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. :)

The prayer of the publican

This is something I have been praying a lot about recently, and I would like to share it with you. Read Luke 18:9-16, it is the parable of the publican and the Pharisee. It is also below: "He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others: 'Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank thee that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get.' But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted." Now what follows is a paragraph from a book I am reading right now called Tuning Into Grace: The Quest for God by Andre Louf. It is an intense book great for meditation and providing lots of 'food for thought' so to speak. It's a great reflection on the proper attitude we should have while praying to God. From page 77, "To all his brothers and colleagues he has become a kind and gentle friend. Their defects no longer irritate him. He sympathizes with their weakness. His confidence is no longer in himself but in God. He is possessed, as it were, by the love and omnipotence of God. He is therefore also poor, really poor - poor in spirit - and stands close to all who are poor and to all forms of poverty, spiritual and physical. He regards himself as the foremost of sinners, but has obtained forgiveness. Therefore he can relate to all sinners in the world as an equal and a brother. He is close to them, because he is not better than they are. His favourite prayer is the prayer of the publican. It is like breathing, like the heartbeat of the world, the expression of its deepest longing for salvation and healing: 'Lord Jesus, be merciful to me a poor sinner!'" This was from the chapter entitled 'Contrition of the Heart' and it is aptly named. So often we get wrapped up in our own good doings and our own lives that we forget that God created each and every single person out of love. We are made in His image, and we need to accept His love for us by showing it to other people. We can grow in love and charity by humbling ourselves, to follow the example of Jesus, who humbled himself to accept death on a cross. This struck me powerfully and I wanted to share this with everyone. Thoughts? Please post comments :)

From a place where time is irrevelant

Today I remembered why I love hiking; we got to hike in the rain up to the Cave of Saint Francis. We also brainstormed ideas of how else we could use the cave for other than small pilgrimages and retreats. We thought of concerts, weddings, and my personal favorite, movies in the cave. Just think, Saturday morning cartoons on Saturday mornings in a cave! You can’t get much better than that. Sarah and I are settling into more of a routine, but at the same time we are also really excited to have the third member of our team arrive in now less than a week! Once China gets here, we’ll really be able to get the ball rolling with the mission team of 2010-2011.  We’ve also had a chance to hang out quite a bit with the interns with Medical Missionaries this year, Fidel and Emily. They work in Thomasique, Haiti and they come here to reorganize supplies, etc. The four of us just graduated this past May, so it’s nice to have that connection with other young adult Americans in a foreign country. Today marked the start of a ten day long fiesta (party) in Bánica with the feast of Nuestra Senora Mercedes (Our Lady Mercedes). Another name for Our Lady, she is the patron saint of the Dominican Republic. We all met at the church at 6 am for a two-hour procession to Calvario, which is at the foot of the mountain of Saint Francis, on the outskirts of town. Starting tomorrow evening, there will be a novena for the next 9 days until the feast of Saint Francis, which is October 4th. These people really know how to celebrate a good time. With Mass, processions, food, music and dancing, parties can’t get much better than that. Well, I’m off, I’ll update again soon!

This is where I live

I look around me everyday and there is no doubt in my mind that there is a God. And He is a good God.

Musings on a rainy afternoon

Another not-so-ordinary day in Bánica. I got to sleep in until 7:00am, eat breakfast (fried batatas…my new favorite food) and then meet up with Sarah and Luisa for morning prayer before getting picked up for another retreat in a different community, Sabana Cruz (still with Las Hermanas de la Restitución). We crossed another river and spent the morning and part of the afternoon under the shade of a huge mango tree. And Sarah and I got to make some people laugh because of our poor Spanish pronunciation during a game. I wanted to comment on our lunch there. These people have so little, yet they are always willing to share what they do have. Even though Sarah and I will be living with them for ten months, they still treat us as honored guests, and we are always one of the first to get a chair or something to eat. The society down here is not an equal one, and as a American, and especially one who works for the Church, I get preferential treatment. It is still something I am getting used to, and praying continually that it does not go to my head. I am used to giving up my chair for my elders or someone else; I am not used to an older lady in her 70s shooing me into her chair, knowing she would be offended if I didn’t take it. This is the part where I say again (and it won’t be the last time) that cultures can learn from each other. Not that anything they do in Bánica is wrong, and not that the United States culture is wrong in any specific respect, but that when cultures mesh they can learn to respect each other and differences within each culture. The other adventure of the day was Sarah and I going down with the locals (WanRey, Pedro, Mayo, Luisa, Iriana and Cysto!) to the river. I had promised Father Murphy Iwould give Cysto a bath, and the river was a perfect place to do it. So off we trooped to the river to hang out for awhile. Well, we got more water than we bargained for, because for about an hour after being there, it started pouring. Literally pouring. I guess it was a good thing we were already soaked. There is something freeing about the rain, something very beautiful about water coming down from the sky and completely drenching you. It made me realize that there are many things I have no control over, and I much prefer that to having to decide everything. It’s nigh impossible to take complete control of your life, and if you do, you end up disappointed. It’s just not possible to control your life completely. Musings aside, the people love the rain down here. It’s like snow in Virginia. Get a threat of snow, and school is canceled. If it starts pouring down here, school gets canceled. Everything shuts down and closes because of the rain. (It could wash out the road, it’s hard for little kids to walk home in the mud, and no one goes out in the rain so stores shut down because no one is out and about). But the rain brings life to them because it makes the crops grow and provides water for drinking, cooking and washing. They are thankful for rain because they have no control over it, and they are thankful that they are given this gift in which to live. It’s very beautiful.