Hello!
Greetings from Boston. I've been able to put together the latest update, so here goes!
Annual Update
So, finally I've completed the Annual Update (formerly the Quarterly Update, which became the 20-month update, but I hope to keep it annual or semi-annual !). I'll post it separately under a similar title, and you can also view it here:
Health
I've fully recovered both from the effects of Covid-19 I had in Ecuador in March, as well as the two Moderna vaccination shots I had in April and May. Both of my shots were a similar reaction, though the second was just slightly better: 101-104 fever for two days with a headache, brain fog, fatigue, and arm pain. The third day I was in transition, and the fourth day I could normal things. Each person responds differently, but from the research I've done, having recently recovered from Covid also had an effect, I think.
María's Cancer Treatment
I've continued to be in contact with María about her cancer treatment, and there is some good news. She conveyed that the doctors were satisfied with the reduction in her tumor. On the other hand, one of her kidneys is still having difficulty, and she continues to need a tube that needs replacements every two weeks. In two months there will be more exams, for both the tumor and the kidneys.
The finances are still a struggle for the family, and I have my "ears" open to see if there might be an opportunity to help that fits in with communion-building, but the good medical news is also good for their finances as well.
Happenings in Ecuador
Ecuador has stopped its mandatory weekend home quarantine, but social distancing and mask wearing continue, as a low percentage of people have been vaccinated so far. The role out has problems largely because of procurement: poorer countries just can't get as much access as quickly as wealthier countries.
Ecuador also elected a new president, who is right-center politically. At least it looks like it won't be an extreme presidency, although Ecuador has a complex political situation and enjoys getting sour on their presidents and kicking them out, like a lot of its neighbors.
Finally, I found out that right after I left Chontal, a rash of Dengue Fever spread around in addition to Covid. In fact, it struck the household I was staying in immediately after I left. You could say that if I stayed a single day longer, I would likely have contracted it myself. Dengue has similar symptoms to Covid, but it's a dangerous disease in locations like Chontal because if someone is bitten a second time by an infected mosquito while sick, the condition can escalate and need urgent medical attention - and Chontal is almost 4 hours away from the hospital. Fortunately, no one has died in Chontal from either Covid or Dengue, thanks be to God.
The End of Integral Collaboration with the St James Society
For the year between October 2018 and October 2019, I had joined with the St. James Society to discern together whether there could be an integration with lay missionaries as members. We mutually decided that it wasn't a fit at that time (clerical life and interpretation of mission has differences with the lay version of mission), and that we'd go back to being 'friends' and at times collaborators. That ended the 'integral collaboration' period, but the pandemic slowed the transition process out of that. Well, now that things are opening up, that transition can move forward more easily. As that transition continues, I'll be in the US for the next year or two before returning to Ecuador again, and I'm looking for work and a new living situation as I aim to be moved along by the end of the this year, if not sooner.
It was a good experience and worth the effort. But now looking forward to the doors that open up as I look at next steps. The plan is that Barriers to Bridges will continue, as I'll describe below.
Guiding Vision
A retreat back in February was very helpful in both pruning and gathering up the fruits of my time in ministry over the last 10 years, including both in the US and in Ecuador. The diagram that I shared in a previous post is a good guide and summary, and I aim to work from that to continue to grow each branch, both locally in the US and in Ecuador.
““This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how.
Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come.””
We often think of life as something we "make happen". We're accustomed to the lifestyle of modern work life shaping our understanding of the growth or "progress" of our lives. But in reality, the parables of the nature around us are more enlightening than the wonders of business, and so the analogy here of plants growing up from a common root means that the whole grows at a natural pace guided by God and the nature of things as opposed to someone's genius or ambition or "go getter" attitude. We often, I think, have an 'American' mindset of 'making things happen', having individual control and responsibility over own lives. We expected constant progress forward. And yet, I have to wonder if those activities - that type of life - have eternal life within them. If you want to grow something that has eternal life within it, there is no other way but to do it with God, at the pace that the divine and one's natural rhythms join together. There is death and failure just as much as advancement and failure - at least it appears so by our American mindset. Yet, there can be an eternal life moving within something or someone who seems dead or stalled or going in reverse. Those phases have just as much - no, in fact more value in the growth of eternal life. Eternal life is like a hidden underground stream in life, not always visible but always supplying in ways we don't see and may be counterintuitive.
And what this often means is that 'results' come slowly. In fact, in divine life, 'results' may not come until one is long been dead! We are accustomed to want quick results. And yet the Scripture is clear about how God brings about results. Abraham was promised as many descendants as the stars in the sky and grains of sand on the sea, but of course was long dead before that ever happened. Moses never got to enter the Promised Land, despite over 40 years leading people. Christianity is still struggling to come to be in the world, 2000 years after Jesus died and rose from the dead.
In short, the fruits of eternal life are loooong term - you won't see the fullness of its fruits until you fully enter into it. If we want to invest in the long, long term, the wise investment is in eternal life, in which we may spend our whole lives cooperating in its growth and not see much results. This is all very different from what we learn at home, in school, and in society in general.
Anyway, this sketch is a good guide as I go forward. From my own re-gathering efforts in retreat, it reveals what I see has been growing all these years. I believe that these activities will never end, in some mysterious way, because I believe that they come forth from eternal life. They probably will be painfully pruned over and over and evolve, but I have always felt that I will never stop doing these types of activities, neither in retirement years or even into death. I believe that comes from the new relationship with Jesus in me that really came to birth almost 20 years ago. And at that time, I never would have dreamed in a million years of what has come about.
"From the US to Ecuador, reconciling barriers into bridges as brothers and sisters in God's family."
Some Education and Qualification
My plans to stay in the States for a year or two are in part related to opportunities to add in some education and qualifications that will help to grow the "plants". I looked at a one-year program in Spiritual and Pastoral Care at Boston College, but the finances didn't work out. So now I'm currently applying to two programs that could be complimentary and are structured to accommodate a working person.
One is a one-year program in the introduction to fundamental principles to psychoanalysis. This helps to understand the psychological undercurrent forces that we all experiences, to help transform those barriers into bridges.
The second is a two-year certification program in spiritual direction, a program that I've wanted to do for the past 5 years or more but could not because of my travels to Ecuador.
I think that both programs would be very useful for my own growth and qualification, for the mission of Barriers to Bridges, and are just affordable for me. I'm in the process of applying, so we'll see how it works out.
Language in Communion
In the last 2 months in coming back, it's been difficult to find time and get traction on Language in Communion, which includes language groups. But I've just recently taken some steps to find people interested in forming a base group. As usual with so much in parallel, these things take a little time. But I'm confident that something can grow.
Online Workshops and Teaching Videos
In the same vein, I've just last week started back up after the last two months with offering online Workshops. The transition time, especially with the Covid effects, has made it a challenge to continue organizing these, but they are important to me and I hope to pick back up and grow these offerings as well.
I also finished a new Food in the Desert video, this one about the role of the guestroom in Luke's Gospel, and how that brings us to feeding on Jesus. This is a central theme of being Christian, and Jesus as food has always been part of the Christian liturgies and assemblies. What does Luke say about Jesus as food? How do we "eat" Jesus? It's an important question! Come on and check it out:
I am still in continuing to develop these workshops and teaching videos. As the foundation is accompaniment in life, there are a few that might be beneficial to you in this pandemic and if you are experiencing a life transition. I'm continuing to offer the Pandemic ReBirth Workshop, as well as the Tree of Life. Feel free to contact me directly if you're interested. And you can share the link freely as well.
Other Stuff
In some preliminary talks with a friend's local small business venture, there was discussion about doing a workshop that will help them get a clearer understanding of the identity and mission of the business venture by claiming and telling their stories. It's in its embryonic stages, and looking for identity - a "brand". This is a role that I helped a bit with way back in 2013 with the founder of Amigos del Arca in Ecuador, and I think there's value that I would add to any organization that is looking for a foundational activity to ground it in identity and purpose. I also did some of the beginnings of it with the St. James Society in my recent exploration of the lay missionary integration.
So far this particular activity is preliminary discussion, but it's something I'm interested in exploring more with other organizations, whether they be religious or "secular". The types of workshops and accompaniment I do have Gospel and spiritual (and psychological) foundations, but they translate into any secular organization or business just as well. In fact, the Tree of Life workshop is essentially a foundational career development workshop, in which individuals discover more their own sense of identity and purpose. So, I think there's more to come.
Financials
It's been a while since I've posted up the Financials because I typically include them in a broader, semi-annual summary update. They're now included in the Annual Update linked above.
Right now there are no expenses or income, and cash is sitting at $600-700. There are no large expenses looming like travel, visa, or technology costs, outside of the website annual costs. As local activities develop, income and expenses could develop as well.
I'll leave with a picture of a footbridge here on the Charles River lagoon in Boston:
May you experience God's presence in these continued times of Covid-19 and beginning of summer. Feel free to comment or reach out anytime, and I'll post again when it's time.
-Jerome