Papa Williams Birthday

January 5, 2008

The capital was cool. I got to see some volunteers and hang out some….as well as to develop the pics for the fam here from the wedding. Oh yeah, I also saw Alien vs. Predator 2 here, it was that or National Treasure 2, which I knew would be decent, but there’s just something about a Predator. However, this one was much worse than the first one.

The final fun part was the trip was that a wonderfully ridiculous scenario came up while in Metro Centro, one of San Sal’s malls. A fellow volunteer and I were coming out of the supermarket, when we heard a bunch of laughing and loud talking which is almost always the first sign of Americans. It was, and we eventually got into a convo at the door of why in the world they were here. Mission Trip!!!! Yaaaaaaaa. We are off to bring Christianity to Latin America! Oh wait. Ha….sorry couldn’t help that, naaa they do a lot of good support bringing resources into the areas. But it’s not worth the other cost. Anyways, they wanted us to meet the rest of their group, so we tagged along to the food court to meet them. The first guy I met was their pastor, and it kind of split into two groups describing what we do and our experience so far. They are part of Calvary Chapel Church, he said it was nondenominational.

Anyways, it was good convo for a while, my group was the pastor and a few kids aged 18-20, when an older, I take it leader girl (maybe wife?), came up and listened for a few mins, while they asked if I had visited their church here yet…d’oh! I had tried to avoid it the whole time so as to not make conversation awkward, but it seems like whenever I avoid these things they just end up happening anyways, real funny God. Anyways, so I had to tell them I was Catholic, and from that point, the pastor kind of stepped away and turned slightly the other way, and the lady actually stood up, pushed her chair in and with another girl came up and asked me if I knew Jesus, and then after my answer, asked then how I thought I was going to get to heaven. HA, can you believe that? I was sensing everyone now preparing to leave behind me, so I responded with a quick, here’s the kicker, Catholic Catechism textbook answer, and they just slumped back and looked at me. I had to ask them if that was the right answer to get a response and they were like, actually yes that’s about it. Then the younger girl actually said to me, “well it’s not about giving a right answer.” At that point, I wondered how many of them even had a clue what Catholics believed. I kind of didn’t know what to say to that, and they were leaving so I didn’t bring up our differences, so I just smiled and turned around and said goodbye to the pastor and he told me to look him up online, Pastor Rob, Calvary Chapel, Philadelphia. I might have to do that :)

It’s just that it ticks me off that people consider these lands a fairground of lost sheep ready to come to ‘real’ Christianity….as if Catholicism has never heard of Jesus. That’s the impression I get from all these people here, and it actually makes me really angry, and to my knowledge, that doesn’t happen often. After listening to Greg’s talk from Seacoast that Mother sent, I guess that means I need to do something about it huh? ;) that was for you Mother. No, but in all seriousness, that subject here for me is very frustrating, that these groups come to these places with thoughts in mind, but rarely with any idea of what Catholics teach, never having even looked at a Catechism, or other reputable source. Not that I claim to be anywhere knowledgeable enough of other creeds, but were I to go and ‘evangelize’ another part of the world, I, well personally would probably go apenuts to know everything about them and their history, but at least just know their basics from their writers and sources.

Oh yeah, and get this, in describing his church he was like…and yeah we are more conservative in a lot of ways compared to other denominations, like Pentecostals and those branches are all more emotionally base, but we are different. ‘We are just straight up Scripture’…. If I had a nickel for every time a group used this as their excuse/reason for being different in doctrine….haha. But this was unique in a Protestant group saying another one wasn’t as much in Scripture as much as them. I wonder what my Pentecostal pastor brother of my boss is going to say to this…he is going to eat this up (did I mention that guy sent me a book he’s writing thru email?). Maybe if I create a little Bible war down here, then all the little groups will run each other off, and maybe the leftovers will realize that the answer might have been under their nose the whole time. Then again, maybe all the lazy Catholics would become the collateral damage and the whole thing would backfire :O

Finally, I forgot to mention this earlier. “El Norte” is what they call the winds that come in around this time of year. Definitely woke up yesterday morning when the winds ripped off the metal roof on my back porch. Sweeet. I put it all back together as best I could, but I let Don Raul know and he had the kids fix it by the time I got back tonight haha. I don’t think it would have supported my weight to get up there and do it.

I leave you with a skit that was performed by some PCVs, and then sent out the lyrics… here is an excerpt of it. They sang these words to the song….Total Eclipse of the Heart:

“…And I need a latrine tonight
And I need it more than ever
And a solid poop would be alright
And the amoebas would be gone forever
And I’ll only have dengue to fight
And I’ll be unhealthy here forever
I can make it to the end of my time
I’m living in El Salvador on a few dimes
I shouldn’t take that bus or walk through that park
I’m living in a country where no one goes out after dark
I am going to die tonight
What am I doing with my life
My death is going to start tonight

Once upon a time I was living with lights
But now I only bathe in the dark
This water’s f-ing cold,
But I knew it all from the start
Once upon a time I was falling asleep
But now I only hear roosters and barks
Nothing I can say

Cause I knew it all from the start”

January 7, 2008

Happy Birthday Papa Williams!

A nice spread.

Although I’m sure you are at work, I hope you go out and have a nice meal tonight. Wahoo!
I made banana pancakes, chocolate ‘chip’, pancakes, and normal pancakes to celebrate your birthday here for dinner. Although, not everyone was here, it was still fun. The kids even helped make the batters at my house as well. Although, after I made all the pancakes there at their house, she surprised me with a large bowl of apples and strawberries as their contribution to celebrating my father’s birthday….tear. They say happy birthday Daddy… haha. It was a good time, they also made a new milk drink too which was realllly good. I’ve only ever seen milk (normally powdered) mixed with cinnamon sticks. But this time, she took a large quantity of milk and put Café Listo packets (coffee powder) in there and mixed it all together, and it was stellar. Put it on the list.

I look like something off the Hills Have Eyes, or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Some more of the fam learned my real name last night, they were having some fun with it. They also had a nice prayer session for the Epiphany in their room with their manger scene, but now its graduated from infant to child Jesus, haha. Who knows what’s going to happen on the feast of his Baptism this Sunday! Haha. Also apparently they pray like that every night, and I’ve been invited to that, however that might be a little much for me….I can take all these people praying all the time ;) Anyways, there was one part that kind of stuck in my mind last night. Towards the end of the rosary, there is like a part build in for each person’s intentions, etc, and here people all do it out loud, it’s kind of….evangelical I guess, would be how they would describe it in America. But in this fam, the parents are the only ones that pray out loud, and you hear whispers from the bowed heads of the kids….sometimes haha. Don Raul was sitting behind me though, and while trying to decipher to two of them at the same time (it was great practice), I caught a single train of thought from his prayers. Thank you God for letting us “subsist”….not survive, which is a different word, although similar, but this verb is more along the lines of subsist. It was kind of weird how that one word is what framed my whole memory of that time. The fact that he was thanking God for having the things to live to the next day, is just a very different prayer than I was used to hearing in the US. It called into question of ‘why’ for me of being thankful for just ‘subsisting.’ It has to have something higher attached to it as a goal, so as not to lead into despair. This country is full of stories that have gone the opposite direction than this family.

Hows my apron?...they got a kick out of that when they found it for me

Also, I watched Blood Diamond last night, from the collection of the neighbors son’s bootleg dvds. Wow, sad. How many of you ladies want a big juicy diamond for engagement now? Haha.

Party on.

Second Lecture Worldwide for Catholics on the feast of the Epiphany: Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6


Lectura de la carta del apóstol san Pablo a los Efesios:


“Hermanos: Habéis oído hablar de la distribución de la gracia de Dios que se me ha dado a favor vuestro. Ya que se me dio a conocer por revelación el misterio, que no había sido manifestado a los hombres en otros tiempos, como ha sido revelado ahora por el Espíritu a sus santos apóstoles y profetas: que también los gentiles son coherederos, miembros del mismo cuerpo y partícipes de la promesa en Jesucristo, por el Evangelio.”

Brothers: you have heard of the distribution of the grace of God that has given me your favor. He revealed the mystery to me that hadn’t been manifest to men in other times, like he has revealed now through the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets: that also the gentiles are coinheritors, members of the same body and participants in the promise in Jesus Christ, through the Gospel.

January 9, 2008

Well, the ADESCO had their meeting to list out the projects they would like to focus on this year. So the past day or two I’ve been preparing for that on today, my internet day, hoorah. It looks like this year will be focused on:

1) Water piping…. The water that is brought in from here is a ways away and apparently has some weird trajectories that make it hard for the water to reach all parts of the pueblo. Another problem is that the pipes are mixed between 3 and 4 inch PVC so obviously at times all the water coming from a 4 inch pipe won’t fit into a 3 inch one. Finally, many areas appear to be failing to keep all the water inside the pipes haha…..sooo there are a lot of houses that at time go close to a month without water from the pipes. Luckily we have some springs here in the community that people can make their way to.

2) Roads…. There are many parts of the roads here that either aren’t wide enough to let the orange trucks come in and leave (among other trucks), or that aren’t cobblestoned so that the road doesn’t wash away in the rainy season. The Municipality is going to cobblestone the parts of the main road that aren’t starting in February, but that still leaves the messed up parts that are partly stoned, and all the side roads that aren’t. There are also other problems, but I’m still working on understanding them exactly in Spanish haha.

3) Medical program….medicines and money to pay the two nurses.

4) Community House…. They have already repaired half of the roof, but they need the lamina to repair the second half. Also, it is in need of some painting haha. Finally, they want more chairs so that it can accommodate all the meetings and events they have in the community.

These are the main things for La Comunidad, but then there is the Scholarship program in the town, and the school here in the cantón that is interested and doing “different” things. They also need a new fence around the school….I forgot about that. I still have to talk to the mayor as well to see if he’s got anything as well. And the Reconstruction of the church. Anyways, I’ve arranged all the NGO’s (non-governmental organizations) and some governmental, and their contacts, and I’m going to send out some mass emails today to get some info. So, hopefully I have some positive responses from those, or at least some responses…haha.

Things are starting to pick up here a little, so wahoo. I’m working my way through Simón Bolivar still, it’s going slower than I thought, but I’ll give it another week before it’s over.

“Yo Iré”

I will go.

From the nun’s truck when they visited.