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.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Greetings everyone!
First of all, I wanted to let you all know that Jarrett has arrived safe and sound here in Honduras. Last week Monday (A week prior to yesterday) John and I drove to San Pedro Sula to pick Jarrett up. We then spent a couple of days hanging out and getting Jarrett acclaimated to the city of Santa Rosa!
Then on Wednesday I went off with Ivan for another few days in Delisius! He took me up to his Milpa (cornfield) which is on one of the highest slopes on one of the mouintains in the village...the view was absolutely breath taking! We could see all the way to Zapote, as well as to the town of Dulce Nombre, and Ivan said that where there are less low hanging clouds, one can see all the way back to Santa Rosa (and that is about an hour or more by car!) Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me to capture the beautiful view, but it was amazing!
We also played soccer on the most awesomest soccer field I have ever seen...it was literally on a mountain top, and it was beutiful as there were other mountains all around! Again, I did not have my camera as I had lent it to Jarrett to take with him to Plan Grande (more on Jarrett in a moment) but it was amazing! The only down side is everytime the ball went out of bounds it rolled a long ways down before it stopped so someone always had to run a long ways to get it! but it was still awesome!
Friday was the celebration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, so they had a special celebration with a rosary, singing, and a full Liturgy of the Word, followed by more singing!
Saturday John and Jarrett met me in Delisus as there was a Sector meeting (as I may have mentioned the Parish is divided up into I think 11 or 13 Sectors, and 3 Zones) and afterwards Jarrett and John and I traveled to one of the most furthest out aldeas Piedras Coloradas (which means ¨Colored Rocks¨). One exciting thing there is John showed us a plant whose name I don´t remember in spanish but in English it means ¨Sleepyhead¨ which basically instantly folds its leaves together as soon as you touch it...we took a video which I hope to post soon (I would have posted pictures today, but my camera is with Jarrett in Plan Grande...which reminds me if you would like to see some pictures NOW there are a lot of good pictures on John´s blog I recommend you check out at http://hermanojuancito.blogspot.com )
Anyways at Piedras Coloradas John had a meeting with the community about the development of the community and it was really neat to see what they have done and their visions and goals, and a lot of John´s role was empowering them to work together and to figure out ways they can accomplish these goals, as well as helping them to prioritize their tasks, as to which ones they should accomplish first. They have developed a plan of what they want their community to be in 5 years, and it was quite exciting to see all they hope to accomplish them, and seeing them make concrete and step by step plans on how they are going to accomplish these things!
That is a lot of what the ministry here is all about and that John emphasizes to Jarrett and I so much, that this ministry, and any ministry in general, is about working WITH the people, not just doing stuff for them, and empowering them to realized they have worth and can accomplish things. It is also about affirming in their gifts and talents, on what they can do, and commending them on what they already have done. I have also been reading a really good book that John recommended to me, called ¨When Helping Hurts¨by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert, which is a fantastic book about ministry and about helping the poor, as it emphasizes the development of relationship and focusing on people´s strengths and that it is not about ¨us helping them¨ or us being the heroes to fly in and save the day, but it is really about us walking with them, helping them realize their own worth and empowering them to help themselves, and we work with them, working with them to help them realize their strengths and resources and using what they have to build them up or to build up the community. Anyways, I have been learning so much in that regard, and that is just a taste of all I have been learning...but I would STRONGLY recommend that book (When Helping Hurts) to anyone involved in working with the poor in anyway or anyone who plans on doing any type of missionary work or service in the future. It brings up a lot of good points of things we should consider before we swoop in to do ¨service¨as sometimes our ¨service¨can result in making people feel inferior rather than empowering them and helping them realize their own worth as a child of God.
Anyways, back to things I´ve been doing...after Piedras Coloradas, John dropped me off in Zapote where I stayed for the Sunday Liturgy of the Word. I love Zapote...It has definitely become a little bit of a home away from home for me here in Honduras as the people there are so beautiful and I have built good friendships there, and the light of Christ is definitely burning brightly there! There is a sacredness about their Church as well, now that the Eucharist is there, that every time you enter the people are in such a deep sense of prayer, and so attuned to His Sacred Presence. And there is so much love in the people there!
Anyways, Monday I returned to Santa Rosa, where I have been taking a few days break from visiting villages and doing a lot of reading (of the book i mentioned above) and I have a stack of books I hope to read this summer that John recommended to me.
Jarrett has been and still currently is in the aldea of Plan Grande. One neat thing about that is there is a Music Group there that is well known throughout the aldeas of the parish called the Gran Familia, and, as Jarrett plays guitar, he will probably get a chance to ¨jam¨ with them (as much as you can ¨jam¨ to Ranchero music haha). Anyways, he will update you on all that when he returns! Thursday, we are going out to pick up Jarrett, and then going for a meeting in another aldea.
Next week Jarrett and I will be going to the town of Gracias, which is about an hour away from Santa Rosa, to stay with and observe a priest there, to get a little taste of how a priest does ministry in a different parish other than Dulce Nombre. Also, there are a couple of Dubuque Franciscan Sisters there who we will meet as well!
Anyways, I am off to mass at the Cathedral which starts soon, so I have to get going...but keep praying for Jarrett and I and know you are in our prayers as well. Miss and Love you All!
God bless and keep Living in HIS LOVE and spreading His Light, LOVE, and JOY to all the world!
Your brother in Christ,
Kevin
First of all, I wanted to let you all know that Jarrett has arrived safe and sound here in Honduras. Last week Monday (A week prior to yesterday) John and I drove to San Pedro Sula to pick Jarrett up. We then spent a couple of days hanging out and getting Jarrett acclaimated to the city of Santa Rosa!
Then on Wednesday I went off with Ivan for another few days in Delisius! He took me up to his Milpa (cornfield) which is on one of the highest slopes on one of the mouintains in the village...the view was absolutely breath taking! We could see all the way to Zapote, as well as to the town of Dulce Nombre, and Ivan said that where there are less low hanging clouds, one can see all the way back to Santa Rosa (and that is about an hour or more by car!) Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me to capture the beautiful view, but it was amazing!
We also played soccer on the most awesomest soccer field I have ever seen...it was literally on a mountain top, and it was beutiful as there were other mountains all around! Again, I did not have my camera as I had lent it to Jarrett to take with him to Plan Grande (more on Jarrett in a moment) but it was amazing! The only down side is everytime the ball went out of bounds it rolled a long ways down before it stopped so someone always had to run a long ways to get it! but it was still awesome!
Friday was the celebration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, so they had a special celebration with a rosary, singing, and a full Liturgy of the Word, followed by more singing!
Saturday John and Jarrett met me in Delisus as there was a Sector meeting (as I may have mentioned the Parish is divided up into I think 11 or 13 Sectors, and 3 Zones) and afterwards Jarrett and John and I traveled to one of the most furthest out aldeas Piedras Coloradas (which means ¨Colored Rocks¨). One exciting thing there is John showed us a plant whose name I don´t remember in spanish but in English it means ¨Sleepyhead¨ which basically instantly folds its leaves together as soon as you touch it...we took a video which I hope to post soon (I would have posted pictures today, but my camera is with Jarrett in Plan Grande...which reminds me if you would like to see some pictures NOW there are a lot of good pictures on John´s blog I recommend you check out at http://hermanojuancito.blogspot.com )
Anyways at Piedras Coloradas John had a meeting with the community about the development of the community and it was really neat to see what they have done and their visions and goals, and a lot of John´s role was empowering them to work together and to figure out ways they can accomplish these goals, as well as helping them to prioritize their tasks, as to which ones they should accomplish first. They have developed a plan of what they want their community to be in 5 years, and it was quite exciting to see all they hope to accomplish them, and seeing them make concrete and step by step plans on how they are going to accomplish these things!
That is a lot of what the ministry here is all about and that John emphasizes to Jarrett and I so much, that this ministry, and any ministry in general, is about working WITH the people, not just doing stuff for them, and empowering them to realized they have worth and can accomplish things. It is also about affirming in their gifts and talents, on what they can do, and commending them on what they already have done. I have also been reading a really good book that John recommended to me, called ¨When Helping Hurts¨by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert, which is a fantastic book about ministry and about helping the poor, as it emphasizes the development of relationship and focusing on people´s strengths and that it is not about ¨us helping them¨ or us being the heroes to fly in and save the day, but it is really about us walking with them, helping them realize their own worth and empowering them to help themselves, and we work with them, working with them to help them realize their strengths and resources and using what they have to build them up or to build up the community. Anyways, I have been learning so much in that regard, and that is just a taste of all I have been learning...but I would STRONGLY recommend that book (When Helping Hurts) to anyone involved in working with the poor in anyway or anyone who plans on doing any type of missionary work or service in the future. It brings up a lot of good points of things we should consider before we swoop in to do ¨service¨as sometimes our ¨service¨can result in making people feel inferior rather than empowering them and helping them realize their own worth as a child of God.
Anyways, back to things I´ve been doing...after Piedras Coloradas, John dropped me off in Zapote where I stayed for the Sunday Liturgy of the Word. I love Zapote...It has definitely become a little bit of a home away from home for me here in Honduras as the people there are so beautiful and I have built good friendships there, and the light of Christ is definitely burning brightly there! There is a sacredness about their Church as well, now that the Eucharist is there, that every time you enter the people are in such a deep sense of prayer, and so attuned to His Sacred Presence. And there is so much love in the people there!
Anyways, Monday I returned to Santa Rosa, where I have been taking a few days break from visiting villages and doing a lot of reading (of the book i mentioned above) and I have a stack of books I hope to read this summer that John recommended to me.
Jarrett has been and still currently is in the aldea of Plan Grande. One neat thing about that is there is a Music Group there that is well known throughout the aldeas of the parish called the Gran Familia, and, as Jarrett plays guitar, he will probably get a chance to ¨jam¨ with them (as much as you can ¨jam¨ to Ranchero music haha). Anyways, he will update you on all that when he returns! Thursday, we are going out to pick up Jarrett, and then going for a meeting in another aldea.
Next week Jarrett and I will be going to the town of Gracias, which is about an hour away from Santa Rosa, to stay with and observe a priest there, to get a little taste of how a priest does ministry in a different parish other than Dulce Nombre. Also, there are a couple of Dubuque Franciscan Sisters there who we will meet as well!
Anyways, I am off to mass at the Cathedral which starts soon, so I have to get going...but keep praying for Jarrett and I and know you are in our prayers as well. Miss and Love you All!
God bless and keep Living in HIS LOVE and spreading His Light, LOVE, and JOY to all the world!
Your brother in Christ,
Kevin
Sunday, June 26, 2011
From Dulce Nombre to Delisius and Beyond!
Greetings everyone! Happy Feast of Corpus Christi!
What a full but beautiful week it has been! Last week Saturday, John and I went to a Sister professing her final vows, and it was beautiful and she said the vows and received her ring, becoming a beautiful bride of Christ! It made me reflect upon the absolutely beautiful love of Christ that is so real and so alive and truly worth giving our whole lives to!
Sunday I spent the day at Dulce Nombre Parish, where I spent time with Fr. Julio and much time with the Sisters, the Oblates of Divine Love, who live next to Dulce Nombre Parish, and one Sister in particular, Sister Pedrina I talked to a lot, and she is very fun and full of life, and loves to practice her English (or attempt to pronounce some English words, and usually just laughing at how it sounds)! I also got the chance to spend some time with a priest from El Salvador who was visiting and it was especially interesting talking with him about his priesthood and life in El Salvador, as he was in seminary during the time of the Civil War in El Salvador. I visited some of the Catechesis classes with him, as him and I were both "visitors" of Dulce Nombre Parish, and I very much enjoyed watching him in action, teaching the children with such a gentle spirit of love, but seemed to show such a deep sense of wisdom.
Monday, I headed out to Delisius where I spent time with Ivan, who is a catechist there, and his brother Mario and there families. I was surprised to discover that Delisius, unlike Zapote, has electricity, and most of the houses have TV's as well! This came in handy on Wednesday when we watched some of the USA vs. Panama soccer game, in the Semifinals for the Gold Cup in Houston, Texas. We also watched the first half of the Honduras vs. Mexico game!
I also had an interesting cultural experience of food this week in Delisius as well! I was eating a dish that they called Indian Chicken Soup...as I was eating I found a particularly round thing, that looked like meat. When asking what it was, my worst fears were confirmed as they informed me that it was the testicle of a rooster. Needless to say, I was very hesitant to try it, but they got a good laugh out of my fear of it. They got an even bigger laugh when I informed them that in the United States, when someone is scared of something, we say that they are "chicken" and so I was "chicken" of the chicken. After much laughing and me trying to persuade someone else to eat it for me, and convincing someone to take half of it, I ended up trying it...I will say it was quite the cultural experience...
Anyways, in Delisius I also visited a couple of their Ecclesial Base communities, to see some of their faith life. I also worked some in the field with Ivan and I picked some plantains in the Finca with Mario. I also taught Ivan and Mario's kids a little of my own culture by teaching them how to do Finger Fencing (for those of you who don't know what that is, it is a game where you hold hands and both try to touch the other person's body with your finger...it is quite a fun game, and they enjoyed it very much).
On Thursday I returned to the beautiful aldea of Zapote, and I worked in field with my good friend Jose (same Jose whom I have mentioned before in previous blogs), as well as with two new people, Nahum and Erli. We worked to clear the weeds out of a field with acerdones (basically, like garden hoes, but bigger and sharpened). This field was to be a beanfield for the Parish of Dulce Nombre...basically, their form of tithing...instead of necessarily donating a lot of money, since they do not have a lot of money, each aldea has a community field that they donate the food from to the parish. So we were truly doing work for the church!
Also, they wanted to hear a song in English as we were working, so I ended up singing a few of my favorite pop songs, namely "Hey Soul Sister" by Train, and "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz, as well as a little of Taio Cruz's "Dyanamite."
Thursday night I visited another Ecclesial Base Community, and as Jose and I walked back in the pouring rain, we found, in the middle of the path a CRAB! I couldn't believe it...I thought crabs only lived in places with large bodies of water, such as oceans or seas, or large lakes, but here we were in the middle of the Honduran mountains, and there is a crab walking along! I just thought it was amazing to see a crab in the wild, and thought that was a neat experience, but what Jose saw was lunch! He picked up the crab and when I asked him what he was going to to with it he said "I am going to eat it." He took it home to his family and a few days later they had a nice meal of cooked crabmeat!
All day Friday, and Satruday morning was a training session for the Catechists of the parish (led by John himself, the John who I have been living with here in Santa Rosa...so it was neat to see him in action). It was basically a training session teaching them how to Evangelize and invite other adults into the Catholic Church, and the process that goes along with becoming Catholic. It was very interesting and I learned a lot!
Saturday afternoon was all preparation for the big celebration of Corpus Christi, where the Church in Zapote was going to be receiving Christ in the Eucharist into their tabernacle. Thus, we pulled lots of pine needles off of pine branches which they used to cover the floor in the church (apparantly this is very common for big celebrations, for the look as well as for the smell...it beautifully reminded me of Christmas, as the whole Church smelled like one big Christmas tree!). We also made a pathway down the center aisle out of pine saw dust, in which they drew pictures of the chalice and host, as well as a big cross. (NOTE that as my computer currently is out of commission right now, so I have been using John's I have not been able to post any pictures, otherwise I would have posted picture...so hopefully I will get that fixed and be able to post pictures for you all)!
Then today we celebrated Mass! The church was packed as we had people from many different aldeas, in addition to all the people of Zapote! At the end of Mass there was a Eucharistic procession where we stopped to pray at four different altars they had built outside, each adorned and decorated with flowers! It was absolutely beautiful and moving and as we walked, and as we followed the priest and Christ in the Eucharist, I was reminded on how it must have been like when Jesus walked as a human upon the earth, and the crowds followed Him, with such wonder, seeking something, with such hope, some following out of mere curiosity, others because of faith in who He was, but regardless crowds of people seeking Him and following Him. And as some reached out to touch the monstrance as it passed I was reminded of the story of the diseased woman who had such faith that she thought if she merely touch the hem of His cloak, she would be healed, and as the crowds pressed in around Christ, she made her way through just to brush the hem of His cloak!
It was an absolutely beautiful day, and I have much reflecting and praying to do over all that has happened! I have been learning so much about faith, God, myself, life, society, God's call, justice, and much more. I have been growing so much, and God has certainly been teaching much to me through the faith of the people here!
Tomorrow John and I go to San Pedro Sula to PICK UP JARRETT!!!!! WOOOOOOOTTT!!!! I'm super excited to see Jarrett and to be able to share this experience with him. Please keep him in your prayers for safe travel, as well as for his heart to be opened to all that God has to teach him from this experience! Pray that he may be filled with the Holy Spirit to proclaim Christ's love with His very life, with the way he lives, in a way that transcends all language!
I'm praying for you Jarrett, and know I greatly look forward to you coming!
Peace and love of Christ be with you all! And remember to seek God's love in every moment in every way, and that this is a love worth living for, for His love is Life itself!
Kevin
What a full but beautiful week it has been! Last week Saturday, John and I went to a Sister professing her final vows, and it was beautiful and she said the vows and received her ring, becoming a beautiful bride of Christ! It made me reflect upon the absolutely beautiful love of Christ that is so real and so alive and truly worth giving our whole lives to!
Sunday I spent the day at Dulce Nombre Parish, where I spent time with Fr. Julio and much time with the Sisters, the Oblates of Divine Love, who live next to Dulce Nombre Parish, and one Sister in particular, Sister Pedrina I talked to a lot, and she is very fun and full of life, and loves to practice her English (or attempt to pronounce some English words, and usually just laughing at how it sounds)! I also got the chance to spend some time with a priest from El Salvador who was visiting and it was especially interesting talking with him about his priesthood and life in El Salvador, as he was in seminary during the time of the Civil War in El Salvador. I visited some of the Catechesis classes with him, as him and I were both "visitors" of Dulce Nombre Parish, and I very much enjoyed watching him in action, teaching the children with such a gentle spirit of love, but seemed to show such a deep sense of wisdom.
Monday, I headed out to Delisius where I spent time with Ivan, who is a catechist there, and his brother Mario and there families. I was surprised to discover that Delisius, unlike Zapote, has electricity, and most of the houses have TV's as well! This came in handy on Wednesday when we watched some of the USA vs. Panama soccer game, in the Semifinals for the Gold Cup in Houston, Texas. We also watched the first half of the Honduras vs. Mexico game!
I also had an interesting cultural experience of food this week in Delisius as well! I was eating a dish that they called Indian Chicken Soup...as I was eating I found a particularly round thing, that looked like meat. When asking what it was, my worst fears were confirmed as they informed me that it was the testicle of a rooster. Needless to say, I was very hesitant to try it, but they got a good laugh out of my fear of it. They got an even bigger laugh when I informed them that in the United States, when someone is scared of something, we say that they are "chicken" and so I was "chicken" of the chicken. After much laughing and me trying to persuade someone else to eat it for me, and convincing someone to take half of it, I ended up trying it...I will say it was quite the cultural experience...
Anyways, in Delisius I also visited a couple of their Ecclesial Base communities, to see some of their faith life. I also worked some in the field with Ivan and I picked some plantains in the Finca with Mario. I also taught Ivan and Mario's kids a little of my own culture by teaching them how to do Finger Fencing (for those of you who don't know what that is, it is a game where you hold hands and both try to touch the other person's body with your finger...it is quite a fun game, and they enjoyed it very much).
On Thursday I returned to the beautiful aldea of Zapote, and I worked in field with my good friend Jose (same Jose whom I have mentioned before in previous blogs), as well as with two new people, Nahum and Erli. We worked to clear the weeds out of a field with acerdones (basically, like garden hoes, but bigger and sharpened). This field was to be a beanfield for the Parish of Dulce Nombre...basically, their form of tithing...instead of necessarily donating a lot of money, since they do not have a lot of money, each aldea has a community field that they donate the food from to the parish. So we were truly doing work for the church!
Also, they wanted to hear a song in English as we were working, so I ended up singing a few of my favorite pop songs, namely "Hey Soul Sister" by Train, and "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz, as well as a little of Taio Cruz's "Dyanamite."
Thursday night I visited another Ecclesial Base Community, and as Jose and I walked back in the pouring rain, we found, in the middle of the path a CRAB! I couldn't believe it...I thought crabs only lived in places with large bodies of water, such as oceans or seas, or large lakes, but here we were in the middle of the Honduran mountains, and there is a crab walking along! I just thought it was amazing to see a crab in the wild, and thought that was a neat experience, but what Jose saw was lunch! He picked up the crab and when I asked him what he was going to to with it he said "I am going to eat it." He took it home to his family and a few days later they had a nice meal of cooked crabmeat!
All day Friday, and Satruday morning was a training session for the Catechists of the parish (led by John himself, the John who I have been living with here in Santa Rosa...so it was neat to see him in action). It was basically a training session teaching them how to Evangelize and invite other adults into the Catholic Church, and the process that goes along with becoming Catholic. It was very interesting and I learned a lot!
Saturday afternoon was all preparation for the big celebration of Corpus Christi, where the Church in Zapote was going to be receiving Christ in the Eucharist into their tabernacle. Thus, we pulled lots of pine needles off of pine branches which they used to cover the floor in the church (apparantly this is very common for big celebrations, for the look as well as for the smell...it beautifully reminded me of Christmas, as the whole Church smelled like one big Christmas tree!). We also made a pathway down the center aisle out of pine saw dust, in which they drew pictures of the chalice and host, as well as a big cross. (NOTE that as my computer currently is out of commission right now, so I have been using John's I have not been able to post any pictures, otherwise I would have posted picture...so hopefully I will get that fixed and be able to post pictures for you all)!
Then today we celebrated Mass! The church was packed as we had people from many different aldeas, in addition to all the people of Zapote! At the end of Mass there was a Eucharistic procession where we stopped to pray at four different altars they had built outside, each adorned and decorated with flowers! It was absolutely beautiful and moving and as we walked, and as we followed the priest and Christ in the Eucharist, I was reminded on how it must have been like when Jesus walked as a human upon the earth, and the crowds followed Him, with such wonder, seeking something, with such hope, some following out of mere curiosity, others because of faith in who He was, but regardless crowds of people seeking Him and following Him. And as some reached out to touch the monstrance as it passed I was reminded of the story of the diseased woman who had such faith that she thought if she merely touch the hem of His cloak, she would be healed, and as the crowds pressed in around Christ, she made her way through just to brush the hem of His cloak!
It was an absolutely beautiful day, and I have much reflecting and praying to do over all that has happened! I have been learning so much about faith, God, myself, life, society, God's call, justice, and much more. I have been growing so much, and God has certainly been teaching much to me through the faith of the people here!
Tomorrow John and I go to San Pedro Sula to PICK UP JARRETT!!!!! WOOOOOOOTTT!!!! I'm super excited to see Jarrett and to be able to share this experience with him. Please keep him in your prayers for safe travel, as well as for his heart to be opened to all that God has to teach him from this experience! Pray that he may be filled with the Holy Spirit to proclaim Christ's love with His very life, with the way he lives, in a way that transcends all language!
I'm praying for you Jarrett, and know I greatly look forward to you coming!
Peace and love of Christ be with you all! And remember to seek God's love in every moment in every way, and that this is a love worth living for, for His love is Life itself!
Kevin
Friday, June 17, 2011
Another week in Zapote
Waking up to the sound of roosters crowing, one rooster sounding particular sickly sounding, all complemented with the smell and sound of the crackling fire of the wood-burning stove as Julia starts preparing fried plantains to go with the pre-breakfast coffee.
I am greeted with the faint light of the new sunrise over the Honduran mountains...yep, just another beautigul day in Zapote in Honduras!
I spent Tuesday through Thursday again in Zapote. After breakfast each day, we went out to work, the first day to pick beans, which we pulled by hand and then tied them together in little bunches! Wednesday I learned how to plant beans by hand with a tranca and a pijoguante (I have no idea if that is spelled right). We planted an entire field (we being me and my good friends Jose and German (NOT the German I live with)). Then they took me fishing, and we fished using a fishing net that we through out into a little stream to catch a bunch of small fish for supper.
Thursday morning I went with German (the German I DO live with) to go cut up and pile together a whole lot of firewood...something we did for a good five hours or so (there was lots of wood)
It then rained all afternoon and evening, so I spent most of that afternoon relaxing and hanging out with the family I have been living with, which was very nice after a few hard days of work and intense SOCCER playing
For the afternoons of both days it wasn't raining we played lots of FUTBOL (soccer, which I have quickly learned that I love it a whole lot, and I am getting decent at it as well)!
Then for the evenings I go to different ecclesial base community meetings, which, as I believed I mentioned before) are basically different groups throughout the community that meet periodically to discuss a faith-related topic and Scripture! The love of Christ is very evident in the people who have all showed me so much kindness and have made me feel so welcome in Zapote. They are becoming very much like a family to me here! I look forward to returning to Zapote next week Wednesday or Thursday, where I will stay for the feast of Corpus Christi on Sunday, where the Church of Zapote will receive the Eucharist into their tabernacle (which is a big deal) and will be a HUGE Mass and Celebration!
O Monday and Tuesday next week I will be going to another aldea called Delisius where I will be following a catechist named Ivan who is my age, and I get to see Him in action as he teaches some of the kids about faith and God.
Keep Jarrett Wendt in your prayers as he is preparing to come to Honduras in just a week from this coming Monday (then you will also get to hear some of his thoughts and reflections on Honduras as well, and don't just have to hear it from me the whole time)
Tomorrow John and I are going to Dulce Nombre to hear a Nun there take her final vows to officially become a fully professed sister of the order (I am greatly looking forward to that!). After we will be heading to Piedras Colorados, another aldea, for the day!
Thanks for all the prayers! Keep them up! Pray that I continue learning all that God has in store to teach me, and that I am present to every moment hear!
Thanks also for all the encouraging emails as well as the emails simply updating me on life back at home!
Peace and prayers!
In Christ's love,
Kevin Earleywine
I am greeted with the faint light of the new sunrise over the Honduran mountains...yep, just another beautigul day in Zapote in Honduras!
I spent Tuesday through Thursday again in Zapote. After breakfast each day, we went out to work, the first day to pick beans, which we pulled by hand and then tied them together in little bunches! Wednesday I learned how to plant beans by hand with a tranca and a pijoguante (I have no idea if that is spelled right). We planted an entire field (we being me and my good friends Jose and German (NOT the German I live with)). Then they took me fishing, and we fished using a fishing net that we through out into a little stream to catch a bunch of small fish for supper.
Thursday morning I went with German (the German I DO live with) to go cut up and pile together a whole lot of firewood...something we did for a good five hours or so (there was lots of wood)
It then rained all afternoon and evening, so I spent most of that afternoon relaxing and hanging out with the family I have been living with, which was very nice after a few hard days of work and intense SOCCER playing
For the afternoons of both days it wasn't raining we played lots of FUTBOL (soccer, which I have quickly learned that I love it a whole lot, and I am getting decent at it as well)!
Then for the evenings I go to different ecclesial base community meetings, which, as I believed I mentioned before) are basically different groups throughout the community that meet periodically to discuss a faith-related topic and Scripture! The love of Christ is very evident in the people who have all showed me so much kindness and have made me feel so welcome in Zapote. They are becoming very much like a family to me here! I look forward to returning to Zapote next week Wednesday or Thursday, where I will stay for the feast of Corpus Christi on Sunday, where the Church of Zapote will receive the Eucharist into their tabernacle (which is a big deal) and will be a HUGE Mass and Celebration!
O Monday and Tuesday next week I will be going to another aldea called Delisius where I will be following a catechist named Ivan who is my age, and I get to see Him in action as he teaches some of the kids about faith and God.
Keep Jarrett Wendt in your prayers as he is preparing to come to Honduras in just a week from this coming Monday (then you will also get to hear some of his thoughts and reflections on Honduras as well, and don't just have to hear it from me the whole time)
Tomorrow John and I are going to Dulce Nombre to hear a Nun there take her final vows to officially become a fully professed sister of the order (I am greatly looking forward to that!). After we will be heading to Piedras Colorados, another aldea, for the day!
Thanks for all the prayers! Keep them up! Pray that I continue learning all that God has in store to teach me, and that I am present to every moment hear!
Thanks also for all the encouraging emails as well as the emails simply updating me on life back at home!
Peace and prayers!
In Christ's love,
Kevin Earleywine
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Greetings everyone! Happy Pentecost to you all! May the fire of the Holy Spirit fill you hearts with His joy and Love, and the fire to more fully bring His Kingdom of love to this world!
Wow, what a week it has been! As I mentioned in my last post, I spent this past week in the aldea (small rural village) of Zapote! It was a fantastic experience, and it challenged me to constantly use my Spanish, as no one in the town spoke English!
As a lot happened I will try to briefly summarize each day in as brief and efficient way as I can (which as most of you know, I sometimes have a tendency not to be so brief, so this could end up being quite a long post)
Tuesday, Day 1 in Zapote: John dropped me off in Zapote late in the morning. The first thing I got to do was go with Jose out to the milpa (corn field) and plant corn with them, by hand. This basically consisted of taking a stick with a flat metal piece on the end, and using that to make a hole in the ground where we dropped the kernels of corn and covered back up again. Since they do it like this, they can plant cornfields on really steep hillsides.
That night I went to a meeting of an Ecclesial base community, which is a meeting where people of a certain area of the village gather together to sing, pray, and to read and discuss Scripture. It was quite beautiful, as their faith is quite vibrant and beautiful.
I then returned to the house I was staying at. The whole week I lived with a couple named Julia and German (pronounced "Hair-mon" though I am not exactly sure how it is actually spelled, that is what we will go with for now), who have two little boys, Freilin who is 5 years old and Melchizedek who is a little less than two years old. They are a very loving and beautiful family.
Wednesday, Day 2 in Zapote: After breakfast, I went with a man named Marco Tulio and worked with him and a group of men to build a cinder block house for Marco Tulio's son. I learned lots of Spanish words from Marco Tulio. I then had lunch with his family, and after words I painted a cut out of a dove for them that they wanted painted white to use for the celebration of Pentecost. After that, two of Marco Tulio's sons started teaching me the Spanish words for a bunch of different animals, which then led to me drawing them pictures of lots of animals. After that we worked on the house a little bit more and then I returned to Julia and German's house for supper. After supper a bunch of people came over to pray the rosary in Spanish and then we all walked together to their Ecclesial Base community meeting.
Thursday. Day 3 in Zapote: Again, I went to help Marco Tulio work on constructing the house, and again stayed there for lunch. After lunch, Marco Tulio played some guitar and sang me some of their Spanish hymns that they use for Church and I, in turn, shared a couple in English. After some other good conversation, we returned to work on the house,
After that I met up with Jose again (who I went to the Milpa with on the first day) and he took me to go play futbol (soccer) with a large group of people. I have never really played much soccer in my life before, but this was quite fun, and I think I really love playing soccer (though I wouldn't call myself great at it yet). We played until dark, and then I returned to Julia's and German's for supper and then bed.
Friday, Day 4 in Zapote: This morning I went to a retreat that they held for the parents and god parents of the catechumens (those who are preparing to be baptized). The retreat consisted of three talks, one by Jose (same Jose as before), another by Marco Tulio (who I helped build a house with), and another by another man named German (though a different German than the one I stayed with). I found out all three of them are catechists which means they are trained lay ministers to help lead and teach the faith community, especially in the absence of a priest. It was neat to see them in action both in working with them in the fields and construction, as well as to see them in action on the faith side of things.
After the retreat was lunch and after that I went to a class of high school aged students who were studying English, and I ended up teaching them how to say the alphabet in English as well as the pronuciation of many different English words. After that I went with German (the German who I was staying with) to his Finca, which is a coffee field. After that we relaxed at their house, and shelled some red beans for supper (red beans which I helped Jose pick on Tuesday).
After supper we then walked with a group of people to a house to pray the rosary. We then returned and went to bed.
Saturday Day 5. After breakfast I left Zapote to head into Dulce Nombre with a group of young people. We piled probably around 20 people in the back of a pick up and traveled the gravel mountain roads to Dulce Nombre, to the central parish of all the little villages. There they had mass, and then followed by a day long festival which mostly consisted of a soccer tournament, where there was a team from each of the little villages (I got to play for Zapote's team...we won the first game, but lost the second game). There was also empenadas for sale, as well as juice, and cotton candy). After a long hot day of some intense soccer playing, we all went into the church to celebrate the Vigil of Pentecost (Which the first half was done by candlelight because the power went out as a storm came through just before mass started...but it came back on about halfway through). There were 24 or so children who were baptized, ranging from babies to 14 year olds. It was quite a beautiful but long (2 and half hours) liturgy. John and I then spend the night at Dulce Nombre parish, and we returned to Santa Rosa, to John's house in the morning.
I will probably be returning to Zapote on Tuesday of this week, and spend a few more days there, and I may be doing a few other various things as well. I will also spend the following week in Zapote as well.
Rumor has it, I will get to use a machete next time I am in Zapote to help them harvest sacarte (I don't know if that is spelled right) which is a type of grass they use to feed the cattle.
I have the rest of today and tomorrow off which I will probably use a good portion of that to do some reflecting, journaling, and praying, as well as doing my laundry (which takes a little longer when you do it by hand).
Peace, and God bless! Please keep the prayers up! It has been a very good but challenging couple of weeks, and the continued prayers are much appreciated and felt! Also feel free to email me and update me on all your lives. I do love hearing from all you people at home as it helps me feel a bit more connected to home. No guarantee when I will receive it or be able to respond, but I do love getting emails!
May you continue to have a Spirit-filled summer, and may God use this summer to help you grow in Him, and become more fully all that you were meant to be. Trust in His love, and be present to the beautiful people that are around you!
In His love,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Kevin Earleywine
Wow, what a week it has been! As I mentioned in my last post, I spent this past week in the aldea (small rural village) of Zapote! It was a fantastic experience, and it challenged me to constantly use my Spanish, as no one in the town spoke English!
As a lot happened I will try to briefly summarize each day in as brief and efficient way as I can (which as most of you know, I sometimes have a tendency not to be so brief, so this could end up being quite a long post)
Tuesday, Day 1 in Zapote: John dropped me off in Zapote late in the morning. The first thing I got to do was go with Jose out to the milpa (corn field) and plant corn with them, by hand. This basically consisted of taking a stick with a flat metal piece on the end, and using that to make a hole in the ground where we dropped the kernels of corn and covered back up again. Since they do it like this, they can plant cornfields on really steep hillsides.
That night I went to a meeting of an Ecclesial base community, which is a meeting where people of a certain area of the village gather together to sing, pray, and to read and discuss Scripture. It was quite beautiful, as their faith is quite vibrant and beautiful.
I then returned to the house I was staying at. The whole week I lived with a couple named Julia and German (pronounced "Hair-mon" though I am not exactly sure how it is actually spelled, that is what we will go with for now), who have two little boys, Freilin who is 5 years old and Melchizedek who is a little less than two years old. They are a very loving and beautiful family.
Wednesday, Day 2 in Zapote: After breakfast, I went with a man named Marco Tulio and worked with him and a group of men to build a cinder block house for Marco Tulio's son. I learned lots of Spanish words from Marco Tulio. I then had lunch with his family, and after words I painted a cut out of a dove for them that they wanted painted white to use for the celebration of Pentecost. After that, two of Marco Tulio's sons started teaching me the Spanish words for a bunch of different animals, which then led to me drawing them pictures of lots of animals. After that we worked on the house a little bit more and then I returned to Julia and German's house for supper. After supper a bunch of people came over to pray the rosary in Spanish and then we all walked together to their Ecclesial Base community meeting.
Thursday. Day 3 in Zapote: Again, I went to help Marco Tulio work on constructing the house, and again stayed there for lunch. After lunch, Marco Tulio played some guitar and sang me some of their Spanish hymns that they use for Church and I, in turn, shared a couple in English. After some other good conversation, we returned to work on the house,
After that I met up with Jose again (who I went to the Milpa with on the first day) and he took me to go play futbol (soccer) with a large group of people. I have never really played much soccer in my life before, but this was quite fun, and I think I really love playing soccer (though I wouldn't call myself great at it yet). We played until dark, and then I returned to Julia's and German's for supper and then bed.
Friday, Day 4 in Zapote: This morning I went to a retreat that they held for the parents and god parents of the catechumens (those who are preparing to be baptized). The retreat consisted of three talks, one by Jose (same Jose as before), another by Marco Tulio (who I helped build a house with), and another by another man named German (though a different German than the one I stayed with). I found out all three of them are catechists which means they are trained lay ministers to help lead and teach the faith community, especially in the absence of a priest. It was neat to see them in action both in working with them in the fields and construction, as well as to see them in action on the faith side of things.
After the retreat was lunch and after that I went to a class of high school aged students who were studying English, and I ended up teaching them how to say the alphabet in English as well as the pronuciation of many different English words. After that I went with German (the German who I was staying with) to his Finca, which is a coffee field. After that we relaxed at their house, and shelled some red beans for supper (red beans which I helped Jose pick on Tuesday).
After supper we then walked with a group of people to a house to pray the rosary. We then returned and went to bed.
Saturday Day 5. After breakfast I left Zapote to head into Dulce Nombre with a group of young people. We piled probably around 20 people in the back of a pick up and traveled the gravel mountain roads to Dulce Nombre, to the central parish of all the little villages. There they had mass, and then followed by a day long festival which mostly consisted of a soccer tournament, where there was a team from each of the little villages (I got to play for Zapote's team...we won the first game, but lost the second game). There was also empenadas for sale, as well as juice, and cotton candy). After a long hot day of some intense soccer playing, we all went into the church to celebrate the Vigil of Pentecost (Which the first half was done by candlelight because the power went out as a storm came through just before mass started...but it came back on about halfway through). There were 24 or so children who were baptized, ranging from babies to 14 year olds. It was quite a beautiful but long (2 and half hours) liturgy. John and I then spend the night at Dulce Nombre parish, and we returned to Santa Rosa, to John's house in the morning.
I will probably be returning to Zapote on Tuesday of this week, and spend a few more days there, and I may be doing a few other various things as well. I will also spend the following week in Zapote as well.
Rumor has it, I will get to use a machete next time I am in Zapote to help them harvest sacarte (I don't know if that is spelled right) which is a type of grass they use to feed the cattle.
I have the rest of today and tomorrow off which I will probably use a good portion of that to do some reflecting, journaling, and praying, as well as doing my laundry (which takes a little longer when you do it by hand).
Peace, and God bless! Please keep the prayers up! It has been a very good but challenging couple of weeks, and the continued prayers are much appreciated and felt! Also feel free to email me and update me on all your lives. I do love hearing from all you people at home as it helps me feel a bit more connected to home. No guarantee when I will receive it or be able to respond, but I do love getting emails!
May you continue to have a Spirit-filled summer, and may God use this summer to help you grow in Him, and become more fully all that you were meant to be. Trust in His love, and be present to the beautiful people that are around you!
In His love,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Kevin Earleywine
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Greetings everyone!
First of all, I wanted to point out, that baliadas is actually spelled baleadas (I think I am right this time...thanks also to my good friend Cody for helping point that out to me!)
It has been an exciting past couple of days!
First of all, on Friday night, after I posted my last blog John and I went out to best pizza place in Central America (so John claims, though it was pretty tasty...I do not have enough Central American pizza experience to contend John's claim, so I will defer to his authority) and we happened to run into Bishop Santos, the Bishop of Santa Rosa, and Padre Efrain, the Pastor of Dulce Nombre Parish. They sat with us and it was really great getting to know them and I am looking forward to working with them more throughout the summer.
Yesterday, John and I went out to one of the rural villages for a sector meeting (the parish is divided up into sectors, and these sectors each contain a group of villages) which happens about once a month. The meeting started with singing and then reading and discussing or Scipture. Then the meeting followed. A wide variety of topics were discussed (John helped me understand what was going on, because it was hard to follow because of there rapid speech and many people talking at once). It was great to start really meeting the people of the parish. They were very warm and welcoming.
On the way back from the meeting, we had quite the adventure. The four wheel drive on our truck went out so we had to attempt to travel mountainous gravel roads (with lots of steep inclines) with only front wheel drive... we struggled over many hills, had to back up and get a running start at a few, and some I was not sure if the truck was going to make it up...but after some stuggle and multiple attempts at some hills, perseverance triumphed and we made it all the way back to Santa Rosa with only front wheel drive (a minor miracle if you ask me, so it's encouraging to know that God is with us :) haha
Today we celebrated Mass out at the village of Banaderas (I'm not sure how to spell that) so I got to experience my first Honduran Mass. That was quite the experience and truly something beautiful! It was amazing to experience the Christ-filled life and love of the people. They were especially warm and welcoming to me and seem happy I am here, despite my slow Spanish. I am beginning to look forward to spending more time with the people in the villages.
Tuesday, I will be going out and staying in a rural viallage (the village of el Zapote) where I will stay until Saturday. Saturday, there will be a big encuentro de deportivos (basically a gathering of many youth from the parish to play sports and games...most likely futbol, or in the United States more commonly known as soccer), and following that will be the big Vigil for Pentecost, which seems is going to be a pretty big celebration! I'm looking forward to that, and I'm hoping my Spanish will greatly improve by the end of the week as I will not have John around so I will have to think and speak in Spanish constantly!
I will not be posting anything until at least next Sunday, as I will be out in the village for most of the week! I do want to thank you all for all your prayers and support already, they have been a great blessing as I can already see God at work! Know I am doing my best to pray for you as well, and I hope this summer is a time for you to pray and reflect and grow, and to experience God more fully in a deeper way!
Keep up the prayers, and I will keep you in mine!
In the Peace and Love of Christ,
Kevin
First of all, I wanted to point out, that baliadas is actually spelled baleadas (I think I am right this time...thanks also to my good friend Cody for helping point that out to me!)
It has been an exciting past couple of days!
First of all, on Friday night, after I posted my last blog John and I went out to best pizza place in Central America (so John claims, though it was pretty tasty...I do not have enough Central American pizza experience to contend John's claim, so I will defer to his authority) and we happened to run into Bishop Santos, the Bishop of Santa Rosa, and Padre Efrain, the Pastor of Dulce Nombre Parish. They sat with us and it was really great getting to know them and I am looking forward to working with them more throughout the summer.
Yesterday, John and I went out to one of the rural villages for a sector meeting (the parish is divided up into sectors, and these sectors each contain a group of villages) which happens about once a month. The meeting started with singing and then reading and discussing or Scipture. Then the meeting followed. A wide variety of topics were discussed (John helped me understand what was going on, because it was hard to follow because of there rapid speech and many people talking at once). It was great to start really meeting the people of the parish. They were very warm and welcoming.
On the way back from the meeting, we had quite the adventure. The four wheel drive on our truck went out so we had to attempt to travel mountainous gravel roads (with lots of steep inclines) with only front wheel drive... we struggled over many hills, had to back up and get a running start at a few, and some I was not sure if the truck was going to make it up...but after some stuggle and multiple attempts at some hills, perseverance triumphed and we made it all the way back to Santa Rosa with only front wheel drive (a minor miracle if you ask me, so it's encouraging to know that God is with us :) haha
Today we celebrated Mass out at the village of Banaderas (I'm not sure how to spell that) so I got to experience my first Honduran Mass. That was quite the experience and truly something beautiful! It was amazing to experience the Christ-filled life and love of the people. They were especially warm and welcoming to me and seem happy I am here, despite my slow Spanish. I am beginning to look forward to spending more time with the people in the villages.
Tuesday, I will be going out and staying in a rural viallage (the village of el Zapote) where I will stay until Saturday. Saturday, there will be a big encuentro de deportivos (basically a gathering of many youth from the parish to play sports and games...most likely futbol, or in the United States more commonly known as soccer), and following that will be the big Vigil for Pentecost, which seems is going to be a pretty big celebration! I'm looking forward to that, and I'm hoping my Spanish will greatly improve by the end of the week as I will not have John around so I will have to think and speak in Spanish constantly!
I will not be posting anything until at least next Sunday, as I will be out in the village for most of the week! I do want to thank you all for all your prayers and support already, they have been a great blessing as I can already see God at work! Know I am doing my best to pray for you as well, and I hope this summer is a time for you to pray and reflect and grow, and to experience God more fully in a deeper way!
Keep up the prayers, and I will keep you in mine!
In the Peace and Love of Christ,
Kevin
Friday, June 3, 2011
Arrival in Honduras
Greetings everyone,
I wanted to let you all know first of all that I have arrived safely in Honduras. Already it has been quite the experience. Already I have learned a lot about Honduras, its history and culture. Yesterday, John picked me up and we drove three hours from San Pedro Sula (where I flew into) to Santa Rosa de Copan, to his house, where I am now staying.
This morning was a lot of getting introduced to the city and the people. I was shown how to get to the supermarket a couple cafes, the farmers market, and to Caritas. Today I met many people who work at Caritas (Caritas is like the parish center where a lot of work for the parish is done). I met Padre Efrain who I will be working with. They were all very welcoming of me and seem glad to have me here. However, the people here speak Spanish very rapidly and I have a very hard time understanding...this is going to be a major challenge for me, learning to understand the Spanish. There are also a lot of slang words that I have to learn.
We also visited a comedor today which provides lunch to young children. We helped serve them arroz con leche (rice in milk) and baldias (I think that is how it is spelled...it is basically refried beans, cheese, cream, and sometimes meat in a tortilla...they're quite popular around here).
The next few days and next week will be quite packed and intense and busy. Tomorrow we are going out to one of the sectors for a meeting which is about an hour drive away. Sunday there is a big mass with lots people. there are other things scheduled as well, but I don't remember off the top of my head.
Next week, though, John is planning on taking me out to one of the rural villages (aldeas, I think they're called) and leave me there for a few days; This will be quite an intense experience as I will be very challenged to use and improve my Spanish as I will not have anyone there with me who speaks English. I am excited for this experience but a little nervous as I know it will challenge me to grow and to step outside my comfort zone.
I have been reflecting on this idea, that I need to put myself out there and look foolish sometimes, and go through the struggles, because it is through these struggles that I am going to grow. It is very easy for me to just smile and nod and to let John do the talking. I was reflecting on Christ's love, and His absolute self-giving. He gave Himself completely for us, risking total rejection, risking facing ridicule, but yet He entered fully into humanity, gave Himself, in absolute love, absolute self-giving...He did not bottle Himself up inside. I am realizing that I have to trust in this love and put myself out there as well, to give myself, by attempting to speak Spanish more even if I screw up and look foolish. We must not be afraid to put ourselves out there. Pray for me, that I may be filled with humble courage, to embrace the struggles, to step outside my comfort zone, to not let fear of uncomfortable situations hold me back, but that I may trust fully in the Love of Christ, to let Him work through me, even in uncomfortable situations. Also, I have realized that if all are in His image then to encounter Him more fully, I must struggle to encounter Him in all people, even people who speak a foreign language from me
Let us not put the Light of Christ under a bushel basket but let it shine through us in all situations. And let us search for His light in all people, and help them to discover His light as well, and to let His love be revealed to them more fully. I have a lot of learning and growing to do, and it will be challenging, but I will trust in Him, in the God who is the God of ALL nations, of ALL languages, of ALL people, and who made ALL people in His image.
May God's light, love, and peace be with you all!
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Kevin Earleywine
I wanted to let you all know first of all that I have arrived safely in Honduras. Already it has been quite the experience. Already I have learned a lot about Honduras, its history and culture. Yesterday, John picked me up and we drove three hours from San Pedro Sula (where I flew into) to Santa Rosa de Copan, to his house, where I am now staying.
This morning was a lot of getting introduced to the city and the people. I was shown how to get to the supermarket a couple cafes, the farmers market, and to Caritas. Today I met many people who work at Caritas (Caritas is like the parish center where a lot of work for the parish is done). I met Padre Efrain who I will be working with. They were all very welcoming of me and seem glad to have me here. However, the people here speak Spanish very rapidly and I have a very hard time understanding...this is going to be a major challenge for me, learning to understand the Spanish. There are also a lot of slang words that I have to learn.
We also visited a comedor today which provides lunch to young children. We helped serve them arroz con leche (rice in milk) and baldias (I think that is how it is spelled...it is basically refried beans, cheese, cream, and sometimes meat in a tortilla...they're quite popular around here).
The next few days and next week will be quite packed and intense and busy. Tomorrow we are going out to one of the sectors for a meeting which is about an hour drive away. Sunday there is a big mass with lots people. there are other things scheduled as well, but I don't remember off the top of my head.
Next week, though, John is planning on taking me out to one of the rural villages (aldeas, I think they're called) and leave me there for a few days; This will be quite an intense experience as I will be very challenged to use and improve my Spanish as I will not have anyone there with me who speaks English. I am excited for this experience but a little nervous as I know it will challenge me to grow and to step outside my comfort zone.
I have been reflecting on this idea, that I need to put myself out there and look foolish sometimes, and go through the struggles, because it is through these struggles that I am going to grow. It is very easy for me to just smile and nod and to let John do the talking. I was reflecting on Christ's love, and His absolute self-giving. He gave Himself completely for us, risking total rejection, risking facing ridicule, but yet He entered fully into humanity, gave Himself, in absolute love, absolute self-giving...He did not bottle Himself up inside. I am realizing that I have to trust in this love and put myself out there as well, to give myself, by attempting to speak Spanish more even if I screw up and look foolish. We must not be afraid to put ourselves out there. Pray for me, that I may be filled with humble courage, to embrace the struggles, to step outside my comfort zone, to not let fear of uncomfortable situations hold me back, but that I may trust fully in the Love of Christ, to let Him work through me, even in uncomfortable situations. Also, I have realized that if all are in His image then to encounter Him more fully, I must struggle to encounter Him in all people, even people who speak a foreign language from me
Let us not put the Light of Christ under a bushel basket but let it shine through us in all situations. And let us search for His light in all people, and help them to discover His light as well, and to let His love be revealed to them more fully. I have a lot of learning and growing to do, and it will be challenging, but I will trust in Him, in the God who is the God of ALL nations, of ALL languages, of ALL people, and who made ALL people in His image.
May God's light, love, and peace be with you all!
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Kevin Earleywine
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Introduction
Hello all family and friends,
We (Kevin Earleywine and Jarrett Wendt - seminarians of the Archdiocese of Dubuque) will be traveling to Honduras this summer, to the parish of Dulce Nombre de Maria in the Diocese of Santa Rosa in the region of Copan. We will be doing such things as:
-Pastoral visits to rural communities
-Working with lay pastoral workers in these communities and aiding in evangelization and Sunday Celebrations
-Visiting parish projects (such as major agricultural projects)
-Accompanying the pastor for Masses and celebrations
-Participating in Church Base Communites
-Participating in parish council and zonal church councils
Kevin will be departing for Honduras on June 2nd and Jarrett will be joining him later at the end of June. Both of us will be returning around August 10th.
In prepartation for our trip as well as throughout our trip we will be periodically posting updates on how and what we are doing as well as some of our reflections on this experience.
We ask you all for your prayers, for we need them. Prayer is the most important thing you can give us and the best way to support us, for it is His work, not ours. No prayer is in vain. Please pray that we may serve with all the love and humility of Our Dearly Beloved Lord Jesus Christ. Pray that our hearts and minds may be open to all God has to teach us, and that we will have the trust and surrender for Him to work through us and show us all He wishes to reveal to us. Pray for the parish of Dulce Nombre de Maria, and all the people of Honduras whom they serve.
Peace and God bless you all,
Kevin Earleywine and Jarrett Wendt
We (Kevin Earleywine and Jarrett Wendt - seminarians of the Archdiocese of Dubuque) will be traveling to Honduras this summer, to the parish of Dulce Nombre de Maria in the Diocese of Santa Rosa in the region of Copan. We will be doing such things as:
-Pastoral visits to rural communities
-Working with lay pastoral workers in these communities and aiding in evangelization and Sunday Celebrations
-Visiting parish projects (such as major agricultural projects)
-Accompanying the pastor for Masses and celebrations
-Participating in Church Base Communites
-Participating in parish council and zonal church councils
Kevin will be departing for Honduras on June 2nd and Jarrett will be joining him later at the end of June. Both of us will be returning around August 10th.
In prepartation for our trip as well as throughout our trip we will be periodically posting updates on how and what we are doing as well as some of our reflections on this experience.
We ask you all for your prayers, for we need them. Prayer is the most important thing you can give us and the best way to support us, for it is His work, not ours. No prayer is in vain. Please pray that we may serve with all the love and humility of Our Dearly Beloved Lord Jesus Christ. Pray that our hearts and minds may be open to all God has to teach us, and that we will have the trust and surrender for Him to work through us and show us all He wishes to reveal to us. Pray for the parish of Dulce Nombre de Maria, and all the people of Honduras whom they serve.
Peace and God bless you all,
Kevin Earleywine and Jarrett Wendt
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