Beatificación de Monseñor Romero

What a wonderful 3 day event it was as we attended Monsignor Romero’s Beatification.  If you are not familiar with Monsignor Romero you can read a brief history here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%93scar_Romero.

First I want to thank The CIS (Centro de Intercambio y Solidaridad) an NGO that has been serving the Salvadoran people for over 20 years. The CIS provides language schools, water filter programs, student scholarship programs, women’s empowerment training and a host of other seminars and trainings. All of this work done with community development of the communities involved. To learn more about them you can go here http://cis-elsalvador.org/index.php/en/.

CIS gave us an opportunity to join a small delegation they had put together for the beatification. We attended events Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the beatification weekend. Everything was well planned and orchestrated and enhanced our experience. Our new friends were Jean from Missouri, Jill from Wisconsin, Laurie from Florida, Karen from California and Susan from California, Leslie Schuld the Director of CIS attended various parts of CIS/Beatification events and Zulma an employee of CIS who coordinates events for incoming delegations and she’s also a very good translator

For Dianne and I to attend this beatification was just a momentous occasion. We’ve been involved with El Salvador for over 7 years now and Monsignor Romero’s story is as moving now as the 1^st time we heard it. His beatification is the fulfillment of many prayers of the Salvadoran people and people of all countries who know his humble but strong message that we cannot stand by and watch the marginalized Salvadoran people be exploited and killed by their government and the rich and powerful who controlled the government.

As with almost every story I know about in El Salvador, his martyrdom story and the long wait for his beatification is very complicated. I would rather not dwell on the history at this time so I can share with you our experience.

On Thursday night we attended a Theatrical presentation of Romero’s life at the FESPAD auditorium in Santa Tecla. It was put on by college students. It consisted of still photos and short documentary clips on a large screen while various members of the group sang, danced and portrayed situations of that time. The situations consisted of soldier harassment of the people and finally the murder of Romero himself. It was extremely well done and compelling.  What a fantastic way to start the beatification journey with our group from CIS.

On Friday we went to Bishop Romero’s Chapel where he was martyred, Divina Providencia and we also visited his house that was also on the grounds. The house is very small and simple. He chose this house over the more palatial home reserved for the Bishop of El Salvador as a symbol of his humility before God and the poor people of San Salvador. I have to admit that although Dianne and I have visited these hallowed grounds many times I can’t help but become misty eyed when I think of his utmost sacrifice for his love of the poor and his faith in Jesus’s message to care for the least of these in this country. He didn’t just believe in Jesus’s message he died for that message.

The highlight of that day was attending the march to the Vigilia (Vigil) that night and attending a portion of it. The march started at The San Salvador Cathedral next to the National Palace. It was a fitting place to start because it was in this place that during the funeral of Bishop Romero government troops open fired on the thousands of people who attending the funeral killing over 50 and injuring many more. Their only crime was attending the funeral of someone the government and wealthy families of the oligarchy dearly hated. The March ended at Salvador del Mundo about 3 miles away.

So we arrived at about 4 PM for the 5 PM starting time and just took in the sights and sounds. It was a mass of humanity all full of alegria (happiness). There were many youth groups carrying banners, church groups and many others. Spontaneous singing would erupt, then we would hear “Dame un ere” (give me and R) we would spell out Romero's name and then shout it out with the people. Then the March started just as the rains came but this wasn’t just rain, this was pouring rain. The rain did not dampen (excuse the pun) the spirits of the crowd. Trucks blared religious music, people shouted and laughed as we marched as a soaking wet throng of believers who wouldn’t trade this opportunity for a moment. Dianne pointed out that it was truly a crowd of Romero’s people. The poor and marginalized of El Salvador giving Romero Alabanzas (praises).

We want to share with you a touching story of Zulma. She was the coordinator of the group and her mother attended the March with us. Zulma and her mother stayed the entire night at the vigilia so her mother could be part of the entire event and have a good spot at the beatification the next day. It was pouring but they had no intention of leaving.  It was moving to see how they shrugged off the weather as it truly meant nothing for them because they were so happy to be here.

The next day was the beatification and we arrived at Salvador del Mundo at around 6:30AM for the 10 AM Mass. The streets were already getting full as we moved forward with the rest of the “great unwashed” to get as close to the stage as possible. The streets were full of food vendors and sellers of every imaginable tchotchke of Romero.  Romero’s face emblazoned a million different buttons, hats, balloons, T-shirts and flags. There was even a Romero on a stick whose arms and legs moved when you pulled a string. It was part Carnival, street fair, food court, and I almost forgot a Beatification Mass. 

105 Bishops attended, over 1,000 priests and numerous dignitaries from other countries such as the President and VP of Bolivia and other Central and South America Countries. Then there were the estimated 200 to 300 thousand Salvadorans. Communities and Church groups from around the country took buses to the beatification. There sacrifice to attend the event reminded me of Zulma and her mothers. The people who took the buses in some cases had the busses park over 7 miles away and then they had to walk to the Mass. Let me assure you there were more busses than we could count when we left and drove out of the city we saw bus, after bus, after bus. It was incredible.

We ended up a little more than a hundred yards from the stage and at first the crowd didn’t seem too bad. Then waves of people came and more waves came crashing in. Now I love my people in El Salvador but they have honed their skills at pushing and shoving to get on and off the busses their entire lives. They used those skills to get closer to the stage. At one point we could barely move our arms and shifting from foot to foot was the only way to get some relief from constant standing in the sun with no shade. But the people kept coming. Yes, I know it sounds like an uncomfortable situation and at times, it was. That said, the crowd was alive and we were part of it. We sang “Que alegria cuando me dijieron vamos a la casa del senor” – What a joy when they said, we are going to the house of the lord. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaKw7vAH5OA. We also sang Demos gracias al Senor- Let us give thanks to the Lord https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCCKAwCbW5U. It was spiritually staggering to sing those songs with thousands of our brothers and sisters in Christ. We had Salvadorans in the crowd come up to us and thank us for sharing this amazing event with them. As we sang I noticed a few of my Salvadoran brothers and sisters in Christ look at us with that “hey those gringo’s can belt out our tunes” looks on their faces and they smiled at me and Dianne and nodded at us in acceptance. Just remembering these moments make me misty right now (being a missionary has made me so emotional).

We also witnessed what we and many others believed was a miraculous event. During all of this all of a sudden people started looking to the sky and a rainbow had appeared in a halo type pattern. It was as if God was giving us a sign of his personal blessing on this day.

The Beatification ended at around 1:30 and we all started to disperse. It was a strange feeling as sometimes you are part of something that you think is a remarkable happening but it ends up being uneventful, it doesn’t meet the built up expectations. But I guarantee you this exceeded all expectations. The unity we felt can’t be described. We were emotionally, spiritually and physically drained but very aware of what we just participated in.

The Beatification is finally a small sliver of reconciliation for the poor of this country who were so devastated by the war and I will not lie, they still suffer very much if not more right now than they did during the war. This doesn’t mean Romero died for nothing; this doesn’t diminish his martyrdom at all. In the midst of all this suffering Romero still lives among the people. As Romero said "If they kill me, I shall arise in the Salvadoran people." We saw this resurrection in the crowds of the Salvadorans there.

His death as many describe was a political order because of his unwavering belief in Jesus’s message that a special option exists for the poor and thus his death was much like that of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Like Jesus he attacked the root causes of injustice and how they worked against the Kingdom of God.  He proclaimed we must protect and care for the marginalized of our society regardless of how it changes the social order of that society, it is commanded of us by Christ.  As we know both men died for proclaiming this message but as we also know the instruments of evil didn’t win.

Standing with the poor isn’t easy. Many people do it year in and year out. It’s done all over the world in every corner of every country be it here in El Salvador or in the streets of my home Worcester, MA. The work never seems to stop and in the trenches it’s hard to see any progress sometimes but let me leave you with Bishop Romero’s prayer. It always has helped me realize we are not about results we are about faith.

It helps, now and then, to step back

and take the long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is beyond our vision.

 We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of

the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete,
which is another way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.

 No statement says all that could be said.

No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

 This is what we are about:

We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.

 We cannot do everything

and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for God's grace to enter and do the rest.

 We may never see the end results,

but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders,
ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.

Doubts and Faith

Don Santos, Alexa and Marina

 El Maizal has recently welcomed 5 new babies into our community. We have Alexa, Alison, Alison, Caleb and Esmerelda. When I hold a new baby I am always amazed at how delicate, precious and tiny they are. It’s cliché but very true that babies are our future. I love babies.

The birth of Alexa has had an added impact on her family and their story impacted me. Her parents are Santos and Marina Portillo. They are active members of our church.  Santos leads our Community Bible studies and Marina participates and has been the president of the women’s group.

As is custom here, after her birth at one of our services Alexa was presented and her family was blessed (not a baptism yet, that’s later). Then a week or so later at our Sunday service Santos asked that we all attend a special service of thanksgiving for her the following Sunday and a small get together after.

We attended the service and get together the following Sunday. It was a nice event, the phrase in Spanish goes like this, Siento el calor del comunidad. Translated it means I feel the heat of the community but its real meaning is I can feel the emotional warmth of the community. It was a genuinely happy event.  The impact on me came from a story Santos shared with us about his family and their faith.

Before I get to that let me remind you of what the readings were after Easter Sunday. We had John’s, the doubting Thomas Gospel and we had  Luke’s Gospel of Jesus appearing to the Disciples showing them his wounds yet, some still doubted. In these Gospels we see doubts even amongst Jesus’s closest of friends and we see their faith and hope in the midst of their doubts. It was a very tough and confusing time for the Apostles and their faith. The significance for me is that by nature we have doubts but by faith we can overcome the doubts and have hope for the future. Hope for our future on earth and hope for our eternal life.

Now, let’s get back to Santos. Santos told us how Alexa was an answer to his and Marina’s prayers. Four years ago they lost a baby girl who died 15 days after her birth. He and Marina we obviously devastated.

I can’t imagine the anguish of burying an infant child. Santos shared with us, he asked God “why, why, why”?  This is a moment in human life where the faith is now under fire.  An unbelievable tragedy strikes us and we look to God and say why, why me, why her, why??? The implication is why did you do this to me. This is when faith can be broken, put on hold for years or maybe strengthened.  Santos told us that he and Marina maintained their faith and prayed to God that they be allowed to have another baby.  As he became misty eyed and voice a little shaky, he said Alexa was the answer to their prayers.  It took four years but God gave them Alexa. I can tell you that Don Santos was not the only misty eyed person there.

 Don Santos and Marina proved to me what I thought. In our doubts we can still have faith. It’s hard, it’s confusing but it’s what we are called to do. Trust in God at all times.

Ahhh, the simple life

La vida sencilla

Ahhhh the simple life. The mission got a little sidetracked. The mission was interrupted for 10 weeks because Dianne was inflicted with an unusually bad case of Chikungunya. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chikungunya.  Most people have it for 7-10 days and that’s it. Its name is of African origin and means, walking stooped over. I had it for about 8 days and that’s what it is like, the pain in my joints had me stooped over. For Dianne almost all the symptoms went away except for the joint pain. We ended up back in the U.S. so she could be checked out thoroughly after she put up with this pain from the middle of November till the New Year. Long story short she was tested for everything under the sun and it came back as a severe case of Chikungunya. After 10 weeks of rest in the U.S. she is improving. The pain is not gone but it’s more manageable for her. Being the way she is, she’s tried to fight through this but with this joint pain, that doesn’t work. The Dr. said it could be one to two more months. To her credit she’s decided to return to the mission and just let it play out. The Doctor said the reason her case was so bad is because she is a “delicate flower” but that said her dedication is inspiring, she has more than enough reason to stay home longer but she may look like a delicate flower but that’s far from the case.

So we landed in El Salvador on March 15^th. Our 2^nd year Anniversary of the mission was March 4^th and in a way the interruption was a good thing although the reason was not good at all. An interruption like this gave us time to reflect on what we have learned. One thing we learned is that we like the simple life of El Maizal. It’s not easy but it’s simpler.

One observation is that this simple life is addicting. Remember, we live in los campos (the country). It’s not remotely like the big cities of El Salvador. At 6-7 PM this community and the surrounding communities are finishing supper and preparing for bed. It’s nice and quiet. Even during the day it’s quiet. There are the buses and cars on the main road but they aren’t that loud. We mostly notice the chickens clucking along as they graze, the many beautifully colored birds talking back and forth to each other and the chatter of kids playing and adults talking. Vida esta tranquilo (life is tranquil)

Life is simpler because most decisions are made sensibly and prudently. We initially found ourselves shaking our heads in disbelief in some decisions but we were normally proved wrong. We forget that all the tools and supplies that we have at our fingertips at home don’t normally exist here. People improvise here all the time and they are very good at it and since they are used to it, they don’t get flustered as easy as we would.

We also find it simpler because we rest more, not because we can but because we must. For a while we were in the full march mode, we must be productive at all times and be available 24/7. But that’s a quick way of making service to God become a grind. That’s not conducive to living the message of our Lord and Savior because you forget to see Jesus in everyone you meet. Well intentioned friends or strangers become impediments to results. You also don’t connect to God in prayer or studying scripture as purposely as you should. You can forget to accompany people with a smile and calming words about life and faith. After all that is what mission is about first and foremost, accompany people as their brothers and sisters in Christ.

The other noticeable thing that simplifies life is that literally all plans are not set in stone. We’ve experienced so many plans that get either cancelled or changed at a moment’s notice that now we expect it. I’m not saying it didn’t drive us crazy and that on occasion it still does but remember decisions are made sensibly so if something comes up more important, things change immediately. They don’t imprison themselves in a system that requires that you sometimes put more emphasis on maintaining a schedule versus addressing an immediate need. In fairness to my North American friends the complexity and difficulty of daily lives here create more emergencies than in the U.S. so it’s much easier to maintain schedules in the states. There’s a relaxing effect to life when you can shrug off changes and reschedule meetings and move along instead of being aggravated and feeling inconvenienced.

Our advice based on what we have learned is that we need to remember to relax and rest sometimes. If you’re the type of person that must have a daily plan then put rest into the plan.

Mark 6:31 - Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."

 

En la paz de Dios

 

Tomas y Dianna

Writers Block

Allow me to start by giving my apologies for being an absentee blogger. I can't believe I haven't blogged for over 5 months. I've posted lots of pictures and stories to Facebook but the blogging, well I just wasn't feeling it. I had started 3 different blogs but never finished them and ended up deleting them. I had a case of writers block.

That said; let’s see if number 4 is the charm.

Being so far from home unfortunately has not shielded us from the unrest, racial tensions and just general lack of faith in some institutions (our police forces and government) in our beloved country. I’m not naïve enough to think that these issues are just a passing thing or that they are unjustified. But, as many have and should point out (I’ll get to it also) that we can’t focus or look at our differences if we think we are going to solve these problems together.

Let me share a couple of situations that caused me to step back and think.

We recently had a new well built in our community by Living Waters International because of the generous donations of New Song Church of Prairieville, Louisiana. A group of their parishioners including their pastor came down to help in the construction. They worked hard in this Salvadoran heat (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IUDNMlKW1U) to bring a constant supply of clean water to El Maizal. They were as pleasant as could be to the people of our community, especially the children and thanked us over and over again for our sacrifice as missionaries. I never heard them complain about anything even though for most of them it was the 1^st time they’ve ever been to El Salvador and trust me there are things to complain about in El Salv………, never mind. But do you get my point, what a great group of people. By the way they are Methodists.

So what do I do? One night I go online and look up Methodists because I want to know what they are about. I start reading and I’m thinking OK, I like that, Hmmmmmmm, I don’t know about that and it continues until a light goes off in this cavernous head of mine. TOM, you already know what Methodists are. They are pleasant, hardworking people who are willing to sacrifice time and money for others, they don’t complain, they appreciate the sacrifice of others before their own sacrifice and they do it all in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Why was I looking them up and reading about their faith putting my own judgment on their belief system and if I continued possibly putting those judgments onto them??? Because, I wasn’t recognizing what was right in front of me. They are who they are, described by the way they practice their faith through actions.  THAT’S WHO METHODISTS ARE!!

Now then, I’m glad I caught myself on that. So then, poor Dianne has been sick for almost 7 weeks now. She started with Chikungunya whose fever left after a week but the constant body pain continued, then the fever came back and she was diagnosed with a bladder infection. She’s not a good patient because she hates not being able to help out but the only solution is constant rest. Sooooooooo, where am I going with this? We have a dear friend who works near our house every day. When she became aware of Dianne’s health problems she volunteered to wash our clothes for us. I offered to pay her but she refused, she said we are friends, paying her would be an insult.  So she comes twice a week and washed our clothes by hand. I pitifully help but she does most of the work. Keep in mind her days start at 4 AM, so she can wash her own clothes, cook breakfast for the family, get her family going for the day, she goes to work for 4 or 5 hours till noon. Takes a 2 or 3 hour break (after making lunch) and then comes to do back breaking work at our house. By the way she’s a Jehovah Witness.

Soooo, we all know that feeling when we hear Jehovah Witness (no Christmas, no Halloween, no celebrations, what the heck). But that wasn’t enough for me, I had to go online and see what she and her faith were about. I started reading and was thinking, I don’t know about this, this sounds kind of crazy to me when the light bulb went off again. TOM, WHAT ARE YOU DOING????????? You know what a Jehovah Witness is. They are the type of people who put their own comforts aside for their family, they work endlessly to keep their lives and the lives of their families going smooth and when they are exhausted from a long hard day, they sacrifice even more for friends.  She was doing in the name of her Lord. Why was I reading about them only reinforcing the stereotype I had in my head????? I already knew by witnessing with my own eyes what a Jehovah Witness was. They are who they are, described by the way they practice their faith through actions (sound familiar). THAT’S WHO JEHOVAH’S ARE!!

For a guy who reads the Letter of James at least every couple of months, you’d think I’d get it by now. So here I was amongst great people doing great things in the name of God and twice I fell into the trap. Was it my Tempter (if you don’t get that reference read the Screw tape Letters by C.S. Lewis, ASAP). I was looking at our differences. Thanks be to God, I caught myself those times but will I next? As my Jehovah friend pointed out once as we did wash together “Tom, humans are imperfect” (Can I get an AMEN).

Let me try to pull this all together. Looking for and recognizing the differences between us, is a real fast way of creating us and them scenarios, not a great way to work out solutions to complex problems. What do we have in common? We’re all human, we’re all imperfect, we all have our great moments and our shameful ones but we’re all Brothers and Sisters in Christ.

En la paz de Dios

Tom y Dianna Wilson

But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

God Shows no Partiality

In God’s Mission here in El Salvador, sometimes things come at us so fast it’s hard to stay focused on anything. Sometimes it’s unexpectedly hard labor, other things make us break out in smiles, others push us to tears and some are so spiritually uplifting we thank God he has sent us here. Yesterday was uplifting.

There we are shaking the hand of retired Bishop Gene Robinson of the Diocese of New Hampshire. In the words of Bishop Martin Barahona, “Bishop Robinson is a true champion of human rights and dignity”. If you do not know this man he is the first openly gay Bishop of the Episcopal Church.  For Dianne and I this was a momentous occasion. How often do you shake hands with people who defy the status quo publically to millions, who preach the love of Jesus for all people to millions regardless of the consequences  and who does all this with a consistent trust in Jesus’s words “and surely I am with you always to the very end of the age”

Yesterday we were invited to a special service presided by Bishop Martin Barahona and Bishop Gene Robinson in the honor of the LGBTI community in El Salvador and their friends and families. It was held at San Juan Evangelista in San Salvador.  Dianne and I plus 10 members of the community went for the 2 PM service to support these brave members of the Episcopal Church in El Salvador and support the Episcopal Church for having the bravery to stand with our brothers and sisters in Christ who are oppressed and marginalized here. It was great to see everyone there and we also met other North Americans who have been in El Salvador for a Conference on LGBTI rights held by Cristosal Fundacion who had Bishop Robinson as one of their speakers.

As we sat there taking it all in it hit me during Bishop Martin’s sermon exactly what Bishop Robinson represented. Bishop Martin mentioned how the World Cup was being decided but we needed to focus on the Eucharist, a symbol of God’s love that unites all of us as Christians. He also pointed out that in sports you hear words like humiliation and dignity but is losing a game really humiliating when compared to humiliation of losing your human rights because of your sexual orientation. Or, how does winning a game bring dignity to a team or country in comparison to a man like Bishop Robinson who brought dignity to the important discussion of Human Rights to all of God’s people. This is not dignity brought on by the elevated status of being a Bishop but the dignity of being able to express with truth, honesty and love that human rights for the LGBTI community are a mandate from God. Bishop Robinson didn’t have to sink to the level of those who opposed his views, people whose hearts were filled with anger and hate. Bishop Robinson trusted in Jesus’s message that as disciples of Jesus we can change people with truth, honesty and Love and Bishop Martin said he had witnessed this change when Bishop Robinson spoke to supporters of his and those who opposed him. As in yesterday’s Gospel of the Sower of seeds, Bishop Robinson’s message delivered with dignity does fall on good soil and many Christians do hear the message and understand and it will bear fruit multiple times over.  Bishop Martins point was that a true Champion isn’t someone who plays sports; a man like Bishop Robinson is a true Champion. As Bishop Martin said, “It might be hard to imagine Bishop Robinson running up and down the Futbol field winning the game but he has run all over the world winning the game of Human Rights. Bishop Robinson is a champion of our faith”.  I would be remiss if I didn’t add this; Iglesia San Juan Evangelista was full of Champions. These champions were the men and woman of the LGBTI community in El Salvador who have stood up for their rights knowing full well the danger it puts them in. These are men and women of the Episcopal Church who trust in God that His justice will prevail. Dianne and I were in the presence of true champions.

So there we are shaking Bishop Robinson’s hand, this Champions hand. All I can say is that it was uplifting to speak with a man of this bravery who has done so much for our faith. He thanked Dianne and me for our service to Christ and we thanked him for being such and inspiration for all of us.

Acts 10:34 - So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality.



Junk Drawer Continued

To be continued………………………………………………….

 

36.     As Dianne likes to put it, our daily schedule is like New England weather. Wait 5 minutes and it’ll change.

37.     We found that clean is very subjective when it comes to clothes. Dianne maintains a higher level than me but I’ve been known to let sweaty shirts dry and then wear to work again the next day if they pass the smell test. (OK, kinda pass)

38.     You know that Salvadoran people are short? HOW SHORT ARE THEY???????? I can have 4 of our friends in the backseat, look in my rearview mirror and I don’t even see the tops of their heads J

39.     If a Salvadoran friend asks for a quick ride someplace, don’t believe for one second it will be quick. I’ve yet to leave our community with one person and not returned with at least 2 or 3 more. There’s always a side trip or someone we know someplace.

40.     At the check points the police may be armed to the teeth but if you give your U.S. License, your international license, your vehicle identification card and your Salvadoran Identification Card you’re good to go. Very important… when they say “porta arma” (do you have a gun) say no.

41.     So I’m picking dried corn off the stalks for processing and one of the guys says, ‘get rid of the gloves it makes it too hard’. I toss my gloves and he’s right, it’s easier picking now. Then 5 minutes later he says, watch out for Alacrans (scorpions), you’re going to see a lot of them on the corn. WHAT THE $@#^&%, that’s why I was wearing gloves!!!!! He wasn’t kidding either but Demos gracias adios I didn’t get stung.

42.     On our divided highways you can actually do a U-Turn into the other side of the highway. Of course you must pull into the right breakdown lane in order to swing into the opening in the highway dividers that, if you’re lucky, is wider than your car. You’re only crossing 3 lanes of speeding traffic but we’re living proof it can be done safely.

43.     Salvadorans eat Pupusas for breakfast (one of the reasons I love this place), they eat them for supper too (another reason, I’m lovin it)but they’re hard to find for lunch. I’m told it’s just not done.

44.     My gas attendant yesterday was wearing an Uzi, just saying.

45. When going to work in the fields, you bring your cell phone in case of emergencies. If I drove to work I have my wallet too. Before you leave the house everything goes in plastic sandwich bags before they go in your pocket.  One, it might rain and we keep working and two, you sweat through everything and you don’t want to kill your cellphone and I hate a soggy wallet.

46.  At the end of rainy season fields of tiny morning glories appear and they cover everything and it’s beautiful to see but to the people here they’re just monte (weeds).

47.  We’re starting to eat street food and our preference is Pupusas (of course). If you want to be safe skip the curtido. It’s coleslaw that you don’t know what water it was washed with and unless you see the salsa cooking skip that too. We haven’t had a problem.

48. Oh, my trick of curing the Salsa /curtido bad water problem. When I bring them home I bring the salsa to a boil before eating and the curtido I add a little water to and bring it to a good steam.

49.  Another favorite street food is fried chicken, I swear they have the process down pat, I haven’t eaten bad fried chicken yet.

50.  Speaking of fried chicken you have some Major Players in this franchise battle down here. Pollo Campero, Pollo Choice and good Old Kentucky Fried Chicken. Pollo Choice is OK but it’s just not in the same league as the others and KFC just isn’t doing the U.S. proud. Pollo Campero is the go to place when Dianne and I want fried chicken. There’s one in Providence RI, East Boston and Chelsea, MA. Take it from the Missionary Gordito’s, you need to go get some right now.(See #54)

51.  Sick of Chicken talk, I’m not. Until I came to El Salvador I have never seen Chicken fast food restaurants this big. One side is like a huge children’s indoor playground and the other serves food either sit-down or take out.  Both KFC and Pollo Campero have these Chicken eating children playing wonderlands.

52. Here’s the scene OK, you’re in bumper to bumper traffic. You see someone with their blinker on and they want to change lanes. Sometimes I let them in; sometimes I don’t. It depends on how PO’ed I am. Don’t let the title Missionary fool you, I get PO’ed.  Now then, if the blinker goes on and the driver rolls his window down and starts pointing to where he’s going, you better let him in, he’s coming. I’ve done it, it works. I love driving down here.

53. Sitting on our porch just zoning out, just soaking up the view, and Dianne asks “can chickens walk without bobbing their heads????”  I look and I kid you not, they walk and bob their heads, walk and bob, walk and bob. Maybe we’ve been here to long maybe not but we’ve been watching these guys for over a year and sometimes these little things pop into your head. Note to self, Dianne is watching the chickens too closely.

54. We’ve found some great cheese puff snacks called Gorditos. Allow me to explain “Gordito” loosely defined is “cute little fatty”. Being a cute little fatty, do they have to remind us what we’re doing to ourselves as we eat? Again, I kid you not “Gorditos”

55. So I’m getting some diesel fuel at the Gasolinera and the pump stops, I assume it’s full. The gas attendant says poco mas (a little more), I say va pues (sure). Well he proceeds to top this off like I’ve never seen, he pumps diesel then starts rocking the car like he’s tipping a cow. He does this over and over till he’s put in a full gallon + more. Dianne was in the car and thought she was in a roller coaster.

56. Our winning streak against scorpions went by the boards, one of the bastards got me, yup I said bastard it hurt that much. (Missionary is a title that carries way too many holier than thou connotations). The scorpion actually had crawled all the way up my pant leg and got me on my, wait for it…………. Upper inside thigh, to close for comfort if you know what I mean. Beejeezus did it hurt, felt like I got stuck by a hot poker.  BUT, I took one Benadryl 2 tylenol and woke up the next day no problem.

57. I’ve become accustomed to seeing difficult situation/things here and I don’t really react besides the needed prayer. But I can’t help but smile when I see a girl in her young to midteens holding her Mother or Grandmothers hand at a store walking along talking, laughing and smiling. BFF’s do this also at all ages and it’s just so “nice”.

58. Here’s one of our inside sarcastic jokes. (Yes, missionaries are sarcastic)When something that we thought was going to be quick and easy goes to heck in a hand basket and we’re now waiting endlessly for something to go right. We will look at each other and say sarcastically “well, what else would we be doing”.

59.  If you want to cause a ruckus in church down here, suggest singing an offertory hymn as the ending hymn and you’ll be looked at like you’ve lost your mind. Suggest singing any song out of the normal category and you’ll get that look. Who says change is hard in El Salvador?

60. The elevation of San Salvador is so much higher than El Maizal, that when we drive there, our ears pop going and coming back.

61. Our neighbor’s dogs had a cough; it went on for a few days. They finally made them a home remedy. They made necklaces out of slightly burnt corn cobs and tied them around the dog’s necks. I asked if it was done for humans too. My neighbors said no and look at me like I was wacky.  Stop me if I’m wrong but I thought burnt corn cob necklaces on dogs was kinda wacky.

62. Seeing people out on a family bike ride is common here BUT, they’re all on one bike. We’ve seen 5 people on a bike. Dad driving with a child on the cross bar, Mom holding a baby behind him and then a child standing on pegs in the back. I bet that’s not what you envisioned when you started reading this.

63. Motorcycles are a very popular mode of transportation here but not street bikes.  All the Bikes are mostly 100’s or 125’s. They have to be the most dangerous modes of transportation I’ve ever witnessed and quite frankly it’s the driver’s fault. In heavy (not stopped) traffic they will ride in between lanes, in breakdown lanes and basically weave anyway they want to get ahead. It’s not real conducive for safety when drivers are trying to pass or force their ways into other lanes. I’ve seen at least 5 motorcycle accidents and I’m pretty sure 2 were fatalities. I will never drive or ride on a motorcycle here.

64. Does anyone have a good iguana recipe they want to share???? I see them sold in the road occasionally but not sure what to do with them.

65.We saw a Gecko run up one of our walls with ½ a tail. We felt bad for a second till we thought, OMG, whatever grabbed his tail is in our house!!!!!!!!!!!

66.Too much information alert. We’re adults right??? Well guys pull over down here to pee along the side of the road, no biggee right? Well, they don’t step into the woods. There they are, right there feet from the road pee’ing. COME ON!!!!!!!!!!!

67. Dinner on an open porch looking over the Pacific with a wonderful sunset view. I had the calamari and shrimp rice mix, Dianne had the grilled large shrimp. They come with rice, salad and tortillas. We also had a few cervezas. The bill including a generous propina (tip) was $30.00

68. Joya Ceren is a local Mayan ruin we’ve visited. It’s their smaller version of Pompeii. Buried in volcanic ash, dust and lava. All interesting stuff but a side note is that the place was full of Torogoz (National Bird of El Salvador). The Torogoz build their nests in the soft ground of cliff faces or steep riverbanks. The way the ruins have been excavated many nesting places have been created.

69.In the U.S. as soon as any little boy can grasp something with his hand, we hand them a baseball or ball of some sort to throw. Down here, as soon as they can walk, they start kicking a ball. I like the nuanced differences.

70. Sometimes it gets a little challenging wondering if we are accomplishing anything. But, I just read a great quote from a Priest discussing Churches embracing the principals of the business world to produce more success in ministry. He reminds us that “We’re called to be faithful, not successful”.

 

 Demos gracias a Dios

It is simply 4 words

It's hard to believe but March 4th is our 1 year Anniversary as Missionaries in El Salvador.

If we can share any insight about God's mission, about hearing God's call to mission, about answering God's call to mission, about doing God's mission.

It is simply this,


"Do not be afraid"

salu

Tomas y Dianna

One body many parts

One of the unknown benefits of my mission work is I get to give communion to my congregation. I've come to realize in a very short time that sharing the Eucharist may be a very sacred act of our faith but it's very personal too. It gives me a sense of happiness to give El Cuerpo de Cristo pan de Cielo (The Body of Christ the bread of heaven) to my friends. I see them in line smiling and I have to admit it brings a smile to my face. For the children who receive I dip the hostia (host) in the wine and hand it to them. They have these big smiles with big brown eyes and they love receiving it. I always approached communion formal and somber for this sacred event, nothing wrong with that. Now that I'm on the giving end, I think I've learned this a is a celebration not a formal event and the moment is to be enjoyed. It's what Jesus would want.

Just after the elections Dianne and I had a group of Election observers from Chicago come visit us and our community. I'm glad to say that they said from their viewpoint they observed nothing alarming to report. They also stated that for the most part they were welcome at the different locations they visited although one spot the people were a little cold or suspicious of them but again they had no problems. This is very good news. These people deserve a huge amount of credit because it can be dangerous. Elections can bring out the worse in people and these observers bravely walk into places they've never seen and report what they see impartially regardless of their own safety. That's brave and God bless them.

Cleaning this trench was not in the Mission Brochure

My companeros enjoying a well deserved break

These boys work shoulder to shoulder with the men

Here's one of the more glamorous parts of life here. We have a drainage canal in the community that takes our waste and rainwater out from near the homes. Normally it needs to be dredged (dug out by hand) twice a year to keep the water flowing. At times it can smell very swampy and of course is a breeding ground for mosquitos and sancudos (pronounced san-coo-does), a mosquito type insect. The good thing is that none of it is raw sewerage, just mostly rotted vegetable matter, thick stinky mud and assorted trash. What was very gratifying was that this was the first community job I had to round up volunteers for. It's not a fun job but about 7 men and the 2 young men showed up ready to go. Many hands make light work, we finished in a little over and hour and cold gaseosa (soda) was enjoyed by everyone. You'll notice some of the boys helping. This is never an uncommon sight. The boys are constant helpers regardless of how hard or heavy the work is. They impress me with their work ethic (actually everybody does) but work ethic is a consistent characteristic here. These people work hard, harder than I can explain and it starts very, very young. The girls or boys are working very hard at 8 or 9. I'll blog about them someday.

the stirring line

It's hot work, you can feel the heat on your legs when stirring

This work is going to give me Popeye arms before I leave

Curtido - Salvadoreno Cole slaw served with pupusas

Serline and Thelma putting the finishing touches on Curtido



Pan toasted spices that were then milled, mixed with water to make a cold drink called fresca
 





This is where all the work came together

These are pictures of our women's group doing some preparation to cook and sell Pupusas during a visit from the Medical Miracles team from the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York, more on them later. When we host large events it is an opportunity to raise funds for the Church through negocio (Business). In this case we had a Pupusaria. It was a true community business. We needed 25 lbs of ground corn, 12 lbs of Manteca (lard), 50 tomatoes, 20 Green Peppers, 15 onions, 3 large cabbages (I'm talking Basketball sized), 15 lbs of frijoles, paper plates, paper cups, Quesilla (a specific cheese only used in pupusas), consomme, carrots, hot peppers and I know I've forgotten some items. We had a community meeting, announced the business, where the funds would go and asked that the community please contribute items towards the business. I'm proud to say everything on the list was either contributed or people contributed $'s to pay for items.  I want to specifically thank the Agricultural Project run by Senor Cabeza and his Assistant Nelson as they contributed all the tomato's and peppers from what they grow. Dianne and I helped and watched as the woman started preparing everything the night before. Lets just say that for now on I'll appreciate Pupusas even more because it's a huge amount of work. The frijoles by themselves take at least 2 hours to cook and grind properly for use. You can see, the beans are cooked over an open fire and we all take turns stirring so they won't burn. Considering all of their other responsibilities, it was quite the sacrifice they did for the Church of God. To my friends at home, wait till we have a Pupusa party at the Casa de Wilson, you'll have found a new favorite exotic dish that belongs solely to El Salvador.

Mission of Miracles setting up

The patients get logged in and receive a number

The Dental Team sets up

Looking good, getting things organized
 

Waiting patiently

Los Bromas had a large group waiting for care

I even found a fellow Red Sox Fan

We even had a clown juggling

 





Others waited patiently, these ninas waiting cutely.

These pictures are from a visit we had from a group from the Diocese of Central New York. Let me explain that they do not just come to visit El Maizal. They coordinate their visit with the Diocesan Health Dept, run by Dr Daniella Flamenco. Their Ministry is named Mission of Miracles and they have been coming to El Salvador for 10 years. Their team provides Dental, General Medical, Psychiatric, Vision and Dental care. The group consisted of Dr's, nurse practitioners and a host of volunteers, they number 30+ people and are here for a week. Their days start early and end late as the crisscross El Salvador bringing care to hundreds of people. In El Maizal I know the number of people treated was between 125 and 150. To learn more about them, this is their website http://missionofmiracles.org/. Besides our community we visited them again when they were providing care in the Community of Los Bromas which is close to us. It's like watching a coordinated anthill of activity as they go about their business. It was our please to host their group in our Community.

 

My point of covering a few different things briefly is that we all play a part in the Mission of our Lord and Savior. We are all called to help those less fortunate and hopefully we do what we can to answer that call. Sometimes it's just digging a ditch, sometimes it's donating some beans, sometimes it's serving a drink, sometimes its watching ballots being counted and sometimes it's caring for the sick. Sometimes the people doing these things are rich, middle class or poor, maybe they are all different races and from different countries. My point is that it's not what you do, it's that you are doing something. It doesn't matter the social status, race or national origin. The call is universal and doesn't target or exclude any of us. Just figure out what you can do and start doing it, it's really that simple. Don't put parameters on what it should be or the impact, Jesus simply wants us to serve and bring his Kingdom closer to us and our world.