Ministries & Projects
On March 15, the country of Ecuador began to enter into lockdown in response to the novel coronavirus. I stayed for 4 months in a house in the community, living with a family in quarantine, visiting homes, facilitating financial resources for the most in need, and facilitating and preaching at the Sunday Mass in the pueblo.
Coupled with, and as a fruit of, sharing life in Chontal, a variety of pastoral ministries naturally arise as seasons ebb and flow, that are at the core of the mission of turning barriers to bridges as brothers and sisters from the USA to Ecuador. These include:
Facilitating and preaching Celebrations of the Word
Spiritual accompaniment, personal and communal.
Visiting seniors, remote homes, and the poorest.
Facilitating the development of new groups and local movements, providing initial support and guidance and impulse, empowering sustainable local vision, leadership, community.
Facilitating new service-oriented projects and bridge-building.
Teaching and forming others for church ministries, including catechists, lectors, altar servers
Initiating and facilitating special faith-based celebrations, including Our Lady of Guadalupe, New Year's, local patrons, etc.
Formation in tools for advancement: language and technology. An emphasis on service to the human person and relationships.
Sharing of simple written materials, media, that are relevant to the local way of life and particular seasons. These include sharing my own book Luz en las Tinieblas, distributing foundational devotional literature, as well as showing of movies with quality themes.
From cash on hand, I was able to split $340 between 8 households most in need, as well as the parish priest, who receives no salary. $160 went to Maria and Jimmi, whose costs for traveling to receive medical care for her serious condition had increased tremendously because of the pandemic. $20 went to each of 7 households, and 1 extra internet router from the church was given to a family needing internet access for their children. (School classes had all been moved online, creating a need for households to order new internet access.) I also spend time supporting the arrangement of internet in some of the homes obtaining for the first time. More description can be found here in God Has a Plan and in Safe Passage.
A workshop for young women under age 20 who had recently become mothers, where they had the opportunity to recall, share, and memorialize their experiences together of becoming a mother. The story of Mary becoming the mother of Jesus is included in Luke’s Gospel through her remembering, sharing, and memorializing the experience, and this is a stimulus for the faith dimension of the workshop.
Each mother had the opportunity to opens a gift bag stage by stage as they went through the 3-stage process. First, to receive a candle of their own, and have the opportunity to share their own story while everyone listens. They covered from the time of conception through pregnancy to the birth of their child. Each story is different, but you could see all that was in common, too, and how they were glad to share about it all. The next piece of the gift was a piece of jigsaw puzzle, that all put together to form a small poster that accompanies Mary's candle. It includes a Scripture passage which is the guide for the workshop: "And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart." (Lk 2:19) The final piece of the gift included a large wooden heart, made by the pueblo carpenter. There were a lot of decorating materials for them to choose from and make a memorial of their own heart, with a spot for their candle.
It was really well liked, and a powerful experience, something very different for them. What made it more interesting was that the mothers all came with their kids for one reason or another! But each finished and decorated their hearts, of course with their child's name and the candle in the center. Afterwards, each got a chance to talk about their design, and share their thoughts on the experience of the day. I took about 2.5 hours total.
I hope to be able to grow this and offer it to more mothers.
In 2019, we raised money to provide Christmas gifts for the Christmas programs for children and seniors in both Chontal and Magdalena. I was also able to donate an extra $250 to different families in need, focusing on families with people with disabilities and sickness.
Since the last update, I was able to disburse the remaining $250 to different families in need, focusing on families with people with disabilities and sickness. Thanks again for the support! Here are the final financial details.
Additional Fundraiser outlays since the last update:
Total $250:
(see the page here for more details on these donations)
$100 to the Bosmediano family.
$30 to Juanito. I mentioned Juanito above.
$30 to Segundo Chiluisa.
$25 to Marta Ayala.
$25 to Pedro Andrade.
$20 to Agustin and Lola Reascos Mediavilla.
$20 to Jimmy and Maria Bastides.
Including the $300 previously donated to the Christmas programs, the total donated from the Fundraiser = $550.
Updated Final Accounting for Fundraiser Receipts:
$454.71 (before fees) Donated to Fundraiser through Campaign [NOTE: $52.07 (before fees) was also donated to the campaign late, in January, and was not used in the fundraiser. That's why the campaign total is $506.78 (before fees)]
+ $103.83 (before fees) Donated to Fundraiser outside of Campaign [NOTE: this is not reflected in the campaign total of $506.78]
= $558.54 (before fees)
= $539.64 Total received after fees
Plus, I added my own $10.36 for a total receipt from the Fundraiser = $550
UPDATE 12/27/2019
I have only a short opportunity with good internet access until early January, so this is the quick update.
We donated $200 to the Christmas program in Chontal and $100 to the Christmas program in Magdelana, the next village over. All went very well. Because of some later donations, I still have an extra $250 believe it or not, and so I'm in the process of finding a good use for that money. That may take a little time, as using donated money is a delicate activity that needs careful consideration of the effects on community and relationships, which are the end goal! I'll have more updates later when I start to get ideas.
Because of my internet limits, I can share links to collections of photos and videos. Here are some:
(1) me handing over the money to the queen of Magdalena, Abigail Reascos (who is responsible with the local leaders for organizing the Christmas program). This went to purchasing about 100 Christmas bags of candies for the kids and seniors. You can see the queen take off on the motorbike afterwards. :) Click here for photos/videos
(2) me handing over the $200 to the queen of Chontal, Kely Bosmediano. Her mother Ines is one of the church leaders. Click here for photos/videos
(3) the Christmas bags and the toys and prizes that were bought with the money the next day in Quito. Click here for photos/videos
(4) pictures and videos from the Chontal Christmas program. You might see me in those! You might also recognize Santa. Click here for photos/videos
Thank you again for sharing in this experience with me. I hope the photos and videos give you a sense of joining with me and being a part of the celebration and activities. Drop me a note anytime, I'll respond as I can. Many best Christmas season wishes, and a Happy new Year!
I accompanied the people and facilitated the Christmas activities in Chontal in 2019. For all the details, please visit the post Make Room. Enjoy the pictures!
I’m accompanying the youth group JUAP (jovenes unidos para el amor al prójimo) in Most Holy Redeemer parish in East Boston, enjoying their hospitality and learning from them and sharing some spiritual wisdom along the way! The members are immigrants and youth of immigrants, largely from El Salvador.
I continue to share locally here in Boston about this mission, and am always open to new ideas for others' participation and for bridge-forming between families, groups, communities, and institutions such as parishes, schools, and others (seniors, children, people with disabilities, etc.)
If you're interested in hearing more, I'd love to hear from you - come on over to the contact page.
I accompanied the people and facilitated the Christmas activities in Chontal in 2018. For all the details, please visit the post Come and Eat. Enjoy the pictures!
The parish San José de los Manduriacos, in which Chontal is one of 13 communities, was only about 6 years old, and for the first time, it had a communal celebration on Christmas Day. There was a need for support for the celebration, which included a Mass, a program including Christmas performances, and food. Having about $200 extra from the fundraiser “Hit me over the wall!”, I offered to pay for one of the two pigs that were needed for the food. It helped to make the celebration worthwhile, as it freed up families to not have to prepare a meal at home, and so to come.
Pork is a principal food at fiestas, as the primary large animal meat. There wouldn’t be beef, as cattle are not used for beef in this region. (In fact, when cows and bulls are no longer useful, they are sold and packed into trucks to be taken to Quito, where they may be used for beef.)
I never got a picture of the actual “Christmas pig”, but I’m including some pig pictures here for your enjoyment.
Just an example of some pigs - it’s the pigs who pay the price for the fiestas!
Subscribers receive news and updates, and gain access to the subscriber-only pages
