Yesterday I spent the day in San Juan where the poorest of the poor live. We traveled to the clinics, the schools, and the rehabilitation center. I went with a new friend that I met on Sunday. It's kind of a strange story of how we got connected:
A friend of mine from my freshmen year of college sent me an email a couple months ago when he saw that I was living in Peru. He told me his sister had a friend that was traveling in South America and would be making her way to Lima and that I should meet up with her and show her around. So after a few emails back in February, I kind of forgot about her until last week when another email populated in my inbox.
We decided to meet and grab some ice cream. We ended up finding out that we had quite a bit in common. She told me some interesting stories about how she had lived in East Africa, Southeast Asia, Australia, Germany, and for the last 4 months traveling all around South America.
She was hoping to find some work doing something internationally in the health field. So, I immediately thought of the work that the CLM is doing in San Juan. In the past, she said, that she had worked with organizations that had ideological agendas that were hard for her to reconcile, even despite the good work that they were doing.
So I made a few phone calls and we arranged a trip with a Fraterna (a woman that takes a vow of celibacy and obedience and lives in a community of women) to go with us. She turned out to be one of the sweetest women I have every met. From time-to-time you come across people that just glow of joy and happiness, this was one of those women. Our faces hurt at the end of the day because of how much smiling and laughing we had done!
Anyway, so we spent the day with the poorest of the poor. We stopped in at some daycare centers and schools and played with the kids and had a ball. They teased me that I was a rock star because the kids loved me so much. I should have brought my camera, but I forgot.
We went around and saw all the projects that the CLM is doing, everything from preventative health care, to providing psychological care for families, to rehabilitation, to teaching them how to provide for themselves and learn new skills. With all of these projects, there’s a very strong sense of taking care of the entire person, a focus on the dignity and worth of each human life, from conception until natural death.
My new friend Alexis, I think, was quite impressed with how authentic this work was, without concern about ideology, or even about religion. Of course, there are icons, and we uphold the teaching of the Catholic Church, but we treat without question.
There were points on our trip where even I was overwhelmed by the incredible love and concern for people that the volunteers had, and how authentic and complete the spirituality driving the projects were, even though I had been there before.
At the end of the day, I came back to my room physically and emotionally exhausted. It’s amazing how seeing so much poverty can be overwhelming, but at the same time, so much hope for the good and love that is being sown.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Weekly Update
So, it's been 5 days since I've returned from Ayaviri and I have to say I'm a little depressed. I really enjoyed that place. There was something almost mystical about being there. I guess, I would describe it like being in a time machine and going back several hundred years.
You're in a small down, with a plaza and constant music. All the woman are dressed in traditional clothing and there are only a very few cars in the town. Most people ride bikes and a few have motorcycles. There's an open air market on Wednesday where people bring their lamb and cattle meat to be sold. Sunday is the day to do your shopping for other supplies, and there's constant huslte and bustle in the plaza.
Sunday also is the day where they parade in with several hundred people, organized by different groups (ie. schools, bands, organziations that care for the poor, and semi-professional organziations). The band plays the national anthem and they raise the Peruvian and Ayarviri flags.
The children of the town attend school, but have very little as far as supplies. Luckily, I was able to travel with Father Miguel and bring new backpacks filled with school supplies to 4 different schools. At the school that the community runs, I stopped into their English class and gave an im-promp-tu English lesson. Very few of them had ever met a Northern American, so it was quite exciting for them to see and hear my native English. At the conclusion of the lesson, I asked who wanted to come with me to the U.S. and they all raised their hands and a few of them ran up to me and hugged me not wanting to let go. It was a cute moment, but also one that made me thing about the differences in opportunity that we have just because of the place we were born and the family that we were born into. Which made me really think about the responsibility as Christians that we have to the entire human race to promote the dignity and worth of all human beings regardless of class or ethnicity.
Now I'm back in Lima, and I'm starting to look forward to going back home in 2 weeks. I haven't thought about home too much because everyday has been somethig new, but now that the time is approaching, I've started to get a little homesick...
You're in a small down, with a plaza and constant music. All the woman are dressed in traditional clothing and there are only a very few cars in the town. Most people ride bikes and a few have motorcycles. There's an open air market on Wednesday where people bring their lamb and cattle meat to be sold. Sunday is the day to do your shopping for other supplies, and there's constant huslte and bustle in the plaza.
Sunday also is the day where they parade in with several hundred people, organized by different groups (ie. schools, bands, organziations that care for the poor, and semi-professional organziations). The band plays the national anthem and they raise the Peruvian and Ayarviri flags.
The children of the town attend school, but have very little as far as supplies. Luckily, I was able to travel with Father Miguel and bring new backpacks filled with school supplies to 4 different schools. At the school that the community runs, I stopped into their English class and gave an im-promp-tu English lesson. Very few of them had ever met a Northern American, so it was quite exciting for them to see and hear my native English. At the conclusion of the lesson, I asked who wanted to come with me to the U.S. and they all raised their hands and a few of them ran up to me and hugged me not wanting to let go. It was a cute moment, but also one that made me thing about the differences in opportunity that we have just because of the place we were born and the family that we were born into. Which made me really think about the responsibility as Christians that we have to the entire human race to promote the dignity and worth of all human beings regardless of class or ethnicity.
Now I'm back in Lima, and I'm starting to look forward to going back home in 2 weeks. I haven't thought about home too much because everyday has been somethig new, but now that the time is approaching, I've started to get a little homesick...
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Some Easter pics and a school update
Here are some other pictures from the Easter celebration:
Inca Kola...when 2 liters just isn't enough...
My pal David:
So I started playing basketball with some of my students about 2 weeks ago. It was surprising how excited they were to have me out there. It was depressing to think that I'm 10 years older than them though!
Inca Kola...when 2 liters just isn't enough...
My pal David:
So I started playing basketball with some of my students about 2 weeks ago. It was surprising how excited they were to have me out there. It was depressing to think that I'm 10 years older than them though!
On Tuesday they were doing some drill races in their PE class and the coach asked me to join them. So, of course being a high school kid, you want to race your teacher who hasn't picked up a basketball in probably 9 months. The school's best player, of course, wanted to test me. So we faced off.
The first drill was based on dribbling speed. Damn. I haven't dribbled a ball in forever, let along sprinted anyway. It was neck and neck, but he pulled away at the end and clipped me by a second or so. Instead of being domoralized, I started to talk a little trash about the next drill, which now included layups.
I got out there, and now with a little muscle remember under my belt from the up and back dribbling, my skills were a little sharper. We went back and forth, up and down the court 4 times and I just barely edged him out to win. We were now tied and the students were starting to get into the competition.
The student complained that I bumped him while shooting the last layup, which was true, but come on, this is basketball not golf. So the tie breaking match was set. Not to be outdone by his old teacher, my student knocked the ball away from me on my first layup. The students booed him for his obvious cheating, but I didn't give up. I ran and got my ball, made the layup and raced back to make the basket right before he did.
Victory.
Now I need a gatorade...
Monday, April 13, 2009
Peru wins...
The worst taxi service in South America!
POR LOS SUELOS. Servicio de taxis es el peor de Latinoamérica. A diferencia de Buenos Aires, Bogotá o México, nuestra ciudad tiene la flota más desorganizada de la región. 210 mil unidades sin taxímetros y en pésimas condiciones saturan a diario las calles.
Basically, Peru has the most disorganized transportation system in South America. There are over 210,000 taxis without meters. What that means: you have to negotiate before you get in the cab. There's a solid 30% gringo tax that you most negotiate down...every time.
This is a typical cab: average fare is about $/10 or $3 for 30 minutes
Here's a microbus that is about the length of a suburban and can fit 25-30 people: average fare is about $/1 or $0.30 for a 15 minutes ride.
Oh the motortaxi:
POR LOS SUELOS. Servicio de taxis es el peor de Latinoamérica. A diferencia de Buenos Aires, Bogotá o México, nuestra ciudad tiene la flota más desorganizada de la región. 210 mil unidades sin taxímetros y en pésimas condiciones saturan a diario las calles.
Basically, Peru has the most disorganized transportation system in South America. There are over 210,000 taxis without meters. What that means: you have to negotiate before you get in the cab. There's a solid 30% gringo tax that you most negotiate down...every time.
This is a typical cab: average fare is about $/10 or $3 for 30 minutes
Here's a microbus that is about the length of a suburban and can fit 25-30 people: average fare is about $/1 or $0.30 for a 15 minutes ride.
Oh the motortaxi:A view from inside. Spacious, safe, and luxorious...
Friday, April 10, 2009
Holy Thursday
So, I got a little taste of how Peruvains celebrate Holy Thursday tonight:
We went to Mass at a church that holds 800, but packed in around 1500! Loved it! More pictures and festivities to come over the next couple of days.
Most importantly...Jesus is coming soon...get ready and prepare your hearts!
We went to Mass at a church that holds 800, but packed in around 1500! Loved it! More pictures and festivities to come over the next couple of days.Most importantly...Jesus is coming soon...get ready and prepare your hearts!
A little Easter message from Fr. Corapi
By Fr. John Corapi
As I write this it is safe to say that there is more fear, insecurity, uncertainty, and distrust of authority than at any other time in my lifetime of over sixty years. This can be said for the United States and for most other countries in the Western world, probably the entire world.
Why?
The secular and worldly thinker will come up with a veritable flock of cackling, screeching, barking, whining and screaming excuses.
They will all be wrong.To understand our tenuous position, one must go to the order of causes rather than mere effects. The serious illness we see manifest socially, economically, and politically has its origin in the moral and spiritual realm.
To be blunt and to the point, it concerns that “dour combat with the forces of evil” that haunts the entire history of humanity.
We have divorced God in the public sphere. We have evicted the Owner of the house, forgetting that nature abhors a vacuum. If we reject the One that is Goodness and Truth, then it is guaranteed that He will be replaced by the one who is the “father of lies and murderer from the beginning,” as Jesus referred to the ancient adversary of man—Satan or the devil.
If you don’t believe that you don’t believe in the existence of either the enemy or the war…You will have little chance to survive.
The newest spectator sport in America is watching the disintegration of the great nations of the world on the cable news networks. Each day there is more drama and adventure in the news than the wildest of fiction. Every day you have to worry “What’s next?”
Mass murders multiply—in the workplace, in schools, public places, private homes. It is a frightening and sobering spectacle. The pundits marvel: How could it happen? Who could do that? The unthinkable becomes commonplace. The largest corporations vaporized in the twinkling of an eye. The net worth of millions of people cut in half in a matter of months. The politicians bluster and threaten. CEOs of major corporations fired by politicians, one wonders if the banking industry, the auto industry, the energy industries, etc. will soon be nationalized. Will the United States end up like some insolvent Third-World country. Will we bring wheelbarrows full of dollars to the checkout counter at Walmart soon for a few household items?
Why wonder?
We’ve divorced God...Countries call abortion the “law of the land.” Can such societies that espouse what is tantamount to genocide be pleasing to God?
Can they survive for long?
Please recall that this:
During Holy Week we celebrate the victory of Jesus Christ over all of this avalanche of sin, Satan, and death. He nailed it to the Cross. “Dying He destroyed our death. Rising He restored our life.” It is necessary that we enter into the Paschal mystery one person at a time, fully and seriously. Live in a state of grace. Do not persist in sin, for your life and mine is shorter than we think. The only way a family, a school, a parish, a city, a country, or a world can be healed is one person at a time.
All of the suffering and darkness of Good Friday finds its meaning in the burst of Light that is Easter morning. All of the fear, the insecurity, and the uncertainty; all of the betrayal, the mockery, and the suffering are vanquished by the glory of the Cross. No pain, no gain! No cross, no crown! No battle, no glory.
So stop worrying!
Trust the Lord Jesus...
After all, He is the Savior, and only He is the Savior. Place your trust in Him. All of this is really small potatoes. It simply provides a proving ground for saints. That’s all. We have no lasting dwelling in this valley of tears. It is the crucible wherein imperfect human beings are transformed by the fire of trial and the power of grace into the pure gold of God’s holy ones.
In the twinkling of an eye this will be over and we’ll stand before Jesus, Who will wipe away every tear, and having been faithful to our Faith we’ll hear those beautiful words:
“Well done my good and faithful servant! Now at last enter into the joy of your Master’s house.”
A blessed Holy Week to you, and may the Light and glory of Easter comfort you in your struggles and confirm you in your faith.
http://www.fathercorapi.com/index.aspx
As I write this it is safe to say that there is more fear, insecurity, uncertainty, and distrust of authority than at any other time in my lifetime of over sixty years. This can be said for the United States and for most other countries in the Western world, probably the entire world.
Why?
The secular and worldly thinker will come up with a veritable flock of cackling, screeching, barking, whining and screaming excuses.
They will all be wrong.To understand our tenuous position, one must go to the order of causes rather than mere effects. The serious illness we see manifest socially, economically, and politically has its origin in the moral and spiritual realm.
To be blunt and to the point, it concerns that “dour combat with the forces of evil” that haunts the entire history of humanity.
We have divorced God in the public sphere. We have evicted the Owner of the house, forgetting that nature abhors a vacuum. If we reject the One that is Goodness and Truth, then it is guaranteed that He will be replaced by the one who is the “father of lies and murderer from the beginning,” as Jesus referred to the ancient adversary of man—Satan or the devil.
If you don’t believe that you don’t believe in the existence of either the enemy or the war…You will have little chance to survive.
The newest spectator sport in America is watching the disintegration of the great nations of the world on the cable news networks. Each day there is more drama and adventure in the news than the wildest of fiction. Every day you have to worry “What’s next?”
Mass murders multiply—in the workplace, in schools, public places, private homes. It is a frightening and sobering spectacle. The pundits marvel: How could it happen? Who could do that? The unthinkable becomes commonplace. The largest corporations vaporized in the twinkling of an eye. The net worth of millions of people cut in half in a matter of months. The politicians bluster and threaten. CEOs of major corporations fired by politicians, one wonders if the banking industry, the auto industry, the energy industries, etc. will soon be nationalized. Will the United States end up like some insolvent Third-World country. Will we bring wheelbarrows full of dollars to the checkout counter at Walmart soon for a few household items?
Why wonder?
We’ve divorced God...Countries call abortion the “law of the land.” Can such societies that espouse what is tantamount to genocide be pleasing to God?
Can they survive for long?
Please recall that this:
During Holy Week we celebrate the victory of Jesus Christ over all of this avalanche of sin, Satan, and death. He nailed it to the Cross. “Dying He destroyed our death. Rising He restored our life.” It is necessary that we enter into the Paschal mystery one person at a time, fully and seriously. Live in a state of grace. Do not persist in sin, for your life and mine is shorter than we think. The only way a family, a school, a parish, a city, a country, or a world can be healed is one person at a time.
All of the suffering and darkness of Good Friday finds its meaning in the burst of Light that is Easter morning. All of the fear, the insecurity, and the uncertainty; all of the betrayal, the mockery, and the suffering are vanquished by the glory of the Cross. No pain, no gain! No cross, no crown! No battle, no glory.
So stop worrying!
Trust the Lord Jesus...
After all, He is the Savior, and only He is the Savior. Place your trust in Him. All of this is really small potatoes. It simply provides a proving ground for saints. That’s all. We have no lasting dwelling in this valley of tears. It is the crucible wherein imperfect human beings are transformed by the fire of trial and the power of grace into the pure gold of God’s holy ones.
In the twinkling of an eye this will be over and we’ll stand before Jesus, Who will wipe away every tear, and having been faithful to our Faith we’ll hear those beautiful words:
“Well done my good and faithful servant! Now at last enter into the joy of your Master’s house.”
A blessed Holy Week to you, and may the Light and glory of Easter comfort you in your struggles and confirm you in your faith.
http://www.fathercorapi.com/index.aspx
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Palm Sunday
Today is Palm Sunday! The beginning of Holy Week, which I'm really excited about. I decided to go to Mass down the street today and I found a bunch of people selling these cool palms outside the Church for $.30, so naturally, I had to pick one up.
Someof these palms were really quite amazing as they were weaved into crowns, torches, and crosses. It was really pretty impressive! I settled for this little feller though.
Also, since it is the beginning of Holy Week I decided to go to Confession. I usually go to a priest at the high school that speaks English, but I forgot to go last week. So instead I went to Confession with one of the Spanish speaking priests. After I explained that I didn't speak spanish well, I proceeded to give a spanglish confession. Although I don't plan on making it a habit to go to a priest that doesn't understand everything I say, it was still a very powerful experience realizing that the Catholic Church is truly universal, that knowing wherever you go, the Mass is the same, the forgiveness is the same, and the community all believes the same thing.
Luckily, the Holy Spirit descended upon me in a special way and I understood exactly what the priest said to me. It was a very powerful experience and a great way to start off the week!
How are you going to prepare for Easter?
The Sorrowful Mysteries, part one 1st Sorrowful Mystery: The Agony in the Garden (from Catholic.org)
“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. Luke 22:42-44 Let this mystery teach us true contrition for our sins.
True contrition… it seems to me that before we can have true contrition, we have to first truly understand that we have sinned. I think our self-obsessed, modern, “enlightened” culture would very much like to proclaim Sin as an archaic, prohibitive concept whose time is over.
Moral restrictions, clearly defined standards of right and wrong, and consequences for violators are all antiquated notions wrongly imposed on people of free will. To dare to suggest that Someone outside ourselves, higher than ourselves has the authority to define right and wrong, good and evil, and then establish the just punishment for wrongdoing, well, that’s practically blasphemous in this age of moral relativism.
How can we be truly sorry if we’re not thoroughly convinced we’ve done wrong?
Okay, maybe we can admit that we’ve sinned, but we haven’t done anything truly terrible, so it’s not really that bad. It can’t be that big a deal. Think about that scene in the Garden again. Jesus was in so much anguish that he sweat blood as he prayed! He asked God to change the plan and find some other way, so it’s obvious this Sin problem is a very big deal, indeed. The torture He was about to suffer wasn’t due to something small or trivial. But I can’t help wondering…
what grieves Him more – that we sin, or that we try to cover our sin, make light of it, and even delight in it? Is it the arrogance that inhabits our sins and causes us to deny that we haven’t just broken a rule or made a little mistake – we have sinned against a perfect and just God who also happens to love us beyond our comprehension?! Our sin is aggravated by prideful indifference. Insult is added to injury.
Why?
Because it is scary as all hell, literally, to fully grasp the gravity of our own sin and the consequences of it, and were it not for the Cross and the unspeakable love of the Father, none of us could bear it. Contrition that begins out of fear of the just punishment for sin is a good place to start, but God isn’t satisfied with leaving us there. He wants to overwhelm us with His love; that crazy, illogical, endless love that took our hideous sin upon His perfect Self and endured our punishment for us. We no longer have anything to fear.
Now we are free to be repentant ,out of sorrow, not terror or despair. We can face our wretched condition and own up to our sins honestly, because what awaits us is forgiveness, not wrath.
Once that reality takes root in our hearts, then gratitude inspires us, humility enables us, and LOVE compels us to true contrition.
“Blessed is he who transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord” and you forgave the guilt of my sin.” Psalm 32:1-5 “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge…Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow.” Psalm 51:1-4, 7
Someof these palms were really quite amazing as they were weaved into crowns, torches, and crosses. It was really pretty impressive! I settled for this little feller though.
Also, since it is the beginning of Holy Week I decided to go to Confession. I usually go to a priest at the high school that speaks English, but I forgot to go last week. So instead I went to Confession with one of the Spanish speaking priests. After I explained that I didn't speak spanish well, I proceeded to give a spanglish confession. Although I don't plan on making it a habit to go to a priest that doesn't understand everything I say, it was still a very powerful experience realizing that the Catholic Church is truly universal, that knowing wherever you go, the Mass is the same, the forgiveness is the same, and the community all believes the same thing.
Luckily, the Holy Spirit descended upon me in a special way and I understood exactly what the priest said to me. It was a very powerful experience and a great way to start off the week!
How are you going to prepare for Easter?
The Sorrowful Mysteries, part one 1st Sorrowful Mystery: The Agony in the Garden (from Catholic.org)“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. Luke 22:42-44 Let this mystery teach us true contrition for our sins.
True contrition… it seems to me that before we can have true contrition, we have to first truly understand that we have sinned. I think our self-obsessed, modern, “enlightened” culture would very much like to proclaim Sin as an archaic, prohibitive concept whose time is over.
Moral restrictions, clearly defined standards of right and wrong, and consequences for violators are all antiquated notions wrongly imposed on people of free will. To dare to suggest that Someone outside ourselves, higher than ourselves has the authority to define right and wrong, good and evil, and then establish the just punishment for wrongdoing, well, that’s practically blasphemous in this age of moral relativism.
How can we be truly sorry if we’re not thoroughly convinced we’ve done wrong?
Okay, maybe we can admit that we’ve sinned, but we haven’t done anything truly terrible, so it’s not really that bad. It can’t be that big a deal. Think about that scene in the Garden again. Jesus was in so much anguish that he sweat blood as he prayed! He asked God to change the plan and find some other way, so it’s obvious this Sin problem is a very big deal, indeed. The torture He was about to suffer wasn’t due to something small or trivial. But I can’t help wondering…
what grieves Him more – that we sin, or that we try to cover our sin, make light of it, and even delight in it? Is it the arrogance that inhabits our sins and causes us to deny that we haven’t just broken a rule or made a little mistake – we have sinned against a perfect and just God who also happens to love us beyond our comprehension?! Our sin is aggravated by prideful indifference. Insult is added to injury.
Why?
Because it is scary as all hell, literally, to fully grasp the gravity of our own sin and the consequences of it, and were it not for the Cross and the unspeakable love of the Father, none of us could bear it. Contrition that begins out of fear of the just punishment for sin is a good place to start, but God isn’t satisfied with leaving us there. He wants to overwhelm us with His love; that crazy, illogical, endless love that took our hideous sin upon His perfect Self and endured our punishment for us. We no longer have anything to fear.
Now we are free to be repentant ,out of sorrow, not terror or despair. We can face our wretched condition and own up to our sins honestly, because what awaits us is forgiveness, not wrath.
Once that reality takes root in our hearts, then gratitude inspires us, humility enables us, and LOVE compels us to true contrition.
“Blessed is he who transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord” and you forgave the guilt of my sin.” Psalm 32:1-5 “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge…Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow.” Psalm 51:1-4, 7
The Inca Market!
So I went to the Inca market this weekend. Lots of great stuff there, but also some touristy crap. I am continually amazed though at how good Peruvians are with their hands. Almost all of this stuff was made in Peru and I heard a lot of interesting stories about the symbolism behind the Incan jewlery.
The other good thing from spending 5 hours wandering around in the market was that nobody spoke english, so I got to speak spanish all day, so it was good to learn some new words and build a little bit more confidence.
This necklace reminded me of something my grandma would wear. What do you think?
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