Antigua cont.

Time helps relationships grow.  In the past two weeks what we have been sharing here has become deeper and more meaningful.

The celebrations for independence day have begun!

Volunteers helped some kids from
Obras Sociales del Santo Hermano Pedro
run through the street for a pre-independence day parade

My Spanish teacher Silvia and I have been sharing many stories during our six hour days together. One boy she met in the market with her husband after shopping and spending all the pocket money they had. When the boy asked her for bread, she was moved and wanted to help. Her husband and her pulled together 16Q in change and bought a sandwich and a drink. The boy took the food to his friend sitting to the side and gave him half. The next day Silvia and her husband found a trail of exactly 16Q in change on the sidewalk. Silvia and I are moving closer to Christ by sharing our experiences with one another.

Eduardo’s table conversation has become animated with his arm movements to describe Spanish words. I do not think I will be able to forget “el pato (duck)” or “la grama (grass)” ever again.

Diego was sick and stayed home from school for a week, so our games have become more creative by necessity. Besides learning to throw action hero cards and origami ninja stars we have built many towers, both from a guided design and out of our imagination. Diego becomes very excited when we destroy the towers with a catapult, so he is always willing to invest the time in making the “crash” bigger.

Nuestra Señora de Fátima. There was a very special 

procession through Antigua. 

Eduardo shared with me his favorite apostolate; bringing breakfast to the homeless ghettos outside of town before sunrise on Sundays. A few friars, some guys and their truck, a family or two and I ride out and try to catch the less fortunate before they leave their sleeping quarters. There is no shoving, no impatient waiting in line, just pure humility and gratitude. These families have God in their hearts.

A very special part of this time in Antigua has been coming closer to the children in Obras Sociales.  They smell flowers from the garden and after minutes for some or seconds for others their faces change. The crying around them stops and they are somewhere else. When the music plays we dance to it and realize our bodies are living and the chairs they are in can be an extension of themselves. When they give me their hand and pull me in I pull them back. I give them a little resistance and they get stronger. When I play with a ball they laugh and then imitate me and I truly laugh too. Jairo has started to feed himself and cares more about the achievement than the food or where it goes on his face. They continue to communicate by holding hands. The nurses have accepted me into their sisterhood and I’ve been practicing my jokes in Spanish.

With time community ripens. Holy Communion is Christ ripening inside of me and I have truly been changed.