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.

Just another tranquilo day...

This morning, Cuki, Sarah, Marisol and I went around and visited homes around Bánica. We brought holy cards to remind people to pray and to find out more about the neighborhood. We met a number of interesting people. To me, what was really amazing was how Marisol knew about everyone. She knew which homes were not actually homes but only housed perros (dogs) and which homes already had people attending Mass on a regular basis. My experience this morning brought a whole new meaning to the words “small town.” Cuki is, I think 18 or 19 and she works for the parish as well as attends la Universidad (what we call college). She is very energetic and affectionate. She is just as excited to learn English as Sarah and I are to learn Spanish. After visiting homes for about three hours, in which time we ate many lemoncillas, which grow on trees, (similar to our chewing gum, what you do is break the skin with your teeth (or fingernail) and suck out the seed, which has the sweet part attached to that. You suck on the seed until the sweet part is gone, then spit out the seed – very delicious). I also tried guarabas, and colmados, which were not my favorite. I do like jugo de colmado (colmado juice) but that is also sweetened with a lot of sugar. The fruit itself is pretty sour. After lunch, Omero, who works for the parish as well (he runs the St. Vincent de Paul society, takes care of trash, acts as a driver and other various needed tasks) drove Cuki, Sarah and I around the parish, dropping off clothes and food. What is awesome about him is that he is so knowledgeable about the parish and various communities. He knows who is actually in need of help and food and who just says they need food. About once a month the Church hands out arroz (rice) and other necessities to those most in need. Many clothes are given to the leaders in each campo to be distributed as needed. Essentially all of the donations that are given to this mission are processed through the St. Vincent DePaul society. We have a big room it is all kept in, but we try to process it quickly and get it out to the people in need so that it doesn’t sit in a room not being used. School supplies, clothes, etc. are all donated to help, which is great. We spent a few hours doing this, and were able to explore a bit more of Sebana Cruz and Higuerito, two towns we’ll be working in a lot over the coming months. Yesterday was also a fun adventure. Having cleaned up most of la casa de juventud (the youth house), Sarah and I went to the mercado with Oscar. The mercado, or market, happens twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays. Many Haitians cross the border to sell their wares, everything from live chickens to vegetables to clothes. It was an interesting sight to see and one very different from the United States. We had a bit of a breather from lots of scheduled stuff because Father O’Hare had to make a trip to the capital for various errands, and to bring someone there who has a doctor’s appointment next week. We had plenty to do while he was gone though. Another interesting part of life here…la cancha. (stands for ‘sports ground’ or ‘tennis court’) It has a volleyball net in the center and a basketball hoop on either end. The big guys are the ones who play volleyball and as Tom, who is one of the volunteers down here who works with the mission, told me, they give americanos (especially girls) one freebie to prove they can play. Well, I haven’t played volleyball in years and my game proved that. After telling Tom that I couldn’t play anymore, they moved on and I decided I would play basketball with Sarah and the little kids, who were more accepting. Last night though when I went back, I got there early and was able to play before all the big guys elbowed their way in. I have to admit though, it was nice to get out and run around. Everyone here is so great about offering drinks and food that I feel like all I do is eat here. On that note, I would like to share that I was extremely humbled the other night and was reminded of my purpose here. I am used to in the States cooking for myself and doing the dishes and my own laundry and not being served. So when the question of laundry came up with Simona, I told her that I would like to help. The conversation went something like this…(keep in mind my Spanish was much simpler than what follows below) Kenzie – “I would like to clean my clothes at some point in the near future, I am running low.” Simona – “Well give me your clothes and I’ll wash them for you.” Kenzie – “I would like to help.” Simona - “When do you have time?” Kenzie – “emm, emmm (how they say “um” in Spanish) I don’t know. My days are kind of busy.” Simona – “I get up, I walk in the morning, I prepare you breakfast and I do chores. I do not have anything else to do during the day. You teach and work for the Church. What you are doing is more important and takes precedence over you doing your own laundry.” And I was struck speechless for a minute. Of course she was right, and I was presumptuous enough to think I had time for everything. Everyone has ways of showing love and hers is by allowing me to focus on why I came down here – to serve God and this wonderful community of Bánica by teaching and working with the kids in the various communities and she is serving God and me by serving me food, giving me a place to put my head at night and washing my clothes. Lesson learned, God. On a last note before I run off to dinner, riding around to the different communities has allowed me to take in the breathtaking beauty of the mountains in the Dominican Republic. What a beautiful country – it is so green right now! We are nearing the end of the rainy season, so for awhile longer I’ll see all the greenery, however I think that even in the dry season God still will find ways to show us the beauty that His creation is. God is good!

The start of an adventure

What follows is a copy from a microsoft word document that I wrote Friday evening because I wanted to record how I felt, but was unable to access the internet until this afternoon. More to come on my first busy but tranquilo (stress-free) weekend in Banica! I have arrived in Bánica and am sitting in my temporary room. My gracious host, Simona, has her son and his amigo (friend) visiting from the capital and they are currently in the room I will be staying. I am pretty sure she gave me her own room so I could have a bed. What loving people are in Bánica!’ When I first arrived I found her cousin’s son, Francisco, who is entering 7th grade this year at the colegio. He is from a small campo outside Bánica that is too far away for him to walk everyday to school. However, I am getting a bit ahead of myself. I flew out of Dulles International airport at 7:45 am yesterday morning and the time right now is 10:30 pm on Friday … much has happened since my mom and I met Father O’Hare at the American Airlines check-in bright and early at 5:30 in the morning. I remember from the night before calling family and friends to say talk to you soon, miss you all and I’m really glad I got that chance to talk to everyone. I am so appreciative of the support from all of you … this trip would not have been possible without your generosity or encouragement. It gave me the strength to get on a plane headed for a foreign country and begin an adventure that would challenge me and stretch me in unforeseen ways. I am glad though that I had someone to travel with, as it made the trip less lonely and also enabled me to chat a bit more with Father O’Hare, with whom I would be working closely serving the community of Bánica over the coming year. Our flights were uneventful, and we passed through customs pretty easily. Father explained to me that the concept of “lines” were hard for Dominicans to perceive, and that without barriers they would block the exit doors of the gate area. Many were lined up against the barriers though and I felt like we were movie stars as we walked down the ramp, with everyone staring at us. It was quite an interesting feeling. We met up with Oscar, who works for the parish and his primo (cousin) Jose Luis, who was helping him navigate Santo Domingo. We waited a bit for Sarah, the other missionary from Boston whose flight came in shortly after ours and during that time I got to see some typical Dominican culture. As my roommate always shared with me, people watching is fun. I got to see how families and loved ones greeted each other and how people maneuvered a busy airport. I got to see a bunch of young adults come who were with the Peace Corps and also a group of important politicians with a camera guy running around. Our movie star, Sarah, was around the corner. Once we met and said hello, we loaded up the white pick-up truck and headed into typical Santo Domingo traffic. Let me tell you, this makes you fear for your life! People honk, then go…that is their way of saying “hi” or “im going” or “get out of my way” Think of Rome, or Paris and the traffic is just as bad. But these people are able to turn on a dime or squeeze into places I never thought a car could, and for some reason they are good at it. Oscar, our driver was superb at getting us where we needed to go and doing it safely. We checked into a hotel (La Casona y doraldo) then Father, Sarah and I walked over to a church to go to Mass. There were two other priests and two deacons also concelebrating and the church was full. I was excited to see it so full for a weekday Mass. However, we found out after Mass, that a young man was killed in a car accident the week before and this Mass was the memorial Mass, 9 days after the funeral (like a novena). His family was sitting up front and during the sign of Peace many went up to them to give them condolences. A very emotional Mass for all involved. Afterwards, we walked down to the Coast and walked along there for a bit before turning back up towards our hotel to get some dinner. We stopped at this great little restaurant with fantastic food. I had fajitas con pollo (chicken) and freshly squeezed orange juice. Father and Sarah were brave and got the cherry juice, which turned out to be delicious (jugo cereza) Don’t think maraschino…think fresh cherries and natural sugars… Both Sarah and I were able to call our parents after to tell them we arrived safely, then I think all 3 of us conked out in our beds pretty soon thereafter. We had all had a long day. The next morning we met Father at 7am for a half hour of prayer, then breakfast. And I had my first experience with true Dominican coffee. And I couldn’t get over it…it was sooo delicious! No cream, no sugar (it’s already boiled with sugar) and it is heaven in a cup (not really, but I am imagining that this is what God drinks when he needs a pick-me-up). Our scrambled eggs (con vegetales) and toast were also scrumptious. Our first stop (we had lots of errands to run before we left the capital) was at the Catedral de Santo Domingo, which is actually the oldest cathedral in the Americas, which is pretty cool. It was built, I believe in the 1500s. We walked around the bookshop and I was able to get a Spanish bible so I don’t have to worry about translating my English one. We were able to get money exchanged, and Father picked up more altar wine, then we took another crazy ride over to the Department of State where we were introduced to a contact of Father’s there, Mary Sue. She was very gracious and seemed excited that we had come. Next we went across the street to the office of the Nuncio, (ambassador from the Vatican) which is also where the Archbishop, I believe, lives. We were stopping in to see Father Richard from Nebraska, who is a recent arrival from the States. He was out so we left a note and stopped in the chapel. Then, while we were waiting for Oscar to come pick us up, Father Richard came back so we were able to visit with him a bit. Our next stop was Sister Babs, who is a nun who owns a home where patients come and she helps them get the medical care they need, and if they don’t have a place to stay they can stay with her. She has been running this home for over 30 years and is such a kind soul. It was a real blessing to be able to meet her and chat with her. We also got to meet Johnny, who I believe is from Pedro Santana or Bánica, who was staying there. He was in a terrible car accident over a year ago but he showed us today that he will walk again, praise God! We left Santo Domingo after that and stopped in Baní for Pollo Rey. (Think BurgerKing except this is Chicken King). Yes it was fast food and the interesting thing in the Dominican Republic is that fast food is not for poor people. It is not as cheap as fast food is in the United States. We then continued and stopped briefly at the high school seminary where two altar boys of Father O’Hare’s are currently attending before continuing onto San Juan to pick up food and supplies before finally entering Bánica! We dropped Sarah off first at Hecfrede’s house and his 2 year old son was a riot, very full of energy and smiles. Our next stop was Simona’s house, where she graciously fed me dinner. I have to admit, I knew it was going to be difficult to adjust and try to learn an almost entirely new language, but never have I felt so dependent! I have also never felt so incompetent. Simona seemed to be explaining very simple things to me, like how to lock the door and poor water but it took all my concentration to try and understand her. Possibly because of my tiredness, but I felt overwhelmed. Mass in English with Father and Sarah helped me to feel more at home. And Simona understands that I am learning, slowly. So now it is after 11 and I am very tired. I shall hopefully update soon! I want to keep sharing my adventures in Bánica! Blessings!