Hello,
Just a note to say that I arrived fine early this morning in Quito.
The midday sky over the earth’s equator.
Leaving Boston we were delayed because of weather in Florida, and I got double-bumped in Panama City, so I arrived in Quito just after midnight. But outside of that, everything has gone smoothly. I also found out that the phone SIM I had when I left last time is still working, so my contact info remains the same.
Today I got to visit Toñita, who was a member of the seniors group Walking with Mary in a local parish here where the Missionary Franciscans of St. Joseph had a presence until a few years ago. I got to know her and a number of people in the parish through the sisters, and she has stayed in touch with the sisters and me. I’d been hoping for a while to get back and visit, and today I had the opportunity to have lunch in her house and have a long conversation about a variety of things in the context of faith. A nice trip down memory lane, plus we talked a lot about returning to the beginnings we have in life, where we encounter God. Being under the midday sky at the middle of the planet is like going back to the center of everything.
Tomorrow I leave for Mindo and my form of annual retreat. Please keep me in prayer, and I will you as well.
I’ll write again when the time comes.
-Jerome