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I'm in the process of updating this blog, as well as A Living Monstrance, to better communicate with everyone - so it will be in transition for a bit!
I am back in Boston and will be ready to post again once the blog is updated!
Thanks!
Jerome
With the generosity of a few people plus collaboration from the locals, the fundraiser for Scarlet was finished on Mother's Day. I didn't win anything in the raffle, but Scarlet has her cast off and is recovering well and crawling. Thanks to those who donated!
This Lent, here I've started to open the chapel in the evenings when there isn't a Mass. It goes from 6:30 to 8:00 with adoration. It's the free offer of God's heart that is always open and inviting. People here are not accustomed to this type of personal freedom, they are only accustomed to the church being opened for scheduled community events. I'll be going around offering little leaflet invitations. Please pray that God will draw all freely and personally to His heart in the church! "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." (Jn 6:44) When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all to myself. (Jn 12:32)
I was able to buy about 20 bibles for the community here using funds that I had planned to use for returning to Boston for the funeral services of Fr Jim but have redirected for benefiting the people here in his name. It took an 8 hour round trip to Quito to get them, I bought them from the Pauline bookstore there. They are good because they have a plastic cover and have large type in the New Testament, which is important for the rural areas as there's often a lack of vision care there. Plus, the cover has a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe...
Along with this, I'm doing a presentation on different relevant themes in the Bible, each Sunday of Lent. I get out the video projector and put together a Powerpoint presentation with other dynamic elements, and go into some of the cool things about the Bible, the background history, and some personal stories, with multimedia. The idea is not a class, but biblical "paseos", or outings, like you would make an outing to a river (that is common here). The idea is that the Bible is like a river, a big mystery with a lot of entry points and a lot of different ways to make use of it. So, it's coming to know the Bible in the same way that someone would come to know the river, by guided visits. Please pray for the people and for me!
And so it was great for me to read what Pope Francis shared last Sunday about Lent and the Bible:
How do we hear the voice of God? We hear it in his Word. For this reason, it is important to know Scripture, because otherwise we do not know how to respond to the attacks of the evil one. And here I would like to return to my advice of reading the Gospel every day. Read the Gospel every day! Meditate on it for a little while, for 10 minutes. And also to carry it with you in your pocket or your purse. But always have the Gospel in hand. - Pope Francis, Angelus Address, 2/22/15
Have a great start to Lent!
I've left Puerto Quito and I'm in Chontal now....
I will miss my neighbors:
But it's on to Chontal!
After a trip to Quito, I finally got to take this picture that I had wanted to for a few years. Of course, my mother's side of my family is from the country Armenia, and so I have a little fun telling the people here that my Mom's side of the family is from Armenia - that I'm actually half Ecuadorian!
More coming soon ...!
20150126_151558
At Amigos del Arca, practicing for the Hat Dance tomorrow:
20150126_154435
20150126_151516
I'm in Puerto Quito now, getting fully moved into a new cement house for a couple of weeks. The house is owned by the Franciscan sisters here. My next door neighbors got their house through the sisters' efforts. There's a single mom, with her 3 disabled daughters, plus another daughter and a son. Three of the daughters have their own kids, so there are about 8 little kids going about. I got a picture once when I coralled them into the back of the jeep. They are awesome kids!
Here's the picture of the house I'm settling into for a few weeks:
There's not always running water, but I have a water tank that I use for washing, like an outdoor shower.
My first night there, I was reading in a chair and falling asleep, when I felt something squishy land on the back of my neck. I found out later it was this guy. But he died the next day, after he fell from the ceiling again and landed on the cement floor ...
Here are some more early pictures of the inside. There's a kitchen, two bedrooms (though one doesn't have windows), and a living room. The bathroom is outside, with a toilet and shower (though with the water situation, showers are rare).
I was also able to make a Friday visit to Amigos del Arca, the local program for the disabled in Puerto Quito:
All is going well, I hope to visit Quevedo soon and Santo Domingo.
I hope to write again soon!
Friends, please remember Fr Jim Czerwinski, OFM in your prayers, a friar who passed yesterday unexpectedly in Boston. He was found in his bed in the morning at St Anthony Shrine in Boston. It was a surprise to all. He was a good friend to many and he really gave himself to those who are at the margins of society. I met him when he arrived in Boston a few years ago, through a men's faith sharing group at St Anthony's. He helped me a lot in a time of need, and he was a big supporter of my vocation, of my mission to Ecuador and this blog (and the book that came from it). He was a constant confessor and spiritual director at the Shrine, and a man of the people, someone who was always out and about with the people who frequented the Shrine. He was particularly mindful of the poor and people going through tough times, and always generous with his time and attention. We shared a lot of meals and chats together (we saw eye to eye on a lot of things), and made a few short road trips. I remember when I left for Ecuador for the year in 2013, he gave me a bit of cash and also a suitcase that was just what I needed, and that I still use. I will miss him a lot and there will be a hole in my life. A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter: he that has found one has found a treasure. There is nothing so precious as a faithful friend, and no scales can measure his excellence. (Sir 6) May he rest in God's peace and always be remembered.
https://stanthonyshrine.org/2015/01/02/please-pray/
Hi everyone, Here's the latest video with an update on the reconstruction that has happened in Chontal, through the funds raised in the Gofundme fundraiser. Enjoy!
http://youtu.be/7al-psGEAaw
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Sorry, I've been a little behind on updating, but I'm hoping to do a monthly update soon. I've been in Chontal since December 15, and will be leaving on Monday to go to Mindo and then to Puerto Quito on Wednesday. I'm hoping to visit a lot of folks in Puerto Quito, including students and teachers at the high school, as well as the children in the village Santa Cecilia who will be receiving their first Holy Communion. I'm aiming to make it to Quevedo and Santo Domingo in January as well, so it'll be a busy month. I'll be living in a new, small house owned by the Franciscan sisters, close neighbors with a local family that is full of kids, so I'm hoping to survive that! There's the possibility of visiting US lay missioners in the eastern part of the country too, but that isn't finalized yet.
In Chontal, I had the joy of supporting the local school in a lot of ways for Christmas. I brought down a Santa outfit that I bought with a donation from an anonymous friend. The school had their annual Christmas program and celebration party, and Papa Noel made an appearance. I had brought some fake snow as well, so that got worked into the presentation.
The kids hear all know about Papa Noel, but it is the first experience of him coming to Chontal. I asked a young girl about a week beforehand, "Is Papa Noel coming this year?" She looked down sadly and lowered her voice and said, "Papa Noel never comes here." Well, that all changed! It was just great to give both the kids and all the parents too a big lift, that they are important and special to God, especially in this Christmas in the midst of the crisis of the landslides, a crisis that doesn't yet have a long-term solution.
I've been visiting with people most affected by the landslides who received funds from our fundraiser, and am hoping to share a video soon, it's uploading now to Youtube.
Here's a video of the Santa presentation. I tell the kids that it's from Jesus that I get all my generosity - and my joy. Then I start with the ho-ho-ho laughing and everyone applauds, it was great! Afterwards, I told the people I would ask God if he would give us some snow from the North Pole, but I needed the faith of the kids. You can hear the "Sii"s when I ask them if they beleived God could do that. Then I ask them for a louder response, you can hear the "SIIIIII". What's funny is that afterwards, a lot of people ask me how I did the snow thing. I tell them, the faith of the kids :) .....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMFXOtOhO9g
Rumor has it that someone is coming after me to Ecuador ...
Volaré - no it's not the car from the 70's (I guess it was a small car???)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnWHQCgByWg
It means, I'm flying this Thursday to return to Ecuador, to visit Chontal, Puerto Quito, Quito, Mindo, hopefully Santo Domingo and Quevedo, and also hoping to make a visit to the lay missionaries from the Family Missions Company that are located in the Oriente.
I'll be accompanying the people in Chontal in the Christmas novena and for the New Year, making a birthday party, too. I'm trying to arrange for getting a Santa suit to bring, too, we'll see ... I hope to have something to follow up on regarding the fundraiser as well. I'm working out a role in some pastoral work and possibly language sharing, so we'll see ...
In Puerto Quito, the kids from Santa Cecilia will be receiving their First Communion some time after Christmas, and I'm hoping to come and surprise them with a visit. I hope to catch up with a lot of friends and share in some of the activities in the program for the disabled.
Right now, I have a return date set for March 25, the feast of the Annunciation. We'll see what transpires....
The image here is a picture of a new print I have in my apartment here in Roslindale:
Still alive, and re-assembled
Last Wednesday evening, about 12 of the donors to the fundraiser Relief for Chontal gathered at St Anthony Shrine with a few of the friars for a presentation of appreciation for their generosity. It went very well, though I forgot to get a picture! :(. Anyway, I will be keeping updates *********************
This weekend are the patronal fiestas for Chontal - the full name of the community is San Miguel de Chontal. Please keep everyone in your prayers if you could!
Hello, I'm back in Boston now, and it's been a while since I've posted, I know. There's a monthly update coming, and more on my latest visits to Chontal, where the funds are expected to come through tomorrow and where I was able to record videos of the people thanking the donors. I aiming to post soon! For now, here's a dance from the fiestas in the mountains.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDavu8UVJtk
This pretty much sums up what it's like to be on the bus here in Ecuador - love it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTDU8Vbu57A
This is taken from the monthly update. To see the whole monthly update, please visit the post Back To Foundations here. ******************************
On June 18, I was able to make the trip to Chontal. I had made the hour and a half trip to Puerto Quito the day before, and then it took another 4 and a half hours to reach Chontal the next day. On the way, I was able to take some video of the mountains that surround the village. I had taken some of the same video on my turn the time before, and was able to match up the similar segments from each video, to see the difference in the mountain. The picture is below. What you don't see to the right is a large split in the mountain, where there was a landslide that took out a home and covered the roadway to the river. What a difference you can see in the trees that fell from the mountain in the landslides.
When I arrived, the people were preparing for the fiestas. As I was walking down the street, I was invited to a sneak-preview of some of the ornaments for one of the "floats" in the parade. (More on that later.) These swans were made by hand from pages from magazines that are folded up into little triangles and then interleaved to form the shape. Spray paint not only colors the swan, but also solidifies everything together. It took a lot of time from a number of folks to put them together!
At the same time, I was able to take a few tours of a few of the areas where homes were affected, as well as walk a bit up the mountain.
This is the back of the home of Maria Belen and her mother Susana (the place is also a restaurant). These were guest rooms, the one at the forefront was a room that I had stayed in at one time. These rooms were entirely filled with mud, as was as a giant boulder. Apparently, on the night of the landslides, there was a guest, a man, staying in one of the rooms on the second floor. No one apparently told him what was going, and he spent the whole night in his room! Talk about being inches from death…
The house of Fernando and Jimena and their two children is shown here. Trees and mud had collapsed on the roof of Fernando's workshop (this was 2 weeks after the 3 motors that run his carpentry equipment - and his livelihood - were stolen; and there's no insurance). The mud had come to the back wall of the house. The mountain doesn't look too good.
But take a look from the back view and you can see how barely a bigger catastrophe was averted. You can see the mud marks on the house and how the landslide stopped feet from the house:
I took up a walk up the road to visit the river Chontal, which was a pure water river that the folks would sometimes bathe in and clean clothes. It is also a sort of remote place I liked to come to to pray. On the way, I took a look down at the Rio Guayabamba, which merges there with the Rio Chontal, and you could see one of the leftover trees there:
The river itself had so much debris from landslides nearby, that the course of the river had changed, and the natural pool that had been constructed was wiped out:
I got a tour of the village school from Katy, who is one of Fernando's daughters. You can see the mud line on the side of the classroom here, showing how the mud had piled up. Several of the classrooms were flooded with mud.
This giant boulder stopped just short of the school:
There are classrooms for effectively grades 1 through 9. But as you can see, some of the classrooms are shared. How would you like to be teaching in these classrooms - man!
We stopped to say hello to Loris, who is the school mascot. Loris is a parrot who can speak a few words, and who, as you can see, loves sunflower seeds. I had a blast with the parrot. Loris doesn't stray away, surprisingly (or not so surprisingly, if she's fed well.) She was one of the main attractions on one of the "floats" in the parade.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trlf63hdCCo
I got to meet with the president of the broader community (called Garcia Moreno), Shisela Morales; as well as with Don Ramiro Nogales, a prominent, long-time resident of Chontal who I usually stay with; Fr. Marcelo, the local priest; and men from 7 of the families most affected by the landslides. We had a meeting for about an hour and a half, if I remember, and in the meeting everyone came to agreement on how to divide the money that was given through the gofundme campaign. We had raised in total $12,000, and it worked out really well for each family involved. The cost of a home from scratch is about $4K or so, including the land and the labor and materials. What is helping is that here and there, there are other resources that each family is getting access to, and the donations are helping with different things in each case. Each family is allotted a certain amount (different in each case, through discussion in the meeting) in order to identify the materials and labor they want to have procured. In some cases, it's a bathroom and a roof, in other cases it's cement blocks, in other cases it's wood for house. In one case, it's to buy an electric motor for wood-working tools that was stolen the week before, and to add a roof. Some are rebuilding in place, others have new spots. Where we stand now as of this writing, is that the check is being cashed. After that is done, all the materials will be bought together. When it's time for delivery, we all get together and I think there will be some sort of ceremony, though I'm not too sure. It's my first time around with these things here, and no matter how much you think you know what is going to happen - well, you have to open to new things, let's put it that way.
In all of this, you can see the hand of God. There was someone who was sent to bring about a certain coming together of people before Jesus came. John the Baptist's mission was to come in the spirit of Elijah the prophet, to "turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared." (Lk 1:17) He told the people, "He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise," (Lk 3:11) so that "every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low." (Lk 3:5) The mission of John the Baptist was to transform barriers to bridges, to prepare the way of Jesus. You can see it happening here…
The fiestas began with the school parade down the main street. I don't any kid over the age of 11 actually likes marching in a parade in hot sun in a uniform.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URSYdSZLR5w
After the assembly and speech and the initial stuff, the kids all returned to a few tiendas on the street where some food and drinks were served. In that time, I was meeting some of the schoolteachers, and a professional-looking salesman came up with a large suitcase. He was selling books and DVDs related to sex ed. So there were the teachers, in the middle of the street, with all the kids hanging around, digging through sex-ed books with all that is private on display. It was the strangest thing. You'd think the salesman could wait for another moment to whip out resources for sex-ed classes than the opening parade of the fiestas. As I think we all can sense intuitively, sexual education is at a different level of importance and intimacy than the academic subjects of math or history or even health, and it needs a space that's commensurate with that to not do violence to that reality. Otherwise, people lose that recognition of the dignity of human sexuality and are prone to abuse it. But so it was. I think he could tell that I wasn't too happy, but there wasn't much I could do but invite others to come and get something to eat … I thought of the Lord's words, "Whoever scandalizes one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the man by whom the temptation comes!" (Mt 18:6-7) We all need the Lord's grace!
One of the highlights of the fiestas was the procession of carros alegóricos, or floats, in the little parade. Each car is decorated with a theme to it, a theme that is pertinent to the village. It includes a lot of symbolism, as well as representative dancers that perform after the parade, when everyone is gathered together. Normally, there is only one car for the town for the fiestas, but this year they had four different teams to have more people involved and have something bigger, to bring people together more.
Included are pictures of the different cars and the teams associated with each of them, and a video of the parade. One of the cars has a live parrot, whom you've already met. There's also a videos of parts of the dances:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKdEgS39vPk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQlSqdvJt0w
There was also the election of the beauty queen, as always at the fiestas. Being at night, I only got a few short videos in to share. The girls are young, between 14 and 16 years old. I think that there are not many candidates in the 18 - 22 range because many leave the village for school, or if they stay, they have families and kids ….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsfAOfWIsdA
There was also a show of horses down the main street. It felt like I was in the wild west:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibiYXjhz1gA
On the second night, Saturday, we waited for the "main event", which was a concert by the singer Americo Ecuatoriano. There is a popular singer in Latin America, a Chilean known as Americo. There's also a hugely popular talent program on TV down here where Ecuadorians with talent impersonate famous singers of all types, and this particular singer reached the finals of the TV program impersonating Americo (thus the name, Americo Ecuatoriano). The big news around Chontal was that he was coming to sing for the fiestas. This was setup even before the disaster. This was a banner that was made up, showing him as the main event.
And I had started a running joke that, in fact, he was not coming, and that *I* was Americo. I was going to sing at the main event. Well, the night wore on and everyone was waiting, and I was starting to think that I might have to actually sing. We would have a copy of a copy of the original artist (not too uncommon here). Seriously, I worried a bit that the guy would stand the village up, and that wouldn't be good for the mood. But at about midnight, he showed up, and everyone was happy. Because Chontal has a large field, the fiestas here attract more visitors than the fiestas in the other villages, and there was a pretty large crowd, relatively speaking.
The great part was that, at one point, Maria Belen and her friend Antony were brought up on stage to dance and sing with Americo Ecuatoriano. They got almost 10 minutes up there dancing and singing with Americo - great stuff!:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DICK2JHwJwg
And that wrapped up the fiestas!
From Ecuador, a Happy 4th of July to everyone in the States!
Hello to everyone from Santo Domingo, Ecuador! I've just come back from a week in Chontal where I had limited computer access, and want to share some good news!
I was able to meet with community leaders and those most affected by the landslides. Everyone came to agreement on dividing up the donation we gave (in total $12K) to buy materials so that homes for six people can be built, another two homes repaired, one man's work (livelihood) equipment replaced, and some sustenance given to one family whose farm was severely damaged. In the meeting, the group came to agreement on the different distributions, and they all agreed to work together to help each other with the labor - all within about one hour! We're in the process of transferring the money and hope that funds will be fully available in two weeks.
A house would normally cost about $4K to build from scratch, so our donation is complementing some progress that has already been made, as well as the shared labor that they are planning. Each has received from us between $500 and $2200. Some have moved to a new location, and some are rebuilding.
The picture here includes community leaders Ramiro Nogales and Shisela Morales (back, left), as well as those most affected by the landslide (two are missing). In the back row are, left to right, Ramiro Nogales, Shisela Morales, Arsenio Bosmediano, Joselito Nogales, Franklin Gordillo, Fernando Ruiz, me. In the front row, l-r, are Artemio Andrade, Marcelo Andagoya, and José Herrera.
I've also attached a picture of the letter I gave to Shisela Morales, who is the mayor of the broader district called García Moreno, with a copy going to each of the people receiving support. She has written a response for us, which is attached in Spanish, and which I've translated below. The hope is that each person can also add their own personal response, and that is in the works. I hope to be able to pass along all the gratitude I receive to you.
Thank you again for joining with me and contributing and being a part of a good work for these people, who have so few opportunities and resources. As I said before, doing it for them is doing it for me, too. God's blessings are abundant for those who give to the poor, and you have made new friends! I hope to send another update soon, and please feel free to stop by my blog here http://barriers2bridges.com/ to get more details of everything that's happening here. I'll end it here with the translation of Shisela's letter. God bless you, and feel free to write!
******
Please receive a sincere and cordial greeting on behalf of the local Government of the town of Garcia Moreno, as well as wishes for success in your personal endeavors.
Dear Jerome our great friend,
I want to send my sincere thanks to you, and through you to all the donors for the valuable contribution that you gave us for the victims of the landslide in the Community San Miguel de Chontal. Today thanks to your organizing and generosity, they will have their own homes to live in.
Here we report that the support has been prioritized for the following victims: Arsenio Bosmedio José Herrera Franklin Gordillo Marcelo Andagoya Artemio Andrade Fernando Ruiz Susana Proaño Dolores Mediavilla Daniel Gualsaquí
In light of the favorable regard that we owe you, I thank you in advance, but not before reiterating to you my sentiments of esteem and consideration.
Sincerely,
Señora Shisela Morales President of García Moreno
I hope this note finds you well at the beginning of summer in the States. Here in Ecuador we just celebrated the Día del Niño (Kids’ Day!), which is every June 1. It happened to fall on the Sunday of the Ascension this year, so the kids got some extra attention! It’s also the waning days of one of the most dangerous rainy seasons here. I always wish I could contact everyone personally, but it’s practically impossible! But I hope to share with you an update on what is happening in Chontal, where landslides caused a national disaster on the eve of Mother’s Day.
I’ve been in contact with some of the people most affected. Although everyone is physically OK, those who have lost homes have been staying temporarily with relatives. Of the rest, everyone is remaining in their homes, even at the foot of the mountain, as they nervously await this ending of the rainy season. There are not many options for them yet.
The villagers are moving up their annual fiestas to the days of June 20-21, in order to come together and offer some emotional and financial support for those who are most affected. I am planning on coming to stay with them that week (I’m currently about 5 hours away by bus!). I’m hoping to bring a gift of spiritual and financial support for the community. An act of solidarity from us in the States, combined with the local efforts, can together make a huge difference in the life of the community! Especially among Christians, it gives a testimony to the strength of the love of Jesus, a love that can draw the wealthy and poor in different hemispheres to become brothers and sisters, sharing the same Father and Mother.
I’m aiming to coordinate with the local priest and political officials to bring spiritual support through the Divine Mercy devotion, as well as financial support through the GoFundMe fundraiser I’ve been doing.
If you pray the chaplet of Divine Mercy, I would be grateful if you could keep all of us in your prayers. Of course, all prayer is welcome!
As for the GoFundMe fundraiser, a big thank you to everyone who has donated so far – we are almost up to 60% of the $10K goal. If you have not had the opportunity to give yet, please, please consider it. And please consider sharing the link. This is a huge help!
I hope to have a list of donors along with the money prepared to bring by June 20, to present to the community during the fiestas. I’m hoping to capture the response of the people as best I can (hey, I’m just one guy with a camera!) and convey it back afterward. So I am hoping to have all donations by June 20. Donations given afterward will be gratefully accepted, but not a part of the presentation at the fiestas.
There is an expression used among the poor here in Ecuador, to express gratitude for what cannot be repaid. It goes, ¡Dios le pague! It means, May God repay you! And so, for your consideration and friendship and support, I leave with for now with a big ¡DIOS LE PAGUE!
Blessed is he who considers the poor! God delivers him in times of trouble; God protects him and keeps him alive, he is called blessed. God sustains him on his sickbed, in his illness He heals all his infirmities. (Psalm 41)
Jerome
Thanks to everyone who's donated so far - we're well over 1/3 of the way there! Please consider giving if you haven't had the chance yet, and please consider sharing the link with others. It's a chance to share some of your blessings in life and help me to lift up some of the poor in the world. I'm matching 10% of everything given. Thanks for considering! http://www.gofundme.com/Relief-for-Chontal
"But if any one has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or speech but in deed and in truth." (1 John 3:17-18)
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