Hello everyone,
I hope this finds you well. I arrived in Quito on Wednesday morning and am settling in and getting ready to head out to other locations.
I hope to have more frequent updates, so I don’t have to write a giant one after the visit!
MORE ABOUT LIFE AND MISSION IN ECUADOR
Being back in Boston for so long, it can be hard to keep sight of the overall mission. So coming back now and then to reflect is a necessity and a reminder:
“For the vision is a witness for the appointed time, a testimony to the end; it will not disappoint. If it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late.”
As I’ve been mentioning over the last year plus, I’ve taken important steps in bringing together the spiritual and social/language/cultural aspects of the mission into a practical vision. It’s continued to be a challenge to move forward with this with the work busyness I currently have. The mission effort itself is a lot of work, and since these are new concepts that aren’t really recognized, there’s a need not only to generate and present examples of the vision, but earn confidence at the same time. And at the root is my spirituality and life in Christ. So, my focus remains on that as a first priority. I hope to soon be posting more invitations and short reflections related to the journey, on the website here aside from these updates.
Although there are great practical possibilities for this vision in Boston, the root is the relationship with Christ rooted in the mission both in Boston and in Ecuador. There is a spirituality here, that relies on encounter and God’s grace.
“Amen, amen, I say to you, a son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees his father doing; for what he does, his son will do also.” (Jn 5:19)
So, as I’ve been mentioning, there continues a constant looking and listening, and development of relationship of people and activities in both Ecuador and Boston, and a going back and forth.
“But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.”
CURRENT EVENTS IN ECUADOR
Crime
Elevated crime from drug trafficking gangs still continues, but still primarily only in certain areas on the coast. The current conservative government continues in a “war” on crime and narcotrafficking, though it’s not clear that things are either getting better or worse. People are divided on how to proceed politically, as many want results like Nayib Bukele has gotten in El Salvador with a power leadership, while others criticize the current government as violating civil rights and the people. It’s mostly split along conservative versus progressive lines.
The referendum in November to once again allow foreign military bases was voted down by the electorate. It would have returned a US military presence to the coastal city of Manta, where it existed until 2015. This was also mostly around political party lines.
Curfews
There have been stages of curfews in the country around areas more affected by narcocrime. There isn’t one presently, but one could be called while I’m here, though the hours wouldn’t directly affect me.
ON THE WAY
On the flight to Panama, I sat next to two Haitian American men, and we had great conversation for the entire 5 hour flight. One of the men is a nurse who is a Newton franchise owner of A Place at Home (https://aplaceathome.com/newton-ma/), which provides all around support for senior care at home in the Newton area. I've never had such a long flight conversation before.
In Panama, there's a quiet chape for prayer. I remember stopping in this for the first time in 2012 on my way to Mexico City and the Basilica of Guadalupe. I stop here for prayer every time I come through Panama airport.
I arrived in the early morning hours in Quito. I'd be staying at my friend Rosa's house. Rosa lives with her son Mateo and owns a Spanish school that hosts learners from Europe and North America https://vidaverde.com/. I ordered an Uber to get to her house, and after I got in the car, I realized that I don't have any cell data, and that I forgot to call Rosa while I had WiFi. So, at one in the morning, I was off in an Uber with someone I didn't know for a 40-minute drive, and no cell signal.
I was a little uncomfortable and so had my antenna up. The young man was a Venezuelan immigrant, and I kept the conversation going. Conversation about Venezueal revealed decidedly conservative political views, which gave me hope that he wasn't into crime. (Not that a progressive would be either, but I don't think someone would be getting into partisan politics if they're going to kidnap or rob you!) Near Quito, he decided to take a detour, saying that the programmed road can be dangerous at night. Fortunately, I've been sort of on top of things in Ecuador, and I did remember seeing news last year of a carjack that happened on that very road in the wee hours of the morning. That steep road is actually a dark, narrow and winding one, a prime target for those types of things. So, I was a little nervous, but if I didn't know that reality, I could have gotten a little reactive.
In the end, for a little more money because of the detour, he got me to Rosa's and he actually waited until Rosa came out and I was inside with the door closed. I gave him extra on the tip.
In Quito
“Thus says the LORD:
Just as from the heavens
the rain and snow come down
and do not return there
till they have watered the earth,
making it fertile and fruitful,
giving seed to the one who sows
and bread to the one who eats,
so shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
my word shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.”
Staying
I stay in a private room at Rosa's, where students in the school would typically stay. We all meals together if we're around. Sometimes there are games at night, and Rosa is huge fan of those, especially liking to win!
Rosa is from Chontal, and I know most of her family, several of whom still live in Chontal, including her parents, who are cared for by her sister Susana. Susana had been very active in the church when I was first arriving, and in fact, she was instrumental in working with the priest then, Pd Julian, in getting funds - including my own - for the new church.
Susana and me in the ribbon cutting on the inauguration of the church in Chontal.
One of her sisters who also lives in Quito, Cristina, also stopped by to drop off her son Jeremy, who is 13, to stay for a night. I remember when Jeremy was born, though I haven't been so in touch with them since they moved to Quito around that time. Cristina'a daughter, Emily, I knew as a little girl. In fact, at the church dedication, I got a picture with Emily after the Mass. Then, another time around Christmas 2017:
Emily is now 19, and finishing high school soon. I haven't seen her in years, but maybe when there are fiestas in Chontal. Often during fiestas, relatives and family members who are living in other parts come back and you get to see them.
Well, I got Jeremy interested in the magic card tricks, and even taught him one or two. He had some fun with them. I developed one trick into a cool one I can use in Chontal that touches on death and resurrection and Christ, it'll be fun and funny.
Rosa was one of the first people I knew along with Pd Julian when I first came to Ecuador back in 2010.
Now, like good 50-somethings, our conversations tend to gravitate around health! Fortunately for my own health, she is focused on healthy foods that support my own diet, so that's a big help. That's usually not always the case here in Ecuador.
Now, there are several foods that I always miss a lot in the states. Patacones, the breakfasts, the hornado national plate in the mountains, and also the encebollado national plate from the coat. So, we did get out to a restaurant to eat encebollado - fantastic! A stew filled tons of albacore, along with onions and other ingredients, with popcorn to go with it.
Encebollado. Cebolla is Spanish for “onion”. It’s essentially “onioned”.
But there may be nothing quite like humitas and coffee. Humitas are like tamales made of ground corn with cheese inside. When you put that with coffee, in the late afternoon, it's a match made in heaven. It's hard to describe, just the way it goes together is phenomenal.
Humita con cafe
Humitas and tamales. Humitas are wrapped in their own (yellowish) corn husks, while tamales are wrapped in green leaves from the achira tree (and sometimes in plantain leaves instead, closer to the coast.)
And after that, I added a quimbolito, which is similar but sweet and angel-cake like, and more like a desert. Just fantastic. Maybe these aren't quite the healthiest foods for a diet, but they are the foods I miss when I back in Boston!
Quimbolito, wrapped in achira leaves.
Language School
As I mentioned, Rosa has a Spanish school that I always visit when I'm there. I know the teachers, and Fernando I've known since my first times there 12 years ago. For several months, he gave me weekly tutoring in learning the Spanish subjunctive. He has a lively personality and is talented and humorous, and so it's always a lot of back and forth of laughs and a good time!
When I arrived, a bunch of students were finishing up, so there was a despedida. I took the position of photos and videos and supporting the music, so the students would have a good experience. There were a few people there from Germany, and also a group of people from Harper Community College near Chicago. Humitas are served (no canelazo with alcohol this time!), and we all sing a few basic Ecuadorian / Andean songs in basic Spanish, while Fernando plays the zampoña and the guitar. It was a great time, and for me a great chance to be with folks and the school environment again!
For more videos and pics, you can go here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/G4SNmFZJsSNh8o6r5
Visit to the Panecillo
What is maybe the central man-made landmark in Quito is a large statue of the Virgin Mary with wings stepping on and chaining a serpent. The Virgin of Quito (among other names) sits on a large bun-shaped mound that rises up in the middle of the city, called the Panecillo. It comes from the word for either the oven that's used to make bread buns, or the bun itself. Until the statue was initiated in the 50's, the Panecillo had historically always risen up as the southern limit of Quito. By the time the statue was finished 20 years later, the settlement had pushed over the large hill, and now has expanded as far to the south as to the north. The Panecillo now sits in the center of the city, and the Virgin looks to the north.
What’s amazing is that, in all my time here, I had never visited the panecillo! That changed this time.
But the Virgin isn't just looking toward the whole city, nor just the historic city center. She is looking directly at the Basilica del Voto Nacional. The basilica was constructed in 1885 to honor the country's consecration to the sacred heart of Jesus, its "national vow".
10 years ago, after the Ecuadorian earthquake, I went with Fr. Dario, who I was in the seminary with, to visit the basilica while on our way back from a relief trip. From the basilica, you can see the Virgin of Quito looking straight at you.
Above the main doors of the basilica are windows in the shape of a cross and a heart. Light enters in a special way.
When you go to the main altar, you can see the image of the consecration of Ecuador to the Sacred Heart. This image has always resonated with and accompanied me in my mission.
Well, if you go to the altar and turn toward the main door, you can see the heart window clearly
And if look through the window from the altar, filtering out the camera light effects, you can see … the Virgin of the Panecillo!
She is looking right at the heart of Jesus in the Eucharist, and vice-versa.
The City
The sector of Quito where Rosa lives is called La Floresta, and it's one of the most upscale artistic and creative parts of the city. The mural artwork is always cool to see:
The streets in the neighborhood are under construction, and have been for a few months, so a lot of movement is disrupted. I bought some natural soap and shampoo from a shop of owned by Ecuadorian-Iranians. They have to keep their door closed all day so that the dust doesn't get in and get all over everything. One restaurant owner said their business has gone down over 50%. So everyone is hoping the construction passes fast, while wishing there was more planning to keep business from being lost.
Life
In Quito, I got a new phone number to get internet data on my phone. When I'm on WiFi, my phone works exactly as it does in the US, as my T-Mobile SIM connects over WiFi. Off of WiFi, though, I have no phone or data/internet unless I do something. There are eSIMS you can buy over the internet for your travel, but I save money by getting a SIM at a Claro center, which is in a mall not too far from Rosa's place. I spoke with the agent there about the best way to get data while in the country for 6 weeks, and then not lose the number when I leave. If the number is dormant for 3 months, you lose it. It's not a huge deal, but there's no way to keep the number / eSIM for a return a year later - I have to keep coming back and getting a new number. The setup is $6, and the 12GB for 30 days is $11. It's a lot cheaper than getting a travel eSIM over the internet.
I also started a semi-retreat phase of my stay. I haven't had a retreat in a long, long time, and it's overdue. My semi-retreat is to spend parts of days in downtime, and that's what I've been doing since Quito. I'm not off on big adventures, more using this time for retreat and catching up with people, places, and my own life and organization.
There's an adoration chapel in a parish nearby, that I've visited over the years. One day I realized I had lost my hat, so I was looking to buy a new one. When I returned to the chapel the next day, there was the hat. Thankfully people just left it there for the owner to find again!
One day I was coming from a store and noticed a woman carrying a lot of heavy shopping bags along the same route. I asked her if she needed a hand, and accepted the help. Along the way Cecilia shared her story of leaving the province of El Oro on the coast where the narco crime has surged, and moving to Quito 4 months ago. She was taking 6 pills a day to handle the anxiety, and her son goes to school in Quito and convinced her to come. She explained how it started there with escopolamina (Scopolamine), a drug that comes from a bell-shaped flower la campana or Angel's Trumpet, which needs to be treated carefully when around or handling (They are here in Mindo nearby, and I remember a few years ago getting to know it growing at a friend's house). These flowers have traditional use in rituals and medicines because of their psychtropic effects that cause a dream-like compliance and, if not careful, can lead to severe reactions and death in higher doses. Escopolamina is also known as "truth serum", and so is used by criminals to drug a person and take advantage of them, either physical/sexual assault or through navigating their property (cell phone apps for financial gain, or going to an ATM with a card). Once drugged, the person becomes disoriented and compliant, and later has little to no memory of the event. Cecilia described these druggings as part of the first movements of the narcocriminals in her area, included in kidnappings, extortions, and killings. She also mentioned business extortion in the beginnings: pamphlets left in doors of businesses with demands for pay for protection. As I was handing her things to her in her doorway, she described how the same things are starting in the south of Quito. And even locally there in La Floresta: very sadly, a young woman attending college nearby was found left in a ditch deceased after being kidnapped and drugged with escopolamina, though it's uncertain if the drug was the cause of death. Cecilia is happy to be there, but she finished with a tear in her eye and a sadness, "I miss my pueblo so much."
An Angel’s Trumpet tree in Mindo.
I went to a Mass in the Franciscan church in La Floresta, and after the Mass, a woman was allowed to speak at the ambo and ask people for financial help for medical treatment for her daughter. I spoke with her at length after the Mass, and was able to pass along the $25 that someone gave me for our fundraiser after-the-fact. Edelina is a widow with two daughters with disabilities, and her 17-year-old's is much more severe. She requires constant care and advanced medical attention, including the recent removal of part of her intestinal tract. I spoke with one of the Franciscans if I could be in touch about working through them to participate in supporting her, and when I return to Quito I'm aiming to get the necessary info to do that.
In Mindo
The Hotel
In Mindo, Isidro and his family are still running the hotel where I'm staying, so it's good to re-connect. Liam is now a year bigger, and Zoe, who suffers from complications from a brain injury and infection, is doing better - she's not as much in and out of the hospital for treatment these days. She actually smiles a good deal:
The hotel industry isn't going so well here, so finances are still tight.
Camila is Zoe and Liam's cousin who comes after school. We did some magic tricks in the past and we got back to doing some tricks again.
Even more, Camila and Liam were excited to see the stuffed little owls that I brought down, Owlette and Percy. That started a whole introduction to all their stuffed animal toys. Since meeting Owlette last year, Camila got her own beanie toy, a penguin, that she carries around home in a kangaroo pouch, lol. It's a cute time, and I enjoy making storylines to help them play.
The World Cup final was a big gathering, and a large group of hotel guests arrived at game time, too, so there was a big crowd.
The guests are from a private Ecuadorian charity that brings dentists to remote places for 4 days during the week. I spoke with them about possibilities in Chontal and its surrounding area, so I'll be checking that out when I go to Chontal soon. It's worth exploring and at least making the connection for now.
Visiting
It's been good to get out and visit people I haven't seen in a long time. A number of artisan vendors, Casa de Piedra, and various other people here and there that I bump into and catch up with. There's always a new person to catch up with once I'm out, so if I need to get anything really done, I have to navigate a bit! But the card tricks, especially with the artisan vendors, remains popular. I have some new ones, so it's fun.
I'm also checking out artisan clothes and gifts to bring back, especially from friends from Otavalo, an indigenous center of Ecuador. I'm collecting all the pictures here, you can take a look:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Lwnf4HQgWWPYormWA
I'm dusting off the Kichwa and learning a few new expression, while also doing some basic English. Segundo and his wife and kids are close by and I see them a lot. His brother Luis has a storefront up the street, and we catch up too. He used to be in a music group that traveled, so he likes to play music on the quena when things are slow in the store:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/3dJMNh85j1HC4Xeg9
Catching Up
A big focus of mine since I finished the schoolyear and I'm not returning to teaching is "catching up". It's a big theme: catching up on everything that's behind, overdue, need tending to. I thoroughly cleaned my apartment in the 10 days before leaving for Ecuador. And since coming here, I've been updating tech and financial things, particularly in security. So, that has taken a lot of time, getting my phone and accounts in a secure state in my time here in Ecuador, especially since safety moves a little more to the front of things these days here. I'm finished with those steps, and this writeup was the next one! I've wanted to get all these things done at the start of my time, and it's of course taken a little longer.
Food
Since I reshaped my diet in 2026, I've been shopping for foods I can integrate and cook with. So far I've been eating OK here in the hotel, but I'll be cooking a main meal here soon. I have some ingredients scoped out. Right outside grows lemongrass to make teas:
Nature
Of course, Mindo is a natural paradise, it's been so wonderful getting out into nature. The other day I was walking along a road and heard a red squirrel squakking because I was close. Then I turned and just caught a toucan flying from a neighboring tree to another. They do keep hidden, but I was able to watch him for a little while.
You can see as the road crosses this little stream, there is a bamboo bridge on the side for foot crossing without boots. There’s always a way through obstacles:
The rivers are beautiful, and I have my eyes on a new little river pool to bathe in.
Every morning the parrots are squawking at 7am. And around 9 or 10, the toucans start. You're not going to sleep in here too much these days!
Adventures
I went out with Liam on an adventure yesterday, to get him out of the house. We walked a whole ton, him with his little monopatina, one-footed scooter. We got some candies from a store, walked around bridge and river, and then headed over to a large river area where people dip. He got some rocks, and then we went back. He's 6 with unlimited energy!
I've been back to the retreat center and Nazareno Vega's family. I bought some of their dense, high-nutrition natural breads from them, too. I get out here to pray once in a while.
Here you can take a virtual walk into the retreat area, all the way into the chapel:
I get to see come cool bug stuff, too. Below you can see the giant flying grasshoppers. They’re harmless, but I remember from experience many years ago, if one lands on your shirt, you just have to wait until it decides to leave! Here is video of an amazing spider-hunting wasp dragging its prey (if you want to see the conclusion, click here), and another video here of a long, long line of army ants on an attack. And since the biting no-see-ums are out in full force, I sacrificed my arms getting the videos!
Giant flying grasshopper. Cabello del diablo
The no-see-ums are going to town these days. I got these while filming the ants. Glad I have my hydrocortisone cream.
Next Up
I plan to go to Chontal from Monday to Monday. Friday will be the inauguration of the schoolyard roof, and Saturday is the month's mind Mass for a special person in Chontal.
ONGOING MINISTRIES & PROJECTS
INTERNATIONAL / INTERCULTURAL (ECUADOR - BOSTON )
Into the Waters: An International Immersion Visit & Retreat
LISTENING/LEARNING
ALM: Spiritual Reflections Blog and Books
Spiritual Reflection Learning Videos:
SPIRITUAL REFLECTION WORKSHOPS
Health
I’m feeling the best I’ve felt in probably a year. My blood pressure is under control, my hip only bothers me a little, my weight is down from diet control, and the digestive tract problem I was wrestling with for so long is responding very well to the recent treatment I had, though I have to keep travel limited. This means that I’ll be visiting Chontal and Puerto Quito, but probably won’t get to Otavalo or any other place during this visit. I feel very good, and am starting more exercises up.
Financials
There are no significant changes in the B2B financial situation, except that it’s been dormant. The school in Boston and other commitments has kept me busy, but I have more availability outside of school now. I’m hoping to offer more the pronunciation course and spiritual/vocation workshops, along with communion growing.
Click here to see the Financials.
Other Stuff
I added a lot different pictures above, and I hope to have more photos of odds and ends to share in an upcoming update!
Reflections & Vision
I've been staying at Rosa’s place and the Spanish school when I get to Ecuador off and on for over 12 years. And the experiences with the students are always a treasure.
People come and have a unique experience learning language and also culture. There are day and weekend trips to various tourist and cultural locations, so it's a whole immersion experience.
At the end of their time, there is often a despedida. The last classes end just before lunch, and then everyone - teachers, staff, students - goes to the roof deck under the equatorial sun for some traditional food and sing-a-long, and then some final pictures of the closure. The students are wrapping up their first experience of language and culture in Ecuador. It's the capstone of a unique experience for them.
So, I'm invited in, and I help out singing and playing music, getting the tables and chairs ready, serving food, keeping the mood jovial and fun, all that stuff. And this time, I made sure to get a lot of video recording and pictures.
Afterwards, a few of walked up the street to get a bigger lunch, and one of the students thanked me for taking so many videos and pictures. I said, "You know, this is your first experience, and you're never going to have a first time again. It's unique." And now they have videos and pictures to capture the memories to always have on hand.
That's true in life.
First time experiences are incredibly special and moving. They are true treasures.
Your first day of school.
First job.
First kiss.
And you'll never have them again.
But in memories, they become treasures that keep on giving.
That's why we celebrate birthdays. Or, originally it was that!
That's why we celebrate anniversaries.
That's why, in the Mass, we go back to Gospels and first traditions.
To go through our memories back to the beginning, the first time.
And it becomes a treasure that keeps on giving.
When we listen to God, He is going to take us back to beginnings. Because God is our beginning, and it's there that we meet Him. Jesus always takes us back to beginnings.
To our family of origin, our childhood, all our firsts.
You'll never have them again.
But in memories, they are treasures that keep on giving.
If you feel called inside to return to beginnings in your life, it's important to know that that's where God calls to, and where you can meet Him.
Beginnings are truly unique treasures.
And with memories, they become treasures that keep on giving.
For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes. (1 Cor 11:23-26)
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The Spanish school is in a nice, hip type of neighborhood in Quito, La Floresta. So, a priority for the city is to keep those neighborhoods nice and up to date, and that means it's the season for street repairs.
Large swaths of the neighborhood are dug up and turned into dirt. Machines and workers work throughout the day, and the streets are closed off at night with mesh fencing. Sidewalk paths are re-routed, and businesses struggle to leave their doors open because of the dust and dirt. Everyone complains.
And it's been going on for a few months.
And walking with Rosa and friends to go to lunch one day, one had to take a few detours and of course came the complaining. And then she said, "I have hope that the streets one day will be finished."
Why does she have hope?
Because she's seen it before.
And right in the next block was a section of the street with fresh blacktop laid down.
An example right before our eyes.
Jesus' life in the Gospels is a whole trajectory.
Coming down in love. Living with all the messy reality of life. Going into death. Rising out of death. And finally, ascending again.
It's a map for us to give us hope for being in the messy reality of life, wherever we're at.
For finally going into death.
The whole person of Jesus is an example right before our eyes.
To give us hope that someday, our lives will all be finished as something wonderful.
When your life is being broken apart and dug up. When it's loud and dirty and messy, and old habits are broken apart with inconvenience after inconvenience, and there's plenty of reasons to complain, remember that your life is under construction.
And look to Jesus and his life.
To give hope that one day, it'll be finished and a wonderful thing to behold.
To have an example right before your eyes.
But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead came also through a human being. For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life, but each one in proper order: Christ the firstfruits; then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ. (1 Cor 15:20-23)
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You may notice a lot of green in the pictures I’ve shared here. That also comes from a lot of rain. It rains every day in the rain season here in Ecuador, though it usually waits until late morning to mid afternoon to start. Rain is obviously what gives all the plants life, by seeping deep into the soil and reaching the roots of plants. Wind or sun or feet don’t reach all the way down to the roots. Just water and air.
Rain seeps down and reaches the roots.
Jesus spent 30 years of his life just being in the life and culture of his family and people. It’s there that gave him the intimacy and closeness needed so that when he began his ministry, his words and actions seeped deep into the heart and reached roots.
My time in mission isn’t in blowing wind across the landscape or shining a sun on people and their realities. You won’t see me giving talks or recruiting people or starting activities that change others. It’s not in tilling the land and helping make more fruit, making projects that advance people’s jobs and careers. Mission is really in seeping into life and culture here, below the surface.
Reaching the roots.
Because God’s Word seeps deep into the heart.
Thus says the LORD: Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it. (is 55:10-11)
“Come, follow me.”
Closing
Feel free to comment or reach out anytime.
I'll post again when it's time.
May God bless us all,
Jerome