Preparando para Semana Santa

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

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...

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...

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

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

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

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.