Hello, I’ve been able to put together another update after a month or so. Enjoy, and have a great 4th of July!
Return Flight to Boston
My return flight to Boston with Copa Airlines - a rescheduling of my original canceled flight back in April - was canceled. August or September was offered as a replacement (going through Panama and Los Angeles!). So, I ended up buying a new, one-way itinerary with American Airlines for Jul 11 for $400. The first flight leaves at 4:20am EST from Quito to Miami, with a 5-hour layover in Miami. The second leg from Miami to Boston has high delay and cancelation rates. So, I'm scheduled to arrive in Boston around 5pm on July 11, but if the 2nd leg got bumped to the next flight, I'd get in around 11pm. That would be a 24-hour trip.
I'll be 'moving' to Quito either 1 or 3 days beforehand to get some stability to handle last-minute changes. It's about 3-4 hours from Chontal to the center of Quito where I'll stay for a day (or few) with a friend Rosa who owns a Spanish school there. She'll be able to drive me to the airport at about 11:30pm to begin the flight process. In all, it'll be about a 3-5 day affair. And that's if things don't get canceled in some way…
I've got several masks and hand gel for the journey. I'm also aiming to get non-perishable food to have for the flight itinerary (energy bars if possible).
I'll have in hand an authorization of mobility from the Ecuadorian government so I can get private transportation from friends for my flight. Taxis are available, but private transport is preferred. Currently, people can drive on certain days without a problem according to their license plate number, but on an off day, I would need those documents and the driver would need a safe-passage document. So we'll have those for certain instances and possibilities. (It's also possible, though not probable, that stricter restrictions return, and we would need those documents for any day - plus another document requesting safe passage for me from the US Embassy.)
Happenings in Chontal
House living
There is still no virus yet here in Chontal, though there are a few documented cases in the entire zone. People don't want the bus services to start or visitors to come - they want to keep the virus out completely. The idea that is often mentioned is the chicken flu: there's a chicken respiratory illness that, when it arrives, takes out a whole population within a day. That's the idea that haunts folks here.
Yet, here in the pueblo, people are leaving their homes and socializing in a variety of ways, all without masks. I use a mask when in close proximity of people I don't live with (we share space with a few neighbors - many are family here). However, there's a great deal of precaution when it comes to people coming from outside the pueblo or zone, and there are still roadblocks.
My living in the house continues much as before. The family with kids has left, and though I miss the kids, I also have more privacy and time! I wash my own gym clothes by hand each day:
I spend time in the parish house alone using the internet many days. This reduces the strain on the house, while also for me opening better bandwidth and giving a change of scenery and more privacy.
Ministry
The priest continues to celebrate Mass in a small room in the house next to ours with a microphone that broadcasts through a loudspeaker on the rooftop. I share the reflection / homily on every other Sunday. So, it really fulfills the invitation of Christ:
"What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops." (Mt 10:27)
I also now and then visit some of the households most in need to listen and accompany and see how everything is.
Special needs
I was able to get more cash to have on hand for my journey back to the States and also to be able to assist some people here. Cash is what is most needed here, and in the cities as well. Maybe everywhere. People here are agricultural, so there are a lot of fruits and legumbres and vegetables and such. Beans and corn are the most grown, along with banana, yucca, orange and lime, and others. However, there is no more market for selling products, so cash isn't coming in. Cash is needed to buy anything that's not grown, as well as essential things like rice that are not grown here.
There's more movement though to start planting a broader variety of foods so that there's less dependence on buying (and more availability of organic foods). If the people can unify in that, I think it's a great idea. People are trying out different new plantings. However, like coming up with a vaccine for Covid, that takes some time and experimenting.
In any case, there's always a need for cash. So, I've been able to get some more cash. (I've found a way to do this by electronically sending money to someone else's account in a major Ecuadorian bank, that then gets transferred to their local account in the credit union in the neighboring village, where it can be withdrawn and then given to me. The digital part costs $10, and I pay the 'intermediary' another $10.) So I can now give away about $260 in total among a variety of households. $20 to $80 isn't a huge amount, but it makes a difference in each house.
Internet
Schools are all online for now, and classes just began in June. Some families have needed help getting what they need for internet access, which is typically getting it privately for their homes. It costs $20 a month for 4Mbps upload and download (for those who are interested in those things). $30 gets you 5Mbps. In the States, it's not hard to find 100Mbps for that money. So, it's a big cost that's necessary for kids to do their studies.
I've set the church internet to have a guest network open without a password from 6am to 7pm every day. That prevents any nighttime gathering around the church and parish house, which are not being used these days except for my daytime visits. (By the way, sunrise and sunset vary only within a 20-minute range throughout the year - around 6:15 - 6:30.)
I gave away an extra router to the family next to the church, who rent and don't have their own land for planting. They also have access to the free church internet in the days.
I also made a video guide for households to learn how to manage their internet router, for the benefit of sharing with others, protecting their own privacy, and their kids' use.
So, sharing what I can to support the kids and their families during a stressful time of change.
Ecuador Overall
Overall, Ecuador is experiencing a financial crisis, though people are not yet in serious social unrest. There is always the possibility that could grow in the coming months. Guayaquil was on the news back in April as being a disaster, but just today was in the Wall Street Journal as a model of recovery. They wrote that it's the first city in the developing world to be hit hard and recover.
The situation with virus cases is not as dire is it is in neighboring countries Peru, Colombia, and Brazil, which are all experiencing strong waves. It would make sense that those wave would leak into Ecuador, however one wonders whether the strict isolation approach keeps those waves at bay. This chart shows how Ecuador, though starting in a worse condition, has improved while the neighbors have been experiencing increases:
Other B2B happenings
Completing Food in the Desert
I've been working gradually on completing a few more videos for Food in the Desert, having to so with the Rock at Peter's confession and the Good Shepherd. I'm not sure if I'll finish before I leave!
A Spirituality of Equality
The equality situation in the States spurred me to start to put some of my social Gospel thoughts to media. I'd been considering writing a book for some time, but now I decided for the short term to make a series of videos. I've finished and uploaded the videos - all that's left is to provide descriptions and ways to translate (YoutTube's auto subtitling isn't bad, but not sure if it works well enough.)
In any case, I will be publishing those after I finish the descriptions. Each video is shot on location related to the theme I talk about, and we go from animals to mountains to rivers and bridges to fruit trees, and even the cemetery. I really like the work and am glad to share it. I will post when I'm done.
Tree of Life workshop
I'm continuing to keep the Tree of Life workshop on the table, and will be considering how to move it forward after (IF) I get back to the States.
Pandemic Experience Retreat
I've been thinking a bit about forming a short retreat / workshop for people to bring their pandemic experience to. More on that if / when it develops when I get back
Gathering testimonials
Many people have generously shared their feedback with me about the spiritual reflections on A Living Monstrance and the 3 published books of those reflections. I'm very grateful for their feedback, and hope to add it into wherever I might publicize the books after I get back. Thank you again to everyone who has helped with that! And if you'd like to share anything, feel free to send me a note.
Other workshops: Immigration retreat, Young Mothers, etc.
I also have the immigration workshop in mind in returning to Boston, as well as the young mothers' workshop I did here. Each focuses on transition stories, and can be useful and adapted to a variety of life transitions.
Language in Communion for Youth and Young Adults
There is a desire here from a number of young adults to learn English. That's always a delicate situation, as motives may not match with what I try to do with Language in Communion. LIC involves language and cultural exchange, but is focused a bit more on growing cross-cultural relationships than language skills and domination. Mostly, people want language skills and can take or leave the relationships. So, it would take finding some matching motives in order to start something (as well as the same in the States). So, we'll see…
Health
I haven't been sick at all during these 7 months that I've been here. That's the first time that I haven't caught something while I've been here. I'm continuing to exercise almost every day - I'm in great physical shape and have lost a lot of weight.
Financial
I have enough cash on hand right now for my current costs and my journey home. I also have a way to get more cash from my bank account in the US if I need it. So, financially, I'm not in an urgent or difficult position.
Other Stuff
Pepe fed us for a few days …
A great breakfast: eggs with fried plantain slices (patacones) and cheese. I make a bunch of bite-sized egg and cheese sandwiches with the patacones!
Juanito, who is deaf and mute and lives next to the health center, one evening bought a cake for the health center staff and me to share with him.
I’ve had plenty encounters with God’s creatures this time around, although I’ve still never been stung or bitten, except for the mosquitoes and no-see-ums. I have had a bat or two show up in my bedroom flying around in the middle of the night several times. I’ve learned to calmly put on some clothes and shoes and step outside and turn on the light, and the bats find their way out by themselves after a few minutes. I’ve since found a few holes in the screening that I’ve been treating to keep them from entering.
Cockroaches also come into my room. One night I grabbed something on my neck, thinking it was the earbud fallen out of my ear. It ended up being a huge cockroach, and when I grabbed it, it must have urinated on the pillow, as there was an awful stench. So, essentially, I got peed on by a cockroach! Anyway, I did find the critter and was able to kill it with bug spray. I toss all the dead cockroaches outside of my door (which is outdoors), and the birds come in the morning and leave nothing by wings and legs.
There are a number of rats that run around on the roof of my bedroom, and luckily they can never enter. The good part is that there’s a cat that pounces on the roof every night as well, and mayhem breaks out. Anything to get rid of the rats and bats!
A couple of times, a large spider like this one comes in. Unfortunately, I have to take it out of commission:
A big spider on the wall. I had to take him out…
Now it’s getting to be summer in Ecuador, and where I am, that means less rain and cooler nights. And that means less mosquitoes, which were a terror this year. However, there are always the no-see-ums, tiny black critters that bite and draw blood. I was wearing sandals at someone’s house and got eaten alive, as you can see in the picture. It takes some planning to make sure you’re not always vulnerable.
At the parish house, a bunch of paper wasp nests had sprung up, some large wasps and some small. The large ones, which are about an inch and a quarter long, pack a pretty serious sting. Anyway, we put a few bug sprays together and finally got rid of the nests, as they could be dangerous. The dead wasps all become food for the chickens that roam around. Check out the stinger on these guys:
Toads have entered the parish house as well, especially at night, and they poop all over the place. This guy was about the size of my hand - huge. It’s tough to move them, even with a broom.
There are also the poisonous hairy caterpillars that are showing up now. Handling their prickly hairs gives a serious stinging rash!
However, of all the critters, I’ve never yet had a serious problem, a serious bite or sting - thankfully. I stay out of their way and am aware, that’s all.
The weather here has been typical, which is beautiful: about a high of 80 every day. It’s sunny in the morning up to about 1 to 3 pm, then typically gets cloudy. Often at that time there’s some drizzle or rain. In the winter, It rains every day and is hot at night, while in the summer (and we’re transitioning now), there’s little to no rain along with hot sun every day - though the nights are cooler because of the radiative cooling effect that occurs naturally when nights are without clouds.
Here are some naturally beautiful scenes from around the pueblo:
A picture with some of the teens - they are growing up!
I made a piñata with the kids I was staying with for the birthday of one of the daughters in the family I’m staying with. The kids loved it. Um, the adults, too!
Oranges are really in one of their seasons right now, and everywhere trees are bursting with them:
I got a haircut after 3 months! Here are before and after pics:
The neighbor has made a clay oven for cooking. Using more firewood and older versions of cooking that save money (over propane tanks) is showing up more now. The pork looks good!
Finally, here’s a reflection I recently shared on A Living Monstrance, you might enjoy it:
God Has a Plan
Last week I was walking down the main street here in Chontal and noticed some activity along the long sidewalk. For over a year, there had been some temporary overhead construction from bamboo to shelter the sidewalk from the elements. It had been set up so that on the weekends, a fair could happen: folks would set up on benches and tables and sell products from their farms and other items. It was especially meant for people who were passing through the village on the main road. Now, since the quarantine has mostly ended all traffic through the village, there hasn't been a fair in a long time.
As I was walking past I got to talking, and they said they were disassembling the structure. And then one woman added, "To make a better one!" There had always been a plan to eventually make a better structure. And now as everything has been dismantled and the sidewalk sits bare, there is a hope and confidence that the fair will come back some time better than before. Because there is a plan.
I saw some old pictures and videos from 10 years ago, about the construction of the church here in Chontal. The pictures followed the whole process of the previous chapel structure first being taken apart and demolished. First the roof, then the walls, and the doors and windows. At that time, the Mass was held outdoors in the field in front of the church. You can see nothing but demolition in the background. But everyone was happy and full of hope. It's because they knew what was coming was better than before. They had a plan.
At certain times, God allows us and our life to be taken apart, dismantled, demolished. We can lose a position at work, or even work or our business itself. We might lose money: maybe something is stolen, or our investments tank, or we get taken advantage of or surprised financially. We might lose our reputation or good name from gossip or accusations from people in influential positions. We can lose our voice and feel powerless in our house or work or community. We can lose our health in so many ways - even lose a part of our body or its functionality, like a limb or organ, our hair, or memory. We can lose a person in our lives, whether someone decides to leave us, or other responsibilities - or death - take them away from us. We can lose the comfort of a home or community, or country, or a social group.
And then we are left taken apart. Dismantled. Demolished. It is the most painful place to be in. It's the death at the end of the cross.
But there is good news.
God has a plan. He's going to bring things back in a new way. To make our life better than before.
Jesus is given to us because he can accompany us through the dismantling and demolition, through the dead and empty space, and into the new life.
And the reason he can do it is because he knows the plan.
So, if you feel in the pandemic that your life and society around you are being dismantled, that important things and relationships and activities are being taken away into emptiness and uncertainty, then it's a good time to turn to someone who knows about those things. We have to be dismantled in life and pass through the stage of emptiness and pain, so that we and our lives can be better than before. But we don't have to do it alone and without someone who knows the way.
Remember:
God has a plan.
For I know well the plans I have in mind for you—oracle of the LORD—plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope. (Jer 29:11)