This pretty much sums up what it's like to be on the bus here in Ecuador - love it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTDU8Vbu57A
Fiestas in Chontal
This is taken from the monthly update. To see the whole monthly update, please visit the post Back To Foundations here. ******************************
On June 18, I was able to make the trip to Chontal. I had made the hour and a half trip to Puerto Quito the day before, and then it took another 4 and a half hours to reach Chontal the next day. On the way, I was able to take some video of the mountains that surround the village. I had taken some of the same video on my turn the time before, and was able to match up the similar segments from each video, to see the difference in the mountain. The picture is below. What you don't see to the right is a large split in the mountain, where there was a landslide that took out a home and covered the roadway to the river. What a difference you can see in the trees that fell from the mountain in the landslides.
Mountain Before and After
When I arrived, the people were preparing for the fiestas. As I was walking down the street, I was invited to a sneak-preview of some of the ornaments for one of the "floats" in the parade. (More on that later.) These swans were made by hand from pages from magazines that are folded up into little triangles and then interleaved to form the shape. Spray paint not only colors the swan, but also solidifies everything together. It took a lot of time from a number of folks to put them together!
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At the same time, I was able to take a few tours of a few of the areas where homes were affected, as well as walk a bit up the mountain.
This is the back of the home of Maria Belen and her mother Susana (the place is also a restaurant). These were guest rooms, the one at the forefront was a room that I had stayed in at one time. These rooms were entirely filled with mud, as was as a giant boulder. Apparently, on the night of the landslides, there was a guest, a man, staying in one of the rooms on the second floor. No one apparently told him what was going, and he spent the whole night in his room! Talk about being inches from death…
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The house of Fernando and Jimena and their two children is shown here. Trees and mud had collapsed on the roof of Fernando's workshop (this was 2 weeks after the 3 motors that run his carpentry equipment - and his livelihood - were stolen; and there's no insurance). The mud had come to the back wall of the house. The mountain doesn't look too good.
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But take a look from the back view and you can see how barely a bigger catastrophe was averted. You can see the mud marks on the house and how the landslide stopped feet from the house:
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I took up a walk up the road to visit the river Chontal, which was a pure water river that the folks would sometimes bathe in and clean clothes. It is also a sort of remote place I liked to come to to pray. On the way, I took a look down at the Rio Guayabamba, which merges there with the Rio Chontal, and you could see one of the leftover trees there:
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The river itself had so much debris from landslides nearby, that the course of the river had changed, and the natural pool that had been constructed was wiped out:
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I got a tour of the village school from Katy, who is one of Fernando's daughters. You can see the mud line on the side of the classroom here, showing how the mud had piled up. Several of the classrooms were flooded with mud.
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This giant boulder stopped just short of the school:
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There are classrooms for effectively grades 1 through 9. But as you can see, some of the classrooms are shared. How would you like to be teaching in these classrooms - man!
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We stopped to say hello to Loris, who is the school mascot. Loris is a parrot who can speak a few words, and who, as you can see, loves sunflower seeds. I had a blast with the parrot. Loris doesn't stray away, surprisingly (or not so surprisingly, if she's fed well.) She was one of the main attractions on one of the "floats" in the parade.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trlf63hdCCo
I got to meet with the president of the broader community (called Garcia Moreno), Shisela Morales; as well as with Don Ramiro Nogales, a prominent, long-time resident of Chontal who I usually stay with; Fr. Marcelo, the local priest; and men from 7 of the families most affected by the landslides. We had a meeting for about an hour and a half, if I remember, and in the meeting everyone came to agreement on how to divide the money that was given through the gofundme campaign. We had raised in total $12,000, and it worked out really well for each family involved. The cost of a home from scratch is about $4K or so, including the land and the labor and materials. What is helping is that here and there, there are other resources that each family is getting access to, and the donations are helping with different things in each case. Each family is allotted a certain amount (different in each case, through discussion in the meeting) in order to identify the materials and labor they want to have procured. In some cases, it's a bathroom and a roof, in other cases it's cement blocks, in other cases it's wood for house. In one case, it's to buy an electric motor for wood-working tools that was stolen the week before, and to add a roof. Some are rebuilding in place, others have new spots. Where we stand now as of this writing, is that the check is being cashed. After that is done, all the materials will be bought together. When it's time for delivery, we all get together and I think there will be some sort of ceremony, though I'm not too sure. It's my first time around with these things here, and no matter how much you think you know what is going to happen - well, you have to open to new things, let's put it that way.
In all of this, you can see the hand of God. There was someone who was sent to bring about a certain coming together of people before Jesus came. John the Baptist's mission was to come in the spirit of Elijah the prophet, to "turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared." (Lk 1:17) He told the people, "He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise," (Lk 3:11) so that "every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low." (Lk 3:5) The mission of John the Baptist was to transform barriers to bridges, to prepare the way of Jesus. You can see it happening here…
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The fiestas began with the school parade down the main street. I don't any kid over the age of 11 actually likes marching in a parade in hot sun in a uniform.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URSYdSZLR5w
After the assembly and speech and the initial stuff, the kids all returned to a few tiendas on the street where some food and drinks were served. In that time, I was meeting some of the schoolteachers, and a professional-looking salesman came up with a large suitcase. He was selling books and DVDs related to sex ed. So there were the teachers, in the middle of the street, with all the kids hanging around, digging through sex-ed books with all that is private on display. It was the strangest thing. You'd think the salesman could wait for another moment to whip out resources for sex-ed classes than the opening parade of the fiestas. As I think we all can sense intuitively, sexual education is at a different level of importance and intimacy than the academic subjects of math or history or even health, and it needs a space that's commensurate with that to not do violence to that reality. Otherwise, people lose that recognition of the dignity of human sexuality and are prone to abuse it. But so it was. I think he could tell that I wasn't too happy, but there wasn't much I could do but invite others to come and get something to eat … I thought of the Lord's words, "Whoever scandalizes one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the man by whom the temptation comes!" (Mt 18:6-7) We all need the Lord's grace!
One of the highlights of the fiestas was the procession of carros alegóricos, or floats, in the little parade. Each car is decorated with a theme to it, a theme that is pertinent to the village. It includes a lot of symbolism, as well as representative dancers that perform after the parade, when everyone is gathered together. Normally, there is only one car for the town for the fiestas, but this year they had four different teams to have more people involved and have something bigger, to bring people together more.
Included are pictures of the different cars and the teams associated with each of them, and a video of the parade. One of the cars has a live parrot, whom you've already met. There's also a videos of parts of the dances:
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKdEgS39vPk
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQlSqdvJt0w
There was also the election of the beauty queen, as always at the fiestas. Being at night, I only got a few short videos in to share. The girls are young, between 14 and 16 years old. I think that there are not many candidates in the 18 - 22 range because many leave the village for school, or if they stay, they have families and kids ….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsfAOfWIsdA
There was also a show of horses down the main street. It felt like I was in the wild west:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibiYXjhz1gA
On the second night, Saturday, we waited for the "main event", which was a concert by the singer Americo Ecuatoriano. There is a popular singer in Latin America, a Chilean known as Americo. There's also a hugely popular talent program on TV down here where Ecuadorians with talent impersonate famous singers of all types, and this particular singer reached the finals of the TV program impersonating Americo (thus the name, Americo Ecuatoriano). The big news around Chontal was that he was coming to sing for the fiestas. This was setup even before the disaster. This was a banner that was made up, showing him as the main event.
Banner
And I had started a running joke that, in fact, he was not coming, and that *I* was Americo. I was going to sing at the main event. Well, the night wore on and everyone was waiting, and I was starting to think that I might have to actually sing. We would have a copy of a copy of the original artist (not too uncommon here). Seriously, I worried a bit that the guy would stand the village up, and that wouldn't be good for the mood. But at about midnight, he showed up, and everyone was happy. Because Chontal has a large field, the fiestas here attract more visitors than the fiestas in the other villages, and there was a pretty large crowd, relatively speaking.
The great part was that, at one point, Maria Belen and her friend Antony were brought up on stage to dance and sing with Americo Ecuatoriano. They got almost 10 minutes up there dancing and singing with Americo - great stuff!:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DICK2JHwJwg
And that wrapped up the fiestas!
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Back To Foundations
Happy 4th of July!
From Ecuador, a Happy 4th of July to everyone in the States!
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Good News For Chontal
Hello to everyone from Santo Domingo, Ecuador! I've just come back from a week in Chontal where I had limited computer access, and want to share some good news!
I was able to meet with community leaders and those most affected by the landslides. Everyone came to agreement on dividing up the donation we gave (in total $12K) to buy materials so that homes for six people can be built, another two homes repaired, one man's work (livelihood) equipment replaced, and some sustenance given to one family whose farm was severely damaged. In the meeting, the group came to agreement on the different distributions, and they all agreed to work together to help each other with the labor - all within about one hour! We're in the process of transferring the money and hope that funds will be fully available in two weeks.
A house would normally cost about $4K to build from scratch, so our donation is complementing some progress that has already been made, as well as the shared labor that they are planning. Each has received from us between $500 and $2200. Some have moved to a new location, and some are rebuilding.
The picture here includes community leaders Ramiro Nogales and Shisela Morales (back, left), as well as those most affected by the landslide (two are missing). In the back row are, left to right, Ramiro Nogales, Shisela Morales, Arsenio Bosmediano, Joselito Nogales, Franklin Gordillo, Fernando Ruiz, me. In the front row, l-r, are Artemio Andrade, Marcelo Andagoya, and José Herrera.
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I've also attached a picture of the letter I gave to Shisela Morales, who is the mayor of the broader district called García Moreno, with a copy going to each of the people receiving support. She has written a response for us, which is attached in Spanish, and which I've translated below. The hope is that each person can also add their own personal response, and that is in the works. I hope to be able to pass along all the gratitude I receive to you.
Letter to Chontal
Thank you letter from Shisela
Thank you again for joining with me and contributing and being a part of a good work for these people, who have so few opportunities and resources. As I said before, doing it for them is doing it for me, too. God's blessings are abundant for those who give to the poor, and you have made new friends! I hope to send another update soon, and please feel free to stop by my blog here http://barriers2bridges.com/ to get more details of everything that's happening here. I'll end it here with the translation of Shisela's letter. God bless you, and feel free to write!
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Please receive a sincere and cordial greeting on behalf of the local Government of the town of Garcia Moreno, as well as wishes for success in your personal endeavors.
Dear Jerome our great friend,
I want to send my sincere thanks to you, and through you to all the donors for the valuable contribution that you gave us for the victims of the landslide in the Community San Miguel de Chontal. Today thanks to your organizing and generosity, they will have their own homes to live in.
Here we report that the support has been prioritized for the following victims: Arsenio Bosmedio José Herrera Franklin Gordillo Marcelo Andagoya Artemio Andrade Fernando Ruiz Susana Proaño Dolores Mediavilla Daniel Gualsaquí
In light of the favorable regard that we owe you, I thank you in advance, but not before reiterating to you my sentiments of esteem and consideration.
Sincerely,
Señora Shisela Morales President of García Moreno
Process of Preparation
More from Pope Francis on mission, from today's ZENIT, the Pope's morning Mass:
“When the Lord wants to give us a mission, wants to give us a task, He prepares us. He prepares us to do it well, as he prepared Elijah. And the most important part of this is not that he has encountered the Lord: no, no, this is well enough. What is important is the whole journey by which we arrive at the mission the Lord entrusts to us. And this is the difference between the apostolic mission given us by the Lord, and a common task: ‘Ah, you have to complete this task, you have to do this or that…’ a human duty, honest, good… [But] when the Lord gives a mission, He always has us enter into a process, a process of purification, a process of discernment, a process of obedience, a process of prayer." And “the fidelity to this process,” Pope Francis continued, consists in “allowing ourselves to be led by the Lord.”
An Update on Support for Chontal
I hope this note finds you well at the beginning of summer in the States. Here in Ecuador we just celebrated the Día del Niño (Kids’ Day!), which is every June 1. It happened to fall on the Sunday of the Ascension this year, so the kids got some extra attention! It’s also the waning days of one of the most dangerous rainy seasons here. I always wish I could contact everyone personally, but it’s practically impossible! But I hope to share with you an update on what is happening in Chontal, where landslides caused a national disaster on the eve of Mother’s Day.
I’ve been in contact with some of the people most affected. Although everyone is physically OK, those who have lost homes have been staying temporarily with relatives. Of the rest, everyone is remaining in their homes, even at the foot of the mountain, as they nervously await this ending of the rainy season. There are not many options for them yet.
The villagers are moving up their annual fiestas to the days of June 20-21, in order to come together and offer some emotional and financial support for those who are most affected. I am planning on coming to stay with them that week (I’m currently about 5 hours away by bus!). I’m hoping to bring a gift of spiritual and financial support for the community. An act of solidarity from us in the States, combined with the local efforts, can together make a huge difference in the life of the community! Especially among Christians, it gives a testimony to the strength of the love of Jesus, a love that can draw the wealthy and poor in different hemispheres to become brothers and sisters, sharing the same Father and Mother.
I’m aiming to coordinate with the local priest and political officials to bring spiritual support through the Divine Mercy devotion, as well as financial support through the GoFundMe fundraiser I’ve been doing.
If you pray the chaplet of Divine Mercy, I would be grateful if you could keep all of us in your prayers. Of course, all prayer is welcome!
As for the GoFundMe fundraiser, a big thank you to everyone who has donated so far – we are almost up to 60% of the $10K goal. If you have not had the opportunity to give yet, please, please consider it. And please consider sharing the link. This is a huge help!
I hope to have a list of donors along with the money prepared to bring by June 20, to present to the community during the fiestas. I’m hoping to capture the response of the people as best I can (hey, I’m just one guy with a camera!) and convey it back afterward. So I am hoping to have all donations by June 20. Donations given afterward will be gratefully accepted, but not a part of the presentation at the fiestas.
There is an expression used among the poor here in Ecuador, to express gratitude for what cannot be repaid. It goes, ¡Dios le pague! It means, May God repay you! And so, for your consideration and friendship and support, I leave with for now with a big ¡DIOS LE PAGUE!
Blessed is he who considers the poor! God delivers him in times of trouble; God protects him and keeps him alive, he is called blessed. God sustains him on his sickbed, in his illness He heals all his infirmities. (Psalm 41)
Jerome
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Giving to the Poor
Thanks to everyone who's donated so far - we're well over 1/3 of the way there! Please consider giving if you haven't had the chance yet, and please consider sharing the link with others. It's a chance to share some of your blessings in life and help me to lift up some of the poor in the world. I'm matching 10% of everything given. Thanks for considering! http://www.gofundme.com/Relief-for-Chontal
"But if any one has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or speech but in deed and in truth." (1 John 3:17-18)
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Pilgrim of Faith
Pope Francis on being a pilgrim of faith:
A pilgrim is a person who makes himself poor and sets forth on a journey. Pilgrims set out intently toward a great and longed-for destination, and they live in the hope of a promise received. This was how Abraham lived, and this should be our spiritual attitude. We can never think ourselves self-sufficient, masters of our own lives. We cannot be content with remaining withdrawn, secure in our convictions. Before the mystery of God we are all poor. We realise that we must constantly be prepared to go out from ourselves, docile to God’s call and open to the future that he wishes to create for us.
Not To Baptize But To Preach The Gospel
Relief for Chontal
Hello! http://www.gofundme.com/Relief-for-Chontal
People have generously asked how they can know more about or participate in what is happening here in Ecuador. Here is a great opportunity, and a chance to help transform a tragedy into something beautiful! I've put together a gofundme account to help with disaster relief for the community San Miguel del Chontal, a community very special to me here in Ecuador, where a church has been built in my mother's memory. Landslides detroyed homes and have put this poor community in crisis. Your prayers and/or your donation would be a big help! Whatever you give financially, I'll match 10%. And please share this with others. You have my gratitude and wishes for many blessings - whatever you do for them, you do for me too!
Jerome
PS, the Youtube video from the gofundme site can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snmVIbzAJEA
Landslides in Chontal
Saturday night in El Chontal, incredibly strong rains produced landslides that crushed and flooded a lot of homes, cut off the roads in and out of the village, and cutoff electricity and water (and there´s no cellphone signal). It was a harrowing experience for the whole village as the mountains on both sides literally shook like thunder with landslides in the pitch darkness and torrential rain. Thanks be to God no one was hurt and I´m fine, but the whole village is still in danger of more heavy landslides if it rains hard again, and everyone is anxious about what will happen long-term too. We were mostly trapped for a day and a half until the military and red cross arrived yesterday and started an evacuation plan. I left yesterday and am safe in Puerto Quito now. I´ll share more soon, but wanted to get the general note out after being incomunicado, and ask for prayers for everyone involved ... http://www.elcomercio.com/pais/lluvias-cifras-superaron-mayo-invierno-ecuador-alexa_0_1137486332.html
Return to Ecuador
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
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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)
vilnius7xq
Witness of the Encounter
A great commentary from Pope Francis on witness, from CNS, 4/4/14, that gets to the core of mission:
"The person who is sick or has a disability, precisely because of his or her fragility and limits, can become a witness of the encounter: the encounter with Christ who opens one to life and to faith; and the encounter with others, with the community," Pope Francis said.
"Only one who recognizes his own fragility, his own limits, can construct relationships that are fraternal and marked by solidarity in the church and in society," he said.
The key to being a trustworthy, effective witness to Jesus, he said, is first having had the experience of meeting Jesus.
"A witness to the Gospel is one who has encountered Jesus Christ, who knows him or, better, feels known by him, recognized, respected, loved and forgiven. This encounter has touched him deeply, has filled him with new joy and given his life new meaning," the pope said.
The Spirit of Mission
A great scene from a great movie. It captures the spirit of mission. What is your Instrument?
I got to share a presentation - and play my Instrument - with a group from the Catholic Daughters on Wednesday, and with friends locally on Sunday. I'm always very grateful to share!
The Light of the World
Be Bridges
An excerpt from an article in ZENIT on Monday, where a new cardinal in Chile shares his thoughts on the current call in the Church:
Let Us Be Bridges Between Jesus and the People, Says Chile's Cardinal Ezzati
[Chile] is a country, as are all the countries of Latin America, that is experiencing a very profound, epochal change, a cultural change which calls, therefore, for an intelligent, generous and sometimes very sacrificial evangelization. Because, as in Jesus’ time, the proclamation of the Gospel isn’t easy. However, one who receives it, receives also the new life, the generosity of the new life. What is important is that we pastors be pontiffs in the sense of being bridges, so that Jesus will encounter all the people and people can encounter Jesus.
The Best Treats Come From Our Disabilities
I've been stopping by friends' places to make some chocolate with the chocolate paste from Ecuador.
The paste is made with the cooperation of several people with disabilities on the farm at Amigos del Arca Ecuador, the project for the disabled. It comes from some of the best cocoa trees that exist on the planet, so you've probably never tasted chocolate quite like this before.
Here are a few pictures from the cacao (cocoa) processing in Amigos del Arca. The cacao seeds are being dried in the first picture and baked in the second. Cesar, a very friendly young guy who has a physical disability that leaves him very thin and with distortion in some of his limbs, oversees the cacao processing.
For making the chocolate here, I use a very simple recipe, melting the paste (which is essentially unsweetened baking chocolate) and mixing with a "secret" ingredient:
It's in the fridge within 25 minutes, ready to eat in an hour.
More proof that, with faith in God, the best treats in the world come from our disabilities!
"Power is perfected in weakness." (2 Cor 12:9)
The Church Needs the Poor to Set Its Direction
A good article in the Boston Globe yesterday, on the selections of Cardinals by Pope Francis, and, really, its relation to mission. Here are a few excerpts:
Cardinal picks embody principles of ‘Pope of the Poor’, By John L. Allen Jr.
In Haiti, the pope bypassed the leaders of the country’s two archdioceses, who according to the usual logic would have had better claim to the honor, in order to tap the bishop of a small diocese in the country’s southwest, a man who was himself born into a poor family.
In effect, Francis seemed to want his first consistory to embrace the “periphery” in every possible sense.
“It’s the pope’s prerogative to make whoever he wants a cardinal, but it’s fair to say that I was an unusual choice,” Chibly Langlois said in an interview Friday with the Globe.
“I think it’s rooted in the Gospel,” Langlois said, “symbolizing the pope’s determination to leave no stone unturned in reaching out to the poor.”
He said that giving the country a cardinal has stirred the hopes of Haitians of all stripes.
“It’s created tremendous joy, independently of someone’s religion, whether they’re Catholic or Protestant or whatever,” he said. “Haitians feel a craving for somebody to finally notice them, which is why this means so much to the whole country.” ...
Yet Langlois argued that Francis wasn’t just talking to Haitians in this consistory — he was delivering a message to the rest of the church.
“[Pope Francis] chose a small diocese . . . to express that the church needs the poor to set its direction,” he said. “The future of the universal church under this pope runs through the poor.”
...
Asked what affluent believers in countries such as the United State can do to help Haiti, for instance, Langlois said the solution doesn’t begin with opening their wallets but with “opening their eyes and ears.” “You need to take a good look around, and try to understand what’s really happening,” Langlois said.
While expressing gratitude for assistance that’s reached Haiti from the United States and other donor nations, Langlois said that the last thing Haitians need is another foreign power riding in, even with the best of intentions, and dictating to them how to move forward.
“The Haitians are a people who need to be helped, maybe, but we don’t need to be ‘assisted,’ ” Langlois said. “More than anything, Haitians need to be heard. What’s needed is a dialogue, so Haitians can take their future in their own hands.”
In the New Testament, Jesus asserts that in the Kingdom of God “the last shall be first.” If personnel is policy, then judging by his first crop of new cardinals it seems that Pope Francis has gotten the memo.
Sharing at Mass
The Sunday before last, I had the opportunity to speak after the Sunday Mass in Spanish at St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Milford, Mass. The parochial vicar there, Fr Dario Acevedo, is a friend from my seminary days who invited me to come and share about the mission in Ecuador because there is an Ecuadorian community there. Fr Dario is from Colombia, and he and I spent a lot of time in the seminary helping each other with language - he even had the idea of translating the book I wrote into Spanish, though that never got too far! But, to be able to speak to the people pretty fluently in Spanish was a sort of a full-circle coming of events when I remember our meetings together practicing pronunciation and whatnot. It was really a gift for me to share some of what I am doing in Ecuador with the community there. Ecuadorians have a variety of cultures, and the locals there at St Mary's would have some differences with the people who I've lived with. They are from the Sierra region in the south, where I've been mostly in the Costa region in the north. But they are still bonded obviously - Fr Dario took up a collection and the people gave over $250 to be used for the mission. For people who are struggling to fit in in Milford, it was very generous. I'm very grateful.
