Re-settling into American Life

...is hard. I miss Bánica, and everyone I met there. I miss praying at la iglesia at 6 am every morning, breakfast with Simona, my English classes, playing games with the kids. I miss the truck rides, the hugs and smiles, and every kid correcting my Spanish when I say 'la dia' instead of 'el dia.' Coming back to Virginia is COLD. But I've gotten to see my family and friends again, and been able to take what I have learned from the beautiful people of Bánica and import it into my life. I went down there to serve, and instead came back utterly changed, and in my humble opinion, for the better. What the people down there know about hospitality, about love, about sharing when they themselves have nothing...it's absolutely beautiful. No words can actually describe the kindness with which Dominicans live. And though we may not share similar backgrounds, cultures, or even languages, we share our love and faith in Jesus. 'catholic' means universal and that is truly what the Catholic Church is...universal in that people who have nothing in common can share something beautiful - a love of life and gratefulness for their Creator. People within the same church can have a base in which to share uncommon experiences and worship together as we all are called to do. This...this is what I have learned. That I am one with every other single person in this world, and we are all made in the image of Love. And we are called to live out that image of love. To put love into being, an action, not just let it sit on the shelf. How have you loved today?

¡Jesús viene!

We are in the middle of the third week of Advent, the season in which we are preparing to receive our Savior in human form - Jesus is coming to us! Something I have been meditating on recently, and had in my mind for the past four months in my time here in the Dominican Republic, is the simplicity and beauty of a short homily, where usually one point is driven home. Nothing against American homilies that are upwards of 20 minutes, and filled with good, solid theology! However, with our limited minds, it is hard to focus on many different points at once and get anything out of them at all - even for educated people. Education here is lacking, to say the least. Kids only go to school for 4 hours a day, and it canceled for rain. (Rain here is like snow in Virginia...threaten a big storm and school is canceled.) Thus, because of a lack of materials, [and thus, motivation] kids, if they are lucky, know how to read in third or fourth grade. But I digress. Thus, these people are a simpler people. And it's beautiful, as I've mentioned before, that they have the right ideas about life. They know that people are more important than material things. And how important love is. And Father O'Hare does a great job of drawing out of daily Scripture one main point, and explaining to us in a way that we can relate to. Back to Advent - Jesus is coming, and today's homily struck me. Father was explaining that since the mystery of Jesus' total humanity and divinity came to pass as a baby, that to remember Advent and his coming, we should focus on children, and loving them. So my point is that our life is supposed to be about love. Father O'Hare loves his parish and wants to share the beautiful Catholic faith on their level, not necessarily his. Jesus loves us so much that he came down to die for our sins, and bring us hope of eternal life. The people here love each other so much that they know that peole are what matter. So how, today, on this 15th of December, you can love the children in your lives and make them feel important as we enter into the final half of Advent?

Las Magdalenas

Sarah and I co-run 4 different high school Bible study groups for girls in four different communities [Banica, El Fondo, Sabana Cruz, and Higuerito]. Here's some pictures of us in action. This is the Banica Magdalenas group, we meet on Fridays at La Casa de Juventud. This is the El Fondo Magdalenas group. We meet at different houses each week after Mass in Sabana Cruz. Here we have our Higuerito Magdalenas, we meet outside usually under a tree after the Mass in Higuerito. This is the Sabana Cruz Magdalenas group...we meet on Tuesdays in el centro. Our smallest group, definitely one of the most talkative. :)

I am thankful for...

Thanksgiving, Banica-style. ...people. I am thankful that no matter how far away from home people might be, or if you are in a new place, you can still share in common humanity and love with others. We were blessed in that we were able to host some visitors yesterday, Father Mike and Cal from Elias Piña, and Emily, Fidel and Brian from Thomassique, Haiti. We were also fortunate to be able to have an "Americanized" meal, lots of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, green beans, sweet potato casserole, and tator tots. For desserts, made-from-scratch apple pie, chocolate cake and cheesecake. Being here in Bánica has really shown me that too many people in this world go hungry, and while it is not wrong to have a feast, especially as a reflection of the heavenly feast everyone will be able to share one day, we, especially need to keep in mind where we are. I am grateful that we were able to partake in this feast, and I pray that it will nourish us and give us the strength we need to continue serving this beautiful community of people. Saint Nicholas, pray for us!

Me alegre mucho

It means "I'm really happy." After having been gone in the capital for 2 weeks, I come back, and my fourth graders know the "Our Father" prayer, in English, by heart. I wanted to share with you all that this prayer is not easy to say in English, and kids 9 and 10 years old were able to recite the whole thing. Wow. Our Father Who art in Heaven Hallowed be thy name Thy Kingdom come Thy will be done On Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily bread And forgive us our trespasses As we forgive those who trespass against us And lead us not into temptation But deliver us from evil. Amen.

A whirlwind tour of the capital

I am sitting here on a chilly Monday morning with Lupo (one of the rectory cats) who is keeping my lap warm. I am watching normal busy parish life happen. Today is laundry day, Oscar and Onardo are moving furniture, lunch is getting cooked, and of course, Lupo, Squeaky and Cyxto are snoozing in the sun. I have returned from Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic (Sarah and I got back on Saturday evening) from a 2-week stint taking an intensive spanish course. So of course I have been dreaming of the plu-perfect subjuntive and imperative commands (don't forget the conditional) because that's essentially all I've been thinking about while I was there. I think I have learned a thing or two, so now our goal is to put into practice what we've learned in our time there. We also got a chance to meet some cool people, Svetlana, from Russia, Mary, from Delaware, Hans from Norway, Julissa, from the good ole' DR, and of course the wonderful Doñas (Ilina and Gertrudys) who hosted us during our time there. After two weeks of visiting museums, class everyday, going to the beach, experiencing the city on foot (and especially zona colonial, the oldest part of the city), church-hunting (we never did find a Mass in the AM, except for Sunday) and lots of frozen yogurt, we were ready again for the simplicity and love of Banica. Here are some pictures that hopefully capture some of our experience in the capital. Here is a picture of the oldest cathedral in the Americas. Built in the early 1500s, it is still used today...and has the best Catholic libreria (bookstore) behind it. This is a picture of one street, Av. Duarte, in the Colonial Zone. We walked this a lot to get to the bus station to take us to Juan Dolio, the beach we visited a few times while we were in the city. This is the Caribbean Sea. A la playa Juan Dolio. Soooooo beautiful. Sarah and I in La Fortreza de Ozama. The oldest fortress that Columbus used when he settled here. This is a picture of La Doña, Gertrudys, and me. She is the wondeful lady I stayed with during my time in Santo Domingo.

A pretty legit team

So, I've made mention of some people here, and I figured you probably don't really know who I'm talking about. All the way on the left you'll find Sarah, who hails from Boston. She's the one who loves going to the river and limonsillos and invented putting yogurt with chopped guineo (similar to bananas) in the freezer. Makes a perfect afternoon treat on a hot day. Next to her you'll find Luisa, who hails from Blas Martinez, a campo outside of Higüerito. She's the resident "teacher" of our missionary team and will even correct Father Murphy when his Spanish is less than impeccable. Her favorite phrase is to say "QUEEEEEEE?!?!?!?" and most especially during a game of cards. Always smiling, she will find a way, mostly through handing you a pretty flower, to brighten your day. Then there's me. But y'all already know me, so skipping ahead to China. She is from Venezuela and she's a Consecrated Virgin = awesome. :) As Father calls her, an undercover nun. She's got a ton of experience working with kids and teens and her love for Christ is evident in all she does. Finally, there's Isamar. She is in el liceo (high school) in Bánica and comes with us on Sundays to be a part of our missionary team. She's really smart and fun to be around. This picture is of the official missionary team of 2010-2011. First is Ory, who is going to start school in January, and she's going to study idiomas (languages). She works in the brand-new library. Next is Kuky, who is going to study contrabilidad. Basically math. Then there's me. Then Luisa, who is going to study to be a teacher. We then have Sarah, then China, whom you've already been introduced to. Kuky and I have this dance step that she taught me and now we're working on adding to it. Ory and I are roommates every week for a night, and we always have fun getting up super early to meet everyone else for morning prayer at the church. Luisa already practices her teacher skills by helping Sarah and I learn more Spanish (or correcting us when were wrong). This picture is of the night Luisa, Kuky and Ory registered for college. A HUGE deal for them, because this is still an opportunity that is not available to everyone down here, and especially girls. China, Sarah and I had a little celebration for them to congratulate them on this next, big step in their lives. We can't forget the priest on the team. This is Father O'Hare. He really loves this entire community, and he works tirelessly to provide for his parish. And he's never too busy to provide 'una bola' or a ride, to anyone who asks...as you can see in this picture. :)