Hello everyone,
I hope your Christmas has been going well, and I hope the New Year opens new possibilities for the movement of grace. I returned to Boston on December 14, and it’s been almost 3 months since a good update, so here it goes!
Fundraiser
The fundraiser, Support A New Hope, finalized back in October. Come and check out the details here.
I have a few updates to it since I last wrote about it in a separate post.
Zoe and her mother are still back in Mindo and the family is together. Zoe is receiving some physical therapy for her body movements, including her swallowing reflexes. The family has checked for another opinions, but in the end, it’s a simple wait and see process. Zoe has progressed in her eating ability, but there are ups and downs. I’m still in touch while I’m in Boston.
Back in Chontal, I didn’t get a chance to stop by the new, finished house of the Ruiz family in San Roque, the village next to Chontal. I understand that the family is doing well now… I caught a few of the boys’ soccer games, but also noted that the younger kids aren’t playing much. They still have to better work out how to incorporate the younger kids into the team… Finally, I caught up with Janeth, Rafaela’s mother, and she had a surgery in October and was it planned to have another in December - I’m following up to see how the second went. Each surgery is on the canal that connects the each eye to the nasal tract. After those surgeries, then there are 2 more surgeries on each eye itself (before it was thought to be just one eye). Finally, the big open heart surgery would come after all of that. There’s no cost for the surgeries themselves, but medications, transportation, and all the other auxiliary costs are born by the family. After the New Year, we’ll see if a fundraiser might happen in Chontal.
For the possibility in the near-term of looking for more support for Rafaela, I am not archiving the fundraiser. I’d like to see a community effort materialize, as was anticipated, so it’s a wait and see and back and forth. In any case, if you want to assist the family, please let me know.
Rafaela on her 5th birthday!
Finally, I did get a request in Chontal for procuring the typical bags of candies for the Christmas program. A friend in Boston did some footwork to save me $50 on something I needed to buy back in Boston, so I donated that money to this cause. I also charged $6 per person for the English pronunciation course I offered in Chontal, which is meant to go to a local act of solidarity with the community. We all agreed to contribute the money to the same cause for the Christmas program, and so I was able to donate $86 to buy all the necessary goodie bags that they were looking for. Once again, the goal being to use our needs and collaborations to go against the prevailing winds and serve as a catalyst for love of neighbor and forming of communion.
MORE ABOUT LIFE AND MISSION IN ECUADOR
The still vision continues, and the time in Ecuador was a great opportunity to continue to grow and fertilize it, like a plant slowly growing up from the ground. I’m still finishing the idea and plan for language and cultural sharing, which reflects the Gospel Spirit of my life and mission. I’m excited about it, and although it seems to be taking a long time, what’s really happening is I’m chewing on it once in a while over time while doing other tangential things, and getting more confirmation and clarity. In other words, like a ruminating sheep or cow, I’m digesting the developed insights and plans that I’ve uncovered. As I mentioned before, things are starting small…
“For the vision is a witness for the appointed time, a testimony to the end; it will not disappoint. If it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late.”
Hand in hand with this, I’m still also working out how to bring forward more the spiritual reflections and workshops and retreats, as well as teaching and groups, that come forth from accompaniment. These are reflected in the language and culture activities.
While in Ecuador, I spent some time each day in the quiet retreat center in Mindo for prayer and reflection. Taking time for walks into nature also helped to digest and to listen, and to return to the path.
I haven’t found support or collaboration in either the church or the language school in Mindo. After a lot of listening on my part, it’s clear that the interest of the leadership is that I support them in their vision and work. There isn’t much listening to or serving others in their paths. But that’s fine, as I find myself as usual a sort of a plant growing from the ground between the pyramids of institutions, rooted in the Gospel mystery of Christ buried under the church.
“But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.”
CURRENT EVENTS IN ECUADOR
The weather phenomenon El Niño is expected to have a strong effect on the Ecuadorian coast during the recently starting rain season. It usually means much more rain for elevations under 1500 m, leading to more landslides and flooding.
But before those effects, there was a drought in the Amazon basin, where the country gets the majority of its electricity from hydro-dams. The government didn’t plan in advance to fire up the other sources, and so there have been rolling blackouts in Ecuador since October. They had been typically 2 to 4 hours a day during weekdays, staggered for each zone, with no electricity at all. In Mindo, it was cancelled after the first week or, we suspect because it’s a tourist destination. However in Chontal, there were sometimes 6 hours without electricity. Initially, it was planned until mid-December. But only a few days ago, it’s been declared that some of the principal river levels have returned to normal, after 118 days of being in drought mode. Ten consecutive days of rain brought levels back... The blackouts were canceled for the holidays, but will return around January 15 and will continue until sometime in the first third of the year. They will also return next September. There are political bills being worked on to help overcome the problem, but there still isn’t a long-term solution yet.
The presidential election went without a problem, and there doesn’t seem to have been any protest or civil unrest around it. The new president is young, and people are waiting to see what he might do in front of the crisis of narcotrafficking-influenced violence and the economy.
Violence and the effects of international narco-trafficking are still a growing problem, without a long-term solution yet. The new president seems to be planning actions, including bringing in an Israeli company to build some new prison concepts that can respond to the international influences, following the example of Nayib Bukele in El Salvador. We’ll see where it all goes. But the US ambassador to Ecuador recently mentioned in an interview that this corruption has reached all of Ecuador’s institutions. There is a big change needed with regard to hope.
Migration out of Ecuador is still continuing strong. I am consistently asked by more and more people about things regarding migration to the US, either directly or indirectly. Just like the last update, I list here the principles that I promote for making a good decision, which come out of my own habits and way of life:
Remember yourself: Create time and space to remember and appreciate who you really are, and the good things - the treasures - you already have.
Remember God: God does His greatest creative and life-changing works in the darkest moments.
Buy low, sell high: Invest when things are going badly, not when things are going well - as long as the treasure is still there.
Offense, not defense: Be on the offensive with love and take back the public space.
Suffering and discipline are part of life: Accept suffering and loss, for a greater treasure.
Hopefully, the people of Ecuador find their footing to move through this crisis soon.
in Chontal
There wasn’t too much new happening in Chontal, outside of migration. I’ve noticed a consistent uptick in people’s interest in talking to me about language, in talking about the people who have already left, and about what the opportunities are like in the US. It’s sad, because it’s a psychological pressure, a FOMO as they say: fear of missing out. It creates a pressure to follow. A Gospel spirit could overcome that, but, in my experience and evaluation, the local church doesn’t carry that spirit, so there’s no other support in facing these realities. Someone mentioned that folks left the village to go look for me in the States. I said, “I tricked them, and came here.” That became my running joke. But I’m calling attention to a reality that folks don’t notice, and that the clergy don’t point out: why do I come here? If I already can live comfortably in the States that everyone imagines is a promised land, why do I come to Ecuador?
From October to December, I visited Chontal each week on Friday, staying until the next day, or sometimes Sunday is there was a landslide and no passage out. We did an English pronunciation course on Friday afternoons, for 7 weeks, for youth aged 18-23. Despite some instances of drama, it turned out very well. We did a before and after video of each pronouncing a particular sentence they chose from the beginning of the course, and it was impressive what they caught. In fairness, they had a lot of support in the final recording, including time to rehearse and a reference audio from me. But just tuning into and producing the different rhythm of English even once is a huge step. They have resources now, and we have all the common reference points to talk about and learn pronunciation, so I can continue in next steps if it works out in my plans. We’ll see about after the New Year.
As I mentioned at the beginning, I charged a very affordable rate of only $6 per person for the whole course. The agreement is that we’ll use the money in an act of solidarity and service to the community, which I’ll decide after listening to students’ ideas and suggestions. The idea is that a student isn’t just learning language for themselves and their own benefit, but learning in a larger context of growing relationships and community. It’s most healthy and fulfilling, and everyone receives more, when our own self-betterment is also part of a betterment of everyone in the community, including an expansion of the sense of community… So, when we were agreeing to fund the bags of candy for kids in the Christmas celebration, a few of the students wanted the stipulation that a bag be reserved for them. It was a good opportunity to talk about service of others, who the money and gifts belong to when given (not us), and what we can receive instead when we don’t take something out for ourselves. In fact, and it’s for another time, it can launch a whole discussion about corruption, an enculturated dimension of Ecuadorian society whose buds you just saw in this example…
As I mentioned before, Chontal experienced some longer power outages. Those included during our class time. It’s hard to communicate how difficult it is to pull off a class there, as you have to either resign to planning to doing everything without electricity, or you have to plan for both situations (which is what I do). It’s a felt expression of the separation of culture and material “development”, that’s a real crucifixion to convenience and ease. But there were many days with either no water, or no internet, or no electricity, or no passage out of Chontal.
On top of that, each morning I woke up with swelling patches on my body, but not in the typical places indicative of bedbugs. After getting different opinions, I went to the health clinic in Mindo, and we all generally agreed they were mite bites. So, I called the family in Chontal where I stay, and they said they’d take care of it. The next time I came, I went to go to bed and sprayed the room with bug spray, which I sometimes do to eliminate and hiding mosquitoes, and keep others out (nothing worse than that terrible buzzing sound in your ear all night). In the middle of the night, I woke up with strange dizziness and feelings in my head. I thought I might have used too much big spray and was breathing it in. Anyway, after getting up in the morning without any bug bites, I noticed a weird smell in the room. The family told me they had washed the mattress down in gasoline with a rag, and let it out to dry in the sun. I thought, it certainly killed the bugs, but almost me, too! And finally, the mother expressed that they think it was ants, and that I just had sensitive skin. Anything to not let a negative word get out about them!
I did get to visit the school up in Magdalena Alto before leaving. It was a short but very good visit, I arrived at the end of classes before lunch and played a little soccer with the kids. Also handed out some candies for them. I got a ride up from the teacher’s husband, so he returned to bring her back, and then was going to come back to get me. So I headed out on the road to meet him along the way, and was accompanied by about 5 of the kids. It was a just a wonderful time walking with them along the mountain road, and it really touched the heart of mission, of my being there. The conversations and games and simple trust built by walking together during that time. I always hope children come away knowing how precious and wonderful and loved they are.
On my final night there in Chontal, we got out an old football that I had brought some years back, and a bunch of the youth and I invented a form of 2-hand touch football to play on the field, and we played for a couple hours. It was a nice way to end my time there.
IN Mindo
I stayed in the same hotel my whole time in Mindo, but I checked out a few other places in the meantime. We’ll see what more develops when I return.
The needs of the family heightened with the health crisis of Zoe, and that made it very stressful for me to live there. There was constant pressure - usually passive but sometimes active - to give too much attention to them and help in ways that cross the boundaries of my life and mission. It’s a part of their mentality, to look to attach to foreigners for material support and possibilities for more beneficial opportunities, without considering the well-being or will of said foreigner. This is the norm in Ecuador, and a person needs mature skills in dealing with needy people in order to spend time there. (Which is a reason that I don’t invite anyone to come without some preparation in these matters.) Though I was mostly able to keep the boundaries I needed, not always, and the constant environment is wearing. So, as mentioned, I’m looking into other places to stay, too.
The extended family that works in the hotel includes 10-year-old Camila, their niece. One day, I taught her a trick about how to multiply numbers by 11. Afterwards, with a pen and paper, she could multiply any number you could imagine by 11, and get the right answer. It was impressive! Later, I taught her how to play chess, over the course of a bunch of matches. She loved to play, even though at first it seemed like too much without inventing her own rules! I think learning things like that give a big boost of confidence to a child, and that can make a huge difference in all the rest of life.
The son, Liam, is as cute as can be, though a complete handful for the family with meltdowns and demands. I enjoyed coming into his world and listening to him and playing with him, but then I would put a limit in. I’d kneel in front of him with a smile and tell him I liked playing with him but it was time for me to go, and could I play again with him at a later time? It made for a peaceful transition.
I noticed that things changed for the family after a certain moment. I forget the details, but I was playing a game of guess what the animal is with Liam. I would do the animal imitations, like the monkey, without a hint of self-consciousness, being totally into it. That made the parents laugh uncomfortably. But it began shift. At one point, I told his mother, “If you take the time to enter a child’s world and play with them, they will listen to you.” After that, I noticed that the mother and father began to play a lot with Liam in his imaginative acting play stories. We’d all join in these activities a lot of evenings at the end of the day. What laughs! And the parents breaking down and playing like kids without the self-consciousness - it all just popped all the stress of the life there. What a blessing to play with Liam.
I regularly visited the retreat center in Mindo for prayer and reflection. Nazareno’s family that lives and maintains the property has always been welcoming to me, and I’ve known them for about 10 years (everyone’s getting older!) At the end of my time, I donated the computer tablet I had to the family, as the daughter needed an upgrade for her studies, and I wanted to give them something in appreciation for all the free use of the property they’ve allowed me to have. I was going to sell the tablet when I got back home if I didn’t give it away, so it worked out well for everyone.
For food in Mindo, I ate breakfast in the hotel. I bought oatmeal and lactose-free milk, and they provided eggs and fruit and coffee. Lunch is the main meal in Ecuador, and for that I typically went to a few of the same small restaurants for home-made food at $3 a meal. In fact, on most days I only ordered the soup (the first dish of the lunch), so it cost only $1.50. I often paid a restaurant $20 upfront on a tab, and it got marked down each time I ate there. It worked well for everyone that way, although they always wanted me to not stop with the soup!
Nazareno has been making a very loaded bread over the last several months, and each week I would buy about 10 of the breads, for about $4. Each bread is packed with seeds and grains, and quite heavy. For dinner, I’d usually have two of those breads with some peanut butter and tea. Often I’d go to a fruit store and practice some Kichwa with the folks there while picking up a banana or two for dinner.
I continued to move around the pueblo, though less after I started going out to Chontal each weekend and after starting online work.
I’ve finished developing a language and culture vision to share, but I haven’t finished with the workshop and presentation needed to present and enculturate it yet, because of all the busyness. I think it’s a foundational part of my activities in language and culture there, so it’s important to have it ready for the next time, which is the plan. Right now, it would be to have a workshop on becoming an adult language learner, where people can talk about their experience with English and share about being an adult learner after the presentation. It can then become a regular, simple group that meets and supports one another in becoming an adult language learner. It would be at the center of language learning experience. This will be useful here in Boston or anywhere else. It presents a model and approach to obtaining as much as possible the benefits of immersion, even where there may not be full cultural immersion.
Related to that was my own learning the Kichwa language (Runa Shimi) from some of the venders here who are indigenous from Otavalo. It comes naturally to me, but it’s also an example of being an adult language learner, and of finding opportunities for immersion experiences and benefitting mutually from them. I also still want to find a way to have a short Kichwa introduction before the English pronunciation course that I offer. I wasn’t able to find something this past time for Chontal, but I haven’t given up, and hopefully in my next visits to Otavalo, something might materialize.
But beyond just that, we became friends and shared a lot of good moments together. At the end of my time, to thanks them for working in Kichwa with me, I bought some of their artisan products, like clothing and tablecloths, to make for gifts for others on my return. I also needed something warm coming from the airport in Boston on my arrival in mid-December, so I bought a hat and sweater jacket from them.
I spent a lot of time with some of the artisans who have stores along the route to the restaurant I often went to. I became good friends with some artisan immigrants from Venezuela and Colombia. I did a lot of language with Jorge from Venezuela, especially as I was taking my courses on English pronunciation, he was a primary beneficiary and also a help for me as I explored using the concepts and techniques I was learning. He was very happy with what he received, and I learned a lot, too. He had shop-mates and there were often neighbors and friends coming by, and people from all over Mindo - usually the roamers and migrants. We all became friends. They are not practicing Christians, but all would believe in God and have a basic Catholic background.
Interestingly, Jorge’s shop was directly across from the main doorway of the church, and many times when I was visiting him, the priest would be pacing around praying the rosary and watching me, or celebrating mass and looking out through the doorway. I learned to keep a distance from the priest, as we were opposites in our vision of religion and mission in Christ. (According to Zoe’s mother, he told her that people need to come to him, he doesn’t go to people.) Well, he openly says he only goes to people who come to Mass, and can’t understand why I’m not at Mass everyday and instead spend time with the artisans. So much so, that he becomes obviously frustrated and angry, and says things publicly to me, questioning why I don’t go to the weekday Mass. Meanwhile, the Mass he offers is a torture in which everyone is yelled at for an hour and leaves sad. The Gospel reality often came to mind:
“After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him. Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were at table with them. The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus said to them in reply, “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.””
So one day, we crossed paths in the doorway of the church after a Sunday mass, and he mentioned that he always saw me across the street with the artisans, and asked why I don’t invite him to Mass. I said that I don’t bring people in by force, by some voice external to their own interior. I just build a bridge. Everywhere I go, I’m building bridges between all the people and places. But I don’t force or put pressure on people to cross them. I let the invitation come from within, and that way, it’s God who speaks to the heart, not me. Their decision then will last. He moved on quickly from that…
You see, it’s an easy shortcut to just try to tell people to go to God. Telling people what to do is the mark of laziness and absence of love. It’s all about one’s own power and security, and being at the center.
But it’s extremely time- and energy-consuming and filled with ups and disappointment to actually build the real human bridge - or even more, to become the real human bridge. There is (very) delayed gratification, and it takes a dedication and perseverance that only love, even a divine love, can produce. John the Baptist was one of the great models:
““A voice of one crying out in the desert:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.
Every valley shall be filled
and every mountain and hill shall be made low.
The winding roads shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth,
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’””
And this gets to connection between the language theme and spiritual theme. Everything in the language theme comes out of the principals of the spiritual theme. This is important to know and understand about what I’m doing and what makes it different: the language activities and how I develop and do them are bridges to the spiritual activities. They reflect the same spirit as the spiritual ones. Put another way, language activities are a living parable of the spiritual. Or, put even another way in Catholic theology, these language activities are sacramental. There is an integrity in my vision moving from spiritual/pastoral to language/culture and back, and this is very important to me. It’s necessary in order to be a part of my mission in Christ.
Having the same dynamic moving between the language and spiritual/pastoral, it allows me to easily offer spiritual workshops and other activities as well, as part of a cohesive vision. Like the migration workshop and the True You vocational workshop. It’s really all coming together, though slowly and piece by piece.
It takes a long time to build this bridge, but if it’s really done in God’s grace, then it lasts forever, because its ultimate source is the eternal. I’m not wasting my time, and have no interest in wasting my time. I have a lot of patience because I’m convinced of the vision, because it comes out of my experience of Christ and the mystery of the Gospel - it touches the eternal. So it doesn’t matter how much time it takes, or how many setbacks there are. What matters is just that it’s done in grace. That it’s done in integrity, out of the lived experience of the real Christ revealed in the Gospel. Then, it’s really God’s and my - and our - work.
Finally in language, I also completed a course to teach English pronunciation, using a wonderful technique that I came across last year and that was the catalyst for my creating the pronunciation course. I integrated it into my course in Chontal and with my time with Jorge, and I’m very satisfied with it and how it can fit into the vision. So there will be more coming…
Among a lot of the immigrant folks was Felipe and his wife Tesa, who are from Uruguay. Felipe started a youth soccer program in Mindo that has involved a lot of kids so far, and they have even traveled to local tournaments. I respect a lot of what he’s done, and they’re good people.
A local Ecuadorian Juan had started a job cleaning the parks and streets just before I arrived in Mindo. I knew Juan from before as someone working on a friend’s house. An honest, hard worker and a friendly guy who always smiles, we often caught up for some greetings and laughs when we would cross paths, usually as he was working cleaning the streets. Before leaving, I was able to gift him a large-brim hat for sun protection.
Samuel is a Venezuelan immigrant who owns a small barber shop (and lives in the small space attached to it). I brought a few baseball gloves and a baseball back with me, donated by a friend here in Boston, and we got play catch a bunch of times during my stay this time. A few kids started playing catch regularly, and I played catch with a few other Venezuelans - they all can play! There is talk of wanting to get more equipment and start a small team, but there are obstacles along the way. We’ll see where it goes.
Finally, when I arrived and just before I left, I was able to donate a few unopened bottles of Ibuprofen to the local health clinic in Mindo. It’s probably the most prescribed/used drug in these rural Ecuadorian health clinics, so they are always glad to get some more.
ECUADOR - BOSTON
Language in Communion
As I mentioned in previous posts, I had started doing some online language with Ecuadorians, starting with people in Chontal. I was able to accomplish a goal of offering it in-person in Chontal, while re-doing it again from the ground up as I took the certification course in pronunciation. I’m more confident in it now, but also recognize it’s auxiliary value next to the core activity: promoting and accompanying people becoming adult language/culture learners in communion.
There are opportunities to participate if you are interested:
participate and/or assist in a language sharing group: becoming a language learner and sharing one’s own language
financially contribute to join with the community effort to come together, and support the members most in need while receiving more
If either or both of these interest you, please post a comment below or feel free to contact me: jerome@barriers2bridges.org
Into the Waters: An International Immersion Visit & Retreat
Although this has been on the back burner, I’m still very interested in this opportunity for interested people from the States. I’m still in the process of working out the details, which you can check out by expanding the section below. If you are interested in an 9-day, guided visit to Ecuador in a small group of 4 or less, to join with me in dipping into the culture with local people, feel free to contact me: jerome@barriers2bridges.org.
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• Arrival / Urban life and roots: 3 days in the capital Quito and in Otavalo
○ Up at 9400 feet, we’ll start in Quito and immerse in the culture, including a visit to the equator and the historical center. Next, we’ll visit Otavalo, a global indigenous center.
• Rural life and roots: 2 days in Chontal, a remote rural village in the medio-Andes.
○ At about 2100 ft, in a subtropical cloud forest climate, we’ll experience the rhythm of a simpler, poor rural life, integrated into the life of the local people, including the agricultural roots of Ecuador.
• Retreat & relaxation: 3 days in Mindo, an ecotourist center for relaxation, retreat, and reflection.
○ A global bird-watching attraction, we’ll relax in lodgings very close to nature. Waterfalls, chocolate factories, butterfly farms, artisan shops and a retreat center will provide context for a time of guided reflection and discussion.
• Return: 1 day in Quito to prepare for a return
We will be traveling among the local people, by public transportation and taxis, along routes that I’ve known for years. You must make a signed commitment to stay with me at all times and follow any guidelines I present. We’ll have a period of private time each day for prayer, reflection, or relaxation.
Other notes:
• Travel: There will be some bus travel times from 2 to 6 hours in some cases, where we will see the mountain- and country-sides.
• Safety: We won’t be in the high-risk zones related to narco-trafficking and high crime.
• Health: Certain vaccinations may be suggested. Traveler’s health insurance is at one’s own discretion.
PREACHING/TEACHING & WORKSHOPS
ALM: SPIRITUAL REFLECTIONS
Website/Blog
On the homepage of this site, you can find the latest spiritual reflections that I post to A Living Monstrance. Or, you can visit the site directly here. These reflections come from my spirituality and lifestyle, and are guideposts along the journey.
Books
I’ve also collected the reflections into a series of books, each one containing 150 reflections, in sequential order. The latest book is up to the year 2017, and I have made some progress publishing two more in the series. They’ll make it to publication some day in the next year, hopefully!
You can order any of the books by going here to Lulu.
REFLECTION TEACHING VIDEOS
I have a few series of videos, for your prayer and social life, that go further and deeper than the reflections of ALM. You may find them uplifting if you’re wondering how to pray and understand the Scriptures to find something life-changing in them; and if you’re wondering about how to sort through what is often a confusing social landscape.
Food in the Desert
This video series introduces a way to find food in the Gospels, by reading and living them in the same dynamic in which they were original created. You don’t need to be a scholar, just willing to accept and follow the same Spirit of the authors. (Spanish versions are included later in the playlist.)
A Spirituality of Equality
This video series, produced during the Great Pause of the pandemic, invites you into the village of Chontal to walk along a path of reflection about human equality from a Gospel spirituality and lifestyle. (Spanish subtitles are available on all videos.)
SPIRITUAL REFLECTION WORKSHOPS
I’m still offering a variety of workshops, for both English and Spanish speakers. They focus on life transitions by understanding, sharing and memorializing your unique personal life stories, through a small group encounter with the Christian Paschal mystery of life, death, and resurrection. If you are interested in any of them, please contact me directly: jerome@barriers2bridges.org
Re-Birth from the Pandemic
Are you experiencing confusion or anxiousness as the pandemic experience moves to the rearview mirror? The scripture is full of “40” stories: stories about rebirth. Encountering these stories together with our own can help you get back in touch with your personal journey and see a way ahead with hope.
Your Tree of Life
This is a foundational vocation discernment workshop that helps us discover more who we truly are and what we are called to do, from the root of our being. It focuses practically on ministry and/or career discernment, but the experience enters into all of life.
In the beginning creation story of Adam and Eve, the Hebrew people are invited to remember the story of origin that recalls who God made them to truly be, as well as their human weakness that can separate them from following through on this authenticity. The mystery of Christ brings us back into the original garden and gives us access to the Tree of Life. The expression of this mystery in this workshop - through basic applied principles of discernment from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola - allows us to remember our own personal True You stories that make up the core of our own tree of life, as well as those life stories that show us how the protective bark of that tree breaks down.
If you are looking for something to give you a new step in clarity, freedom, energy, and peace - to help you remember again who you really are - this workshop could be for you.
Taller Mi Pascua de Inmigración
This is a foundational workshop retreat for immigrants (now for Spanish-speakers), in which each person has the space to remember, unpack, tell, and honor their story of migration, following the testimony by the People of God of their leaving Egypt and crossing the Red Sea to begin a new stage of life with God. If you know any Spanish-speaking immigrants who you think might be interested, please feel free to send them the information flyer at the More Information button below.
Boston
I am back living in the basement in Roslindale, everything is great. It’s a great fit, and I’m grateful to be here!
I’ve been able to catch up with a number of people since coming back. If you’re around and want to connect, please feel free to reach out.
Starting in August, I was working again online for the Harborside School in East Boston. In September, I began my role as an advisor for 2 online English classes for language learners who are parents. It’s been good to have some income and stay connected, the people are good people, though the vision of language learning and forming community is different from mine. I’ve been able at times to share language learning skills and pronunciation teaching and tools at times as well.
Now that I’m back in Boston, that work may grow again. I’ll also be connecting privately with the same teachers as last year and and growing the pronunciation course.
But even more, I’m looking forward to finishing off the presentation and developing the workshop for Becoming Adult Language Learners. It’s the cornerstone philosophy of going forward, and I think there’s openness and interest once it’s presented.
In my very short time back, I’ve had some Latino immigrants express interest in:
a workshop/help in learning how to pray
The approach of becoming an adult language learner
the pronunciation course
the migration workshop
So, as God unfolds grace, I’ll try to follow…
Health
I ate well in Ecuador and kept my weight down. It should continue here in Boston, although the holidays have been different! I haven’t had any problems with my heart. One day I got my BP in the health clinic and it was high. A different day I went and it was normal. I have to check it now that I’m back in Boston.
My hip was in serious pain for all of July and August. In September, I started more specific exercises for it, along with an ibuprofen treatment. That seemed to help a lot, and since then, it’s gone back to its “good” state, like before. No problems in bed or sleeping, I often feel no or little pain. it’s still tight and needs stretches and exercises every day, and some of the other joints in my legs still feel affected - probably accumulated effects over the last 3 years. But, I can walk long distances again, and could even run for a bit if I chose to.
Reviewing the hip problem (especially the spreading of effects to other joints) and getting into a treatment plan for it, including exploring surgery in 2024, was a main driver for my coming back to Boston a few weeks ago. My takeaway from my last appointment with the orthopedic surgeon was that I could be up for hip replacement surgery at any time, depending on how I felt.
But I had an appointment just after getting back, and had some x-rays on my other joints. The doctor said all the other joints look perfect, that my arthritis is still mild enough and that I still have plenty of wear and tear left on my hip joint, that I may be looking at surgery in 8-13 years! Well, that’s good news, and maybe there might be other opinions, but for now I’m happy taking surgery off the table and just using whatever is at my disposal to care for and strengthen my hip, while reducing pain. I hope to maybe return to running or playing a little basketball. So, that’s the plan going forward, which means my plans and travels won’t be dictated by the possibility of a major surgery. I’m happy about it.
Finally, I got the flu vaccine after getting back, and need to schedule something for Covid as well (that knocks me out for 2 days).
Financials
There are no significant changes in the B2B financial situation. Here are my expenses while in Ecuador:
Jul - $550.53
Aug - $591.44
Sep - $512.41
Oct - $469.07
Nov - $655.26
Dec - $334.96
TOTAL - $3,113.67
PER MONTH - $603.23
I averaged about $600/month of total expenditures in the 5 months (minus airfare both ways). And 93% of my expenditure total is in cash.
I also find that I lose cash somehow in the accounting. I don't know how much of it is poor accounting (it's hard to keep track of every expenditure, when 93% is cash-based transactions), or actual lost/stolen cash. I go crazy every once in a while trying to reconcile where the lost accounting is, but at the end of the 5 months, I have $85 less on hand than what my accounting says.
Here are the 2023 financials for Barriers to Bridges (I’m still working on updating the balance sheet). Again, a big thank you to those who regularly make gifts, no matter who small. It's much appreciated.
Other Stuff
Nighttime in Otavalo
A friendly, but very shy, guatuso in Mindo
A side-road view in Mindo
Welts from whatever was biting me at night
Image used by a cattle community that now leads birding tours, at the South American Bird Festival in Mindo
Murals for the Bird Festival in Mindo
Murals for the Bird Festival in Mindo
Murals for the Bird Festival in Mindo
A lot of landslides over the years at this spot on the road to Chontal
In the pronunciation course in Chontal
Guatuso being prepared for a meal
One of the rooms in Chontal to stay. No electrical outlets because some years ago, the priest came and stayed overnight with some musicians he brought, who took it upon themselves to steal all the electrical outlets when leaving!
Hornado at Zoe’s birthday party
What was left (for the night) of the poor pig at Zoe’s birthday party
Cutting off strips of pigskin for all of us to eat raw, with salt (an Ecuadorian tradition)
A few videos from Zoe’s birthday party:
Clear water
Clear water under the bridge…
Bird colors
Getting wires crossed in Otavalo??
A few small tablecloth gifts
Cows outside a room where I stayed
A private spot for prayer and reflection
Found along the way
Hangin with Liam. He liked to sometimes play around that totem with all types of animal figures.
A view from my hostel in Quito, before flying out
Winter berries in Boston
Reflection & Vision
A footbridge in Mindo
“I am with you and will protect you wherever you go, and bring you back to this land. I will never leave you until I have done what I promised you.”
Just before it was my time to leave Ecuador, I made my last visit to Chontal for the last language class and to visit the little school up in the mountain. It all went well, and I returned to Mindo and was chatting with an artisan friend. She asked how it all went, and I took some time to described it. She smiled and said, “Mission accomplished!” It was exactly how I felt, and it was time to let that sink in.
After I landed in Boston after a long trip that went well, I caught a local bus that would take me to a train terminal, after which I would get a train to another terminal and be picked up by a friend. While on the bus, I was toasty warm in the Boston December weather. Why? Well, because I supported some of my Otavaleño friends by buying a few things, including a warm wool sweater and a knitted cap, just so I’d be prepared for this leg of my return trip. As I sat there thinking about my new clothes, I noticed that all my clothes were a little atypical. My fleece jacket and my T-shirt were bought at a thrift store where Latino immigrants shop, that supports a good cause. I found my pants in a room I was staying in in the St. James Society - somebody had left them behind for someone else to use. My shoes were donated to me by a friend.
And then I remembered the passage I had meditated on often while staying in Ecuador this time:
““If God will be with me and protect me on this journey I am making and give me food to eat and clothes to wear, and I come back safely to my father’s house, the Lord will be my God.””
I had been fed and clothed the whole way. I’ve always been fed and clothed ever since I left my life behind to follow Jesus.
It all continues. Whether here in Boston or there in Ecuador, it all continues. Barriers can become bridges.
The Lord is indeed my God.
The Longfellow Bridge in Boston
“Come, follow me.”
Closing
Feel free to comment or reach out anytime.
I'll post again when it's time.
God bless you,
Jerome