Hello family and friends!
Jarrett here- I'm really excited to fly home tomorrow, but I'm also going to miss a lot of people here. Just wanted to post an update on my time in Dolores Copan the last two weeks before I leave.
Dolores is quite a bit bigger than Plan Grande, however it's still quite small. I'd say it's about the size of Rockwell City. It's definitely more of a city. It was also quite a bit different of an experience for me. When I got there I hit the ground running. The first night I had a special meeting with the church council to plan out my time there, and also my spanish was much better than in Plan Grande. For some reason though they got the impression I was a missionary... so throughout my time there they kept calling me out and expecting me to do missionary/priestly things. The next day I visited sick people around town. Think it's hard to find the right words to say when you're visiting the sick in America? Try it in Spanish! It was humbling, but I think the important thing was that I was there with them. I also visited base communities (kind of like family bible study groups) in Dolores, but I was asked more and more to contribute or to give my take on the readings. It was definitely humbling, but also empowering. That week they also asked me to help with their liturgy of the Word on Thursday night. I agreed to read the Gospel, but then 5 minutes before they asked if I would give the reflection (homily). I declined, but when I returned the next week I was determined to do so. I spent the better part of a day writing it out, and was able to give it that Thursday night. They must have liked it because they asked afterwards if I would give the reflection for the youth group that Saturday! I went ahead and did that as well, but it was a little more difficult because it was interactive and so I couldn't just write it out. It went well though and we had a lot of fun.
The majority of my time however in Dolores was just spent with different families. I got to know/spend time with five different families and it was just great to share with them.
I had several encounters with fundamentalist/evangelical protestants in Dolores(they preach on the buses down here). By the way, sorry if there are any fundamentalist protestants reading this, but I found myself quite angry with the protestant churches down here. In short, they are spreading a gospel much shallower and narrower than what the people get from the Catholic church - for example, while the Catholic church is strengthening and encouraging the people to live their poverty in faith and to grow in charity, the fundamentalists here are preaching the "confess with your lips that Jesus Christ is your personal lord and savior and you will be saved" doctrine. Nevermind that we already do that every time we celebrate liturgy together, it's not a bad thing to do, but it's an inch deep and it's entirely individualistic. The part that really gets me though is that people join because the fundamentalists convince them that Catholics are going to hell because they "worship" statues. It's tough because a lot of the people here are simple enough to really be unsettled by such arguments. Being an almost totally Catholic area, the proselytizing here is just sowing dissension among people that need to being standing together in their poverty. I really wish I could convey the beauty of the Catholic church communities here too, who are really united and working together to build up their communities across the board, not just spiritually. Again, sorry to any protestants reading this - I do have a lot more respect for protestants in America, but here I really get upset. Just had to get that off my chest.
One last thing, visiting the sick was powerful. Two of the people I visited several times, and got the chance to see one of them recover - a 20 yr old girl who was bedridden and had one eye patched the first time I visited. The other was a 10 yr old boy who's legs aren't working for some reason. He has to have a cast on his whole lower body until september and can't get out of bed. He also experiences excruciating pain in his toes on occasion. As I was with him I was really powerless to do anything about his pain, but it just made his day when I visited.
Well, have to go, sorry for the rushed post. See you all in a couple days!
Jarrett
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Fun and festivities
Well, this past weekend Jarrett and I have spend a lot of time having a lot of fun!
Last Friday Jarrett and I went to the girls high school that is run by the Salesian Sisters where our new friend Rebecca works, teaching English. She invited us to come to class that day so the girls had an opportunity to practice their English with a couple of other English speakers. It was a lot of fun, though I'm pretty sure Jarrett and I were a lot more of a hindrance and dstraction than actually helping them learn anything, but that's ok. We enjoyed talking with them, and challenging them to talk in English. We also jammed out to the song "Firework" by Katy Perry, because Rebeccah is teaching them the words to that song as another way to learn English.
Saturday was the Ecological Festival at Dulce Nombre Parish, where people from different vilalges wrote songs about the earth and praising God for the beauty of creation and nature. Well, not wanting to be left out of all the fun, Jarrett and I also wrote a song in Spanish praising God for creation, which is now on YOUTUBE. The link to our video on youtube is posted on our facebook wall, or you can just click on this link to watch it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eGrttdqjpA
Then Sunday, for the afternoon, Jarrett and I went out to play with our nieghbors! There is a group of high school girls that live with some Franciscan Sisters just a couple of houses down from where John lives, and they invited us to play soccuer with them. So we played some soccer, and then some volleyball, and then we taught them some games, including Finger Fencing and NINJA which I think they enjoyed! it was a lot of fun!
Yesterday (Monday) we went to the Hogar de San Jose, which is where the Missionaries of Charity (The order started by Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta) live and where they also have a home for malnourished children (most of whom are under 5 years old) and we got to go and play with them for a couple of hours, which was a lot of fun! I almost felt like I was back at Camp Gray again with a bunch of kids running all around (though these we all a little younger than the ones back at Camp!)
This week, Jarrett is going to the municipality of Dolores, and I am going to return to San Agustin.
Peace and God bless
Kevin (and Jarrett)
Last Friday Jarrett and I went to the girls high school that is run by the Salesian Sisters where our new friend Rebecca works, teaching English. She invited us to come to class that day so the girls had an opportunity to practice their English with a couple of other English speakers. It was a lot of fun, though I'm pretty sure Jarrett and I were a lot more of a hindrance and dstraction than actually helping them learn anything, but that's ok. We enjoyed talking with them, and challenging them to talk in English. We also jammed out to the song "Firework" by Katy Perry, because Rebeccah is teaching them the words to that song as another way to learn English.
Saturday was the Ecological Festival at Dulce Nombre Parish, where people from different vilalges wrote songs about the earth and praising God for the beauty of creation and nature. Well, not wanting to be left out of all the fun, Jarrett and I also wrote a song in Spanish praising God for creation, which is now on YOUTUBE. The link to our video on youtube is posted on our facebook wall, or you can just click on this link to watch it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eGrttdqjpA
Then Sunday, for the afternoon, Jarrett and I went out to play with our nieghbors! There is a group of high school girls that live with some Franciscan Sisters just a couple of houses down from where John lives, and they invited us to play soccuer with them. So we played some soccer, and then some volleyball, and then we taught them some games, including Finger Fencing and NINJA which I think they enjoyed! it was a lot of fun!
Yesterday (Monday) we went to the Hogar de San Jose, which is where the Missionaries of Charity (The order started by Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta) live and where they also have a home for malnourished children (most of whom are under 5 years old) and we got to go and play with them for a couple of hours, which was a lot of fun! I almost felt like I was back at Camp Gray again with a bunch of kids running all around (though these we all a little younger than the ones back at Camp!)
This week, Jarrett is going to the municipality of Dolores, and I am going to return to San Agustin.
Peace and God bless
Kevin (and Jarrett)
Friday, July 22, 2011
Jarrett in Plan Grande
bHello friends and family, this is Jarrett. I hope you’re all doing well and I look forward to seeing you soon! For the update on Kevin’s last week, refer to the post below.
As for my past couple days I was able to return again to my beloved Plan Grande for my birthday! I arrived on Monday in the afternoon and stayed until Thursday morning. The idea behind returning for a second time (besides my wanting to spend my birthday there with all my new friends and family) was that this time I would try get out a little more and get a broader sense of the village and the different people living there. It was great! The first night I went to a base community meeting in the lower part of town, which is like a bible study / faith sharing group of 5-10 families. We discussed the Gospel reading of the day (a lot of them listen to the mass on the radio every morning on the radio, so they get the readings everyday), about how judgment day will be easier for Babylon than for Jerusalem. I mostly listened, but spoke a little at the end about how Jerusalem ended up being sacked by the Romans (whereas Babylon was spared). More importantly though, I got to hear each of their takes on the importance of the message and witness how deeply rooted their faith was.
The next day was my birthday, and I got to spend most of it with children :) In the morning I went with Gloria to the center of commerce where once a month all the mothers bring their children under the age of two to be weighed. This is part of a Caritas project funded by Catholic Relief Services (in case you’re wondering where CRS money goes). So I got to helped weigh over 40 babies that morning (they love being put into and hanging in the little harness thing too!) It was good to see that part of the population and the way mothers treat their children, as well as the work the Church is doing to help make sure they’re healthy (each mother after weigh in went back to talk to a guy who would look at the growth chart and counsel the mother, and sometimes give high nutrient food to the mother for the baby). There was also a nurse who gave a few shots and nebulized one kid – no idea why…
That afternoon I went to the school to observe classes – it was wild. 115 kids and three teachers, they definitely had their hands full! The kids were all making things for the next day, which is their national holiday – Lempira Day, so I didn’t really get to see any teaching.
That night I went to church, because Gloria told me the Gran Familia was meeting to practice and wanted me to play or something. When I got there however, it ended up being a birthday party for me. Some of my friends from the community were there, and the Gran Familia played Happy Birthday for me – in English (video on Facebook). Afterwards we all had some cake (which John had bought the day before) and they played a few more songs, including Mañanitas, which were all beautiful. At the end they asked me to play for them again the song I’d played before while they tried to record it with my camera. Then they made me play it again, and then they told me they would be playing for the festival Saturday in Gracias, Lempira, which I think is kind of the center of the Lempira Day celebration. Anyway, they then asked if I would go with them and play that song there! Crazy! So I’m doing that tomorrow!
Afterwards, I went back to the house and found out my phone was working, so I got to call Mom :)
The next day I got to witness the Lempira Day celebration at the school. It was wild – each kid was dressed up as an indio! The girls had dresses and the boys were scantily clad with bows and arrows and charcoal beards. I’ll post pictures some day.
I did some other stuff too, but I need to get to mass and those are the major highlights. Also know that I’m feeling more comfortable here and my Spanish is getting better. I’ve been able to have some good, deep conversations with people over the last couple days and made a few friends, which is the best part of all of this.
May God Bless you all, and know that you’re in our prayers.
Jarrett
As for my past couple days I was able to return again to my beloved Plan Grande for my birthday! I arrived on Monday in the afternoon and stayed until Thursday morning. The idea behind returning for a second time (besides my wanting to spend my birthday there with all my new friends and family) was that this time I would try get out a little more and get a broader sense of the village and the different people living there. It was great! The first night I went to a base community meeting in the lower part of town, which is like a bible study / faith sharing group of 5-10 families. We discussed the Gospel reading of the day (a lot of them listen to the mass on the radio every morning on the radio, so they get the readings everyday), about how judgment day will be easier for Babylon than for Jerusalem. I mostly listened, but spoke a little at the end about how Jerusalem ended up being sacked by the Romans (whereas Babylon was spared). More importantly though, I got to hear each of their takes on the importance of the message and witness how deeply rooted their faith was.
The next day was my birthday, and I got to spend most of it with children :) In the morning I went with Gloria to the center of commerce where once a month all the mothers bring their children under the age of two to be weighed. This is part of a Caritas project funded by Catholic Relief Services (in case you’re wondering where CRS money goes). So I got to helped weigh over 40 babies that morning (they love being put into and hanging in the little harness thing too!) It was good to see that part of the population and the way mothers treat their children, as well as the work the Church is doing to help make sure they’re healthy (each mother after weigh in went back to talk to a guy who would look at the growth chart and counsel the mother, and sometimes give high nutrient food to the mother for the baby). There was also a nurse who gave a few shots and nebulized one kid – no idea why…
That afternoon I went to the school to observe classes – it was wild. 115 kids and three teachers, they definitely had their hands full! The kids were all making things for the next day, which is their national holiday – Lempira Day, so I didn’t really get to see any teaching.
That night I went to church, because Gloria told me the Gran Familia was meeting to practice and wanted me to play or something. When I got there however, it ended up being a birthday party for me. Some of my friends from the community were there, and the Gran Familia played Happy Birthday for me – in English (video on Facebook). Afterwards we all had some cake (which John had bought the day before) and they played a few more songs, including Mañanitas, which were all beautiful. At the end they asked me to play for them again the song I’d played before while they tried to record it with my camera. Then they made me play it again, and then they told me they would be playing for the festival Saturday in Gracias, Lempira, which I think is kind of the center of the Lempira Day celebration. Anyway, they then asked if I would go with them and play that song there! Crazy! So I’m doing that tomorrow!
Afterwards, I went back to the house and found out my phone was working, so I got to call Mom :)
The next day I got to witness the Lempira Day celebration at the school. It was wild – each kid was dressed up as an indio! The girls had dresses and the boys were scantily clad with bows and arrows and charcoal beards. I’ll post pictures some day.
I did some other stuff too, but I need to get to mass and those are the major highlights. Also know that I’m feeling more comfortable here and my Spanish is getting better. I’ve been able to have some good, deep conversations with people over the last couple days and made a few friends, which is the best part of all of this.
May God Bless you all, and know that you’re in our prayers.
Jarrett
Kevin in San Agustin
This past week, I (Kevin) spent my time in the municipality of San Agustín. It was a very wonderful and amazing experience as the absolute love and kindness and faith of the people here continues to blow me away! I stayed with an sweet elderly retired couple named Horacio and Aqueda. They told me I was going to be their son for the week, and they are also kind of like the parents or grandparents to everyone in the community. Since they are retired much of the work we did was doing things like going and visiting sick people in their homes and praying with them and as Horacio always said, bringing God’s joy to them.
One day we also went out to the poor neighborhood where Horacio blew a little horn that he had to let all the children know they were passing through town. Thus all the kids gathered to them and they gave them candy and prayed a short prayer with them. Apparently, they do this every week, but it was neat to see, because it was almost like something out of a storybook of the kindly old Candy Man that comes to town every week bringing candy to all the little boys and girls…kind of like Santa Clause! Haha,
Anyways, Horacio also told me about his dream of building comedor, or a school, there in the poor neighborhood for the kids to be able to get a good healthy meal and education there as most of them do not get a lot of food and thus are malnourished and few of them attend school. It would be really neat to see that happen!
One day while I was there, I also got quite sick, because of a bad soup I had. Anyways, although this forced me to rest pretty much the whole rest of the day, it allowed me to reflect a bit and I realized that it was a beautifully ironic opportunity that we had visited sick that morning and I was sick now…it was an opportunity for me to sort of be in solidarity with those sick whom we had visited. I realized it was very Eucharistic, because when we share in the Eucharist, in the Body of Christ, we also share in each other, we share in our joys as well as our sufferings. Thus my being sick was an opportunity to share in their suffering and offer that up to Christ, and to surrender to the helplessness of being sick and allowing others to take care of me.
All in all the whole trip was quite beautiful and amazing and Aqueda and Horacio are such kind and loving people as well as the others in the community! Next week I will likely return out there for a couple of days. Love you all!
In Him,
Kevin
One day we also went out to the poor neighborhood where Horacio blew a little horn that he had to let all the children know they were passing through town. Thus all the kids gathered to them and they gave them candy and prayed a short prayer with them. Apparently, they do this every week, but it was neat to see, because it was almost like something out of a storybook of the kindly old Candy Man that comes to town every week bringing candy to all the little boys and girls…kind of like Santa Clause! Haha,
Anyways, Horacio also told me about his dream of building comedor, or a school, there in the poor neighborhood for the kids to be able to get a good healthy meal and education there as most of them do not get a lot of food and thus are malnourished and few of them attend school. It would be really neat to see that happen!
One day while I was there, I also got quite sick, because of a bad soup I had. Anyways, although this forced me to rest pretty much the whole rest of the day, it allowed me to reflect a bit and I realized that it was a beautifully ironic opportunity that we had visited sick that morning and I was sick now…it was an opportunity for me to sort of be in solidarity with those sick whom we had visited. I realized it was very Eucharistic, because when we share in the Eucharist, in the Body of Christ, we also share in each other, we share in our joys as well as our sufferings. Thus my being sick was an opportunity to share in their suffering and offer that up to Christ, and to surrender to the helplessness of being sick and allowing others to take care of me.
All in all the whole trip was quite beautiful and amazing and Aqueda and Horacio are such kind and loving people as well as the others in the community! Next week I will likely return out there for a couple of days. Love you all!
In Him,
Kevin
Saturday, July 16, 2011
4 Days in Gracias
¡Hola!
This past week Jarrett and I visited the city of Gracias, about an hour away from here, to follow and observe another priest, Padre Loncho (short for Alofonso), to get an experience and a taste of ministry in another diocese and to see what the life of a priest is like.
But, before I got to that, we want to mention what a crazy small world this is. Last weekend, when we were visiting the Ruins (which, you can check out pictures and videos of on Facebook, as that is where we have been posting most everything as it is faster than uploading pictures to the blog), we saw a man who definitely did not look Honduran wearing a Green Bay Packers hat. So we said “Go Packers” and found out he was a Packers fan and asked him where he was from (as we could tell he was from the USA) and he said that he was originally from WISCONSIN but now lives in IOWA and Jarrett and I were like “That’s crazy so are we!” We asked him where in Iowa he lives and we couldn’t believe it when he told us that he lives in DUBUQUE, IA where we go to college! We told him we go to Loras, and found out that he is a professor at the University of Dubuque, which is literally just down the street from Loras, and is kind of Loras’ rival! It turns out he just happened to be visiting his daughter who is a peace core worker there, and it was a crazy coincidence that they just happened to be visiting the ruins the same day we were!
Aaaand, speaking of crazy small worlds, yesterday we went to daily mass at the cathedral, and at the end a girl came up to us and told us she was from the United States, and asked us where in the sates we were from. She, it turned out was from Arizona, and was volunteering with the Salesian Sisters at the school, which happens to be the same place we go to help with the comedor program that serves lunch to kids in the city. Then, as she was from Arizona, and Jarrett and I only know like one person from Arizona, we asked her where in Arizona she was from and when I asked Jarrett where in Arizona Bailey lives, Rebecca (the girl we had met) said, “Bailey Abele?!!! I totally know her, we grew up together!!!!” WHAT?!?! We couldn’t believe it that this girl in Honduras knew one of our really good friends from college!!!!! Crazy small world!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, Bailey, if you get a chance to read this at all, then know that we now know your friend Rebecca!!!! Man, God works in CRAZY ways! It’s quite beautiful!
Anways, back to what Jarrett and I did this week in Gracias, the first day we arrived we were introduced to Sister Nancy, who is a Dubuque Franciscan Sister that has been living and working in the missions in Latin and South America for the past 20 years. That evening we attended the confirmation class that she was teaching. The topic was purity :)
The next day, we went with Padre Loncho to an aldea called “La Mission” to celebrate mass. After that we visited two women who were very sick, and we prayed with them and their families, and Padre Loncho did an Anointing of the Sick. It was very beautiful to see Padre in action, and to see the love he has for the people, the deep sense of peace and gentle compassion that he had for them…truly a loving shepherd of his people.
Then, that night, we went with Padre Loncho to a house in the city of Gracias. Apparently there was a group that is meeting and is in the process of becoming and official Ecclesial Base Community. However, as it was raining really hard not many people showed up, so we just visited with them, and prayed with them and Padre did a blessing of the house (as it must have been a new house). There was also a little girl there who, at the beginning was scared to death of us, and did not smile once for the whole first hour…but by the end of the evening Jarrett and I got her to crack and we had her giggling especially when Jarrett gave her his flashlight and she thought it was very entertaining to shine it in Jarrett’s eyes! :)
Then Wednesday, we helped a girl named Licida, who is only a little bit older than us, to gather materials for making an organic compost that they are going to use to make a garden to grow food on some of the church property. Thus, we were driven by a man named Mario out to different aldeas, where we collected materials such as fine ash, charred wood, fertile dirt (that had smelled great because of the horse droppings that were also in it :) ), and firewood (which Jarrett and I got to use machetes to cut apart the firewood…check out pics on facebook). We also then went out to the church’s finca (coffee field) to collect leaves, both fresh green leaves and dead leaves (There Jarrett and I got to CLIMB A TREE, one of my favorite activities, so as to use the machete to cut down branches with lots of leaves! (yeah, I was in a tree WITH a machete…how awesome is that?!?!) I was super excited as now we can say we officially climbed a tree in Honduras!
We also collected pulpa de café, which is the shells of the coffee beans that have started to break down, and we bagged a lot of that.
Once we had all the materials we returned to Gracias to mix it together!
Then Thursday, we went with Padre Loncho to Mass at the jail in Gracias. That was quite the experience, and the people there seemed so welcoming and grateful that we were there.
After that we went with Sister Nancy out to see the new house they are building for her and the other nuns she lives with, and it is also going to serve as a retreat house for the parish, so they can host different retreats.
As for things to come, today, Saturday July 15th, we are going out with Padre Efrain to an Aldea, where he is going to have a small, one day mini-retreat with the youth there, and also to celebrate mass. Then next week, Jarrett is going to return to the aldea of Plan Grande for his birthday!!!, and I will likely be heading out to the municipality (a small town, bigger than an aldea) of San Agustin.
It has been a beautiful week! Three more weeks here! Pray that we keep being present and learning all that God has to teach us here! Know that you have certainly been in our prayers!
Peace and Love,
Your brothers in Christ
Kevin and Jarrett
This past week Jarrett and I visited the city of Gracias, about an hour away from here, to follow and observe another priest, Padre Loncho (short for Alofonso), to get an experience and a taste of ministry in another diocese and to see what the life of a priest is like.
But, before I got to that, we want to mention what a crazy small world this is. Last weekend, when we were visiting the Ruins (which, you can check out pictures and videos of on Facebook, as that is where we have been posting most everything as it is faster than uploading pictures to the blog), we saw a man who definitely did not look Honduran wearing a Green Bay Packers hat. So we said “Go Packers” and found out he was a Packers fan and asked him where he was from (as we could tell he was from the USA) and he said that he was originally from WISCONSIN but now lives in IOWA and Jarrett and I were like “That’s crazy so are we!” We asked him where in Iowa he lives and we couldn’t believe it when he told us that he lives in DUBUQUE, IA where we go to college! We told him we go to Loras, and found out that he is a professor at the University of Dubuque, which is literally just down the street from Loras, and is kind of Loras’ rival! It turns out he just happened to be visiting his daughter who is a peace core worker there, and it was a crazy coincidence that they just happened to be visiting the ruins the same day we were!
Aaaand, speaking of crazy small worlds, yesterday we went to daily mass at the cathedral, and at the end a girl came up to us and told us she was from the United States, and asked us where in the sates we were from. She, it turned out was from Arizona, and was volunteering with the Salesian Sisters at the school, which happens to be the same place we go to help with the comedor program that serves lunch to kids in the city. Then, as she was from Arizona, and Jarrett and I only know like one person from Arizona, we asked her where in Arizona she was from and when I asked Jarrett where in Arizona Bailey lives, Rebecca (the girl we had met) said, “Bailey Abele?!!! I totally know her, we grew up together!!!!” WHAT?!?! We couldn’t believe it that this girl in Honduras knew one of our really good friends from college!!!!! Crazy small world!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, Bailey, if you get a chance to read this at all, then know that we now know your friend Rebecca!!!! Man, God works in CRAZY ways! It’s quite beautiful!
Anways, back to what Jarrett and I did this week in Gracias, the first day we arrived we were introduced to Sister Nancy, who is a Dubuque Franciscan Sister that has been living and working in the missions in Latin and South America for the past 20 years. That evening we attended the confirmation class that she was teaching. The topic was purity :)
The next day, we went with Padre Loncho to an aldea called “La Mission” to celebrate mass. After that we visited two women who were very sick, and we prayed with them and their families, and Padre Loncho did an Anointing of the Sick. It was very beautiful to see Padre in action, and to see the love he has for the people, the deep sense of peace and gentle compassion that he had for them…truly a loving shepherd of his people.
Then, that night, we went with Padre Loncho to a house in the city of Gracias. Apparently there was a group that is meeting and is in the process of becoming and official Ecclesial Base Community. However, as it was raining really hard not many people showed up, so we just visited with them, and prayed with them and Padre did a blessing of the house (as it must have been a new house). There was also a little girl there who, at the beginning was scared to death of us, and did not smile once for the whole first hour…but by the end of the evening Jarrett and I got her to crack and we had her giggling especially when Jarrett gave her his flashlight and she thought it was very entertaining to shine it in Jarrett’s eyes! :)
Then Wednesday, we helped a girl named Licida, who is only a little bit older than us, to gather materials for making an organic compost that they are going to use to make a garden to grow food on some of the church property. Thus, we were driven by a man named Mario out to different aldeas, where we collected materials such as fine ash, charred wood, fertile dirt (that had smelled great because of the horse droppings that were also in it :) ), and firewood (which Jarrett and I got to use machetes to cut apart the firewood…check out pics on facebook). We also then went out to the church’s finca (coffee field) to collect leaves, both fresh green leaves and dead leaves (There Jarrett and I got to CLIMB A TREE, one of my favorite activities, so as to use the machete to cut down branches with lots of leaves! (yeah, I was in a tree WITH a machete…how awesome is that?!?!) I was super excited as now we can say we officially climbed a tree in Honduras!
We also collected pulpa de café, which is the shells of the coffee beans that have started to break down, and we bagged a lot of that.
Once we had all the materials we returned to Gracias to mix it together!
Then Thursday, we went with Padre Loncho to Mass at the jail in Gracias. That was quite the experience, and the people there seemed so welcoming and grateful that we were there.
After that we went with Sister Nancy out to see the new house they are building for her and the other nuns she lives with, and it is also going to serve as a retreat house for the parish, so they can host different retreats.
As for things to come, today, Saturday July 15th, we are going out with Padre Efrain to an Aldea, where he is going to have a small, one day mini-retreat with the youth there, and also to celebrate mass. Then next week, Jarrett is going to return to the aldea of Plan Grande for his birthday!!!, and I will likely be heading out to the municipality (a small town, bigger than an aldea) of San Agustin.
It has been a beautiful week! Three more weeks here! Pray that we keep being present and learning all that God has to teach us here! Know that you have certainly been in our prayers!
Peace and Love,
Your brothers in Christ
Kevin and Jarrett
Monday, July 11, 2011
Copan Ruins
Hello again!
Over the weekend John took Kevin and I to see the Copan Ruins, one of the larger sites of Mayan ruins in Central America. We had a lot of fun. Unfortunately we were too stingy to pay for a guide, so we didn't learn a whole lot about the Mayans, but by putting our minds together I think we were able to figure out the true story. We will be uploading footage our astounding findings to facebook soon.
This afternoon we are traveling to Gracias, another parish which is in a good sized Spanish colonial town about an hour away. We will remain there until Friday. Until then, God bless!
In Christ,
Kevin and Jarrett
Friday, July 8, 2011
Hello everybody, Jarrett here!
What a week! I just got back last night from a week long stay in Plan Grande, a small 'aldea' or village. The village is basically one long road along the top of a ridge with houses spaced along either side. (By the way, Dubuquers - you don't even know about hills!) While there I got to stay with two separate families. The first live in a house right next to the church, and the mother - Gloria - is in a lot of ways the spiritual leader of the community, which is saying a lot for a woman to hold that role here. While with that family I got my first experience of the campesino lifestyle, the food, the family, the faith, and the work. My second day there I got to go out with Nicolas (the father) and weed their 'finca integrada' - which is a rare but interesting farming practice here in Honduras. Instead of only having one type of crop, he had spaced out four rows of plantain trees, with several rows of coffee trees in between each, and several rows of corn and beans between each of those.
Also while with that family I got to run Totus Tuus Honduras! On the other side of the church from the house is the elementary school - so actually my first experience in Plan Grande was a mob of kids on recess. At first they were shy and were just staring at me, so I started explaining how to play tag to them, which turned into "La Mosqua." Over the course of the week I ended up teaching and playing about ten different games with them ranging from Mercy, to Possum, to fingerfencing, to 'Pato Pato Gonzo.' Definitely a lot of fun :)
Over the weekend the family's daughter came home so I ended up moving to a different family. Again, a lot of fun there. This family was a little wealthier and when I first came in they were watching Titanic on a rather nice TV (somewhat rare for the villages, which are fortunate now just to have electricity and running water.) That Saturday night I got to watch the band, the 'Gran Familia', practice in the church - and they are really good (like on the radio good!) After watching and actually recording them, they asked my to play for them so I played 'By Your Side', which is about the only thing I know well enough to perform without my music.
The next morning I got to experience their Sunday celebration of the Word, which is something they do when they don't have a priest, which is a lot. I was amazed by the experience. First of all the church (which some cyclones helped build) was beautiful and was packed full. Also, the Gran Familia was providing the music. But the best part for me was after the readings Gloria got up there and gave a reflection on the readings. I was blown away by this young grandmother with only a fourth grade education who gave one of the best reflections I've heard. It was simple, starting with just a recap and talking about how wonderful the promises which God gave to the Israelites, and then moving on to the Gospel and how God had hidden from the wise and revealed to the sencilla, the simple, speaking to her fellow people about how marvelous it is that God has revealed these things to them, the sencilla! It was powerful, and it was in touch with the people. And even I could understand it! Oh yeah, and at the end of the service, they asked me to play By Your Side for the whole church!
That night Fernando, the father of the second family, asked me to go with him to visit his dying father. Words cannot express that experience. This man, exhausted, in pain, and bedridden giving thanks to God with his little breath for all that God had blessed him with in his life, including good sons. How powerful too to receive his blessing when he was told I was a seminarian. Also that night we visited another woman who was recovering from surgery. Apparently they have custom of visiting the sick in their communities on Sunday.
The next day I went with Fernando to plant beans on a rather steep hillside, which was quite and adventure. The day after I moved back to Gloria's and asked if I could follow her around to experience what life is like for a woman here. It was quite interesting. I learned above all how to cook corn tortillas from scratch, although I'm not sure I could do the whole process by myself. She also showed me how to was clothes by hand. As for the men, life for the women is hard work, but surprisingly for both there is a lot of free time to rest and be with family, which is partly because they don't have as many diversions (like TV).
The next day Fernando wanted to show me his milpa (corn field) which was a long ways away. We went all the way down to the stream, crossed it, and then up the other side. All along the way he would stop me and tell me to take pictures, or tell me to do some work so he could take a picture of me doing it :) So funny the way people are with technology here! While there we got into a deep conversation about vocation, about my discernment as well as his when he was my age, his early spiritual awakening, reading the Bible be candlelight and how God had called him to have a family. Quite powerful. Later he also showed me his finca, coffee field, and I helped him weed his little coffee trees in his nursery.
Later that night, after visiting his father again, we found out that there was a muchacho my age in the next village who was dying, so after dinner we got our flashlights and walked the half hour there in the dark crossing another stream and taking little trails through people's properties. It was quite moving to meet this person, to see the fear and the tears welling in his eyes, but also the faith that he and those around him had in God's will. It was hard and it was a sombre atmosphere. I didn't really know what to say to him, but just to be with him was good, and when God gave me the words I spoke them. I pray that he get's better, but it's not looking good. He's been to the hospital twice and they can't figure out what's wrong. His stomach is bad, he couldn't keep down food for a while, and his throat is really bad too and he's lost a ton of weight. At that moment I wanted to be a priest so I could have done more for him.
Overall, I was deeply impressed by these people who, in their poverty, showed a deeply rooted faith. I shared several deep and intimately spiritual and personal moments with several of the adults, and shared a lot of joy with the kids on many, many occasions. Though I didn't get a chance to get to know some of the poorer people in the town, I did walk away with a sense that, though these people are poor and live a hard life, they really are blessed, and rich in the things that matter. I kept saying with them - it is a beautiful life.
On that note I will sign off for the night. It will be a few days before we are back in touch. We will be going to the Copan Ruins, which are Mayan, over the weekend, and then off to Gracias, an old Spanish colonial town, for the next week to shadow the priest there - including jail visits. Thank you for your many prayers, please keep them coming as we often running only on the grace of God. Also, feel free to update us on your own lives so that we can pray for you more. Know that you are all continually in our prayers here. God Bless!
Your Brother in Christ,
Jarrett Wendt
PS: By the way, if you know of any Spanish alternatives for my name, let me know because the people here have a terrible time with my name. The closest we've got is 'Jerry' - which is nice because it's my grandfather's name.
What a week! I just got back last night from a week long stay in Plan Grande, a small 'aldea' or village. The village is basically one long road along the top of a ridge with houses spaced along either side. (By the way, Dubuquers - you don't even know about hills!) While there I got to stay with two separate families. The first live in a house right next to the church, and the mother - Gloria - is in a lot of ways the spiritual leader of the community, which is saying a lot for a woman to hold that role here. While with that family I got my first experience of the campesino lifestyle, the food, the family, the faith, and the work. My second day there I got to go out with Nicolas (the father) and weed their 'finca integrada' - which is a rare but interesting farming practice here in Honduras. Instead of only having one type of crop, he had spaced out four rows of plantain trees, with several rows of coffee trees in between each, and several rows of corn and beans between each of those.
Also while with that family I got to run Totus Tuus Honduras! On the other side of the church from the house is the elementary school - so actually my first experience in Plan Grande was a mob of kids on recess. At first they were shy and were just staring at me, so I started explaining how to play tag to them, which turned into "La Mosqua." Over the course of the week I ended up teaching and playing about ten different games with them ranging from Mercy, to Possum, to fingerfencing, to 'Pato Pato Gonzo.' Definitely a lot of fun :)
Over the weekend the family's daughter came home so I ended up moving to a different family. Again, a lot of fun there. This family was a little wealthier and when I first came in they were watching Titanic on a rather nice TV (somewhat rare for the villages, which are fortunate now just to have electricity and running water.) That Saturday night I got to watch the band, the 'Gran Familia', practice in the church - and they are really good (like on the radio good!) After watching and actually recording them, they asked my to play for them so I played 'By Your Side', which is about the only thing I know well enough to perform without my music.
The next morning I got to experience their Sunday celebration of the Word, which is something they do when they don't have a priest, which is a lot. I was amazed by the experience. First of all the church (which some cyclones helped build) was beautiful and was packed full. Also, the Gran Familia was providing the music. But the best part for me was after the readings Gloria got up there and gave a reflection on the readings. I was blown away by this young grandmother with only a fourth grade education who gave one of the best reflections I've heard. It was simple, starting with just a recap and talking about how wonderful the promises which God gave to the Israelites, and then moving on to the Gospel and how God had hidden from the wise and revealed to the sencilla, the simple, speaking to her fellow people about how marvelous it is that God has revealed these things to them, the sencilla! It was powerful, and it was in touch with the people. And even I could understand it! Oh yeah, and at the end of the service, they asked me to play By Your Side for the whole church!
That night Fernando, the father of the second family, asked me to go with him to visit his dying father. Words cannot express that experience. This man, exhausted, in pain, and bedridden giving thanks to God with his little breath for all that God had blessed him with in his life, including good sons. How powerful too to receive his blessing when he was told I was a seminarian. Also that night we visited another woman who was recovering from surgery. Apparently they have custom of visiting the sick in their communities on Sunday.
The next day I went with Fernando to plant beans on a rather steep hillside, which was quite and adventure. The day after I moved back to Gloria's and asked if I could follow her around to experience what life is like for a woman here. It was quite interesting. I learned above all how to cook corn tortillas from scratch, although I'm not sure I could do the whole process by myself. She also showed me how to was clothes by hand. As for the men, life for the women is hard work, but surprisingly for both there is a lot of free time to rest and be with family, which is partly because they don't have as many diversions (like TV).
The next day Fernando wanted to show me his milpa (corn field) which was a long ways away. We went all the way down to the stream, crossed it, and then up the other side. All along the way he would stop me and tell me to take pictures, or tell me to do some work so he could take a picture of me doing it :) So funny the way people are with technology here! While there we got into a deep conversation about vocation, about my discernment as well as his when he was my age, his early spiritual awakening, reading the Bible be candlelight and how God had called him to have a family. Quite powerful. Later he also showed me his finca, coffee field, and I helped him weed his little coffee trees in his nursery.
Later that night, after visiting his father again, we found out that there was a muchacho my age in the next village who was dying, so after dinner we got our flashlights and walked the half hour there in the dark crossing another stream and taking little trails through people's properties. It was quite moving to meet this person, to see the fear and the tears welling in his eyes, but also the faith that he and those around him had in God's will. It was hard and it was a sombre atmosphere. I didn't really know what to say to him, but just to be with him was good, and when God gave me the words I spoke them. I pray that he get's better, but it's not looking good. He's been to the hospital twice and they can't figure out what's wrong. His stomach is bad, he couldn't keep down food for a while, and his throat is really bad too and he's lost a ton of weight. At that moment I wanted to be a priest so I could have done more for him.
Overall, I was deeply impressed by these people who, in their poverty, showed a deeply rooted faith. I shared several deep and intimately spiritual and personal moments with several of the adults, and shared a lot of joy with the kids on many, many occasions. Though I didn't get a chance to get to know some of the poorer people in the town, I did walk away with a sense that, though these people are poor and live a hard life, they really are blessed, and rich in the things that matter. I kept saying with them - it is a beautiful life.
On that note I will sign off for the night. It will be a few days before we are back in touch. We will be going to the Copan Ruins, which are Mayan, over the weekend, and then off to Gracias, an old Spanish colonial town, for the next week to shadow the priest there - including jail visits. Thank you for your many prayers, please keep them coming as we often running only on the grace of God. Also, feel free to update us on your own lives so that we can pray for you more. Know that you are all continually in our prayers here. God Bless!
Your Brother in Christ,
Jarrett Wendt
PS: By the way, if you know of any Spanish alternatives for my name, let me know because the people here have a terrible time with my name. The closest we've got is 'Jerry' - which is nice because it's my grandfather's name.
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