Hello, as September wraps up, I hope this finds you well in this continued pandemic time. As we all know, the challenges in this time are unique, and I hope you are finding marks of hope within the upheavals and changes. For me, a good time has opened up to share an update, so here goes…
María’s Cancer Journey
Our fundraiser ended up matching what the community had raised back in March, so she is very grateful to everyone for your generosity. (See the last update here.)
I’ve spoken to her regularly, and the road is difficult. It’s almost her first week of treatment, and when she isn’t traveling to and from the hospital from her aunt’s house, she’s bedridden from abdominal and leg pains. I’m not sure of the effects of her Covid on top of the effects of the cancer and those of the therapy. It is a difficult road physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I’ll keep updates coming when I can.
St James Friends Newsletter
The St. James Society is a friend, collaborator, and supporter in a variety of ways. I’ve also shared again a review of my time in Ecuador during the pandemic in their monthly “Friends” newsletter. Here is the pdf file of the newsletter; the content of the article will be familiar to those who read these posts. I hope you enjoy it.
Language tutoring for students and group
I’m currently starting some online English and Math tutoring for the schoolkids in the Chontal area. I’m also finalizing a hub for language resources, to use in language exchange with some young adults from the Chontal circle. Folks may be familiar with Language in Communion, in which the relationships around language exchange are the basis for language learning. This is a beginning of that, you might say the English-learning side of that. I am putting together a small website for it, and calling it all, “Hombro a Hombro”, or Shoulder to Shoulder. I’ll keep updates coming.
A Spirituality of Equality
I’ve finally finished the Spanish subtitles for all of the videos of the series, A Spirituality of Equality, on YouTube. It took about 3 months of tedious on-and-off work, and although it’s not perfect, it’s effect at least! Though I had shared the videos here some time ago, I held off on publicizing the videos more broadly because it wouldn’t be “equal” if the English-speakers got the video first. In any case, I learned a lot about video-making and YouTube in the process. YouTube’s titles, descriptions, and subtitles all change over to the Spanish version when the language setting is Spanish, which is pretty slick. But, someone had to put all those in! So, the next time, I might just redo videos in Spanish rather than make subtitles! … The videos include some Scripture references in the description for people who are interested in Christian meditation on what they are hearing. Also, the videos are divided into easily clickable chapters as you go along, so you can find more specific topics more quickly.
I’m aiming to publish the video series more publicly around the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, which is October 4. At the same time, Pope Francis will be releasing a new Encyclical writing called “Brothers and Sisters All”. I’m excited about that, as it resonates with the essence of the B2B mission: From the USA to Ecuador, reconciling barriers into bridges as brothers and sisters in God’s family. I sense it will be a good time to share the videos, and that the themes will resonate and reinforce each other.
Finishing Food in the Desert
I’m about to tackle the last of the scripture reflection videos from the series, Food in the Desert. It will focus on the link between the Good Shepherd narrative and the washing of the feet in John’s Gospel. If you haven’t already, come by and check out the videos here. The series walks through a basic way to understand and read the Gospels to find the spiritual food that God puts there for us. You won’t find this approach laid out anywhere else!
“Although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.”
Online Retreats
OK, I’m behind in these, but my excitement hasn’t waned! These will be coming, to accompany folks into the mysterious encounter with Christ during this painful and confusing and lonely time of transition. More to come …
Testimonials Published
A while ago, I asked for testimonials from people who read the spiritual reflections from the blog A Living Monstrance and from the resulting books. And thanks to so many people who responded! I recently was able to begin to post them publicly, in a simple and anonymous format. Now, you’ll see a mix of testimonial quotations under ‘Hear from Readers’ wherever you see the books shown, here and here. Sharing together our testimony of what lifts and inspires us brings us all together in God’s grace. I’m proud to have your voices next to mine, so thank you again!
Spanish Classes
I’m also taking online Spanish classes a couple of hours a week for several months. It helps my friend Rosa and her Spanish school Vida Verde, and of course it also helps me. The great Celtics legend Larry Bird won championships and MVPs, but each summer he returned to practice and improve on some part of his game. And we all know professional development is key to continuing to grow - we never stop! So, I’m grateful to have the opportunity to untie more of the language knots inside of me.
Local Activities
Because of the pandemic, there hasn’t been much local pastoral activity. I did however make it up to Lawrence, MA where the Ecuadorian community celebrates the novena to the Virgen del Cisne. This year, there was just a simple celebration integrated into one of the weekend Masses, and I was able to go. It was good to see some faces I hadn’t seen in so long. I caught up with several folks, and we talked about doing some things when the pandemic restrictions relax.
My Health
While in Boston I’ve been doing physical therapy for my left hip, which had always bothered me at times since my childhood, but flared up particularly this time in Ecuador. That has been going well, but with it’s struggles. I’ve also had toenail surgery to take care of an ingrown nail, which is in recovery mode these days. And I’m also dealing with some type of skin rash, so it’s all keeping me in the house! And of course, I’m grateful to the St. James Society to have a place to stay. It seems like while I’ve been back, I’ve been like a boat in dry dock!
Other Stuff
I’ve been able to update some of my technology while back, thankfully, as some parts were reaching the end of their road. I’m updating the business side of things as well, including a local business certificate, some banking updates, etc.
It’s just now occurring to me that I never had the opportunity to post last year’s financials online here, in part because of the pandemic situation. That may wait for next year alongside this year’s financials.
Return to Ecuador
I don’t have firm plans yet, but I’m considering a November return to Ecuador. I would need to be back by then generally to begin the process of renewing my 2-year visa that expires on January 6, 2021. So, I’m already considering plans for that, but things also depend on the Covid situation, both in the US and in Ecuador, so I won’t take definite steps until October or early November.
In 2005, I left off living in my own house, and since then I have always lived in someone else’s house. Since then, I have always been a guest, without my own home while going along in this life. In fact, it was when I started visiting strangers’ rooms while in a hospital ministry in 2003 that I first really started to experience entering into the personal world of strangers for hospitality. It certainly was a new experience then, but what gave me the courage and desire to do it was that I felt Christ was with me - in me. I learned so much from visiting all those special patients for so many years, the surprising power of being vulnerable and received. I still remember so many of them. It all is what prepared me for my later steps in my life - what you could call mission in Christ - including going to Ecuador and South America. And it’s at the basis of the Christian mystery, you could even say life itself:
“Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself.”
I put together last year a Spanish version of my story of how I ended up in Ecuador. I called it, The Four Houses. Because, really it’s a story of home. Of leaving home, and coming home. And this really is at the very center of the mystery of our human lives. Leaving home and coming home.
Things like work, school, shopping, visiting, and so many other social constructs have given all of us that experience throughout life: leaving home and coming home. And now with the pandemic, that dynamic has been completely shaken up as we stay at home like never before. But rather than make us comfortable, it grates against us. I think it raises the question in us: Where, really, is our home?
So, as I now, just a few months after flying, start to think again about leaving Boston and returning to Ecuador, I come back to that mystery. Leaving home and coming home…
“Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.”