregational community, and I am very grateful for this and the friendships with sisters that have developed.

I LIKE MY LIFE HERE
The slow and patient rhythm, time to read and practice music during the afternoon siesta (the girls sleep a bit more than I do), the numerous chances to serve and accompany young people, not being in charge, continually improving my Spanish, friendships that have grown quickly in comparison to past experiences of moving to new places in the US, the cheap and flavorful food, the colorful chaos of the outdoor market. Chimbote is far from perfect, and there are moments when I strongly miss my family, my culture. I have been an Incarnate Word Missionary in Chimbote for almost one year of my two year term, and there is still so much to do and see and learn. I already know that when I leave I will be both excited to return home and sad to leave, to say goodbye to the people and the life I led. I do know too, however, that my experience here – given to me by the CCVI sisters – will help me live out my call as a Christian to live as a missionary of the gospel wherever I find myself in the future.

Hace tiempo...

2008-08-14T07:50:00.000-07:00

Greetings! Yes, I know it`s been a while since I last wrote, so here`s an attempt to catch up on what I`ve been up to. Before going further -- want to notify you of a few pictures of recent events (like our new water pump!) are posted on my photo site, link at right.

In some ways, this month since my return to Chimbote has been quite difficult. Without going into more detail than necessary or appropriate in this forum, I would be leaving out a lot if I didn`t tell you that Michi and I have broken up as of a couple weeks ago. After a good amount of soul searching, the decision was my initiative -- just a lot harder than I thought it would be to keep the relationship going from my end during this separation. We are remaining friends and in touch, trying to trust where God might be leading us in the future.

On other topics, a few highlights:

UPCOMING CHANGE OF HOUSEMATES
Time seems to have hurried by, as we near the 11-month anniversary of our arrival in Peru and Chimbote. August will be the final month for Nicole and Emily`s service at the hospice here. On September 9th they will leave Chimbote for a stay in the mountains of Huaraz, southwest of here, and then a trip and tour to the Amazon jungle region of Iquitos in NW Peru. Their flight back to Cincinatti will be September 19. Even before then, however, my new fellow missionaries and housemates will be arriving in Peru, even now they are in the midst of their three-week orientation at the Incarnate Word mother house in San Antonio, TX. Julie (Connecticut), Courtney (Minnesota), and Jane (Missouri) will fly into Lima on Monday, August 25. I will make the trip to Lima to meet them at the airport and, while we take care of their immigration paperwork, will help give a tour of major Lima sites during a 2-3 day stay, during which they will also be able to meet the IW sisters living in Lima. On the 28th or 29th we should all be in Chimbote, where Emily, Nicole, Sr. Juanita and I are planning a local orientation. I am looking forward to meeting my new companions, though will miss Nicole and Emily to be sure. Forming a new community with its own life and rhythms will be exciting but at the same time a period of transition no doubt, as we get to know each other. I hope, with a year of experience, to be able to soften their landing a bit.

In preparation for the arrival of Jane, Julie, and Courtney we have been making steady efforts to get the house in shape. Recent improvements/repairs have included a shiny new water pump installed by Eduardo, employee of our landlord Hector and veteran of multiple visits to repair the old pump. So, we now have consistent running water in the tap, which we long ago stopped taking for granted. The recent spell of collecting water in buckets twice daily, about 3-4 weeks, became quite routine. Filling everything and washing dishes before the water shut off at 8 am, filling tubs as needed in the afternoon between 4 and 5, bucket showers, etc. Other projects have included a major weed-chopping session in the back yard, work with handyman Oscar on the upstairs laundry sink drains and replacement of the switch of the downstairs shower, which had shorted out and no longer functioned. We still lack a general, thorough cleaning -- which we will do closer to the arrival date -- but with running water, warm showers, and draining sinks we are living the high life :).

IW REGIONAL ASSEMBLY, JULY 27-28
As part of the yearly assembly of Peru-based Incarnate Word sisters in Lima, we missionaries and lay associates were invited for a weekend of prayer, talks, sharing, and a fun talent show. As representative of our house (Nicole and Emily had just returned from a few-day trip to Cajamarca and couldn`t get away from their work) I put together a slide show summarizing our experiences -- good and challenging -- as missionaries in Chimbote. In the evening Saturday, each community was asked to share an artistic talent. There were a few songs, traditional dances, and I played the zampoña, a traditional Andean flute that I have begun learning. It was a festive visit with the sisters, several of which have become good friends. The day was part of their four-day meeting in which they reflected on their history in Peru and what their visions were for the future.

PARISH EVENTS
On August 9 I joined a parish bus up to the town of Pariacoto, a two-hour trip to the site where two Franciscan friars were martyred by the terrorist group Shining Path in 1991. August 9th is the anniversary of the event, and we shared a mass, two short hikes, and lunch in the peaceful town (I had been there twice before). Several of my friends from the Youth Council went along, and it was a good day. The same weekend, the youth council sponsored a breakfast fundraiser to raise money for two upcoming events: a talk this Saturday about the environmental problems in Chimbote and a youth concert on August. We made and sold chicken sandwiches (sandwiches can be eaten any time of day except for lunch) and `quaker` -- a cooked oatmeal drink with cinnamon, cloves, milk, and a little cocoa. We sold a sandwich and drink for 1.5 soles, about $0.50, and made around 120 soles profit. Considering average monthly wages for official jobs are 300-500 soles here, not too bad. To cap off the exhausting schedule, I helped by accompanying a Confirmation field trip to a local soccer field/park complex and had a couple choir rehearsals. I am happy to back in Chimbote more steadily, even though I also enjoyed my time away in June and July. Our new cycle of English classes is now in full swing, now with three levels and about 20 students -- three nights per week of class and one for conversation practice. I`ve recently located ground ginger and something called `Algarrobina` that resembles molasses, so have made ginger snaps and ginger bread for our conversation gatherings and a spice cake to celebrate Nicole`s birthday on July 23rd.

The youth council is excited about our environmental event this weekend -- we`ve visited local schools and several have committed to sending a science teacher with 20-30 students to participate.

Think I`ll close for now, next entry I hope to offer some one-year reflections and goals for the second half of my time here. God bless!

Dulce Hogar (Home Sweet Home)

2008-07-19T08:52:00.000-07:00

Greetings everyone! After an exciting period of three weeks in Lima for the Peruvian reality course, one week home, Michi`s visit to Chimbote, and then our two-week journey to southern Peru, it is good to be home again. A few new photos from our time in Chimbote and the first leg of our trip are available through the link at right.

Some highlights since my last entry:

FEAST OF ST. PETER, PATRON OF CHIMBOTE
Michi`s arrival coincided with the annual fiesta honoring St. Peter, the patron saint of fishing-centered Chimbote. Thus, our four days here were a bit more packed with activity than they would have been, but all worth it in the end. Besides accompanying me to a couple confirmation meetings, an English class, and on a morning of hospice visits, Michi was able to take in the fireworks and musical performances downtown on Saturday night and the nautical procession (with the image of St. Peter in the lead boat) to the mouth of the bay on Sunday morning. We arose early to be at the pier at 7:00 am for a place in line and found a place with other young people from the parish on a large fishing boat -- a number of the fishing boats load up passengers for the free cruise/procession. After a bit of waiting, St. Peter`s boat appeared and the rest of the boats followed to the mouth of the bay, where the bishop blessed the boats, fish, bay, etc. Our boat then took a forty-minute additional cruise out past the mouth and the White Islands on a day that had turned beautifully sunny after a foggy start. We closed the morning with ceviche at a local restaurant with some friends from the parish.

Besides the procession, we also joined a group of my friends to tour the vivero forestal (city park) and see the fair there, with products and animals for sale from many regional towns and farms. Also, my friend Lucciani helped us prepare ceviche in our house, accompanying us to the market to buy the raw materials and orchestrating the production once we got back home. Though the hot water shower head stopped working a couple days before Michi arrived, she was a good sport about it. And at least the pump was working to provide water in the tap -- during our trip it died once again and we are now back to collecting our daily water in buckets in the morning and evening.

AREQUIPA
After our full time in Chimbote, we boarding a bus for a two-part trip to Arequipa, the second largest city in Peru and reknowned for its white stone buildings. The overnight trip wasn`t great, and I got sick with diarhea and headache later in the day, causing us to miss the key attraction of the Santa Catalina convent. We were fortunate, though, to enjoy the hospitality and company of Isabel and Inma, two Spanish missionaries who I`d met in Lima at my course on Peruvian Reality. I slept most of our second day there before we took another night bus to Cuzco -- but before getting sick were able to cruise around the downtown and the square, even enjoying some live traditional music in a coffee shop.

CHIMBOTE
Back in Chimbote, I am preparing for the start of a new term of English classes -- we are adding one more night each week in order to offer a beginner`s course in addition to continuing with the two groups we had during the last term. I have a few ideas for projects in the upcoming year, and am excited for what lies ahead. Thanks for tuning in!

May-June Photos...

2008-06-24T09:30:00.000-07:00

Just a short entry to let you know that photos from a few May-June events are now posted on the photo link at right, including shots from our ceviche making, English class field trip, birthday party for friend Lenin at our house, and shots from my recent trip to Lima (see post below).

I`ve jumped right back into life here, with Confirmation classes, basketball, choir practice and singing at mass, and English classes. I`m also preparing to leave again soon, excited for the visit of Michi at the end of the week. The next blog entry will be in mid-July, after her visit: a few days here in Chimbote and then two weeks of travel to Arequipa, Cuzco/Machu Picchu, and Lake Titicaca. God bless, and happy independence day!

La Vida Limeña

2008-06-18T13:52:00.000-07:00

Greetings to all! This entry comes to you from Lima, capital of Peru and home to about 8 million people (of about 28 million total in the country). Photos posted soon (don`t have the right cables with me).

INTRODUCTION TO THE PERUVIAN REALITY
I am in the closing week of a three week course called An Introduction to the Peruvian Reality, directed at foreign missionaries working in Peru and presented by the Bartholomew de las Casas Institute. The Bartolo, as they call it, was founded in 1974 as a space for theological reflection on (and organization of) the role of the church in the society of Latin America, specifically from the point of view of its founder Gustavo Gutierrez, one of the foundational figures of the Liberation Theology movement. Bartholomew de las Casas was a colonial era priest who was the first champion of the rights of the indigenous populations of the Spanish colonies. Besides the stimulating course material, I`ve enjoyed the chance to meet and get to know my fellow classmates, a mixture of 24 priests, religious, and lay missionaries from a variety of countries: Spain(4), Chile(4), Ireland(3), Canada(3), US(3 including me), Mexico(2), Switzerland(2), Portugal, The Congo, Germany, Peru.

SUMMARY OF TOPICS
Anyway, first a summary of the topics (for each topic, usually two each day, they have invited a different person who specializes in that field or area):
Week 1: Ancient and Modern History of Peru, the years of violence (1980-93), intro to social problems, economic reality, political context
Week 2: Multicultural/intercultural country, Indigenous communities of the Andes, communities of the Amazon region, women in Peru, psicological aspects of cultural immersion, globalization and the effects on Peru, Project of Decentralization of government, The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Problems in Public Health Care
Week 3: Conflicts between Communities and the Mining Industry, The Media in Peru, Civil Society, Problems in Public Education, History of the Church in Latin America, The 2007 Conference of Latin American Bishops.

Tomorrow we have a class on Liberation Theology and group discussion, and on Friday the closing: evaluation, potluck (each person to bring something from their country--I think I`ll make apple pie.

IMPRESSIONS
Some initial themes/impressions:
- Peru is a very centralized country, centralized in Lima. It seems like two countries, Lima and the rest of Peru (which they call here `the provinces`). The life here is also distinct: much more ethnically diverse, much broader range of economic classes, obviously a lot bigger with more traffic, etc, more racism, some very nice areas that could be any US city (including the neighborhood where I am staying), a ton of chinese food restaurants. In addition, I realize more the relative absence of the government outside of Lima in providing basic services -- many rural areas of Peru, and especially the jungle, are severely neglected.
- The War of the Pacific, between Peru and Chile in 1870´s, severely marked the national psyche. Peru lost valuable territory in the south and to this day has a chip on its shoulder against Chile, esp in Lima it seems (haven`t noticed this in Chimbote). Partly it`s because of current Chilean capital in Peru and experiences of racism that Peruvians experience when they travel there. Plus, Peru almost always loses to Chile in soccer.
- Peru has a rich pre-colonial history, of which the most recent, the Incas, were only one small part of. This history leaves a legacy of diversity which was augmented by Spanish colonization, importation of slaves, immigrations of Chinese (late 1800`s) and Japanese (early 1900`s) workers, and Italian/German immigrations. The geographical diversity of coastal desert, high Andes, and Amazon jungle adds to the variety. In general though, the diversity is seen as a problem instead of an asset and there seems to be a general lack of national identity and unity.
- The years of terrorist violence here were tough and brutal, and continue to leave a legacy of mistrust among people. Between 1980 and 2,000 about 70,000 people, mostly indigenous, were killed by either the Maoist Shining Path rebels or the armed forces.
- Like most things left to the responsibility of the federal government, public education is very poor here. Teachers are generally not well trained and lack basic resources such as textbooks. Corruption within the government is high in general, but is the highest in the education system. Education is generally dictation, copying, and memorization. Private schools, of which there are multitudes, are generally better but are out of the reach of many. There was a national forum on education in 2004 which produced a 15 year plan for overhauling the system, but after a grand ceremony and promises the current president (Alan Garcia, of which I`ve heard few positive things except that he is a good speaker) has forgotten all about it.
- The economy of Peru has seen a steady period of growth the past 7 years, fueled by exports of the mining industry, dominated by international/foreign companies. However, this growth has not changed the reality of life for the majority of the population and has not resulted in any substantial increase in badly needed investment in public infrastructure (as our own dirt streets of Chimbote illustrate). The government refuses to tax at a reasonable level the huge profits of foreign mining companies for fear of driving them away, while these companies increasingly conflict with local rural communities over land rights, with the state usually intervening on behalf of the business interest.
- Peru, as many countries, has seen a huge immigration of its population to urban areas in the last 40 years. The outskirts of Lima are settlements on dry, desert hills, with services arriving only years later.
- Politically, there is no viable political opposition to the party in power, APRA, which is the only national political party. Only in 2002 were state governors elected for the first time, and national congress members are not elected by a particular area, leaving constituents with no person directly speaking for their needs. Lacking meaningful channels for dissent, protests and conflicts (sometimes violent) break out at the rate of 60-70 per month nationally -- currently mining workers are making news by blocking the Pan American Highway in south Peru and taking policemen hostage.
- The Amazon jungle comprises 70% of Peruvian territory and holds 10% of its population. Access to the money economy and to state services is severely limited for the 50 distinct cultures of varying demographic size that inhabit this area.
- The current Peruvian Church as a whole is very conservative and very much in line with the interests of power and wealth, with the exception of a couple bishops who take isolated stands to work for the interests of their people. Still, the message of the most recent council of Latin American Bishops (Aparecida, Brazil, 2007) -- with the utmost support of Pope Benedict XVI -- strongly supports the renovation of the 1960`s, that the Church is called to be poor, missionary and paschal, implicit in its mission is identification with the marginalized of the world.

Personally, this wider view of Peruvian society has caused me to see my role here as larger than just helping my parish have a successful youth program. I hope to help and walk with our youth as they take concrete steps to change their society for the better. An additional benefit is all the practice in listening to and speaking Spanish here, both in the course (all given in Spanish) and with the sisters at the house.

OTHER ACTIVITIES IN LIMA
- With my friend Luzeliana who I met at our YM training course in February, I have taken a bus up Cerro San Cristòbal for a 360 degree view of Lima at night, made a brief stop at a discoteca, and visited the very beautiful, green, clean Park of the Waters, which is a series of lighted, creative fountains -- including one with a light show in the spray.
- Sister Pilar, the 37-year-old superior in Peru, had a hemorage in her stomach the first Wednesday I was here, passing out and vomiting blood. She was in the hospital a few days but is now at the house recovering well, but we made a couple visits in the afternoons and I donated blood. Each clinic or hospital has its own blood bank, and when you withdraw you have to find people to donate replacement blood. The technician, Naida, is studying English and asked me, while the bag was filling, if we could practice talking a bit. :)
- Sister Mirella and I went to see Prince Caspian in Spanish (my first movie theatre experience in Peru) and I had the chance to visit both the other houses that the Incarnate Word Sisters have here: Comas is on the edge of the city as the dry mountains begin, and the novitiate house is in San Juan Lurigancho. It has been a good opportunity to get to know many of them who are based in Lima better, including Elisa, Mirella, Gladys, Lourdes, Rosaleen, Pilar, Fabiola, Anita, with a bonus visit of Sister Lourdes from San Antonio.
- The first week also saw the visit of Carlos and Brandon from the IW headquarters in San Antonio, here to bring and install a video conference system in the house to allow international meetings without all the travel. They had a couple hangups, however, in that the firewall was confiscated for taxes at the airport and another key item (I don`t remember the name) burned up from the higher voltage. Both will eventually be available after taxes are paid, but Carlos and Brandon will have to make another trip south. An aside to this story is that on the way to the airport in a combi to meet the guys at the airport, Sister Elisa and I (we were going because Pilar had just entered the hospital) the police stopped the van and asked all inside for their identity documents. Neither Elisa (who is from Mexico) or I were carrying our ID`s, which she explained hopefully to the officer. I was a bit nervous for a moment, but he thankfully just reprimanded us but didn`t take any action.
- Jorge and Angelica, two Columban Lay Missionaries from Chile, invited me to their house out on the end of Lima for lunch this past Sunday. Jorge met me in town here and we made the 1.5 hour bus trip to spend an enjoyable afternoon with them and other young missionaries: Claudia and Teresa (Chilean Columban missionaries serving in a town near Cuzco, also in my course), John and Irma (Columban Missionaries from the Philipines with over 7 years here in Peru, and Miguel (German volunteer doing his obligatory national service for a year). The four Columban Missionaries lived together for one year in Chile in preparation and study, and just started a three year Peruvian commitment in January. Anyway, it was a good visit with dedicated, laughing people all around my age or a bit younger.
- Roberto, a friend from Chimbote, was in Lima the first weekend and we met a classmate of mine to visit the National Museum on Saturday. The museum was mostly closed with only a couple rooms open, so after a short visit Roberto and I ventured on three different buses to the ruins of Pachacamac, south of Lima, a temple site of various cultures 400-1500`s AD.

Well, if you`ve made it this far -- thank you! I will try to write sooner next time, so as to spread it out a little more. Next entry once again from Chimbote.

¿Dònde estàn mis pantalones jeans?

2008-05-30T09:43:00.000-07:00

Greetings to all, and thanks for checking in. A few notes from the past week and a half...

MISSING CLOTHES
The first story relates to the title of this post. On Monday night, I left my window cracked when I went to sleep, as I am accustomed to do at times (though less often now with the weather turning cooler). When I woke up and began to put on clothes to go running, I noticed and wondered that the window was wide open. In the next moments, I realized in succession that my pants were and a couple of shirts that I`d worn yesterday were gone (I`d laid them on my desk near the window when I went to bed) and that, though I had only a few soles in the jeans, my house keys had been in the front pocket. At that point, I assumed that the burglar (whose tracks showed they`d climbed along our front wall from the roof of our neighbor`s house) had probably entered the house downstairs with the keys and taken whatever could be found -- my guitar, house money, TV/stereo, etc. Thankfully, though, this fear proved unfounded. To make a long story shorter, my friend Roberto helped bring a locksmith to the house later in the day, who removed the two door locks, changed the key system and made new keys, and re-installed the locks -- all for about $12. In the meantime I stayed at the house with the door manually bolted as a precaution, and we had our handyman Oscar bring a friend to do an estimate for putting in bars over the upstairs windows. Apparently the burglar either saw me sleeping there and decided not to enter further, or planned to grab from my desk whatever could be found (this also solves the mystery of several other missing clothing articles about four months ago, which I`d thought I`d lost but now realize were most definitely stolen as well -- only I didn`t notice the window open, since it was during the hot months). As I will be gone a few weeks during the next two months, we are moving quickly to install the window bars and to close in the open-roofed upstairs hallway as safety precautions. I still have enough clothes to wear, not to worry. :)

BIRTHDAY PARTY HOUSE
Lenin, a friend and member of our JUMIFRA youth council, celebrated his 27th birthday last Thursday and a couple girls from our group asked if we would offer our house as the party location. We agreed, and after our English class we enjoyed a small potluck of snacks and a gathering of 15-20 folks from the parish, all friends of ours. Roger and Elvis played guitar and sang some, those who wished to had the chance to honor Lenin with a few words, we drank Inca Cola, Anis tea, and sangrìa, and of course there was dancing to the radio of our small boombox. All in all, a very pleasant Peruvian evening, organized on a couple days` notice -- though it ended by 11:30 (with a little push). Lenin thought it best to have folks walk home before it was too late, esp. with the next day being a work day, and so we turned down the music and I announced that before everyone left, I wanted to get a group photo. It`s a cultural quirk that few people will leave early unless others do, almost a sign of weakness :) to admit one is tired. Another quirk is that people don`t serve themselves here -- a snack table buffet will basically go untouched unless you put the food on trays and serve it around. Apparently everyone had fun, because we were asked yesterday to host another birthday party tomorrow night, Saturday, for Juan -- also a friend and member of the Lima trip group.

MADELEINE`S FAMILY
At the specific request of the grandmother who came by my house, I made a return visit to Madeleine and her family, who I wrote about last time. They had asked for help for Madeleine with school English homework, so I brought a photocopy of Inglès Para Latinos that Michi had sent me. I stayed this time for an hour and a half (still they asked `Leaving already?`) and visited, though I couldn`t do much with the English worksheet, Madeleine needing a lot of background instruction to help her understand the concepts. Either she has missed days, really struggles, or the teacher did not explain/teach the concept well. The expected help from a local priest to fund their escape trip to south Peru fell through, and unsubtle hints were given as to how much money they would need to all five make the journey. I see their need, but also felt a bit manipulated and cornered. Also, I think the precedent of me being a money source is not a good one to establish. For now, I will visit periodically to help with English if they desire it.

CONFIRMATION CLASSES
I began a couple weeks ago to assist my friend Yuri with the two confirmation preparation classes, Tuesday and Saturday evenings for two hours each. He prepares the lessons (I think he gets a small stipend for coordinating the program), and I am enjoying getting to know the forty (total, both groups) teenagers, 13-17 years old. I`ve even shared a couple of my favorite youth ministry games -- maybe even more than US teenagers, they love to play group games (a few even wanted to extend the classtime on Tuesday to play another game at the end). The lesson on Tuesday I found intriguing. The topic was Moses/Exodus, and Yuri did a good job of relating this ancient story to the students` modern Peruvian experience by first having them reflect on their own reality. To his question of `How do the Peruvian people live?` they responded that Peruvians live in crisis, with a lack of justice, amidst violence, in poverty, show a lack of love/respect for others, and in increasing environmental pollution. He then drew the parrallel between the state of the Israelites in Egypt and many Peruvians today -- who is working to help liberate our people today? Do you think Moses was afraid? Asked about their dreams for the future, some were similar to dreams of US teens: family, house, etc -- but they also expressed dreams of the reality of life here changing, and agreed that if everyone did their part change was indeed possible. I was struck by their desires to make things better and by their sober evaluation of their own society (I`ve received blank stares upon asking Corvallis youth to reflect on their society in a similar way) and by the fact that nonetheless their youthful hope remains. I felt within a renewed desire to help them as I could to realize changes here -- maybe this could be a focus of my work here in the next 15 months (May 25 was 8 months in Chimbote).

On a different Confirmation-related topic, I have a goal of helping these Confirmation youth make connections with youth at St. Mary`s in Corvallis through exchange of letters, photos, stories, etc. I will also pursue this connection with the first communion children/youth here and coorsponding catechism kids back in Oregon, hopefully helping all involved to learn and grow through the cultural sharing.

ENGLISH CLASSES
Due to my upcoming absences (June 1-20, July 2-15) from Chimbote, we have put off beginning a new english class term. Still, we held our end-of-term field trip this past Sunday, taking the 1-hour bus trip to a garden/recreation area called Candamo near the small town of San Jacinto. Nine of us enjoyed the chance to visit a new place, play soccer on actual grass, and just relax.

One final note -- for a couple weeks now we have been enjoying running water in the house, the pump`s problems at least temporarily solved. Showers are warm enough to make it manageable as well.

That`s it for now. I wish you a great week!

Mothers Day and Basketball

2008-05-19T12:28:00.000-07:00

Greetings! Some notes on recent events here in Chimbote:

MOTHERS DAY
Photos of our parish event honoring mothers, organized and put on by the youth and young adults of the parish, are ready to view by clicking the photo link at right. The event was a great success: our youth council planned, coordinated and decorated well; children`s catechesis groups, Confirmation youth, and both choirs contributed musical/dance/singing/skits/recited poems, we raffled off a few food baskets, and the moms seemed to have a good time. Nicole, Emily and I chuckled at a couple of the dance acts, knowing they would have caused at least a little scandal in our US parishes. I especially enjoyed the folkloric music by some members of my choir and also by a joint group of parish choir members, and I was proud of the organization by our JUMIFRA members. I helped out, but was by no means in charge. Honoring moms is a big deal here, as most schools held similar type events on Friday or Saturday before Mothers Day.

MADELEINE`S FAMILY
In a story also related to Mothers Day but of a different tone, I had the chance to meet and spend time with Madeleine, a 12-year-old girl, and her family in the days leading up to May 11. On the Saturday previous, she and her grandmother knocked on my door in the evening and asked if I could help her translate a song into Spanish (Hotel California) so she could sing it at her parish`s (San Felipe) Mothers` Day event. Her grandmother also explained to me how they had no food to make anything to eat all day, and she was suffering with obvious neck and shoulder pain. I said I would help, we agreed that I`d stop by their house on Monday, and I sent with them some pasta, dried beans, a little frozen chicken, and a few ibruprofen tablets. On Monday I found their house after wandering a bit, the first impression being how dark it was inside -- only a small window near the door. After my eyes adjusted, they pulled up a stool for me to sit in the small front room with a very cute 4-year-old girl and her nine year old brother, who was busy drawing cartoon figures. His grandmother wasted no time in pulling out a number of his previous drawings to show off for me, and they were pretty good. He was currently in the process of drawing two soccer players in action from a newspaper photo, but substituting cartoon figure heads for their human ones. This front room and a bedroom next to it had concrete floors, but the kitchen behind (and the one or two additional rooms) had hard-packed dirt floor, with a door opening out the back to a small yard where they banished the dog when I came in. Madeleine and her mom, Rosa, brought me a couple cassettes of English rock ballads, one with Hotel California, and I proceded to transcribe first the English lyrics and then translate them into Spanish, with Rosa and Madeleine looking on. They brought me coffee and bread afterward, and I offered to re-work the lyrics to bit the music better and return in a couple days. I had to quite firm to leave without accepting another mug of coffee, as my English class would be beginning soon. During my visit a hush fell on the house during the few minutes that Rosa`s uncle came and left -- he obviously inspires fear and both the mom and grandma mentioned how they couldn`t wait to move out of Chimbote, back to their home area near Pisco in south Peru.

Translating a song is a bit complicated, having to sacrifice exact meaning for rhyme and flow, but I enjoyed the experience and returned to Madeleine`s house a couple days later in the late morning. She was dressed in her school uniform, but soon after arriving I was informed by her mom that she wouldn`t be going to school that day since she was afraid they`d charge them for copies (which they apparently do on occasion) and there wasn`t the couple soles to pay. The little girl with the big brown eyes continued to be fascinated by me, and kept telling me things very adamantly that I could only partly understand. They offered (made me take) some of the fried dough they were having for lunch, and apologized a few times for not being able to offer me a regular meal. I ate as many as I could, then put a few in the bag I was carrying. Though I had been planning to just deliver the song, I soon found myself offered (directed) to sit down, and Rosa began showing me and the family her photo album of happier days, gradually breaking into the story of how she had moved here when she was 11, was mistreated by and hated her father, and had her husband abuse her and steal her young son, who would be about 7 by now. I was at this point feeling a mixture of discomfort at hearing the story of her troubles, a little cramped in the stomach, and just plain tired from the barrage of Spanish that was the story that Rosa obviously badly wanted to tell me. After over an hour and a half, I managed to break in to say that I needed to be going, and the grandma returned in time to send me home with bagged milk and bread that they gave out at the school as part of a government food program. They obviously needed the food more than me, but I was powerless to resist taking it (or a few more fried dough pieces, which she kindly put in a plastic bag for me to take). As they walked with me back to my house, Rosa and Madeleine described how they planned to leave town for the south in the middle of the night the following week, but also that I should come back to visit them if they were still around.

The entire experience left me glad to be out of the situation, humbled by their generosity, and saddened by the story and situation of life. I have not been back yet to visit, but am slowly working up to it.

BASKETBALL
The past couple of weeks I have had the chance to play and coach a lot of basketball, which I have enjoyed. Our Saturday morning sessions with children (mostly a few boys, but one 8-year-old girl named Elizabeth also is consistent and we practice until she gets tired and then just hang out). On Friday afternoons I help my friend Elmer and his friend Jaime coach a group of 13-15 year olds as they hope to form a team that can play other local private school teams. In fact, we had our first scrimmage this past Saturday. I and Elmer need to work out some differences in coaching strategy/philosophy (for example, I think that all who have practiced should get a good chance to play, whereas he wants the best five to play most of the time). I have mostly given in, but we are meeting to discuss things this week and I hope we can work out a compromise. Being around basketball and playing a bit here and there has been a good, fun release. Except for my inability to loudly yell instructions during a game, I think I have a lot to offer in terms of teaching fundamentals and strategy. Communicating to the team in Spanish continues to be a bit of a challenge, though it is pushing me to learn new terms and phrases that just don`t appear in dictionaries.

CEVICHE AND SPORTS
Partly as a celebration of the Mothers Day event`s success, our youth council and the parish put on a morning of sports and ceviche at the parish for our young people. I helped by accompanying a small group to buy fresh fish at the pier at 6:30 am Sunday morning and helping to chop/prepare the favorite local dish of raw fish, lime juice, garlic and ajì (chili). On the side come sweet potato, fried corn kernels, seaweed and onion. A couple of girls from the council directed the operation, and our sub-coordinator organized a number of group games. After ceviche, the guys had a few intense soccer games in the small parish courtyard before we returned home at about 2 pm.

NEXT YEAR
A little news about what next year will bring, as Meg, our assistant director, let us know last week that there will be three new Incarnate Word Missionaries (all women) here in Chimbote next year to replace Nicole and Emily, who will be leaving in early September. Their names are Courtney, Julie, and Jane -- Courtney and Julie have nursing/medical training and will likely be assisting at the clinic or the hospice, while Jane will be a ´free-lancer` like me, seeking to assist in the parish or in other local ministries. I am happy to know that I will again have company to share the experience with, and it also means I will be staying in the same house for the next year as well.

Fiesta de Pariacoto, etc...

2008-05-08T15:11:00.001-07:00

Greetings from Chimbote, where again the air smells of fish. Most of my photos from the fiesta in Pariacoto are now posted and accessible through the link at right.

THIS WEEKEND
Here our youth leadership group (JUMIFRA -- Jòvenes Misioneros Franciscanos), mostly consisting of folks that went to the February training in Lima, has a couple of big events planned for this weekend. First, a show honoring mothers of the parish on Saturday evening, 8-10 pm. The various youth groups within parish (catechism, confirmation, altar servers, choirs) are each preparing a couple numbers -- songs and dances mostly -- to present within the show for the mothers. Our group is coordinating the organization, food baskets as prizes, decoration and clean-up, etc. I may be a part of one of the numbers that our choir is doing. I am pround of the leadership various folks within JUMIFRA have taken in organizing this. We recently too have elected coordinators and secretary for the group, and we continue meeting each Sunday morning at 10:00 am. We still need a little work on meeting organization, but little by little. Anyway, the second event is a Pentecost Vigil. Since Pentecost and Mothers Day fall on the same day this year, the vigil is planned for immediately following the mothers day event -- songs, reflections, a bonfire, and finally Mass, all of which will end sometime around 1 a.m. I believe. I also have scheduled sessions with a couple different groups of basketball players -- younger boys and girls, 8-13, on Saturday morning and a group of 13-15 year old guys on Friday and Saturday afternoon. This second group has been playing together casually with a little guidance from a college student here (Jaime), and he and Elmer (my partner in this basketball project) have hopes of forming a formal team and entering a tournament in a couple months -- apparently having a gringo as one of the coaches is a big draw :). `They would be so excited to play in an indoor gym,´ Jaime told me. Last Saturday we worked on playing zone defense and how to run a fast break. One thing I`m learning is that there is a lot of basketball vocabulary that I don`t know, but it is enjoyable to combine youth work and basketball.

PARIACOTO
Brother Tino from the parish here enthusiastically encouraged Emily, Nicole and I to make the two-hour trip last Thursday, 5/1, to Pariacoto, pop. 2500, for their yearly Patronal Feast -- patron of the parish (and therefore the town) is Señor de Mayo, basically Jesus. Each town and city has a patron saint, and the feast day is an opportunity for a town-wide fiesta. Chimbote`s patron, by the way, is the fisherman St. Peter, feast day the 29th of June. In my reading about pre-conquest Peru, I`ve found many references to days-long feasts even in that time, so it is quite possible that these saint feasts were meant to coop the earlier religious feasts and imbue them with Christian significance. Whatever the case, we enjoyed the experience -- the girls had to leave Thursday evening for work Friday, but I stayed overnight at the parish in large room with many bunks, the same place I`d stayed for the November Confirmation retreat. A youth dance group from the nearby town of Yautan was also staying at the parish, and so it was somewhat like a high school boys slumber party :). I did, in fact, enjoy the chance to meet and talk with many of the guys that were there.

We arrived at about 8:00 am Thursday, after negotiating the early morning transit with only a couple moments of confusion -- very few taxis (or anything) on the streets at 5:45 am, and a helpful lady led us to the first of two shared cars that we needed to take. After breakfast at the parish with the high school kids of the dance group, we waited for the 9:00 am start until about 9:45. First, the band was introduced and marched with dancers to the parish. From there began the collection of offerings -- which would also happen Friday morning -- for the city-wide feast to be held on Friday evening. Thursday was the day for collecting cuyes (guinea pigs), rabbits, yucca, oil, sheep, etc. The procession made its criss-crossing, joyously inefficient way through the dirt streets -- the town has just one paved road -- until nearly 2 pm. At each house (pre-registered to donate), the entire entourage of band, dancers, and spectators like us would stop, and the pastor Padre Raùl would dance with the woman of the house in acceptance of their offering, the girl dancers often dancing with male members or they just would dance with each other. Many an individual cuy or rabbit must have been sick to its stomach after being swung around by the ears, neck, back, etc in joyous dance. And litters, looking like portable tents, of multiple-rodent offerings were also girated to the music in joining the procession. After 2 (or 5) songs, the owners of the donated goods would join the journey to the next house, where the ritual would be repeated. Nicole, Emily and I began by watching from the sides but were soon pulled into a chain of the dancers, holding hands and weaving in, out, behind, in front, and through the procession to the very danceable music. It was truly a lot of fun. By the end, Nicole and Emily had taken turns leading the donated sheep and we each had a contingent of younger children vying to hold our hands as we marched along to the beat. Needless to say, we were tired by the end, but well worth it.

After a 3:00 pm lunch at the parish with Padre Raùl and some of his visiting family (he hails from Iquitos in the Peruvian Amazon), we were taken on a short hike while the kids of the village enjoyed their own show/party, which included a mountain of cake. Brother Martìn walked with us to the site where the two Franciscan priests were murdered by terrorists in 1991 (as well as a walk through of the town cemetery), and along the way we enjoyed the tranquility of the irrigated valley, apple trees and other crops thriving below us. With the rainy season only just ended, the hills that were quite brown in November now are touched with a bit of green. The clean, odor-free air was also a treat. Soon after returning to the parish, the girls caught a car home -- Thursday was a national holiday (Feast of St. Joseph the Worker/ National Workers`Day) so they had the day off, but not Friday. Everyone in Pariacoto did, apprently, have the entire weekend free from work.

In the evening, I attend the mass -- which officially opened the celebration, and next had a light dinner in the `kitchen`, an open walled area where they were preparing the food for the celebration. By this time the cuyes were skinned and cooking -- or waiting to be cooked -- and the skinless sheep carcasses were hanging nearby waiting their turn. Next, a dance in the street out in front of the church, first with the (undoubtedly weary) band that had played so much earlier. The second band arrived late from Huaràz at about 11:30 pm, and were set up with their mikes and sound system a little before one to begin their set of dance/cumbia/pop/salsa music. Getting a late start didn`t phase them, however -- they still got their four hours of playing in, finishing up (I heard -- I crashed at about 1:00 am) sometime after 5 am. Sleeping was a bit interrupted by something that must have resembled a pillow fight, people running around, chaperone yelling, etc. Enjoying not being responsible for their group, I put in earplugs and did my best. The dance itself was also quite enjoyable until I got almost too tired to enjoy it. I danced with some of the high school group I`d gotten to know during the day, and also a few folks from the parish there -- one of which happened to be the sister of Oscar, our periodic handyman here in Chimbote. Many times the beer was passed around, and I seemed to be the only one refusing most of the time. Drinking here is done from a common cup -- bottle is passed, followed by the glass. You fill the glass with the amount you want, and pass the bottle to the next person. After drinking from the glass, you dump the dregs on the ground and pass the glass to the person with the glass, and so on.

Despite being a bit groggy on Friday, I joined the procession for the second round of collections. Friday seemed to be the day for donating beers and bulls -- three bulls, to be exact, were donated, as well as what I heard was 150 cases (12 20 oz bottles) of beer. And at each house, Padre Raùl danced and they opened one of the bottles to share with him. He either has a high tolerance or is good about sneakily pouring out his share on the ground, or maybe both. In my view the celebration is marred somewhat by the excessive alcohol consumption, with several quite drunk guys making fools of themselves by mid-day. As Emily commented, the people work hard and also party hard (not everyone obviously, but many). For this reason (and because of my fatigue), I was not too sorry to catch a couple cars back to Chimbote at 2:30 Friday afternoon. I do think I will may return next year, though, if it works out.

Well, I wish you all a great weekend. More stories for next time!

...Continued

2008-05-03T09:50:00.000-07:00

Before recounting our experience at Pariacoto`s festival this past Thursday and Friday -- which deserves it`s own posting -- I will attempt to finish off some thoughts that were interrupted last time.

TRANSIT STRIKE
This past Monday, public transit vehicles -- taxis, combis (minivan buses), colectivos (fixed-route cars), and buses -- held a strike in response to a proposed tariff hike on their licenses and registration. The first impression was of quiet, much less noise reaching my room as I dressed to go running. As it got light, the non-working drivers set out lines of good-sized rocks across each intersection of the paved street at our corner, and growing crowds gathered to `police` the strike -- burning tires basically prepared to throw rocks at any car deigning to work. The ubiquitous motorcycle taxis were not actually a part of the strike, but there were few brave enough to test it. Emily witness some that still worked get parts ripped from them by groups of people either party to the strike or maybe just taking advantage of the opportunity to do damage. And, there were just a lot of people in the street, either walking to work or just taking the day off because they could not get to their jobs or classes. I walked with Emily and Nicole to work in the morning because there were no Motos to be found and it felt a bit dangerous. By evening the tension had settled (maybe post-lunch lethargy), and the drivers settled with the government in some form and we were spared the planned second day of the strike.

SOCCER
I was invited by three friends from my choir (Alex, Yuri and Juan Carlos) to go to an afternoon soccer game of the local team, Josè Galvez, playing a team from Chiclayo, to the north. Nicole, who was an avid soccer player in the US and has impressed a number of guys with her skill on a couple occasions (girls don`t play soccer here), also accepted the invitation to come along. I enjoyed the afternoon a lot, and Chimbote won 4-0 to boot. There were about 50 males there for each female, and most of the women were involved in selling food -- so it was actually a good thing that Nicole was there with four Peruvian guys so that she wouldn`t be harrassed as much. Groups of fans (from various neighborhoods, like fan clubs) argued a bit with each other (and with seated fans who complained about their view being blocked) over space to hang their banners from the chain link fence that surrounded the field, some even going over the barbed wire at the top to hang it in a better spot (guards on the field were fine with this, surprisingly). Our section was pretty low-key and the experience was quite pleasant, though the rush to get a taxi after the game was a bit chaotic (a parallel to the jam in stadium parking lots, though here people don`t generally own cars).

CHOIR
The game made me late for pre-mass choir rehearsal (I was actually the only one of us four who ended up going), but I still was in time to practice most of the songs and sing for mass, which I enjoy. The choir is an enthusiastic, high spirited group that I enjoy being a part of, but I struggle a bit with a couple areas. One, I still feel a bit of an outsider even with about four months of participation. People are friendly and welcoming, but apart from Alex and Yuri I haven`t gotten to know them real well. I also have some trouble getting a word in during choir meetings, both due to several folks that really like to talk and that they usually happen after our rehearsals (at about 11:00 pm), and I am not in my best Spanish form at that hour. I am considering ways to integrate more -- and will begin this coming Wednesday joining the musicians for their separate rehearsal, so as to learn some from them and gain some much-needed practice (and confidence) in playing guitar with a group. The second main lack in the choir that I feel (related to the first) is that it doesn`t feel like a faith community, which I think would enrich the experience for all of us. I have the idea of suggesting some scripture reflection (of readings for the Sundays that we will sing at mass) to encourage some deeper sharing within the group, which may help us connect better. One natural obstacle, common to many groups, is that the majority of members have been together for a number of years and welcoming new entries takes some effort.

MISSIONARY COURSE
The IWM director, Tere Mañon, has invited me to take a three-week course in Lima for foreign Catholic missionaries in the first part of June. It deals with the political, social, and religious realities of life in Peru and is offered by the Bartoleme de Las Casas Center -- which was founded my pioneering liberation-theologian Gustavo Gutierrez and is named after the original champion of indigenous rights in the Spanish colonies in the Americas. I have a little concern about leaving my involvements for three weeks, especially with a trip with Michi coming up in July, but I think I`ll do it because it seems a unique opportunity. The sisters here are sharing the cost with IWM.

That`s it for now -- have a great weekend!

Muchas noticias

2008-04-30T13:29:00.000-07:00

Yes, it seems that in this blog there is much to tell -- the first that there are some new photos from April on my photo site (link at right) of our retreat in Lima and a recent local soccer game with friends.

RETREAT
April 18-23 Emily, Nicole and I traveled to Carabayillo (section of north Lima) for a retreat at the small but peaceful Oscar Romero center -- which also served up some great, healthy food and snacks for us. We enjoyed the amenities of running water (more on that in a moment) and Sister Lourdes, a Peruvian Incarnate Word Sister, accompanied us during the four days, though she could only be there in the evenings due to her university studies and other commitments. The overall theme was missionary spirituality, broken up into the sections such as Spirituality of: being sent, frontiers, margins, provisionality, Pascal Mystery. Each of which was introduced by a reflection guide with readings, scripture references, and questions. We completed a couple each day by taking a couple hours to read, journal, etc, and then we´d gather for sharing. Particularly, I found reflection on the provisionality of mission work -- I am here for a short time to share what I can, to leave footprints -- particularly helpful. Also, I think the time for the three of us together has helped us become closer and, for me at least, to share more openly and often when we are together. There was a large group at the center for the weekend with us, but then the second half of the retreat it was just us and the staff. It was a very positive experience, and we had some nice evening time on the roof where we had a view of north Lima through the haze. In addition, I had a good chunks of time to read a new book, 1491, that I recommend as a portrait of life in North and South America before Columbus arrived. Especially interesting to me were sections on pre-Inca Peru and the Maya of central America.

DOMESTIC LIFE
We returned from the retreat to find that, not too surprisingly, our water pump was still not working and therefore we had no water (and we just changed our shower heads!). However, our refrigerator had also died, blowing purely hot air in Nicole´s face -- along with a rather unpleasant smell. In a few days we had the fridge fixed (mostly -- still doesn´t freeze water) but our pump, despite some attention by our landlord Hector and his construction employee Eduardo, has managed to pump only one tankful of water up to the cistern since we got home a couple weeks ago. We are learning to manage as many people do here, filling buckets and pop bottles in the morning and evening when the city water flows (a couple hours each time) and then using the water during the day for dishes, ´showers´, and cooking. As a result of the refrigerator and water problems, we have eaten lunch out three times at neighborhood restaurants (cheap, $1-$1.50 for soup and main course).

I´m nearly out of time for the moment, so will have to continue this blog entry in a couple days. Tomorrow we three are making a trip a couple hours into the mountains to the small town of Pariacoto (where I went for the Confirmation retreat in November), which will be celebrating it´s patron saint fiesta for three days (Emily and Nicole also have the day off -- Day of the Worker, a national holiday). I´ll try to write again on Friday or Saturday.

God bless!

Summer is Over

2008-04-16T16:11:00.000-07:00

Note: more photos (Good Friday´s Way of the Cross, my mom´s Chimbote photos) are posted for viewing by clicking the link at right.

Yes, the climate has finally changed a bit -- nights and mornings are cooler, mid-day sun isn´t quite as strong, people are starting to wear light sweaters for the cool evening breezes, and the morning running crowd has dwindled to the truly dedicated (addicted?). A downside is that cold showers are not quite as welcome, so yesterday Oscar (our periodic handyman) and I put in a couple new electric shower heads that work great. Actually, the upstairs one, because of less water pressure, is actually too hot with no way to change the setting -- so we´ll wait until the downstairs head goes bad and then switch. While talking about household items, I can mention that we got an unexpected bonus a few days ago when I was actually home when the trash truck passed by, on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 pm. He didn´t ring his obnoxious horn, but I was with a couple friends at the door so we all made a couple of trips to carry the 15-20 small bags (about 2 months worth) to throw into the back of the truck. The driver was not around and the truck appeared to be stopped for some reason (maybe broken down, or maybe the driver is a friend of our neighbors), but we didn´t ask any questions. As luck would have it, the truck passed again the very next day. As Nicole commented, we are learning this year to appreciate the little things.

I was sick over the weekend with a nasty head cold, and am still fighting the rear guard of a sore throat and occasional nose-blowing. I have indeed been sick this year much more than last -- my mom thinks its the dust and pollution, and she may very well be correct. People here tell me that it´s the ´cold´ weather and drinking cold drinks, a notoriously bad habit that we Americans have. So, I´m trying to breathe as little as possible and drink lots of tea :).

Nicole, Emily and I leave in two days, on Friday, for our yearly IWM retreat -- led by Sister Lourdes, a Peruvian IW sister. We´ll be at a retreat center in Lima through Wednesday, and I am honestly looking forward to the time away to reflect a bit on my time here so far and to discern priorities for the months ahead. Might be the smallest retreat group I´ve ever been a part of.

Our second week of youth basketball class built on the first -- we had eight girls and eight boys show up. I again took the girls and we worked on some fundamentals like passing, dribbling, and layups. The girls, ages 8-13, are a good group and help each other out -- the two youngest cannot yet get the ball up to the basket. A friend Elmer works with the boys during the 1 1/2-hour time period.

Finally, a book recommendation. My mom left Conquest of the Incas, by John Hemminging, when whe visited and I have completely finished the book in the two weeks since. It gives a good rundown of the Conquest and post-conquest issues, events, and personalities, using a lot of first sources from that time period. Anyone with an interest in the historical basis of modern Peru would find it worth their while to pick it up.

It seems there was more to share, but I´m feeling a bit tired and sense I am forgetting something. Nonetheless, I´m heading to daily mass this evening at therefore must sign-off. Have a blessed week!

Cuzco and Inca Trail Photos

2008-04-07T16:04:00.000-07:00

Just a note to let you know that two new photo albums are now available for viewing by clicking on the link at right; photos of Cuzco and the surrounding Sacred Valley of the Incas and photos of our four-day Inca Trail hike. Enjoy!

Chimbote Re-entry

2008-04-07T10:34:00.000-07:00

Some short reflections on life back in Chimbote, just over six months since my arrival here (September 25).

- The experience of being robbed and hit just before leaving definitely affects my mind set when I am out an about. I don`t take my backpack unless absolutely necessary to carry things a short distance, and I am much more suspicious and watchful of the people around me. Friends from the parish have expressed much concern and apologies (feeling responsible for the actions of their compatriots) and have given me numerous pointers for trying to prevent a re-ocurrence. Lenin even took me on a walk around town, identifying places where `chorros` often congregate and which streets/hours are best to avoid. In general, I just feel a bit more nervous and vulnerable than before, which -- if I can cover up my nervousness -- are actually assets in helping me take more precautions. Still, I find myself appreciating the relative safety of most areas of the United States. Nicole, Emily and I have spoken about the difference in the culture here, a seeming lack of conscience -- generalizing of course. Of course the economic struggle of many here is a factor in this, as even in the US crime rates general rise in areas of increased poverty and desperation. Still, there may be other factors that are more difficult to pinpoint that are behind the often encountered mindset that cheating, stealing, or being dishonest is OK as long as it doesn`t harm people you know and you don`t get caught. A lack of consequences surely contributes as well, as the police system is only periodically effective at best, hampered by lack of resources and by reluctance of anyone to get involved by testifying (or helping out) in the case of a robbery for fear of retaliation against their family. For example, during my absence the hospice complex was robbed at gunpoint. An employee called the police from the bathroom, and they had to come in a taxi, eventually apprehending three of the five perpetrators (who were also in a taxi). Now, though, none of the hospice workers who were present are willing to give testimony, so no charges have been made and those who were caught will likely be released. To be sure, the overall effectiveness of our police system in the United States, despite its weaknesses in some areas, helps reinforce a social norm of not stealing. We also think that family training has an even greater role in affecting long term behavior, and I know that such moral training does happen here as well but maybe not as effectively, weakened by factors such as economic hardship. In short, the situation is indeed complex and I don`t have any quick answers about how to improve it. I do feel, though, that it is likely I will be robbed again before I leave, such is the reality of life here. Nearly all the friends I have here have their own stories of being robbed or assaulted, and my chances are only increased by being white and foreign, both associated with having money. I don`t write this to scare my family, those who care for me, or anyone hoping to visit or live here -- but instead to hopefully give a clearer picture of the realities. People here live with more fear and less security than we do (for the most part) in the US, and in assimilating into a culture that has much positive to offer me, I also accept this negative aspect which hopefully helps me to grow in solidarity with my neighbors here.

- A couple more bits of news, much more positive. Yesterday we had our first meeting/practice with boys and girls from the parish who want to be a part of a parish basketball team. Though basketball takes a distant second to the sports of soccer (for boys) and volleyball (for girls), there is still some interest. I am assisting riends here Elmer and Juan Carlos in coordinating and offering this opportunity to both teach basic skills and strategy and to eventually, we hope, form teams that can play games against other parishes and schools in the city. We had six girls and three boys come yesterday, and I had fun leading the girls in dribbling, passing, and lay-up drills. It is also great practice with Spanish basketball vocabulary.

- Secondly, a friend Lucciani came to me today with a proposal to make efforts to change the culture of garbage here, both by initiating a recycling program and by visiting schools to present information on how we can better care for our local environment. Both aspects would be undertaken by youth and young adults of the parish, and though we are just beginning the conversation, there is potencial for a meaningful project.

- Finally, I emerged hopeful from a meeting of our youth leadership group yesterday, now self-named JUMIFRA, Juventùd Misionera Francsicana (Fransiscan Missionary Youth). We are choosing officers from among the members, and have a number of hopes and ideas for the next steps. I was a bit sleepy for the meeting, however, after accepting an invitation of friends from my choir to go dancing at a local discoteca on Saturday night. We left at about 11:45 and I didn`t get back to the house until about 4:00 am (discotecas stay open until about 7:00 am on the weekends). I enjoyed having the experience, but feel a bit old to stay out so late. A nap Sunday afternoon and a good nine hours sleep last night have me back on the road to feeling rested again :).

Thanks for your attention, and God bless.

Macchu Pichu and the Inca Trail

2008-04-07T09:51:00.000-07:00

Hello again faithful readers!

CUZCO
As hinted in my last post, I had the privelege of traveling to Cuzco and Macchu Pichu (one of the seven wonders of the world) the last days of March. When people ask me how it was, my first response is that, compared to Chimbote, the Andes are like a different world. Cuzco is a growing, red-tile roofed city that -- especially in the section we were in -- caters to tourists, the reason that among Peru`s regions it is one of the only ones not in the red. The Plaza de Arma`s is well kept, green and flanked by two colonial churches (the Cathedral and the Jesuit Compania de Jesus church) along with colonades of shops and restaurants. Street vendors offer postcards or their often beautiful artesian crafts every few meters, which at times can grow tiring. Visitors to Cuzco hail from all sorts of places, including the US, Europe, and Australia especially. Our hostel was located on Cuesta San Blas, a narrow stone-paved street near a wall exhibiting some of the fine examples of Inca stonework that managed to survived the Spanish re-construction of the city following the conquest. The masonry is remarkable because of the exact nature in which stones were carved to fit together in an interlocking manner, withstanding even the strongest earthquakes with no mortar. We saw numerous examples of this labor intensive effort during our time in the central Andes. During our three days in Cuzco after flying from Lima, we rested the first (to adjust to the altitude of about 11.000 feet), toured the Sacred Valley the second (the Urubamba River valley and ruins of Pisaq, Ollaytatambo, and church at Chincheros) with an organized tour, and visited city sites such as the Sacsayhuaman fortress and Inca Museum on the third day in between preparing for our Inca Trail hike. Unfortunately, my aunt Janie, weaked by a chest cold that I gave her, came down with progressively worse sorroche, or altitude sickness, and grew increasingly weak. Thankfully, with the assistance of our hostal staff, who called a doctor to visit her, we were able to get her assistance at a local private clinic/hospital on the eve of our departure. At the time Mom and I didn`t know if Janie would be able to meet us Macchu Pichu as planned (taking the train), but it turns out that with oxygen and pressure chamber treatment Janie improved enough to meet us at MP gate on our last hiking day, which we were very grateful for. Janie was even more grateful to finally return to Lima and then SF, appreciating more than ever the rich sea-level air.

THE INCA TRAIL
The Inca Trail trek that Mom and I took, with 13 other trekkers from the US, Ireland, Colombia and Australia, was for me the highlight of the trip. SAS travel provided guides, food, tents, and many thoughtful touches (like a wake-up call each morning that included coca tea in the tent). Details were quite organized, making it a bit hard for me to believe at first that we were actually in Peru:). A team of 22 porters and two cooks carried the gear and most of our personal packs (I and two others carried our own, which I may not do next time out of kindness to my knees) but still we were periodically passed on the trail by the laden porters, going ahead to either set-up and prepare lunch or to set-up the tents and campsite at our evening destination. A few other groups were also on the trail, on which campsites were scattered along the 48 km route that we covered in 3 1/2 days of walking, arriving to MP at about 9:00 am on the fourth day after a 4:00 am wake-up. Especially after the group found out Mom`s age after the second morning introductions, most of the group at some point complemented me on my mom with statements such as `Your mom`s amazing` to which I readily agreed (she was the oldes on the trip, and I was the second oldest). She moved along at a bit of a slower pace, especially during the climbs with their vast number of stone steps, but always made it in -- a guide named Washington took good care of her, accompanying her all the way. On our longest day a couple porters offered to carry her (which she refused), and then a group of four walked with her the last 45 minutes to camp, holding flashlights to guide her in the growing darkness. We did arrive to MP together on the last day, and I am very proud of her and thankful that she had the enthusiasm to undertake this adventure with me.

Another star of the trip were the Andes themselves: grand in scale with towering peakes, various snow-capped mountains with glaciers, and deep green valleys. The quiet was a great change from noisy Chimbote life, even if the altitude made us stop a bit more often on the climbs to catch our breath and let our heart rates subside a bit. The weather was overall quite good -- I enjoyed the cooler climate as a change from the Chimbote summer -- except for a morning of rain on the day we crossed the highest pass (Dead Woman`s Pass -- named for the shape of the ridge and not for any actual event). At the top, more that 13,000 feet in elevation, the rain was a freezing slush and I didn`t stop long to savor the moment before descending the stone steps for an hour and a half to our lunch site where we tried to dry off a bit. Fortunately, the afternoon brought partly sunny skies and a descent to warmer temperatures that dried our shoes and clothes (that weren`t poncho protected) before we reached our evening camp. The route gave a good lead-up to the ruins of Macchu Pichu, as the Inca stone road was punctuated by various smaller ruins along the way which our guide would tell us about. Because of the rugged terrain, very little development has reached this area of the Andes even to this day, so it was not diffucult to imagine oneself a traveler of five centuries ago along the same road. As the rain cleared and we descended into MP on the last morning, I was impressed by the size of the site -- larger than I expected. After a tour of the site, we descended to the tourist town of Aguas Calientes at the mountain´s base for lunch and a short stop at the natural hot springs before catching the train (only way to arrive there) back to Cuzco, celebrating on the way with our fellow hikers by having the Peruvian national drink, a Pisco Sour.

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

La Semana Santa en Chimbote

2008-04-05T10:42:00.000-07:00

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.

Preparando para Semana Santa

2008-03-13T14:25:00.000-07:00

Greetings! A couple weeks have passed since my last entry -- seems that the days fly by with a variety of activities, tasks, etc. Photos of yet another trip to the beach (parish workers field trip) and a few random other shots can be accessed through the link at right. Now, an attempt to update you on a few aspects of the past two weeks:

Beach trip 3/1
As mentioned above, I joined with 45 other `pastoral agents´ of the parish for a fun day at Vesique Beach -- including members of the choirs, pastoral council, liturgical ministers, catechists, etc. Many of our group that went to Lima also came along -- the interesting thing was that at least 30 of the folks that loaded onto the bus (borrowed from a community of sisters in town, it said `Special Education Services` on the side) were youth and young adults. Partly to be sure, a trip to the beach might appeal more to a 22-year-old choir members than the older ladies that count the money, but it still struck me. I also noticed this trend in Lima at our course. At a comparable `youth ministry training event` in the US, the average age would be at least 35, and likely higher. At the ADEP course in Lima, the vast majority were under 20, maybe under 18. Our group, which included myself and several in their mid to late 20`s, was the oldest group there. In the Catholic Church here, youth are largely ministered to by other young people, which is largely a good thing. A possible downside is a lack of experience and wisdom, but a few dedicated older adults could ideally provide the necessary accompaniment to make this work. Not sure of the cause/effect dynamic, but there is more a sense here that people who work with youth should be young themselves. There is still space, I believe, for people young at heart. Anyway, back to the beach: I had a good time bodysurfing (maybe the only one there doing so, there a few bodyboarders and surfers came in the afternoon) in the morning. After lunch the waves got quite big, so while it was still fun swimming, I was more likely to be tumbled around than ride in smoothly. My camera was borrowed by a couple people from the group during the day, so there are quite a number of photos to view if you are so inclined.

Youth Survey/Census
We divided our leadership group into pairs and managed to survey about 120 youth in their houses, a small portion of the total but a good start. They seemed to enjoy the experience -- or at least to find it worthwhile -- and we`ve had some good discussions concerning the responses, how they speak to our own faith and what we hope to accomplish in serving youth here. Sometimes these discussions are quite tangential and squish `business items`, such as planning upcoming events, into the final few minutes of the meeting. However, in the long run I think they are helpful in community building and faith sharing in the group. My hope, once semana santa is over and I`m back from my trip (see below), is to gradually cover all areas of the parish, surveying and visiting youth. Then, to establish a ministry team to make periodic return visits. I will keep you posted on this as well as on new initiatives that might grow out of the survey results.

Semana Santa
Our leadership group (majority of Lima group + a few others) has taken on two main projects for Semana Santa (Holy Week). First, we are gathering a group from the parish to participate in the Diocese-wide stations of the cross, which is done by climbing the mountain outside of town (with the cross on top, it has shown up in a few of my photos). We meet at 6:30 am Saturday, 3/15, for the hike that begins at 7:30 and should last about 2-3 hours, I`m told. At a church near the top, we`ll celebrate Mass. Should be a fun, tiring trip!

Our second project is the presentation of Jesus` way of the Cross, using the 14 traditional stations, in a route through the streets of one of our parish neighborhoods. I worked with a team to put the script together and others have taken charge of the route, costumes, and direction. We`ve had two rehearsals so far, and I think we`ll pull it together. I am happy to play the part of John (who has no lines, just accompanies Marìa the whole way) and to not be directing. A lively guy named Ginno, who has experience and talent in projects like this, is taking the role of director. The cast is currently about 20, though we still are seeking 5-10 more to fill out the ranks of the soldiers, crying women, and the crowd in general. There was some interest in having me play Jesus, but we decided that the possible struggle with the language (and likely lack of volume of my voice) would make that difficult. My mom and my aunt Janie will be here for the holy week celebrations, so I am happy they will be able to participate as spectators.

Choir
I do believe that I am getting a bit better at singing, even hitting a few notes in preparing for singing at Mass a couple weeks ago that made me wonder if it was really my voice I was hearing. I am enjoying being a part of the choir, which includes some talented musicians (though at times members struggle in finding the balance between demanding commitment and having an more relaxed atmosphere). We had a short retreat last Sunday afternoon for the choir, given by Tino, a Franciscan brother at the parish, and I really benefitted from it. A good time of quiet and reflection as we approach Holy Week (mixed with some active games, of course). I have picked up a Spanish song book with chords and have begun learning a few songs at home, but am still a long way off from being able to play with the group.

Visitors!
I am excited to be welcoming my first two visitors next week: my mom and my aunt Janie. They will arrive in Lima next Tuesday night, and we`ll be in Chimbote Wedneday through Monday to celebrate Holy Week and Easter. The schedule will be full (with of course some time for naps built in), as I am looking forward to sharing with them a little of my life here: friends, activities, places, etc. On Tuesday the 25th we fly to Cuzco for a couple days there, after which my mom (maybe the most active 63 year old mom I know) will take a four day hike/camping trip on the Inca Trail to Macchu Pichu, where we will meet Janie for a tour. Look for blog entries and photos from our adventure sometime in early April.

English
Our English class is growing steadily, and we have gradually developed a system that seems to work well. Each Monday and Thursday we divide the group into two, basic and intermediate, to teach grammar one night and reading/comprehension the other. On Fridays, all are invited to our house for practice in conversation. While last term we had 6-8, last Friday we had 22 guests. We ran out of chairs and had to put blankets on the floor, and divided into two (sometimes noisy) groups. They enjoy the chance to practice, and also just seem to enjoy the fellowship -- usually at the end people start breaking into more Spanish. The class itself is a small community, and I enjoy the opportunity to teach and get to know them -- age range from 15 to late thirties.

Fish
Lenin, a friend of mine, asked me if we ate fish, since `living in Chimbote and not eating fish is like not eating.´ I admitted that I had not cooked fish at home, having been warned of buying `bad` fish by others and not being able to tell. Of course, we three periodically have ceviche at restaurants or in homes. He offered to accompany me to the market yesterday, where he showed me a number of different varieties and how to tell if they are fresh (clear eyes, red gills, firm flesh). We bought a big one (a `bonito`) and he helped me clean it, so that yesterday we had a real Peruvian lunch: Fish, rice, yucca, and salad. However, we still did the un-Peruvian things of having each person serve themselves and not piling a mountain of rice on each plate. Below you can see the fish we bought and prepared.

I may write before our trip, but likely not -- have a blessed holy week and Easter!

Una Semana en Chimbote

2008-02-29T10:22:00.000-08:00

Hello again! For fun, I kept a log of my daily activities for seven days, Thursday to Wednesday since the last posting, to give a snapshot of my ´routine´ for those who might be interested -- and with the risk of putting up more than you ever wanted to know :). Beginning last Thursday...

Thursday, 2/21
5:50____wake up, stretch
6:30____run, with Milagros (19-year-old whose family took me the beach earlier -- name, which is common here, means ´Miracles´) and Nicole. Nicole and I meet Milagros at a pre-arranged corner after waiting just a few minutes.
7:25____sweep up trash/sweep sidewalk/water street in front of house
8:00____N&E leave, I read daily scripture, write in journal, use my head weights (chiropractor-recommended to help my spinal health by encouraging correct posture)
8:45____Breakfast (´Quaker´ -- oatmeal drink with milk and cinnamon, bread) and reading out loud in Spanish for practice (a book about ministry with Hispanic youth)
10:00___Computer work at the sisters´ house (there are now four - Juanita, Rosaline, Katty and Silvia, soon to be joined by Sophia, a fifth) to work on translating the youth´s sharings about their Lima trip and print out some English class material.
12:30___Back home for a bit of guitar practice
1:15____Lunch by Nicole, who has the day off (chicken, boiled potatoes, fresh tomatoes), dish duty
2:30____Planning for tonight´s English class -- I´ve found a decent curriculum (Interchange) to follow (by helping occasionally at a local private institute, they have shared resources with me) so I don´t have to come up with everything from scratch.
3:30____Talk with Dad on his birthday
4:30____Meeting with Fr. Carlos (and supposedly Elmer, who didn´t show up) about plans to start a childrens´(8-12) basketball team for the parish. Elmer and another friend, Juan Carlos, will be heading it up, though we´re now in initial planning stages.
5:30____15 minute walk to make copies for English class -- they now know me well, as I come most Mondays and Thursdays. Copies are 5 centimos each (about 2 cents).
6:30____Quick dinner at home (leftover pasta from yesterday) and arrange copies.
7:00____at parish for brief meeting with Lima trip youth, to pass out material and choose neighborhoods that pairs will visit in our parish youth survey. An impressive start only fifteen minutes late gives us a quarter hour to accomplish the task, which we manage. Three youth arrive, though, at 7:45, after the meeting is over and English class well under way.
7:30____English class (divide basic/intermediate groups, Nicole and Emily leading reading/comprehension with the basic group)
9:30____In a bit of a change from the usual, I join Emily and Nicole in going to a Nuevo Chimbote discoteca for the goodbye party of a US med student named Laura (from Nebraska) who has been helping at hospice and became friends with E & N. A number of hospice friends come along, for a group of about 15. There is a live band playing cumbia and salsa in a large warehouse type structure with a uniformed dancing group that reminded me for some reason of Las Vegas or Reno. I was suffering from severe sleepyness at 12:00 so Laura and I shared a taxi home an hour or so before the rest of the group.
1:00____bed

Friday, February 22
6:05____get-up, stretch
6:35____Run, with Milagros (and her former high school teacher, who we run into along the way)
7:30____Breakfast (quaker), journal/scripture, conversation with N & E
8:30____head weights, weekly laundry by hand
10:00___Shower, dress
10:45___Visit internet cafe, more translation and personal emailing
12:30___Lunch, again by Nicole (hamburgers, fried sweet potatoes), talk with Emily
2:00____reading (old Newsweek sent by Mom)
3:00____Deliver a Lima trip photo CD to Yelina´s house, 10 minute walk
3:30____Clean house: sweep floors, clean kitchen/bathroom/dining room table -- in preparation for English students visiting in the evening
5:30____Make cornbread for snack (turns out to be popular), fold laundry from line, eat dinner (bread with cucumber/tomato, fruit, puffed wheat cereal)
7-9_____English class conversation practice. Our biggest group yet, about 17 people show up. We run out of chairs and have to divide into two groups.
9:15____Choir rehearsal, with some good individual help from the director (was lacking in this area originally)
11:00___Two choir members accompany me home, quite tired
11:30___bed

Saturday, February 23
7:30____get up, breakfast, journal/scripture (no running today), head weights
9:00____Michi calls
10:30___Shower, dress, prep for day
11:30___Walk downtown (20 minutes) to pay for CD´s ordered at Lima course and a visit to the supermarket
1:30____Lunch (bread, garbanzo beans, tomatoes, cucumbers)
2:30____meet up with Lenin, from Lima trip group, to do four hours of youth surveying. We talk with 13 youth and I have a good, tiring experience. Other groups are covering different neighborhoods over the weekend.
7:00____Dinner (bread, garbanzo, cucumber, tomato), rest, guitar practice, phone conversation with Sister Katty concerning ministry with youth
9:00____Choir rehearsal, goes a bit late.
11:30___arrive home, accompanied by two choir members.
12:00___bed

Sunday, February 24
6:00____get up
6:30____run, with Nicole and we climb the cerro (small hill of sand), meeting up with Milagros and her uncle along the way.
7:30____Journal, scripture, dishes, breakast (quaker), head weights
9:15____shower, dress
10:00___Closing ceremony/certificates for summer childrens´ classes at the parish -- I had teamed up to do the English class. Performances by the dance class kids and the speech class. Very hot today in the sun.
12:30___back home for lunch (rice, chicken, carrots)
1:30____rest, guitar, a bit of the dubbed Narnia movie on TV
3:15____Mom and Dad call
4:45____Head out to play basketball at a neighbooring parish
7:00____Shower, get ready for church
7:30____Sunday mass with Emily and Nicole.
9:00____Roger and Elvis (Nicole and Emily´s boyfriends, respectively) visit and we hang out at the house.
10:00___I excuse myself and head to bed.

Monday, February 25
6:10____get-up, stretch
6:35____run (solo, Milagros doesn´t show)
7:30____shower, breakfast, head weights, some girls visit to pick our figs, journal/scripture, reading out loud in Spanish
10:00___Computer work at internet cafe--finally finish translation of youth trip sharings, send it out, local ministry related emails.
12:45___Make lunch (mashed potatoes, lime-ginger-soy-carrots-tomatoes chicken
1:45____lunch with Emily and Nicole
3:00____Plan for tonight´s English class
5:00____snack/break
5:30____Internet to print class registration form, walk to make copies for class
7:15____set-up for class
7:30____English class (Emily and I do the basic grammar, reading/comprehension for intermediate students led by Nicole)
9:30____Hang out with Elvis and Emily at home
10:00___Head to bed

Tuesday, February 26
6:00____Get up, stretch
6:30____run with Roberto (friend/student) and Milagros
7:20____journal, scripture, talk with Emily and Nicole before they go to work
8:00____head weights
8:20____shower, breakfast, dress
9:15____downtown trip to pick up ordered CD´s at the bus agency, make a copy of a key
10:00___sit in on/help with an English class at Metropolis private institute, where I´ve gotten the class curriculum I now use. I plan to help/visit about once a week or so.
1:00____lunch by Emily (noodles with ground meet and cheese), do dishes
2:00____make hummus, read, play guitar
5:00____prep for evening meeting
6:00____dinner (hummus and bread)
6:30____Phone conversation with Michi
7:00____Meeting with youth to organize upcoming events and discuss survey. Was to start at 7:00, but we get going at 7:40 -- mostly youth from Lima trip plus a couple more, plus Father Carlos and Sister Katty. A good discussion, based largely on some of the questions raised by the youth we have surveyed -- not overly productive in a practical sense, but meaningful group faith sharing. I´m getting a bit more capable of navigating a meeting in Spanish.
10:00___Hang out at home with Elvis, Roger, Nicole and Emily.
10:30___bed

Wednesday, February 27
6:00____get-up, stretch
6:35____run (solo, as Milagros doesn´t show). I run into Elmer at my turn around point and we run back together.
7:15____sweep/trash/water street duty
7:45____talk, tea, scripture,journal
8:30____head weights
9:00____breakfast, shower
9:45____leave house for internet (print English class readings, ministry/personal emails)
11:00___trip to supermarket and outdoor market for the week´s food, coming home with a heavy backpack
1:00____start cooking lunch
1:45____lunch with Emily and Nicole (lime chicken, rice with vegetables)
3:00____Plan English class for Thursday, cook rice pudding
5:00____Guitar practice
6:30____Talk with Emily, Nicole
7:00____Mass with Emily, Nicole, and María -- a two-month volunteer from Germany in the nearby Capilla San Felipe who I met last week.
8:00____María comes over to visit and have rice pudding, as she is leaving town Friday. Nicole and Emily talk with thier folks online 8-9, but join us afterward.
10:30___María takes a cab home and we three hang out a bit longer, laughing about life in Chimbote.
11:30___bed

Thursday, February 28 -- see description of hospice trip below.

Una mañana de hospicio visitas...

2008-02-29T09:43:00.000-08:00

Greetings! I had a chance yesterday to start back into the routine of going out one morning per week with the hospice´s pastoral agent, and I again had a full, sad, moving experience. Our first patient was new to the program, has cirroses (sp?) of the liver, and mispent his considerable earnings as a singer in his younger years. He now lives with his mom and a half brother, who was happy for the chance to speak English with me (has worked on cargo ships going all over the world) but had little compassion for his family and evidently was not sharing any money with them. Their home was rough brick with a hard-packed dirt floor and cardboard/plastic roof. Our second visit was to a similar home, up high on a hill, but the patient, José was in good spirits as the severe swelling of his foot -- due to diabetes -- was going down drastically. Originally counseled to have it amputated, he sees it as a work of God that that didn´t happen and now, four months later, it appears he will walk again soon. Our third stop was to Carmela, who has a brain tumor that manifests itself physically by a large swelling on the left side of her face. Remembering a young physical therapist intern who had visited her last week, she as if ´el jóven´ could give her a massage. A bit surprised, I donned the plastic gloves, poured on the talcum powder, and gave her a leg and foot massage -- first time here. ´Si sabe,´ she commented. Next we visited Jaime, a 20-something young man with a spinal tumor that has gradually worsenend since I last visited -- he used to be able to stand and make shoes out of tires, but now is constricted to lying on the rope-cord couch and fighting the pain that doesn´t really go away. His spirits are down because a recent trip to doctors in Trujillo confirmed the fact that no kind of operation could be done, though they did prescribe a strong painkiller. Unfortunately, he doesn´t have money to pay for it (about $5.50 per day) and the pills are not even sold in Chimbote. Also, his wife and children are wearing out in the caretaking role, and his brothers/sisters/mother, according to him, have mostly forgotten him and rarely visit. His ´house´ is mostly open to the sky, with one covered/walled sleeping area but mostly open area with a dirt floor, a stick roof for shade, and the pigs/chickens/cuy a few yards away. We prayed, gave him communion, and left not knowing what to do to help him. Next, a short walk took us to José, lying as he was for my last two visits on a mattress on the concrete floor. I´m not sure of his illness but with hospice visits his advanced bed sores have cleared up and he for the first time noticed me, and we had a short conversation. Finally, we stopped to visit Amalia, again with one covered area for eating/sleeping and with ducks and a rooster (which previously attacked Emily one day) nearby. Her husband devotes himself to caring for his wife, who entered the program because of a severe hip fracture but now is struggling with diabetes that gives her chronic head and body aches that keep her from sleeping. Justina gave her a head and foot massage, and I read some scripture and prayers out of Justina´s book. Amalia was noticeably less tense and sleepy at our time of leaving, before which her husband poured us glasses of chicha morada (black corn tea with sugar. Sometimes I like chicha, but this batch required perseverance to get it down. Next, I took a car back to near our house and got home about 1:40.

I found myself thinking yesterday about the way ´good news´ is translated in my Spanish Bible, for example in the passage from Luke 4 in which Jesus reads from Isaiah in the synagogue at Nazareth and talks of being ´good news for the poor.´ Except that in Spanish, ´good news´ is translated as buena nueva, which translates to English as ´the good new thing´. This, I think, is what Jesus offers, especially to those who suffer in whatever way -- hope for a ´good new thing´ in their/our lives. Sometimes the scope of world situations that need something good and new seems overwhelming, but this widening of perspective that the hospice visits give me helps remind me of the ultimate goal behind it all: not to build up the youth group, make the ministry look exciting or entertaining, or receive recognition for our work (though these things can be good fringe benefits)--but what I really hope for is to instill hope, increase the number of people finding fulfillment in following God´s call to serve -- and through this gradually changing things. Not changing things necessarily to be like the US, but changing them for the better. I feel sometimes that though two years can seem like a long time to be away from family, home, and friends -- it is really a short time in the picture of wanting to leave a lasting positive mark. I think the fruits of my work here will largely, I hope, mature after I leave in the form of altered trajectories of a collection of individual lives that I will/have been able to directly or indirectly touch. All this in spite of human weakness, inconsistency, and just plain fatigue that too often remind me that I can´t do everything, mostly can´t even live up to my own expectations of and hopes for myself (which, as those who know me can attest to, are relatively high). Still, the journey is rich and I am thankful for it.

The stream-of-thought sharing above was a bit longer than I expected, so I will post my other planned sharing in a separate entry. Wishing you peace!

Unas cositas más...

2008-02-20T12:27:00.000-08:00

A brief addition to yesterday´s entry:
- There was a country-wide blockage of roads by farmers on Monday, including the Panamerican Highway on either side of Chimbote. Big rocks were placed in the road, tires were burned, and protesters were out -- even throwing rocks at windows of cars or combis that attempted to get through. Transit passengers (including Emily and fellow hospice workers) had to walk through the barricade. The protesters were not harming the walkers at all, but she said it was a bit scary nonetheless. The protest was over the recently-signed trade agreement with the United States, the agriculture industry here fearing that they will not be able to compete in a market flooded with subsidized US products. The president of Perú believes that having US markets open to Peruvian products is worth it, though the situation reminds me of NAFTA, of which one large result was the bankruptcy of Mexican corn growers (and their subsequent immigration to the US) due to importation of subsidized US corn. Many folks were affected by the protest, which apparently was not as succesful as they had hoped -- lasting only a day when it was to last 48 hours.
- I arrived back in Lima to our house again without running water except for the outside faucet a couple hours in the morning. Our pump system had broken down again, but this time -- after a couple days -- the landlord and a friend have supposedly fixed the problem more permanently. We also had a refrigerator gradually losing its power to cool things, and we had eventually moved all the food to the freezer section and stopped buying any meat that we weren´t going to cook right away. We also got this repaired over the weekend -- was a gas leak (freon, which is not legal to produce anymore in the US), so we also appreciate more having cold water. We boil all of our drinking water and with the very hot weather, we were missing cold drinks. As I said to Nicole, warm drinking water and cold showers is a bit opposite of what we´re used to.
- We met last night with the group that went to Lima, and I am excited by their comaraderie and enthusiasm. We have divided into pairs for our first project, doing a house by house survey (and invite to the Confirmation program) of youth who live in the parish. We also are planning to coordinate a stations of cross up the mountain outside of town and to put on a Good Friday play in the parish, the beginning of a parish youth theater grou. High on their priority list as well is to strengthen the groups that already exist, such as workshops for the three parish choirs.

God bless!

Actividades del Verano

2008-02-19T13:24:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! Seems like the days just slip by with the various tasks, events, visits, etc. of life here. Did I write a while back that I was feeling that I didn´t have enough to do? :) Below I attempt to catch you up on some highlights of the past month or so.

Beach Trip 1: Caleta Colorada
On January 20 the Huanca family invited me to go to the beach with them and Sebastian, a former volunteer here from Germany who was housed with the Huancas during his stay and now dates one of the four daughters. I have met and gotten to know each of the daughters in some way, largely through our English classes, and they had me to their home for New Year´s Eve. Also, Sebastian, Mariela and Milagros were a part of the running group that has been suspended of late due to various causes, including Roger enrolling in the Police Academy and Sebastian/Mariela leaving for Germany. I have still run a couple times recently with Milagros and her uncle. Any, back to the beach (see photos through link at right) -- we got a late start (not too surprising) due to their participation in a Baptism/fiesta until 4:00 am that morning. Nonetheless, we had completed the 30-minute taxi ride and the 15 minute boat ride and were seated on the sand (along with a ton of other people) by 1:30 in the afternoon. The beach is small, with very small waves, but the water temperature was pleasant. Few people here know how to swim, however, so I was among a handful of others who braved the deeper water. I think with little access to pools and lakes, knowing how to swim is the exception and something I take for granted (thanks Mom for the lessons, even given all the chlorine in my eyes!). After a swim, we broke out the lunch -- a pot of noodles and chicken. People don´t really do sandwiches here much, not sure why, but usually bring a pot of food and serve plates of food. Maybe because they don´t have peanut butter and few choices of lunch meat. The result is a quite nice lunch even at the beach. The trip home took a little longer since we had to take a combination of two ´combis´, or small minibuses, but a refreshing day overall.

Beach trip 2: English Class Field trip to Casma, Sechen, Tortugas and Visique
The week of January 20-26 was largely spent in wrapping up our English class first term, preparing for our trip to Lima, and also included my first appearance during Mass with our choir, Trovadores del Evangelio Vivo (Troubadors of the Living Gospel). I enjoyed it, was quite hot under our poncho uniforms, and didn´t do too much damage, I believe. Anyway, again I get sidetracked: back to the beach. We had planned for some time to take a field trip with our English class students at the end of the first three-month cycle, and the choice was to visit some pre-Inca ruins (Sechen) near Casma (an hour south), and then stop at the beach for the afternoon on the way home (see photo album). A few folks canceled at the last moment, but we still had 10 of us for the trip, including a US med-student named Laura and her friend Robert, both living and volunteering at the neighboring parish of Perpetua Socorro (Laura is helping at the hospice and has gotten to know Emily and Nicole). The ruins were simple, ancient, and partially excavated -- with a simple museum attached. Afterward we stopped to stroll a bit at the resort beach/bay of Tortugas, with placid water and rocky beach, and then hit the beach at Visique, which provided some decent waves for a bit of bodysurfing, a mix of clouds and sun, chance for volleyball, and some beautiful scenery when we walked away from the parking area to an uncrowded section -- with some impressive waves. We returned home -- our friend Elmer had arranged for his uncle to provide personal transportation in a combi -- tired and refreshed, with a few hours to eat, pack, wash, and prepare for the Lima trip. Not having anyone who made a pot of food for this excursion, we had to get by on some fruit and yogurt purchased at the market and some cucumber/hummus sandwiches that I brought along. They were a bit suspicious of the garbanzo bean paste that I´d made, but gave it a try and liked it (plus they were quite hungry).

Overview of the two weeks in Lima, January 27 - February 9
As expected, I arrived in Lima early Sunday morning quite tired and groggy, after a night spent on the rather warm bus on its way from Chimbote. Everyone arrived ontime, especially since the bus left nearly an hour late. The general mood was of high spirits as we gathered, a couple parents were concerned about letting their kids go, since they had never been away from home by themselves. I assured them that I would watch out for their safety and that we would stay together as a group. Some details about our experience together:
- We stayed, through the generosity of the Incarnate Word Sisters, in two houses in the neighborhood Magdalena del Mar in Lima -- the five girls in one (where we cooked and ate breakfast/dinner) and the eight guys in another, a couple blocks away and near a huge church called the Cupula. Two girls were already in Lima staying with relatives, and joined us for the courses and lunch each day. We shopped at the local market and cooked for the Sunday lunches both morning and evening meals. During the weekdays while attending the courses, we ate at a restaurant near the school, cheap by US standards: $1.50 per person for a full meal of soup, drink, and main dish. Many restaurants serve what they call a ´Menú´ -- a couple choices for appetizer/soup and three for the main dish. Hence, I was able to sample a number of Peruvian dishes during our time. Our daily schedule:
6:00-7:00 am -- wake up (I ran the 10 blocks to the ocean, where I ran along the cliff overlooking the sea)
7:30-8:00 am -- breakfast crew makes the food (often bread and oatmeal drink, which they call ´Quaker´ -- good marketing my our Pennsylvanian friends). Also, we attempt to hurry the stragglers from the guys´ house over to the women´s.
8:00-8:45 -- breakfast, dishes, clean-up
8:45 -- walk the 20 minutes to the school for the courses
9:00-12:30 -- morning courses
12:30-3:00 -- lunch and rest (at the park or back on school grounds)
3:00-6:30 -- afternoon courses
7:15-10:00 -- dinner crew cooks (bread and Quaker, or maybe eggs/rice, or arroz con leche), others hang out, rest, play guitar. After dinner, conversation, dishes, play cards, etc.
10:00 -- Guys return home to prepare for bed, often they play cards for another hour. Todd is quite sleepy from the early rising and speaking/hearing Spanish all day long, and so goes straight to bed.

As far as money goes, we spent a total of $81 per person for the two week experience -- and thanks to the support of the parish, the IW Sisters, and some of you reading right now the trip was made possible. The young people in attendance -- to which I showed photos of all the people who supported the experience -- were quite grateful. At multiple moments, they strongly reminded each other that we were not here just for paseo or even just to have a good experience for ourselves, but that people we don´t even know from the US are paying our way in hopes that we will use what we have learned to aid our parish when we return home. Such hopes are beginning to be realized now as we hold our second meeting tonight to lay out the initiatives that we will undertake in order to reach out to more youth that live in our parish.

Living with Peruvian Young People
As a few of the young people expressed themselves this past Saturday at a follow-up meeting with the group, we all learned as much from the experience of living with each other and meeting new friends during the courses as we did from the course content itself. Of course, this was one of my hopes in undertaking the project, and I´d like to share a few things that struck me during our two weeks together:
1. The variety of ages (14-34) was at times a test of patience for the older participants, but in the end emerged a sense of family that is different than with same-age groups of youth. Also, I felt much less worry personally in terms of supervision, as most participants were at a level of maturity to handle tasks and take initiative on their own. I do believe as well that the life experience of the young adults had a very positive influence on the teenage members of the group.
2. Whereas some US youth (especially guys) have not much experience in doing their laundry, our whole group is very accustomed to washing their own clothes by hand, doing so during the mornings before breakfast or, as I did, washing on Sunday morning, our day off, and hanging the clothes on the line.
3. They are not accustomed to eating many sweets or junk food at all, whereas youth events in the US are almost not complete without cookies and potato chips. In general, I felt we didn´t eat that much -- and I occasionally had to supplement my diet with some peanuts from the corner store :).
4. Few young people have what I would call a ´hurry mode.´ If they get started a bit late in getting dressed and ready for the day, the pace of preparation doesn´t change -- they will just be late. If the start of breakfast is delayed for whatever reason, they are perfectly capable of sitting down to a leisurely breakfast as if we had all the time in the world (while I am looking at the clock and fretting). Then, all of a sudden someone says ´Vamos´(let´s go) and the focused action of dishes and cleaning the floor begins. Usually we arrived in time (if not on time) for the courses, but I still struggle to get used to this aspect of the culture here. Somewhere a happy medium between being relaxed and uptight about schedules should exist.
5. Young people here love music and dancing. Guitar and singing was often a part of break times, and we closed the Saturday evening concert provided at the courses (of three Catholic groups/artists) by dancing to some high energy Christian cumbia. At Consuelo´s 16th birthday party on the 7th, at her aunt´s house in Lima where she was staying, of course there was salsa dancing.
6. Some members of our group are as addicted to their cell phones (which often have the capacity to play music) as youth in the US -- though others of our group would give them a hard time about it.
7. Many of the group had not spent much time at all away from home, and they very much enjoyed the opportunity to meet other young people from Lima, Cuzco, Piura,etc.

Miscellaneous News from Chimbote
- Our registrations and attendance for the new term of our English course is definitely on the rise. We had 15+ people at our house for conversation practice on Friday evening and over 20 for class last night. We have abandoned the idea of keeping up a website (took lots of time and few seemed to use it), but have divided the lessons into basic English (Mondays) and intermediate (Thursdays). For beginners coming on Thursday (and advanced on Monday), we separate the group and do reading, pronunciation, comprehension and vocab.
- I helped our choir provide the dinámicas (songs with actions) and group games for a parish family day/open-house at a new retreat center on the edge of town. It has a nice building with rooms for workshops and groups, grass, a soccer/volleyball court, and an eating pavilion. I became tired from being there from 8:30 am until 6:00, including singing in the joint choir for the closing outdoor Mass, and got sunburnt by the strong sun. Singing with our choir afterward at the 7:30 mass finished off a long day, but with some beautiful moments, such as walking back from Santo Domingo (the neighborhood of the retreat center) in the evening sun, seeing the crowd winding through the dirt streets and simple houses, the cross-topped mountain silhouetted in the background, and a group of us singing to a guitar that one of the choir members was playing. I didn´t have my camera with me, but the memory of the moment will stay a while.

Well, I appreciate your perseverance in staying with this entry all the way to the end. I wish you a blessed week!

Ida y vuelta a Lima

2008-02-14T09:41:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! First of all, there are four new photo albums now posted for perusal -- access through the link at right.

Second, sorry for the long delay in writing. I returned Saturday, February 9 from a two-week trip to Lima with 14 youth and young adults from the parish, where we attended workshops on leadership, singing, and working with youth in parishes (more below). Aside from battling a case of diarrhea (sp?), eventually winning with the help of an antibiotic, the last few days have been full of catching up on rest, doing laundry, starting new terms of English classes, teaching a children´s vacation English class twice, processing input and next steps for our youth ministry efforts, undertaking initial planning with two guys who want to start a children´s basketball team in the parish, and celebrating Sr. Juanita´s (73rd?) birthday. I have just fifteen minutes left to write at the moment, so I will do the best I can to bring you up to date and may have to add more later.

Lima Trip Preparation-
Preparing for this trip was quite different that it would have been in the US. First of all, I can´t picture getting commitments from 14 young people to take a two week trip to attend training courses in youth ministry. Second, the planning happened much more last-minute that I would have liked -- for example, I didn´t have confirmation on our lodgings (in two houses owned by different congregations of religious sisters) until Wednesday evening for trip that was departing Saturday. The group didn´t seem too concerned about it, though: an advantage of the relatively low-key approach to planning, everyone trusting that something will work out. Third, compared the mountains of forms and paperwork for taking the 11-day Los Embajadores trips, I had almost none to do for this two week experience -- no permission forms, medical releases, etc. I did have some extra money to pay for any hospital emergency, but the difference in preparation was significant.

Pre-Trip Hopes
-- I tried to post these pre-trip sharings from eight of the trip participants before leaving, but was unsuccessful. Here´s another try to show the responses to my question of why they chose to participate in this experience:

Maritza Silva Guzmán
Current parish involvement: Lector, youth ministry planning
Age: 28
- Me gusta la idea de compartir con el grupo y de aprender nuevas cosas para colaborar con la parroquia.
- I like the idea of sharing the experience with the group and of learning new things in order to help out at the parish.

Juan Machco Flores
Current parish involvement: youth choir member, youth dance group coordinator
Age: 24
- Bueno, mis ganas de ir al curso en Lima es para apoyar a la parroquia en lo que es reunir más jóvenes pero no para hacer vida social sino para hacerle ver que Dios está con nosotros. Quiero a mi parroquia y por eso lo quiero ayudar y pienso que eso es un primer paso para hacerlo.
- Well, my desire to go to the course in Lima is to support the parish in the manner of gathering more young people, not for social life but instead to make them see that God is with us. I love my parish and for this reason I want to help it and I think that this is a first step toward doing so.

Yelina Piscoche
Current parish involvment: Post-confirmation group, youth choir member
Age: 17
- Bueno, me encantaría participar de estos talleres porque es una gran oportunidad ya que nos ayudará personalmente en el desarrollo social para la parroquia. Acercarme más a Dios y poder contribuir con su Plan Liberador. Aprenderemos cosas nuevas que tendremos que ponerlas en prácticas.´ Incrementar nuestros conocimientos cristianos.
- Well, I would love to participate in these workshops because it is a great opportunity that can help us personally as well as in the development of the parish; bring myself close to God and be able to contribute to his liberating plan; we will learn new things that we will have to put into practice; to build up our Christian understanding.

Yuri Agreda Peña
Current parish involvement: choir member, Confirmation team, president of youth council, co-trip coordinator)
Age: 29
- Yo quiero participar en este taller para mejorar mi trabajo con los jóvenes, compartir las experiencias de otras comunidades para mejorar y sacar a adelante nuestra parroquia.
- I want to participate in this workshop to improve my work with young people and share the experience of other faith communities in order to improve and move forward our parish.

Billy Tandaypán
Current parish involvement: youth ministry planning
Age: 15
- Quisiera aprovechar esta oportunidad para mejorar como persona y en mis relaciones con los demás. Tambieén, quisiera poder hacer de este año el mejor de mi vida.
- I would like to take advantage of this opportunity in order to improve as a person and in my relationships with others. Also, I would like to be able to make this year the best year of my life.

Adriana Tandaypán
Current parish involvement: youth ministry planning
Age: 17
- Quiero ir a este viaje para aprender nuevas cosas, crecer como persona, y después ayudar en mi parroquia con lo que aprendí. También, quiero conocer amigos de otras ciudades, relacionarme con los jóvenes de mi parroquia, y pasar un buen momento.
- I want to go on this trip in order to learn new things, grow as a person, and afterward to help in my parish with what I learned. Also, I want to meet friends from other cities, relate with the young people of my parish, and have a good experience.

Milagros Huanca Llamo
Current parish involvement: youth choir, lector
Age: 19
- Quiero ir a este encuentro juvenil, porque quisiera compartir nuevas cosas, experiencias, y anécdotas con todas las personas que me rodean y a la vez, acercarme más a Dios, a mi parroquia y a mis hermanos, tratando de renovar mi fe, con una actitud muy positiva para todas las oportunidades diarias.
- I want to go this youth event because I would like to share in new things, experiences, and anecdotes with the people around me. At the same time, I would like to grow closer to God, to my parish and to my brothers and sisters, trying to renew my faith with a very positive attitude toward all my daily opportunities.

Efrain Juilan
Current parish involvement: subcoordinator, youth dance group
Age: 24
- Bueno, me aventuro a estos proyectos porque de alguna manera me van a enseñar y me van a enriquecer culturalmente ante la sociedad y espiritualmente ante Dios. Aparte también de compartir momentos gratos con personas nuevas, conocer un poco más de lo que la vida nos pueda ofrecer en esta oportunidad
- Well, I take this adventure to attend these projects because in some way they are going to teach me and enrich me culturally in society and spiritually with God. Apart from this, also to share gratifying moments with new people and to know a little more of what life can offer us in this opportunity.

The rest will have to wait until later, but stay tuned the next couple days. God bless!

Vida Cotidiana en Chimbote

2008-01-17T07:30:00.000-08:00

Greetings once again, thanks for checking in. We have had a bit of a change in the schedule of our house, as Nicole and Emily have rotated to work within the hospice itself for the next two months. This entails eight-hour shifts, so that two people are on duty to care for patients around the clock. Emily has been on mornings (6-2) and afternoons (2-10), and Nicole primarily on nights (10-6). I think the schedule and lack of sleep has worn her out a bit, as yesterday she came down with the stomach flu of some sort, but is feeling slightly better today.

To start, a few things about daily life in Chimbote:
- We are appreciating a steady supply of water, as during the last part of December our pump was working only sporadically. Water comes into a cistern from the city system in the morning and the afternoon, and then our pump lifts it to a water tank on the roof, which provides pressure (a mini-version of those small town water towers in the flat plain states). Our landlord came to fix the pump (a problem with the pressure), so we now have a steady supply.
- Showering -- initially it was the race to beat the ´click´, which meant that the electric showerhead (sounds dangerous, I know) had shut off after its five minute limit and the rest of the shower would be cold. Also, if you put your hand or head too close to the shower head, a slight electric shock would remind you not to do so. This description is in the past tense because a couple weeks ago the electric shower heads stopped working altogether, so we join the many here who have no hot water at all. We are actually getting used to it, and find that are showers take less time :). When I commented that at least it was summer, so the cold showers wouldn`t matter so much, Nicole said that she was not so optimistic. The sun, though, because the tank is black, does warm the water somewhat during the middle of the day.
- Running `The Cerro` (hill, mountain). I`ve begun running 2-3 times per week with a 2-4 friends from the parish -- Roger, Mariela, Milagros, and a former volunteer here from Germany named Sebastian. The run involves a fifteen-minute run to a big sand dune, which we climb for a beautiful view of farms, mountains, etc. Next, a series of up-and-back forward-backward sets on top of a neighboring sand hill before returning home. There are a lot more people running in general than when I arrived with the warmer weather (and people wanting to get in shape to go to the beach).
- The daily harvest of trash. Most days, after running, I practice for a job in Disneyland by sweeping up the trash in front of our house with one of those dustpans with a handle, then sweep the sidewalk, then water the road in front of the house to help keep the dust down. If they ever paved the streets here, they would save a lot of water and people would have to come up with another early-morning ritual.
- It is a good idea to bring a rag to meetings at the parish, so as to wipe the dust off the chairs and benches before the meeting starts. When I forget, I sometimes use my hat :). No need to arrive early, though (except for our English class), because if I arrive on time I will likely be the only person there.
- Maybe because so few people write letters, the envelopes here do not have that handy lick-seal strip. Not to fear, though, as the post office provides a jar of a rubber-cement type substance with a pen for spreading. Careful not to put too much though, so that the Christmas cards you send will not stick together.
- In the US it is legally risky to touch a female young person at all -- here you kiss them all on the cheek. All women you meet, actually, expect this as a greeting and farewell, even if you only exchange a few seconds of dialogue. Women also greet each other with a kiss, though men seem to have dropped the habit and make do with a handshake upon greeting each other. In meetings this can be a bit disruptive, as when someone comes in late (after the meeting has begun), they often will not sneak in the back but still may make the rounds to greet everyone.
- A general confusion about Mass protocal seems to exist here, for example when to sit, when to stand, when to kneel -- likely to be all three at any given time during the Eucharist (and kneeling is a bit of a sacrifice, with padless kneelers). Also, even more than in the US, the Our Father is recited at about 20 different rates. Most confusing is the kiss/handshake/arm grab/shoulder tap/two-arm shoulder tap of peace. Required is flexibility and reading the intended actions of the other, since its hard to know what`s coming. :)
- At government offices (as when we went to have our dental records taken and the police station), they give you a form and you have to leave to make your own copies down the street and bring them back.
- We think that its in the Peruvian genes to be able to whistle loud and long, with no help from your hands. This ability (or a sharp hissing sound) can be put to good use to call out to a friend in the upper window, to an acquaintance down the street, or the waitress serving your table in a restaurant.

In other news...
- I am continuing with one of the choirs here, though not with the guitar -- just a member of the base section. We went on a paseo (outing) to a local park all day Sunday, where we played soccer, walked around the lake, ate lunch, and played a number of impromptu youth-ministry type games. It was a lot of fun, though I was quite dusty, hot and tired by the end. I will likely actually sing with them during Mass for the first time this coming Sunday.
- We have begun the big job of visiting and attempting a survey of parish youth, with a couple pairs of helpers to start with. This is always interesting work for me -- very `inefficient`, but rewarding and a great opportunity to learn. Also, we are preparing for a trip to Lima January 27-February 8 with 15 youth and young adults (already involved in or leaders in parish groups) from the parish for youth ministry leadership training/workshops. Thanks to several of you who have responded to my or Michi`s request to sponsor this experience for one or more youth. None of them have ever had this sort of opportunity, and they are excited. The job of arranging a two-week trip to a city of 8 million people in a foreign country is at times a bit daunting, though the IW sisters in Lima are helping me coordinate lodging and food down there. Legal paperwork for the trip, unlike for a similar trip with US youth, is nearly nonexistent. I will likely not write while we are there, but will attempt a short update before we leave.
- Our English class is going well, and several of the students are becoming good friends. The end of our first term we will celebrate with a class trip to the beach on the 26th. There is a huge desire to learn English here, especially among folks who are studying at the university or are young professionals. I have been struck by the thought that even my ability to speak English, now the international language, is an advantage that many people don`t have. Offering to share this ability with others here is one way that I am uniquely qualified to serve while I am here.
- Our post-Confirmation youth are organizing and putting on four-week summer classes for youth (called Vacaciònes Ùtiles, Useful Vacation), in such subjects as computers, chess, art, dance, and first aid. I and one of our students are also offering a twice-weekly English class for kids -- all of this is scheduled to begin next week.
- After a three week break over the holidays, I returned last week to accompanying hospice workers one day during the week. I sometimes feel initially that I don`t have enough time, but am always happy to have had the experience after it is over.

Well, I think I`ll sign off now -- until next time.

¡Felíz Año!

2008-01-07T14:33:00.000-08:00

Greetings and happy new year! The days seem to have gone quickly since I last wrote, but in the meantime we have welcomed a new year -- one that I will spend entirely in Peru. As usual, some updates, notes, and random thoughts about the celebration of the new year in Peru:

- The most dramatic is the making and burning of muñecos, which are life-sized dolls roughly sewed together out of old clothes, stuffed animals, rags, etc. and then stuffed with wood shavings, small fireworks, and maybe more old clothes. As midnight approaches, the muñecos (literally ´dolls´) are set on chairs or propped up in the street with sticks and doused with gasoline or kerosene. At midnight, the dolls are lit on fire and additional fireworks are set off. As I looked down the street from the house of friends who had invited me over, I could see a series of dolls in the street burning away, giving off smoke that surely was at least a little toxic. The motivation behind the act is actually sound -- the doll made of worn out clothes symbolizes the negative things of the previous year that are now burned away to make room for what hopefully will be a brighter year to come.

- The parish holds mass at 9:00 pm on new year´s eve, and people were surprised that we didn´t do the same. A joint choir sang, and attendance was quite good. After mass, about 20-25 youth/young adults gathered outside the parish to burn the muñeco that the post-confirmation youth had made, a project which I had helped with (and even contributed a shirt to). One of the guys had his guitar, and we sang in the warm glow of the burning doll, giving off smoke from the synthetic jacket it was wearing. It was another very memorable moment in my experience thus far. A family that I have gotten to know invited me to dinner and a party at their home after the burning, and we ate dinner at about 11:30 pm, interrupted at 12:00 to go out in the street to see the burning dolls, the fireworks, and to greet with ´Felíz Año´ the various neighbors and relatives that lived nearby. At dinner we followed the custom of eating twelve grapes, one for good luck in each of the coming 12 months. Afterward, we danced with the family and a few friends that came by. A difference here from the US is that the parties begin after 12:00, at about 1:30 (I received two invitations to additional parties that began at this time, but left the gathering at 3:30 very tired and ready for bed. Many people return home at 7 or 8 am and just sleep the whole next day.

- One custom that I didn´t participate in was that of wearing yellow underwear (on the 31st I saw piles of it for sale in the local market). The few folks here I asked about it, however, didn´t know the reason or history behind the practice.

- It is becoming very hot here during the days, and trips to the beach are on everyone´s mind. There are a few beaches within a half hour of Chimbote, so I am sure that we will soon be making trips there with friends. At the least, our English class will take an end-of-cycle trip there on January 26.

- As I mentioned a while back, we are gathering involved youth of the parish to attend a youth ministry leadership course in Lima from January 28-February 8. There should be a group of about 10 of us, which should be a great learning experience for all of us and excellent practice for my Spanish. Some of you have already indicated your interested in sponsoring youth ($70 all told for the course, travel, lodging) --you can contact me at tschmidt19@hotmail.com if you want more information. We would have the participants write you afterward to share about the experience.

-- My arm is much better -- I played a fun game of full-court basketball two days ago with no damage. :)

It´s time for me to go -- God bless!

Navidad 2007

2007-12-27T11:10:00.000-08:00

I don`t have much time left here to write today, but I wanted to say a brief, share a few things, and let you know that there are some Christmas photos posted that you can access using the photo link at the right.

Though my Christmas day itself was spent largely feeling sick and in bed with a fever, the celebration as a whole was a memorable one, though different in many ways from my usual Christmas in the US. Some notes:

- Here the day of celebration is the 24th, la noche buena, and many here will tell that the 24th is indeed Christmas. Celebrations include gathering with family for a late evening meal (after the 9 pm mass if the family goes), and then for many a party late into the night -- followed by sleeping most of the day on the 25th. I took a walk at about 7:00 am Christmas morning and looking in a few open doors along the way I saw people still dancing away to loud music. Indeed, the party across the street from us didn`t end until about 11:00 am.

- I had the privilege of being involved in the Christmas play put on by the youth of the Confirmation program, and even filled in an empty spot as San Josè. We performed amidst a lot of noise and distraction at a chocolatada on December 23 for children of our poorest parish neighborhood, and at the beginning of Christmas eve Mass on the 24th in the church (see photos). For the Christmas eve version we had more attention but were missing several key players, so the hour leading up to the event was a bit harried. Still, we recruited a couple extras, had some play multiple roles, and just plain skipped some lines -- but still we received several compliments on how it turned out and it was a bonding experience for those who did participate in either of the shows. It was a powerful moment for me, sitting with ´Marìa´ at the altar on Christmas eve, the wise men and shepherds gathered around, in Peru and south America, so far away from home. Mass was festive and afterward we were invited to dinner at a friend´s home (myself and the six Tardio family members). It was generous of them, but Emily and her brother ended up getting food poisening from something, we think a cold cucumber salad.

- The Tardios enjoyed their visit other than the sickness, and I was able to join them for lunch one afternoon at a nice restaurant outside of town. It was an enclosed outdoor courtyard, very pleasant except for the exceedingly loud music an singing entertainment for a graduation party that was also there for the afternoon (the school year just ended last Friday for most). We could hardly hear each other talk, but still laughed at the 1/2 cuy (guinea pig) that Adam, the youngest brother, ordered -- it came laid out in full on the plate, head seemingly screaming from its painful death not long ago. :)

- The chocolatada was largely a success, and I was proud of how so many of our youth worked so hard to help make it a good event: the parish dance group, the choirs leading songs and games, confirmation group organizing a toy/food drive and putting on the Christmas play, everyone helping to distribute paneton (sweet bread) and hot chocolate. The gift distribution at the end grew quite chaotic, however, and the parents/children refused to pay attention to or heed any attempt at organizing the process -- so the final moments were a bit tense. Fr. Carlos grew so frustrated that he (understandably, in my opinion) decided not to raffle off the gift baskets that we had prepared and brought but to give them to others. I was exhausted at the close, but had only a few minutes before heading to meet with youth at the posada of one of the sectors, where we had a good initial meeting of about 10 youth and young adults who want to help organized future activities.

- Our trip to Lima was not good for our sleep schedule (the night bus down was extremely uncomfortable), but we did secure our residency cards, valid for one year (see photo). We stayed at one of the sisters´ houses in Lima and returned on Friday evening. The immigration office was actually relatively well-organized and efficient, the employees helpful.

- I have had some time these past two days to gather some thoughts for the summer, which is just beginning here, and am excited about some ideas for the coming year. Michi and I have also discussed connected San Francisco and St. Mary`s as sister parishes, a desire that the social justice commission in Corvallis has. The opportunities for helping the two communities learn from and assist each other are numerous, and I will keep you posted. I still plan to take a group of jovenes to youth ministry training course in Lima January 28th for a week, and the cost details I will communicate soon to those of you who mentioned previously that you would be interested in assisting.

- I was listening to a Christian song from one of my CD´s recently called ´Remember Me´ in which God asks his follower to remember Him in various moments of his life -- prayer, in Church, teaching religion, reading the Bible -- since God is so faithful at remembering us. It struck me all of a sudden though I´d listened to the song many times before (by Mark Schultz), that there was a gaping hole in the message. At such times of peace and communion with God it is relatively easy to remember Him, it´s in the struggles and pain, in loneliness and in viewing poverty, when you or your friends are victims of attempted robbery (while I was running this Monday, no harm done in the end) when it is at times difficult to remember the hope and the love of God. During the everyday decisions of how I spend my time and money I can so easily forget about God. So my prayer as we celebrate this Christmas is to remember more often, and decide with God in mind.

I will write again soon. God bless!
-

Navidad se acerca

2007-12-19T08:43:00.000-08:00

Greetings! Emily, Nicole and I travel by bus through the night to Lima tonight in order to complete the final step (we hope!) in obtaining our Peruvian residency cards, called Carnets. I have a little time in between preparations for the trip and other Christmas related activities here to give a brief update on the last week and a half.
- First, my arm and elbow are feeling very much better. I have regained the flexing and straightening capability and there just remains a bit of tightness at the extremes of each. What I think will be my last appointment with Lina, the physical therapist here, will be Monday morning the 24th. A good Christmas present to be back to normal (as normal as I was before, any).

- Rehearsals with post-Confirmation youth continue for our Christmas play continue nightly this week, as we are presenting it this Saturday as part of a chocolatada that the youth are putting on for the children of Santo Domingo, the poorest sector of our parish. A chocolatada is an event that happens all over during the Christmas season, and the main elements are some sort of show or event, paneton (sweet bread with fruit), and of course hot chocolate. Go into any store and you`ll see people buying cases of evaporated milk and the Cuzco chocolate bars. I attended with Nicole and Emily a chocolatada at the Hospice last Friday afternoon, offered to children related to hospice patients. There was a clown and assistant (pretty girl with red skirt and hat, looking somewhat like a cheerleader) with games and dances, bread and chocolate, and wrapped gifts for everyone. The afternoon was quite pleasant. Anyway, the 7:00 pm rehearsals begin at around 7:30 or 8:00, complicated by the fact that many of the youth have high school or university exams, as this is the end of the school year for them. I designed the script using the story of St. Francis starting the tradition of the Nativity Scenes with the Gospel and prophet elements of the Christmas story, and just last night received the part of Joseph, since the fifteen or so youth we have participating are not enough to fill out the roles. Reminds me of my days at St. Francis in Burney...

- Robberies are definitely a hot topic recently, as another hospice team was robbed on one of their routes and the workers are generally tense about going to certain areas. Others have their own stories of either break-ins or close calls on the street. Needless to say, we are carrying with us only the minimum and try to be very aware of our surroundings.

- I have continued with visiting youth, this week concentrating on a new sector of the parish which will hold a brainstorming meeting this Saturday in conjunction with their Posada. Having a real donkey for Mary to ride -- there are donkeys all over around here -- I`m sure will add to the authenticity of the recreation of Mary and Joseph`s search for a place to stay on the first Christmas Eve. Anyway, we don`t have a good list or addresses for youth, so we are having to be creative. Billy, fifteen-year-old son of one of the parish council members, who lives in the sector, is accompanying me on the visits. We basically ask folks on the streets if they know Catholic youth who live in the neighborhood, and go from there. Billy`s family raises cuy (guinea pigs) in cages on their back patio, and his mom introduced me to the dish since she just happened to have some prepared the evening I was visiting (suerte!). Though it sounds cliche, cuy reminds me of chicken. Obviously smaller, and with a bit more fat. His mom served herself the head, with teeth and all visible, and I commented that I was happy not to have recieved that body part. Cuy is considered a delicacy here, but I didn`t find it that special. And the mental picture of eating a rodent will keep me from seeking out this dish on my own. :)

- The weather is warming up here -- quite hot during the middle of the day. Many people are talking of trips to the beach come January. Still, people ask me if I`m not cold during the comfortably cool evenings. All in what you`re used to, I guess.

- I am feeling more in the `Christmas spirit` these last days. The arrival of some Christmas CD`s from Michi and Christmas sheet music for guitar from my mom have helped. We also had a Christmas theme for our Monday English class, reading and studying `Twas the Night Before Christmas and then singing Christmas carols. We also made frosted sugar cut-out cookies (round, since we are without cutters) to share with the class, which were a big hit and brought back our own Christmas baking memories.

- Financially, I realize more that my $80 per month, though definitely a bit above average in spending money for Chimbote, has to be spent carefully -- especially in a month like December with additional things I find the desire to buy as gifts, etc. Add the trip to Trujillo and I can see why the vast majority of folks here have not travelled far from Chimbote, and certainly have not made the 2+ day trip to see Macchu Picchu. One parent during a visit, hearing that Nicole and Emily were headed there, sighed wistfully and commented that she had only seen it on TV.

- Finally, I think the less-structured perception of time and spontaneity (sometimes could be called a lack of organization) here is actually good for me in a lot of ways. I find myself less concerned about having everything done perfectly, trusting more that I will be able to adapt in the moment -- since this is what happens many times anyway. I think I still would enjoy starting more on time (we start no more than five minutes late for our English class), but in general the environment (and not being in charge) is helping me to go about my tasks and commitments in a more relaxed manner.

Well, I will try to add one more entry before Christmas, which we will spend with the parents and two brothers of Nicole and Emily. They both are staying in Lima one additional night in order to meet their family at the airport, and then coming back up to Chimbote on the 22nd. I wish you a blessed week.

Paseos, Visitas, y una Semana Ocupada

2007-12-10T14:31:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!

Note: New photos are posted which you can see using the link at the right.

If you are guessing from the delay in this blog update that I have become a little bit busier, you would be right! Here are some highlights and reflections on life since I last wrote:

- Though we had a feeling it would happen sooner or later, it was still shook us up a bit that Nicole was robbed as she and Emily were walking to the Hospice for work a week ago Saturday. She is okay and wasn`t hurt, but the guy got away with her neck chain and its religious medals. We are all thinking more about what we are carrying (or appear to be carrying) when we go out, taking as little as possible. Sr. Juanita tells us that this time of hear, with Christmas coming up, is the worst time for theft and that we should be careful. She herself has been robbed 6-7 times in her 11 years here, and says it makes her mad each time. Coupled with what seems like increased harrassment toward Nicole and Emily when they go out (especially on Sundays, when many of the men are free from work and somewhat intoxicated in the streets), they are feeling a bit tired of being so much in the public eye, of not being able to be anonymous. There are people who try to help, and many of our friends are sure to walk us home especially at night, but we are definitely aware and watchful when we go out.
- On a lighter note, we three joined about 45 jovenes (youth and young adults) from the parish for a paseo (outing) last Sunday to a park out in the country about a half hour. We got a late start, not surprisingly, but enjoyed the tranquilo day of group games/competitions, soccer, and volleyball. Nicole impressed all the guys with her soccer prowess. I helped plan the event as part of the youth council, and the striking difference between here and the US were the economics -- we managed to feed 50 people for about 45 soles ($15) on fried rice. We brought a huge pot of it (the food delayed the departure) and everyone brought a plate and spoon, even some china. We had the goal of helping the youth already participating in some of the various parish groups to get to know each other better, and I think the outing was successful and the weather (except for some mosquitos early on) was perfect. I also enjoyed the opportunity to talk with some youth that I hadn`t known before.
- This week I began at last our project of visiting youth in their homes, beginning with meetings with some of the eight coordinators of the eight parish sectors. In a couple neighborhoods we have already made one outing of visits. The first was a small sector in which the coordinator knew all the Catholic families, and we were well received by the youth/families we spoke with. I will meet with a group of the young people this Sunday to talk with them about what they would like to see/do as a parish and as a sector in terms of youth activities. In the second sector, the visit went differently -- a bit humurous in retrospect but a little frustrating at the time. The coordinator had forgotten about our appointment, so I had to wait for her to shower and get ready after her siesta. Also, though I had suggested 2 or 3 people max, our group was to consist of 5 (myself, three short older ladies, and one husband -- who ended up not coming after all). Also, though they have lived in the neighborhood for more than 30 years, they were as lost (or more so) as I was in finding the streets and houses for the addresses I had. To shorten the story, we spent a couple hours wandering by foot and taxi and ended up talking with two parents and two youth. STill, a start. And, overall, I think I will really enjoy this part of my ministry here, to talk on an individual basis with youth and families to help them feel welcome in the parish and to invite their suggestions and participation. Yesterday I attended mass at the chapel in our largest sector, 2 de Mayo, and met several folks after mass who either have youth or are interested in helping with our projects.
- I participated in my first two choir rehearsals, though I have yet to really learn the guitar songs due to not having the lyrics and chords. I am scheduled to have some introduction to that this week by the choir director. Still, it is an animated group (at times to the frustration of the director :)) and we rehearse in the living room of a parishioners home near the parish. Our rehearsals are 9:30-11:00 pm Friday and Saturday night, which is a little unbelievable for me. I may not be able to long term make the commitment due to other ministry activities at the parish, but I am going to give it a shot.
- English class is going well. I have located some helpful lesson plan ideas online and we are also now offering a Friday night conversation session in our home from 7-9 for anyone in the class desiring opportunity to practice. We have 12-15 attending the Monday-Thursday classes and 7-8 coming on Fridays.
- Saturday Nicole, Emily and I took advantage of their day off (national holiday for the Immaculate Conception) and took a paseo to Trujillo, a couple hours north of here. The architecture is more colonial and the city a bit cleaner than Chimbote, and we saw significantly more tourists. We attended mass at the Cathedral, had a couple good meals, visited the pre-Inca ruins of Chan-Chan outside of town, and walked/relaxed a couple hours on the beach at the small nearby town of Huancacho. We met a dog there who loved to dig and fetch, and his owner is a doctor from the US who moved there two years ago to open a restaurant. All in all a good getaway.
- I am somewhat in charge of directing a Christmas play with the post-Confirmation group, and developed a script from online Spanish bible sources and material from Fr. Carlos that combines the story of the first Nativity Scene (tradicion begun by St. Francis) and the Biblical narrative of the prophets and the gospels. We will put it on a couple times before Christmas, on the 22nd at a show for parish children and the 23rd or 24th for the parish at large.
- Christmas is coming, and we see a smattering of lights in house windows and some downtown stores selling solely Christmas decor. Nicole and Emily bought a 2-foot tree for our living room and a couple strings of lights, which help add a little Christmas feel to our home. I think because I associate Christmas with being home with family and know that this year I won`t be (for the first time), I do find myself missing home a bit more. Still, I do look forward to experiencing the celebration of Christmas here. And the Tardio family -- parents and both brothers -- are also joining us here for the holiday, after which they will travel to Cusco and Macchu Piccu.
- Sometimes two years seems like a long time, but I also have been struck by periodic moments of beauty and peace here (like the beautiful late afternoon volleyball game with youth on the paseo -- we had no net but a lot of fun and laughter) that I am very grateful for. My spanish is definitely improving, which is exciting, though listening still is tough. I have hope for the good that I can offer and receive here, and in my good moments I do believe that God can take my imperfect efforts and help them bear fruit.

Well, its time to head home before I have to go to English class. Thanks for your perseverance in making it to the end of this lengthy entry, and I wish you a blessed Advent.

Some new photos

2007-11-30T13:47:00.000-08:00

I meant to add some photos of Ecuador and Confirmation with my last entry, but my camera and the computer weren´t communicating well. They are now posted, see the photo link at right.

Ecuador y Sacramentos

2007-11-28T12:11:00.001-08:00

Greetings from Chimbote!
I wrote last week just prior to our trip to Ecuador -- and we made it there and back safe and sound. Though the bus trip was long (15 hours including immigration stops) the bus was the nicest I`ve ever been on, more like traveling on the train in terms of space to stretch out. Also, there was a bathroom on board and decent meals were served. Though the majority of the trip both ways was at night, I did get a picture of what the north coast of Peru is like. The terrain and climate continue quite dry most of the way, at times quite desolate with exception of a sleepy (it was 7:00 am) beach town of Mancora. As we neared the border of Ecuador, however, the humidity increased significantly and more plant life was in evidence. Except for paying an unexpected fine upon leaving Peru for overstaying our visas (we thought we`d received an extension), the exit/entry went smoothly on the way up. Machala, our destination, was described in the guidebook as the `Banana Capital of the World´, though we missed the late-September Banana Festival with the Banana Queen beauty pageant. Indeed, banana plantations lined the highway for the final hour or so of the trip. It turns out that our bus wasn´t actually scheduled to stop in Machala, which lies a few miles off the Pan American highway. So, instead of arriving at a bus terminal we were dropped rather quickly at a gas station, the attendant pointing to the left to indicate the direction of Machala. Fortunately, we joined up with a couple young travels from Britain to take a cab to the city center and then took another cab to the Consulate of Peru where our visas were waiting. We arrived at 1;20, just as the last employee was leaving for lunch, so we waiting for a couple hours in a pleasant nearby park, and then waiting a couple more hours in the office before everything was okay with our visas. We found a motel in Machala near the green, attractive central plaza and ate pretty good pizza for dinner, and began our trip back the next morning. A few reflections on the journey:
- Machala was at least one level up economically from Chimbote -- cleaner, more paved streets, and more private cars.
- The official currency of Ecuador is the US $, so it was weird to spend dollars again for a day.
- The markets were bustling but a bit less chaotic than in Chimbote -- more permanent stalls, fruit stacked nicely, etc.
- We saw our first Christmas decorations of the season in Machala, both for sale in stores and hanging various places, including a Santa Claus printed with `Merry Christmas´ on our hotel room door. We hadn`t seen any sign of Christmas in Chimbote, though a few small traces have appeared this week. Maybe the increase US influence and/or higher economic level of Machala increased the Christmas commercialism there.
- Machala seems a bit more ethnically diverse than Chimbote, with small but significant black population and a larger number of people with stronger indigenous roots.
- The heat was more intense, made worse by the high humidity. The benefit of this was a lot more greenery and less dust.
- When I got off the bus with other travelers to go through exit procedures at the Ecuadorean border, I grabbed my bag but left my pillow and fleece jacket, thinking it would be a quick off and on. To my surprise, as I disembarked the bus promptly pulled away to drop off/pick up passengers at a nearby town. Though the bus returned, by pillow and jacket didn`t. A bit frustrating but not a huge loss -- summer is coming anyway :).
- We had a several hour layover in Tumbes, Peru, a half hour from the border. The food was cheap (soup, chicken, rice and beans for three of us for $4 total), the plaza there was quite impressive and the town overall a bit more developed than Chimbote, including a raised promenade along the river. There was an anniversary celebration for a local school, including an exposition of student arts and crafts. The young people, primary and secundary, loved talking with us, showing us their work, and asking questions about English and the United States. I took a walk around town and when I returned a crowd of at least ten youth were crowded around Nicole and Emily, who were obviously a bit tired from the extended Spanish.
- We now have an official religious visa and have 30 days to do the paperwork for our Carnet, or residency card. We will need to travel to Lima in December for a couple days to complete the process.

The second part of this entry concerns the events of first communion and Confirmation at the parish, both of which were held this past Sunday (10 am First Communion, 7:30 pm Confirmation). I assisted in a more-or-less crowd control capacity for both events, as well as assisting with pre-ceremony Confirmation preparations and attending the `compartir` afterwards. This after celebration had the same joy and smiles of the parallel gathering in Corvallis, except that here they served tamales, brought out a radio and had a dance. Also similar to Corvallis -- I was there to the end (though not the only one) sweeping and cleaning up :).

I feel significantly this week a combination of being very glad to be here (two months as of two days ago) as well as missing family and friends with the holiday season upon us. I wish you a wonderful season of Advent!

The second

Something smells fishy...

2007-11-19T12:46:00.000-08:00

Greetings! I write you today a few hours before Nicole, Emily and I embark on a 14+ hour bus trip to Machala, Ecuador in order to get our long term visas (we currently have short-term visas). Also, before I forget -- I am posting some new photos so check out the photo link at right.

A number of things to write about, but, as the title of the blog indicates, the fishing season has begun here and the smell is quite strong at times. With the openings in our house, the air flows right through, especially in the kitchen. At least now one doesn`t have to worry about smelling up the house by cooking fish :). People here say that they are basically used to it, and in general people are happy because a lot of people have work that can`t usually find it. And, it used to last all year until overfishing led to just a couple months of intensive fishing (though fishing on a small scale continues year round). The smell comes from the factories that process the fish.

My main news to share is about our Confirmation retreat this past weekend. I accompanied the group to the town of Pariacoto, about one hour south and two hours east into the mountains. The town is in a river valley which has been harnessed by irragation to create significant agricultural greenery, but the rugged mountains that surround the town of a couple thousand people at about 1300 meters of elevation are dusty, rocky and dry with little plant life. The franciscans that run our parish also serve at the parish there and have a small retreat center that just managed to fit our 35 youth and six leaders. I was a little concerned prior to the retreat because the priest in charge of Confirmation notified us at the last moment that he was unable to come, but all-in-all the experience was a good one. Some reflections:
-- Speaking only Spanish for the whole weekend was a bit tiring but really good for me. I know that if I could speak Spanish at home or lived with a family here, that my fluency would increase much faster. Of course, that advantage is weighed against the breaks to speak English and having space to just get away for quiet time and reminders of home. Anyway, I learned new words like avanzar, which means something like `Come on` or `Let`s go` in the sense of `Avanza, it`s time to get up` or `Avanzan, your group has only five minutes left for the project and you have not yet started.´(I only heard this word about 200 times during the weekend). Also, aplastar (to crush), as in `The crackers we brought are aplastados.´ Final, contradecir (to contradict), as when the retreat coordinator asked another leader to not contradecir him when he told the group that there would be no sports, since this was not a weekend for sports but was a retreat.
- The highlights of the retreat, next to a number of opportunities to get to know individual youth better through conversations, were a couple of hikes we took with the group (see photos) to a cross atop a nearby hill and the site where two Franciscan priests were martyred in 1991 by the Shining Path because they were foreigners and represented imperialism. The views were amazing, the excercise welcome after the three-hour trip in a cramped mini-van-type bus called a combi, and the air very clean. At the cross atop the mountain, we left the rocks we`d hauled in our backpacks up the 45-minute climb as symbols of leaving the weight of our sin behind at the foot of the cross.
- We had mass both days, and Saturday night´s planned mass happened to coincide with a planned wedding/baptism at the parish. No problem! We, with 40 teegagers/young adults, simply joined in the celebration, taking up over a third of the seats so that a number of late arrivals to the wedding mass (and baptism of the couple´s child) had to stand in the back. The kids were occasional not talking during the ceremony, but nonetheless I enjoyed the chance to participate in the wedding celebration, which in many respects was very similar to US weddings. Mass on Sunday was at 7:00 am (after ending the last Saturday session at 11:30 pm), which I wouldn´t try to do on a youth retreat in the US :).
- The transportation to the retreat for the 41 of us was in two combis, which comfortably hold about 15 people, and a pickup truck which holds four. We were a bit smashed (I sat facing backward both coming and going, see photo), that is once the vans arrived -- an hour after the scheduled retreat departure time. They understandably struggled up the hills, the drivers stayed with us at the retreat center (and came back drunk on Saturday night), and one of the combis refused to start for the return trip. We waited for an hour for the drivers and assistants to fix the problem, a process which required shuttling a battery back and forth between the two vans at least four times, a couple of false loadings of the vans, etc. Makes the Club Wagon seem like a breeze.:)
- Males here, even the group leaders, seem to expect to be served -- even by the female leaders -- and seem unaccustomed to handling anything having to so with serving food for themselves.

On other topics, I continue with my physical therapy for my elbow. I had pictured progressing more quickly to complete use of my arm, but still have to admit that progress is being made. I have some excercises to do at home, including stretching/bending and carrying a small weight in my left hand to help stretch the contracted ligaments.

The past two weeks I have begun what will be a once-weekly accompaniment of the Hospice´s pastoral agent, visiting homes of terminally ill patients. The first house we went to was one at which the patient, an elderly man who had had cancer, had died just moments before. I felt somewhat out of place in the midst of the family mourning, but it was a strong reminder of the reality of death, how fragile we really are. The visits are a good chance to meet people in their homes, which vary widely in economic status. One man, younger than me, has a tumor in his back but in order to raise money for his family`s food and his pain medicine makes flip-flops out of used tires, which family members sell on the street for less than a dollar per pair. His home is mostly open to the sky, with dirt floors, chickens, and some cute baby pigs. These visits also have the side benefit of helping me with my Spanish.

Finally, I recommend taking some time to read Laura´s blog, the link is at the right. She is an IWM in Guatemala who is doing an excellent job of sharing and reflecting on her experience, especially interesting to me after spending some time in that country but time well spent for anyone interested in learning about life there, both the joys and many struggles the people face.

Thanks for taking time to read, and I´ll check in with more after our return from Thanksgiving. We are hoping to make it back for a dinner hosted by some Sisters who are friends of friends of Nicole and Emily and live here in town.

Wishing you peace and gratitude.

Mejor de Salud y Curso de Inglès

2007-11-10T12:01:00.000-08:00

Good afternoon! Later in the day after my last post, I wondered if I had done too much complaining, but I hope to keep the tone here informal and a fairly acurate picture of how I am feeling. Thanks for the encouragement from those who responded, and I`m happy to report that this week I am (finally) feeling better, which amazingly has an impact as well on my overall mood and outlook.

A new undertaking this week for Nicole,Emily and I was the beginning of our English classes in the parish, which will continue each week on Monday and Thursday evenings. We had 11 and 16 students attend, and more or less we have begun well. We are on the lookout for an ESL course teacher´s edition that we might be able to have sent through the Tardio´s at Christmas, but until then we are covering some of the basics on our own with a little help from some online ideas and input from our students as to what they would like to learn. The ages of our students range from 14 to about 30, with a variety of English experience and proficiency, though all seem eager to learn. Because several requested help with pronunciation, we spent some time preparing a summary of how Spanish vowel sounds can be spelled in English as well as compiling example words for sounds that don`t exist in Spanish. Doing so made us realize how unpredictable English actually is and how many exceptions there are to the rules that do exist. Any ideas would be welcome -- and we are posting summaries of our classes online for our students at www.cursodeinlgespsfda.blogspot.com in case you are curious. Because Nicole and Emily have a fairly full work schedule, I am taking on the majority of the preparation work and generally take the lead during the class when explanations in Spanish are needed.

An exciting event this Wednesday was another trip to the soccer stadium, this time packed full for `El Clàsico` between two of the most popular teams of the Peruvian national league. The game was quite exciting, the fans were loud (reminded me of college football level) and generally an exciting atmosphere. Interesting too that we ended up walking home more than 45 minutes since most don`t have cars and all the taxis are overloaded when the game ends. At least here, though, the stadium-design doesn`t have to take parking lot space into account. Hopefully next week I`ll post some photos from the event.

I began physical therapy this week for my elbow, now completely without cast or sling. Since it was bent at 90 degrees for four weeks, I am still not able to fully extend my arm nor flex it all the way. The therapy sessions are a bit painful in that she works to stretch the contracted muscles and tendons, but afterward I can feel the increased mobility. This week also included the small victories of drinking and shampooing my hair with my left hand :). I have a good ways to go before I am back to normal (or at least as normal as I was before), but little by little I see progress.

This coming weekend I will assist with the Confirmation retreat Saturday-Sunday at a place called Pariacoto, a couple hours away east into the mountains -- supposedly quite pretty there. Efforts to gather leaders of the eight parish neighborhoods were unsuccessful last week, but I did meet with leaders of one neighborhood regarding efforts to invite more of their youth to active participation. My vision at this point is to just begin with visits to homes, among other things looking to identify potencial youth leaders in each neighborhood. In January, there is a national youth ministry training course in Lima for a week or so which I hope to attend and bring interested youth leaders with me. If anyone might be interested in sponsoring the expenses for one of our young people here to attend, please let me know. I don`t yet have information about cost, but my guess is that it will be quite reasonable by US standards though out of reach for some youth and families here. In addition, we still have some plans for Advent -- outing, mini-retreat evenings, a community service project,a Christmas play and having youth help decorate the church. Similar to some parishes in the US, the members of the youth counsel felt that they were not asked for help with many parish events and were excited about the idea of being able to contribute ideas and time to helping decorate for Advent and Christmas.

Tonight we have been invited to a birthday party of one of the choir members whom we know, which should be a fun (and late) evening. I will go after my 8:00 meeting to help plan the upcoming Confirmation retreat (I can`t imagine calling a similar meeting at 8:00 pm on Saturday in the IS :)). I wish you a blessed week, and thanks for checking in!

Tener gripe no està divertido

2007-11-03T09:07:00.000-07:00

Good morning! I write today from the convent computer here in Chimbote, and for the first time in a while with two hands (learning to appreciate the little things). Most of my news since my last posting, as the title suggests, involves being sick. On Wednesday the 24th I came down with the flu, a combination of fever, cough, and nasty headache that lasted until about Monday. I peaked at 102.5 degrees on Friday night, and I have to say that when you are forced to lie in bed all night not being able to sleep, the general noise of life here can be a little more irritating that usual. Anyway, with the help of some antibiotics and fever-reducer from the doctor here, I beat the fever by Monday, only to struggle with stomach cramps and nausea for couple more days. Finally yesterday and today I feel nearly back to normal, though my stomach still feels uneasy. Though in some ways I feel as though I lost a week, I was able to use some of the time to read, think, and ponder the questions of life (like why is the brass band at the cultural center across the street still playing at 3 a.m.? and who invented fireworks anyway?).

In general I must say that I have a felt a little homesick the past couple days, probably in part due to not quite feeling 100%. I find myself missing things about home, even little things like types of food, such as cereal and cold milk in the morning (so yesterday I splurged and bought some of each at the supermarket downtown). The underlying nausea also decreases may waning ability to be excited about any of the food choices here, as we seem to be running out of options and ideas for different things to cook. Our basic ingredients to work with include pototaes, white rice, pasta, chicken, eggs, a cheese that appears like swiss but becomes a bit rubbery when melted, carrots, brocoli, a few types of beans, apples, oranges,and other fruits, a few spices, tomatoes. We may try fish now and then, though Nicole is not a big fan so that will happen only occasionally. We buy fresh bread rolls every couple days from one of the bread vendors on the street, which we tend to eat with either breakfast or supper. They do have oatmeal here, which some of you may know was a staple of my diet in the US, but here it is milled quite finely and therefore upon cooking rapidly turns into a paste which I am having increasing difficulty in getting down. We did learn about this stage of culture shock in our orientation, `longing for food from home,`so I guess I could have expected it, and I`m sure as my stomach settles down the choices will sound more appetizing.

Also, I realize that in choosing a life here and giving up many of the small pleasures, luxuries, and comforts, and predictable routines of my life in the US I am left with some sense of a void, a lack of little pick-me-ups that I didn`t realize my moods depended upon so much. Thus, a conscious effort is required to notice this within myself and look around for constructive investments of time that can sustain my spirit, maybe even more so than what I am missing at the moment. To this end, I have already been journalling substantially more, have more time to read, study Spanish, and just these past few days have again picked up my guitar and am working to get my fingers and chord-positions back in shape. I also recognize more clearly my need for quiet prayer in the mornings as a way to help foster a mindset of more awareness and appreciation for what is actually here. This experience is no doubt an opportunity to serve, but maybe more than I realized an opportunity for self-discovery as well.

In closing, a summary of a few events of the past week that did happen in spite of my illness. We had a few friends over for Halloween and then went downtown to hear some Peruvian music, as October 31 is also a national holiday del Cancion Criollo, or native music. On All Saints Day, which is a national holiday here, some of the same group took us to the Vivero Forestal, a kind of city park with trees, playground, swimming pool, a few unhappy zoo animals, four-wheeler rides, and a small lake on which one can rent rowboats. It is really the only place like it in Chimbote, an oasis of relative green in mostly a dustly and dry local (though isolated houses and neighborhoods, such as that of the neighboring parish of Fr. Jack, do make real efforts to plant and care for green space). Preparations for a youth outing/field trip are under way for next Sunday, and a number of Confirmation-related meetings and events will happen this month. Tonight we three are going to a benefit dinner for the Hospice, which is held at a restaurant downtown and should be a festive event with dancing, etc. Socially, we are gradually meeting and getting to know a few friends better (especially guys, who seem to be quite interested in `practicing English and teaching Spanish` with Nicole and Emily :). They have learned that their status as still novelties here can be a bit tricky to navigate without creating unintended expectations or hurt feelings when more than one person wants to visit or be their guide at a given time, but no major problems. Friendships still take time to build, but there are some seeds that may grow with time.

Well, probably enough introspective rambling for one day -- thanks for reading!

Cumplo 35

2007-10-23T14:38:00.000-07:00

Before I forget to mention it -- check out my photo link at right for a few recent photos.

The last week seems to have gone quickly, so first an update on events:
- I turned 35 on Friday the 19th, and got to celebrate in a few different ways. On Thursday night, a few members and friends of the Canticos del Sol choir visited the house (thinking that my birthday was that day) and e had another birthday music session -- most of this group had been there Monday for Emily`s birthday. I was thinking that we were getting special treatment because we were new, but was told that it is common for friends to gather and go to a person´s home on their birthday sing and wish them well. This group was a lot of fun and had a couple of great guitarrists. On friday morning, I woke up to balloons and birthday sign put up by Nicole and Emily, and they made me both breakfast )eggs after looking in vain for pancake mix) and lunch. In the evening we went to daily Mass and afterward had birthday cake and some of the local ice cream as a treat (not as creamy as at home, but still good). Then, to our surprise, the other youth choir from the parish (Trabajadores sel Evangelio) sent two representatives, including our friend Fernando, to ask if they could come at 10:00 PM to wish me a happy birthday. Nicole went tp sleep after a week of celebrating, but Emily and I hung out with our 10 or so well-wishers and heard a few beautiful songs that they sing in Church, including Paz en las Tormentas. Finally on Saturday night, the franciscan priests and brother at the parish invited us to a late supper birthday celebration at their home.
- Saturday, Alex and jJuan Carlos from the Friday choir, took me out for my second experience of ceviche, the regional favorite of raw fish/seafood in lime and chili. This time I enjoyed the flavor quite a bit and, as a bonus, didn`t suffer any adverse gastonomical aftereffects (ie no diarhea). My stomach must be toughening up :).
- In the parish, we´re getting closer to beginning the home visits to youth, and I´m meeting with the youth counsel this Thursday to set up some plans goals for the next couple months. I´m meeting with Confirmation youth classes and with their leaders to begin planning for the retreat (11/17-18) and ceremony (11/25). Also, Nicole, Emily and I will begin a twice-weekly English class for youth and young adults on 11/5.
- Fernando and Donny from the TDE choir visited last night to sing a bit and invited us all to join the choir, wghich I think I will do, at least when my arm is functioning again enough to play the guitar. I have never played as part of a group and look forward to learning the new songs and building some confidence.
- Speaking of my arm, the doctor last night gave me another week in my cast, 10 days in the sling after that, and then slowly I can begin to move it around again. I am a bit tired of the sling and using only one hand, but I guess this will help me to appreciate my lowly left arm more :).
- Reflecting on my overall experience so far after a month in Peru, I find that the slower pace of `getting started` here sometimes makes me feel as if I should be doing more -- I was much busier as a CYM in Corvallis, doing a lot more ´things´. It struck me today that maybe this is good for me, as Fr. Carlos told me; ´Paciencia trae buen humor.`, or Patience puts you in a good mood. Also, I have been prone to base my own self worth on the quantity of quantifiable contributions I make instead of on the true basis of my worth as a loved child of God. Finally, living a bit more slowly has helped me to realize that I often miss the blessings of the moment -- even trying moments -- by impatiently escaping, either mentally or physically, to the next thing on the schedule. Maybe my time here will teach me to see more clearly the people and places that surround me in my daily life.

Thanks for reading, and God bless!

Three week report

2007-10-17T09:19:00.000-07:00

Greetings! We have now been here in Chimbote for three weeks -- as I was dicussing with nicole and emily earlier this week, it both seems that we have been here a long time and that we are stll unsettled and very new to town. I think that our environment here is so different from that which we left that the US seems far away in both time and space. On the other hand, I stll feel inept at times with the language, am meeting new people all the time, and -- as when moving anywhere -- it takes time to develop friendships. In addition, my injury took many of the routines I had settled into and forced them to change. I now take a long walk downtown instead of running, for example. Some things are getting getting easier, though, such as sleeping through the night noises (with the occasional help of earplugs for the steady weekend parties with very loud music), finding my way around walking, knowing where to shop for food certain items of food, photcopies, etc. Wrking with youth at the parish is is also beginning at a slow pace, though with my arm and the cultural adjustment i don´t mind. I attended a confirmation meeting last evening and met a lot of new young people (about 30 attended), and have another coordination meeting tonight with Fr. Carlos and Yuri, president of the youth counsel. I will begin my experience here by accompanying the confirmation group during the leadup to their 11/25 ceremony in addition to begining systematic visits to the homes of other youth and families. This was an idea I had to help me know more of the youth and their reality, what they and their parents see as needs that we can work togeher on, and to re-*invite personally youth that are not actively involved (the post-confirmation disapearance is also common here).

This week both Emily (10/15) and I (10/19)are celebrating birthdays. We had a birthday lunc with Sr. Juanita on Sunday with delicious strawberry shortcake, on on monday we gave emily some small gifts and were pleasantly surprised when a couple guys we´d met at the parish called at 10:00 pm to ask if the could come over to wish Emily a happy birthday. Six guys arrived a half-hour later with two guitars to serenade her with las mañanitas and then came inside to sing and play until almost midnight. Two were excellent guitarristas and most are in the parish choir, so it was both an excelent musical and cultural experience. Nicole is planning to make a cake for us tonight (halfway betwwen) with a cake mix that we found at a small supermarket downtown.

Other news/observations:
-On Sunday Elmer. a new acquaintance here, took me to professional soccer game at the local stadium between two of the teams in the national league, which was fun.
-A small group of kids from the neighborhood (most are related and live in the same house) have befriended us and come to visit every few days to draw and play games in the patio. I think they would come every day if we let them. :)
-For Chimbote, a city of over 400,000,there are only about 40 PO boxes at the one, small post office. Sr. Hermanita says that 99% of people have never sent or. received a letter.
- The national census takes place this Sunday, and there is a prohibition on parties and discotecas the night before (we had to move a planned joint bithday pary to next weekend). In addition, everyone has to stay in their homes from 8;00 am onward on Sunday until the census takers come by (whenever that is). I find it somewhat difficult to believe that there is suffiient organization here to complete the entire cesus in one day, but that is the way its done.

Thanks for reading!

An unexpected adventure

2007-10-10T09:42:00.000-07:00

This entry may be a bit shorter an lacking in capitalization, and that is because I am typing with only my right hand due to taking a fall while playing basketball with new friends here this past sunday. We all immediately knew that I I had dislocated my elbow, and the next few hours were spent getting the bones back in the right place, after the basketball group took me to a huesero and then Sr, juanita and Emily took me to the emergency room of a private clinic. The link to my photos at right has a couple pictures of my injury and the result -- I`m in a cast and sling for three weeks. I mostly am free of pain now that its back in place, but have to have help wih things like putting in my contacts and tying my shoes each morning.
Ww are gradually meeting some people here who could become friends over time -- last night we had cake and drinks to celebrate the birthday of one of the friars here, Fr. Carlos. The IW superior in Peru, Sr. Pilar, parishioners Cenaudeand Milagros,brother Tino and the pastor, Fr. Stanislaus. It was good fun. We are helping Fernando from church with english tonight (and he us with our spanish) this evening, and Elmer has invited us to watch a soccer match this weekend. T0day i have a checkup on my elbow and tomorrow afternoon I meet with Fr. Carlos to get started officially with youth ministry involvement. I am doing my best to cook one-handed for nicole and emily this week, as they are now working full time at the hospice. Though this injury was unexpected, I am in good spirits and am adapting. The hospital experience was really interesting (I went under general anesthesia), and everyone here has done their best to take good care of me - from the guys playing basketball whom i had just met to Sr. Juanita and Nicole and Emily. it was an interesting weekend overall at our house, as nicole had a nasty stomach bug friday evening through Sunday.

God bless, and have a great weekend!

San Francisco de Asis

2007-10-06T16:25:00.000-07:00

Saludos a todos! I am here in the internet cafe to upload some of my photos but the speed is quite slow, so I have a little time for a brief update on the week. Thursday the 4th was the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron of the parish where I will be working. To celebrate, they first had a novena with street masses in each surrounding neighborhood in the days leading up to the feast day (we went to the mass in our neighborhoo). On the 3rd, the confirmation youth put on a play about the last days of St. Francis´ life, and it was pretty well done. On the fourth, the festivities began at 530 pm with a procession through the streets, a couple hundred people, a brass band, and carrying a large, heavy image of St. Francis. I got drafted to take a couple shifts in carrying the image between stations, where we would stop to say prayers on the hour and a half walk (though they had to select the person opposite me with care, since I am taller than most people here). I even had the chance to carry the image into the church to big applause right before Mass and a concert/party in the hall. More later, as my time is nearly up. Some photos are up to, but more organization will come later.

Una Semana en Chimbote

2007-10-01T17:51:00.000-07:00

¡Buenas tardes a todos! I write you tonight from the convent where lives Sr. Juanita, from Texas, who has lived here for 11 years and among many other things has overseen the rebuilding of the medical clinic and construction & opening of a hospice ministry here, both projects of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word.

There is much to say and share about my first week here, so let me share a few first impressions--
1. There are almost no private cars here because few can afford to buy one, but that does not mean that the streets are quiet. In fact, if you take a walk for a few blocks around here (the distance from our house to the parish and convent) you will almost invariably see, and have to be wary of, a variety of conveyances. These might include a donkey pulling a cart of corn or produce headed for the market, a `moto`, which is a three wheeled motorcycle/taxi with room for two passengers, a bicycle (two or three wheeled varieties, some used also to carry goods), a `combi` (minivan style taxi with a set route that holds limitless amounts of people), a `tico`(small Yugo-shaped taxi, a car (old US models), trucks, medium-sized buses. And, nearly all of them seem to be honking for some reason or another, usually to indicate that they are free and to ask if you would like to ride. If you do, just raise your hand and off you go.
2. The streets here (which have no street signs, but still everyone knows their names) are mostly dirt, which makes for a lot of dust (including in the house). Many people begin their day by watering the street in front of their house (to keep cleaning effort down) and by sweeping the dirt to remove trash - it seems to collect rather rapidly. Though not as bad as I pictured from descriptions prior to coming, the trash collection system is not well developed. Also, dogs of all sizes abound, thought I havent yet run into any aggressive ones. Some are obviously stray dogs, but many seem to be pets. The dogs also seem to enjoy barking at night and in the early morning.
3. Our house, rented by the sisters, is simple, fairly spacious, two story, four bedrooms (one extra for visitors!), with a kitchen, dining area, and living area. It is among the more solidly built of the neighborhood, but doesn´t stand out too much. We have a gas stove with propane (delivered by truck), fairly warm showers (heater on the shower head), and compost cylinders in the back yard/patio. An upstairs patio has an outdoor sink and close line for washing and drying clothes (did my first load by hand yesterday -- good for the forearms with all the wringing.
4. I will be mostly helping out at the local parish (St. Francis of Assisi, just like Burney!) with the youth program, but am waiting until after the busyness of celebrating his feast day (Thursday the 4th) has concluded until meeting formally with young priest in charge of youth programs there. Thus far though, we have attended a street mass in our neighborhood and sat in on a play rehearsal with the confirmation group (on the life of St. Francis), and attended a lively choir festival at the parish on Sunday. After visiting various ministries in the neigborhood and seeing parts of the city with Sr. Juanita last week, this week we each are accompanying one of the hospice workers in their home visits during the mornings (8-1). Today we visited six different patients, and the worker I was with focused on spiritual support -- prayers, singing, conversation, and communion. She (Justina) is very good at what she does, and I enjoyed the chance to visit the patients and their families in a variety of living conditions (only one with dirt floors). One patient had died the previous day and we payed our respects at the wake. Of course, this was also a great way to see neighborhoods of the city by a mixture of combi-taxi-walking with lots of practice in speaking and listening to Spanish.
5. Last week Sr. Juanita asked me to visit a man`s home who sets up each day in front of the convent with his shoe repair equipment. A friend of Sister`s from the US is coming down and might be able to help make improvements to his house, and she asked be to take a look to see where we might start. I walked with him from the convent and we spoke a bit about his situation. He was born in the Andes but came with his wife to Chimbote about eight years in search of work. He works seven days per week in order to earn the 10-15 soles ($4-$5) daily that he uses to buy food for his family that includes eight children. He owns a small piece of land and his house two solid walls connected by two walls of bamboo & poles, a water source and sewer connection, one small area set off by plywood with three beds, a roof of bamboo and plastic, and a dirt floor. Just next the house he has a couple of chickens. We think that we will start by trying to put in a concrete floor and some plywood walls to help keep out the cold. Generally that is the progression of growth here. People come from the mountains and squat on land with just mats, then raise shelters of poles and bamboo matts, then switch to plywood, then concrete floors, then a brick structure, then stucco/paint over the outside. In most neighborhoods, you can see houses in each of these stages.
6. It never rains here and there are few trees or greenery, though there are signs of noble efforts in some sections to carve out patches of green and parks (a lot different than Oregon)!. We are on the coast in springtime here, so the weather is grey in the morning, sunny in the afternoon, and chilly and windy in the evening. Apparently this winter has been colder than normal.
7. We shop at the local mercado, which is a crazy mixture of sound, smell, and sights. Vegetables are fresh but need to be washed, and the meat was alive not too long ago (I`m told that if you arrive early enough you can see the vendors killing and plucking the chickens).
8. One last thought -- hearing the gospel reading last night (parable of Lazarus and the rich man) in such a different context -- not a mostly-wealthy US parish but a church full of people that most of the world would consider poor -- struck me, and the sermon didn`t focus on the rich man but on need, and why God would allow extreme need to exist. By the way, the youth choir at the mass was great. I am thinking of trying to join and help out on the guitar.

Well, thanks for making it this far. There are a lot more details to share, but this gives a decent outline so far. I cannot post photos from this computer, but will try to go to an internet cafe soon to show some visuals of what I have described above. God bless!

Llegado en Peru

2007-09-24T19:13:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Just a note tonight to share that we three -- my housemates Emily, Nicole, and I -- arrived in Lima, Peru safe and sound last night at 10:30 pm. Incarnate Word Sisters Silvia and Aelia met us at the airport where we crammed us five and our bags into a cab (guitar on our laps), headed to the sisters' house of hospitality, and shared some bread and tea before falling into bed.

Today has been a great first day here. I accompanied Sr. Silvia to the market and enjoyed the bustling activity, sights and sounds. We also accompanied Sr. Aelia to a neighbor's celebration of the feast day of the patron of her small shop that sells priestly vestments and other religious articles (shop is the Mercederia, patron Mary of Merced). A communion service led by Pierre, a seminarian from Togo, was followed by a lunch of aji de gallina and rice and conversations with the other 10 friends and family present, which was followed by live guitar music/singing of traditional Peruvian music, to which we had to get up and dance to, of course. All this in a smallish, green-painted room that had been converted from Marian shrine to chapel to dining room for the occasion. The spontaneity, warmth, and joy of the gathering made us all feel welcome -- I even contributed a song of my own on the guitar (and then tried to translate the lyrics :)).

A walk to the ocean and back (about a mile total), a lively daily mass at the local church with a beautiful dome, and some more tea and bread with Sr. Aelia have finished out the day. Sr. Aelia is 82 years old, from the US. Sr. Silvia is about 30 and is from Peru.

It turns out that we will be heading to our home base, Chimbote, sooner than we thought -- tomorrow, in fact! We're excited and curious to see our new home.

A final thought, from the book Gracias by Henri Nouwen. In discussing liberation theology, he quotes Gustavo Guitierrez that real, practical theology shouldn't start in the head but instead in a lived experience of Christ -- "We don't think ourselves into a new way of living, but instead live ourselves into a new way of thinking." Seems simple, but how often do we avoid choices in our live that might force us to think, and maybe to change?

Casi nos vamos...

2007-09-21T08:17:00.000-07:00

Good morning to you -- and thanks for checking back! Since my last post, our orientation has continued at a good clip. We've focused heavily on cultural awareness and went away to a retreat center north of Austin for a restful weekend that was guided by Sr. Carmelita from Mexico City. Other topics of presentations have included the religious culture of Latin America, Christology, anthropology and family systems, living as a public figure and representative of the Incarnate Word Sisters, staying healthy in mission, scriptural study, and awareness of our own cultural tendencies. Particularly helpful this week was an analysis of Low Contextual and High Contextual cultures and a project for us missionaries to identify strengths that make our US culture unique.

Today we have free to accomplish tasks (such as packing) and errands before a final set of meetings tomorrow and our flight to Peru on Sunday. We leave 5:45 am from San Antonio and arrive in Lima, Peru at 9 pm (eastern time zone, I believe) by way of Houston and Miami. I feel mostly excited with dash of nervousness -- something I've wanted to do for a few years is finally happening. These past three and a half weeks have felt a little like a parallel universe -- an in-between time in which the rest of the world continues to go to school, work, etc. I do feel more prepared to embark on the journey than when I arrived, but I also feel ready to jump in, to stop talking about it and actually see what life will be like in Peru. Upon our arrival in Peru, however, we won't go directly to Chimbote but will instead stay for "a few days" in Lima with the IW sisters there while we take care of some visa paperwork.

Finally, you may have noticed the new link at the upper right where you will be directed to a collection of my photos posted on Shutterfly. No password is needed to view the photos. I have also included a link to a map of Peru.

Have a blessed day, and I'll write you next from south of the equator!