HI, it's been a little while, and the last two weeks have been very busy. I thought I'd have had time to post, but I was so busy finishing my time in Boston, that I ran out of it. On May 6 I came back to Ecuador to continue in a new parish: Julio Moreno Espinosa. Here is where it is on Google Maps:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Julio+Moreno/@-0.3135638,-79.1704166,11z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x91d5386eae3ae9ef:0x78cc85588c461bdb
The priest here, Padre David, was a roommate in the last parish I was in, in Puerto Quito. He was a transitional deacon then, and was ordained a priest, then was sent to Julio Moreno. We are good friends and I'm looking forward to sharing in the ministry to the people here. It is much smaller than Puerto Quito, but very similar in a lot of ways. There is a town center, with various villages - or recintos - surrounding it. It has a remarkable natural diversity that makes it a growing and hopeful tourist attraction. And, most importantly, the people are similar as well. It's mostly a rural, poor lifestyle compared to the US.
Another important aspect of coming here as well is the desire of the local bishop and Padre David to bring the devotion to the Divine Mercy here. That is dear to my heart, and I've sought a way that a door like that might open here in Ecuador. So, I've begun to collaborate with the Marians of the Immaculate Conception - who were entrusted by St John Paul II with the Divine Mercy mission - through their lay apostolate, Eucharistic Apostles of Divine Mercy. The Boston house of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy - which is the congregation of St Faustina - have also agreed to support the effort through prayer and donation of devotional items. Please join in prayer and any support you feel called to, that together we may, each in our own unique and authentic way, mysteriously fulfill Jesus' request to St Faustina:
"Tell the whole world about My inconceivable Mercy."
(Diary # 699)
