While you were out...

The following is a true story. Whether or not you choose to believe it will likely depend on whether or not you have ever visited a charming little country south of the equator called Ecuador. (Note: some names have been changed to protect the people who have been effected by the following events) Once upon a time there were three panas who were in cahoots with one another as the holidays were approaching...we`ll call them Isabel, Freddy, and Louis. It was a muy buena noche. The cats and dogs were friends. All of the divino niños had been blessed by the tacky red plastic rose drenched in holy water and held in the very hand of the man, the myth, the legend PADRE PAÙL. Jasòn had successfully gone abajo three times. Conor had actually posted a blog on time without even having an existing saving the planet email address. The volunteers had all enjoyed several masses, several more performances of the critically acclaimed, off-Broadway Scrooge production, and an Italian Christmas dinner at Sr. Annie`s home. The live nacimiento in Arbolito had gone smoothely with Jasòn as a superbly dressed wiseman, Marissa as an amazing female sacerdote (priest) and Conor leading the gang as Josè who is, by the way, not Jesùs` real father and therefore all of the lineage of Jesùs being traced back to David is bogus...for further details, ask Conor. We had an Arbolito community Christmas breakfast prepared by Kerry and Conor and then opened secret santa stockings filled with affirmations. Simply put, all was right with the world until one night, that all changed. Here is a brief Post-Navidad Recap:
December 26, 4:30am-Elena awakes due to rain...in her bedroom
4:45am-Marissa awakes due to Elena`s bedroom light and a deep thirst for coke
4:46am- Marissa and Elena realize that the entire living and dining area along with Elena`s room are completely flooded to ankle level with rain water.
4:47am - Se fue la luz....no power!
4:50am - We wake Darc, Clarita, and Jasòn the engineer, grab some flash lights and candles and most importantly, Marissa whips out her trusty rain boots and we go to work checking the rest of the house and tearing down everything on our walls and water proofing our rooms.
5:30am- Marissa quenches her deep thirst for coke.
6am -We go back to bed and the rest of the story goes something like this:
Our roof was poorly constructed and had numerous leaks.
Our house was flooded.
Conor invented a new form of slip and slide.
Elena was forced to move to the back of the house.
Crazy flying ant creatures infested Marissa`s room and she was also forced to move to the back of the house.
Elena began to clean.
Elena kept cleaning.
Matt is here...He LOVES Kerry.
Clare jumped on Elena`s cleaning kick.
The architect was lost.
The Zambranos saved the day (AGAIN)
We have rats.
Se fue la luz.
Se fue the phone.
Se fue the water.
Random men lie to us about our power outage and try to rip us off.
Kids canceled school because it had rained.
Se fue la luz again.
The grillo (grasshopper like insects) plague of Biblical proportions came at 9 en punto.
Se fue la luz otra vez.
Our architect is found but we soon lost him again.
Wheezy has a broken leg...
We flooded again!
We found our architect again.
Lots of men were on our roof.
The reindeer effect has now mixed with God`s grace.
The arbolito girls did not Not NOT take a trip to Quito as planned...the arbolito boys did not Not NOT win as planned.
We laughed, we cried, we danced salsa, we ate rice and life goes on...because you see, we build to that and right now we are in it.
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Stop by Arbolito any time!
Happy Christmas and here`s to a new year!

Happenings in ARBOLITO

Hello Everyone!

Almost at the five month mark, I am still alive and healthy (knock on wood). A little too healthy, seeing as the ¨third world diet¨ has not been working in my favor due to the overwhelming presence of carbs in the food! I am still teaching my four classes of reading, regularly visiting the Hansen´s Disease hospital, as well as tutoring a couple of students in English. In the meantime, God has also led me to take on some new projects which have brought so much meaning and joy to my time here. There are three brothers (Johnny, David, and Michael), that a fellow volunteer, Ecuadorian friend, and I have taken under our wings. In discovering that they never had homework at our after-school program, due to their not being in school, Conor found a way for them to enter into school without paying. (The $2/mon. per child was too much for their single father, who is barely around, to pay). At the ages of 8, 9, and 11, these boys had basically spent all their time in the streets as they seldom had supervision or anything else to do. Now with them being in school, we have had to face the challenge of attempting to catch them up with the rest of the children. It has been very humbling to start from the basics of reading, writing, and math and try to explain them in a whole different language! Although there have been a lot of tears on their part and a lot of frustration on both ends, their open minds and hearts (as well as their cute little faces) keep me showing up each day in the hope that we will all learn a lot from each other in this year. I can truly attest that the fruits have already been so rich.

Also, another one of my projects has included helping start, with some fellow volunteers, a women´s group in the community. It is called ¨Mujeres en Accion y Progreso¨ (Women in Action and Progress- completely chosen by them). The group is made-up of very independent women that are dedicated to making positive changes in the community, while especially validating and empowering women in the process. We now officially have a board consisting of a pres, vp, and sec. They have been very excited to finally organize, as it has been a great desire and need for a long time within this machismo dominated culture. It is so exciting for me to witness so much of what I have learned in my Chicana/o Studies and Liberation THST classes in this group. These women truly inspire me and I feel so privileged to be walking and working with them.

The after-school program ¨Semillas de Mostaza¨ is going very well. We have had over a 100 kids every day for the past month or so, and with more of them coming in, we are constantly trying to improve the program. We are in the process of creating more structure (with more planned activities for them in expanding their ways of being educated, starting a reading program, etc.) as well as trying to add greater organization to our physical space. The consistency of the program and the kids is what truly makes it for me and brings me so much life each day.

My experience here has been very much a mutual sharing with others to whatever capacity I am able to give as it is a journeying with one another and not just a one way engagement. It has been a process of learning how to be more gentle and patient with myself (especially in light of my limitations and many moments of helplessness) and with others in constantly asking for God´s grace in being met and meeting people where I/they are at.

From being away from the family at Thanksgiving, and with Christmas quickly approaching I have very much realized how difficult it is to be away from family and friends at this time of year. I am, however, not missing the big holiday rush (as it is non- existent here) and I am excited to witness how everything is uniquely celebrated here.

Wishing you a blessed holiday season!!...hopefully much cooler than what we are experiencing here!!!!


En el Paz y Cariño de Cristo,
Elena

Tis the season!

Awesomely obnoxious blinking lights that line the streets and climbing tempretures only mean one thing here...tis the season in Duran, Ecuador! With Christmas programs, parties, and a flood of family and friend visitors, it is starting to feel a lot like Christmas. That is, besides the fact that we are singing Jingle Bells in scorching weather. I continue to be humbled and honored by the the numerous families that have offered to adopt us for the upcoming festivities, and those who do not have loved ones coming to visit are looking forward to experiencing Christmas Ecua-style, and most importantly, deepening our relationships with our neighbors in celebrating Jesus' birth.
As of Friday night, Arbolito and AJS have both been adorned with Christmas decorations in the form of those aforementioned blinking lights (how can we resist?), christmas trees (yeah for artificial, Charley Brown- looking-trees) and crafty homemade decorations (its amazing what Marissa can do with a lil construction paper!).
Other than the seasonal festivities, we all are starting to wonder what exactly we will do with ourselves once gym classes, Nuevo Mundo and all of our other classes end for summer vacation...maybe everyone could join the running club, which is still in tact, though its makeup has changed quite a bit. We are now joined by none other than Jorge, the ice cream scooping king of Penguino (the AJS ice cream store that feeds our habit for Sanduche) and another friend of his. Jefferson, a Nuevo Mundo garderner and AJS vecino, has also joined our lil group. Fun and sweaty times ahead as the morning runs become more and more hot and humid.
Also, please keep Diego and his abuelita in your prayers, as she is still in the hospital. Visiting her is quite a feat, since only family members are permited to see the patients...and seeing how us gringos don't exactly look Ecuadorian, things get a lil tricky at the Luis Vernaza gates. But it is quite amazing how a Nuevo Mundo teacher uniform when paired with a rosary around the neck can give the impression of a nun. And what hospital guard could possibly deny a sister of the Lord admission into a hospital...not that any of us have tried that or anything.
So while instead of "chestnuts roasting on an open fire," it is more like plastic bottles and other waste roasting in the piles of burning trash...it is all the same really! From our houses to yours, we hope you have a blessed Christmas season!

From Arbolito

Things continue down here at two degrees latitude. Some of the biggest news as of late in my community might be the fact that I will have actually gotten this blog up on time... however, there have been other events taking place these past few weeks.
Last weekend the Arbolito church band (Nueva Generacion) put on a concert, which also included a couple of other groups from the community. I think about 100 people showed up, and they raised a bunch of money for the church and for the group. I think it was one of the most successful events that I have seen put on by ecuadorians thus far. I was, as well the rest of us gringos and our community friends, very impressed.
As well as the concert, there was a play put on by the ARbolito church youth group on Sunday. The play was a reenactement of Scrooge, but definitely ecua-style. It was done at the Hansen´s hospital, and also went very well. Gifts were given to the hansen´s patients, and smiles and tears were seen all around.
Besides these events, and my miraculous blogging capabilities, things continue as normal here. WE are all busy each day, keeping our sites up and running, as well as trying to improve them. Things at Semillas de Mostaza, an after school program which I attend everyday, has recently been filled to capacity with about 110-130 kids for the past two weeks. It was been awesome, but tiring. CHristmas is right around the corner, and event planning is now in full swing. I am excited to see how it all goes, and do be a part of what comes.
be well all of you who read...
conor

Thanksgiving...Arbolito Style

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Or in Spanish, feliz día de acción de gracias. I hope everyone had a safe and relaxing holiday back in the US. Although Thanksgiving isn't really celebrated here, the other volunteers and I were still able to stuff ourselves in true American fashion. Last Thursday we were invited to the house of the directors of the high school where many of us teach English. It was a very cross-culture event as about half the guests were Americans and the other half were Ecuadorians. For dinner, we had about every kind of meat imaginable, except turkey. There was definitely stuffing, cranberry sauce, and a large amount of desserts so we didn't really mind too much. It was a great night and there were about 30 guests, one of which was our own founder, Father Jim. He made the trip all the way from Boston to be with us, and we were very grateful to have him.

In addition to last Thursday, following the suggestion of our in-country director, Kevin, we had a real Thanksgiving celebration for community night last night. And just to make it interesting, it was a surprise! So last night, the Arbolito house plus Kevin surprised the AJS house with a true Thanksgiving dinner, complete with the turkey! They had absolutely no idea about the dinner, and all the food turned out great, especially the cranberry sauce which I 'made' by taking it out of the can. And then to make it complete, we were even able to watch Monday Night Football. How, you might ask, do poor volunteers in South America get programming options like that? Well, we don't have a dish or cable. For some reason, ESPN Latin America is broadcasted here like a regular network. Although most of the time, it's all about soccer. Either way, it was a very nice conclusion to the evening and we were all reminded a little bit of home.

So that's all the exciting news. Not much has changed since my last update as far as my work goes. My physics and English students seem tobe doing pretty well. We'll see in about a month or two when grades are finalized though. And if you've been to Durán before you might find it interesting to know that Arbolito is getting more curbs and sidewalks installed. The path that was behind the house next to the river that leads to the tech school has been flattened out like it is going to be made into a street some day! We also got another small road where a ditch was filled in if you walk to the tech school the other way. We're all very excited when we see the trucks out working. All this work though, doesn't necessarily mean that paved roads are around the corner. In fact, if things in Arbolito go like they do in the rest of Durán, it will be years before most of the roads get paved. But we take things here one step at a time, poco a poco.

Thanks for reading. Happy Thanksgiving again and Happy Holidays! Christmas is starting to sneak up on us, although when the weather is in the 80s and 90s, it doesn't exactly feel like back home.

Peace,
Jason

More from Arbolito

I think I am officially becoming ecuadorian. i walk down the streets at night when its in the 70s, and i´m FREEZING. feel the need to put on a sweatshirt. whoever thought life would come to this.

things i´m missing - glasses of milk, cereal, my boyfriend, beer (sad but true), grass, sitting and talking to someone who´s known me for more than 3 months, big salads
things i´m not missing - malls (such a liberating thing not to buy clothes for a year), competitive cutthroat environments, rainy cold days in boston, cell phones
things i´ve lived through - a scorpion giving birth to about 40 scorpion babies right when we were trying to kill her. amazing sight. and yes, said scorpion was in conor´s room right across the hall from mine (dont worry dad, i´m fine).
my third latin american earthquake (the first in lima. second- only felt the house shaking for a few minutes. no big deal, life went on as usua. third - in a small sierran village at a friends house in the middle of the night. wake up to doors and windows rattling bed shaking. conor: is that an earthquake? me - yup an earthquake. went back to bed. woke up an hour later and threw up from altitude sickness)
a ride on a 1 person moped with two other guys, one of them being a 6 foot 5 ecuadorian, which i assure you is QUITE a spectacle when most men here are 5 foot 4. it was a gringa sandwich. we got lots of laughs, and halfway home, we got a flat tire from glass in the road and had to walk the moped home. jumping off of a bridge into a river in nowhere, ecuador yesterday. so fun

so yes, i´ve been spending my time doing a variety of interesting things recently. they include writing a version of a christmas carol in spanish with my friend wilfrido (the church youth group is going to put it on), going to reina pageants (theyre like miss america pageants) where i have the privilege of watching 15 year old girls prance around in heels in the ¨sportswear¨competition, waiting on street corners for the number 5 bus, the only bus that comes to arbolito, which inevitably never comes when you need it (becuase really, who would want to come to arbolito? besides me of course . . . ) and eating endless amounts of bananas, rice and fresh baked rolls.

living here for 3 months, there are a bunch of sights that no longer surprise me. part of this is good, i think, because it means that i´m getting accustomed to life here. the bad part, i think, is that i´m getting a bit hardened to the realities of life here. i never want to get cynical or to stop letting the sadness affect me. anyway, these sights include
-seeing a litle girls riding down the street on her tricylce. a normal sight, until she turns around and has a cigarette dangling out of her mouth. upon questioning, you find out she is dutifully bringing it to her dad (cigarette can also be substituted with beer)
-seeing that same 5 year old girl shake her butt way too well and get down to the floor while dancing and singing to the latest reggaeton hit, which is probably about sex and taking advantage of women
-walking past piles of burning trash, and sometimes thinking that it´s actually a kind of pretty sight
(this is what happens when you live in an area with no grass. trash burning fires become your beautiful scenery)
-seeing women sell everything from fried chicken and french fries to rolls of toilet paper and ice cream from their rooms in the womens prison
-seeing kids come into my class during school (when they should be in class) to try to sell candy to my students. the sad thing is that this seems totally normal to everyone else around me. apparently, i´m the crazy one
-seeing kids light a match and burn the thong of their flip flops to glue it back to the base and fix it. (this is probably so that they wont get hit at home for having a broken flip flop. ditto on the getting hit for losing a pencil).
-(my personal favorite) - laying on a beach a few weekends ago on our retreat. i was actually reflecting about how much i felt at home, because beaches are all the same everywhere and it reminded me of sag harbor. then, of course, i look up and see a white goat heading straight towards me followed by about 50 of his friends and no owner. i just returned to my journal writing.

I am convinced that i life in the noisiest place in the world. i fall asleep to dogs barking and fighting and mating. i wake up to dogs fighting. i believe i teach in what is officially the loudest elementary school on earth. music is never loud enough unless it can wake up your neighbor 3 blocks over. also, i can assure that it is a myth that roosters crow at dawn. they also crow at midnight. and 3 am. and 3 pm.
at first, all the noise drove me crazy. occasionally, when i´m really tired or frustrated, it still does. but one thing i´m definitely learning here is to have LOTS of patience. without it, i´m not sure i could survive. arbolito is pretty much the farthest thing from northeast us culture you could find . .. so try putting a fast paced, type a northerner like myself in arbolito. organization, schedules, etc just doesnt happen here. so a lot of what i´ve been going through has been a big process of letting go. letting go of expectations, my need to be in control and in charge, my need to have things the way i want them. good lessons, definitely, but sometimes all of it really runs counter to my desire to be a mover and shaker, to get things started and organized. but i think it´s healthy for me to release a bit my desire to be in control . . . .

as for how i´m doing in all this. its really a constant up and down. i´ve been thinking a lot recently about hope. hope in some ways gets harder to see every day as i learn more about people´s struggles. it just seems impossible to move out of this vicious cycle and its hard not to let it get you down. ive really been struggling recently with the culture here of relationships within families - short, frustrated. there seems at times to be a lack of compassion for kids being kids, for other people´s struggles . . . i am SO sick of hearing two phrases - ¨el me molesta!¨and ¨te voy a pegar!¨(hes bothering me! or i´m going to hit you!) i swear, molestar and pegar are the two most commonly used verbs there. it just seems like everyone, mostly kids, go around accusing each other of hitting or bothering each other. even in stable, good families it seems like the response to a kid breaking something is to yell or slap. the lack of a nurturing environment, in homes and in schools, has bene hard for me to deal with. and i´m really worried about myself getting used to it, falling into it, losing some of my empathy and compassion, not letting the hard things of life upset me as much as they did. and this is where lack of hope comes in - the cycle - you were hit as a kid, had a kid at 16, hit that kid, your husband doesnt let you work, your kid has a kid at 16. (my friend wilfrido, by the way, is 21 and a great uncle!!)

and i´m not sure, with all of this, where i fit in. ive realized in this whole letting go process that the first step is some kind of acceptance of powerlessness. i am not going to change arbolito, eliminate domestic abuse, get the schools to recognize the importance of critical and creative thinking. in a religious sense, i think it means realizing and accepting that im not god, trusting and putting faith in the fact that this crazy world somehow makes sense. but where i´m stuck - once you come to that place of acceptance, the question becomes - now what? where do i go from here? how do i put my gifts to use best? i´m definitely struggling with these questions a lot, and rostro, being such an open and undirected program, certainly helps to prompt them.

i´m definitely not totally despairing though. as i said, hope sometimes is harder to see every day. but from another perspective, as i get to know people and see their joys, feel proud of their accomplishments, learn about their struggles, i also begin to discover their strength and desire to move forward. so i´d like to share some signs of hope.

one of them is semillas, the afterschool program i help to run. its a source of constant joy among all my confusion and frustration. its growing in so many ways! in sheer size - we´re averaging about 80 kids instead of 50. also, we´re seeing kids more excited about coming, feeling a sense of pride in it. there are a ton of new ecuadorian volunteers, and we´re all coming together with our creative energy and trying to figure out ways to improve it, to have it not just be a safe space for kids for a few hours (which it most definitely is, and that´s probably THE most important thing it is, so i´m certainly not underemphasizing that value), but to really make it more of a place for learning and creative thinking - which, as i´ve said, is not emphasized in education here at all.

another small joy that´s in the works is a women´s group here in arbolito. we know a bunch of women who want to get something started. it´s been a bit of a frustration, since we´ve tried to have a few opening meetings that haven´t happened yet, but we´re trying to work with a few key women and try to empower them to realize that they can get something started. our goal is to help them to organize, but to not lead - to have them to lead as we support them. i´m so excited about this because women have SUCH a difficult position here - often captive to their houses (people here can´t go out and leave their house alone bc someone always has to be inside, guarding it) and captive to their husbands. they could draw so much on support from each other, and hopefully find some creative ways to help the community and find resources too. i´ll keep you posted on the project

my friends here too are also a source of joy. the ones who are really excited about improving themselves, improving their community. i´ve just been looking at them and realizing that while some of the kids i work with will likely end up in jail or doing drugs, some of them will turn out to be wonderful, moral people who will treat their family and friends well. all of this while still going through the incredibly crappy education system here.

so all in all, i´m trying to keep the faith, keep pushing for my improvement, and keep loving people in every moment i´m living. it´s tough going, and it´s been a bit of a down week for me, feeling frustrated about my impact here. but i´m hoping that at the very least, i´m growing in the process. i said before i came down here that i believe that real growth comes only when you´re challenged, so i´m trying to remember that through my struggles.

if you´ve read this far, thank you!!!! i still feel like i left a lot unsaid . . . i miss you all so much. please keep in touch

un abrazo fuerte,
kerry

Arbolito Spells F-U-N!

Give me an R-O-S-T-R-O * D-E * C-R-I-S-T-O!

R is for Reina. Arbolito finally has a reina and we are so proud!
O is for Oh my God it´s hot here!
S is for Scrooge. Dias Verdes is performing Scrooge for the church Christmas play and it wouldn´t be complete without our very own JASON starring as Jacob Marley, a script by Kerry, and some mad directing skills from yours truly (Marissa).
T is for trips to the campo.
R is for RICE!
O is for Oh BOY!

D is for Dias Verdes has a Marathon coming up this Sunday. It´s actually a 5k but marathon sounds way cooler!
E is for Ecua moments (for details contact Clarita)

C is for Condesa (our dog) she is getting so BIG!
R is for a Real big shout out to all of our family and friends in the U.S. and all over the world! (Especially my brother in Austria...hola Chris!)
I is for Indescribable LOVE all around!
S is for Semillas...they have been breaking records with the numbers of niños and volunteers and everyone is doing AWESOME jobs!
T is for Translating for the Hansens´patients´operations last week...I definitely did not translate but many of the other volunteers helped out and had a great time!
O is for Oh my God! It´s been 3 months already!!!!! 3 months of living, loving, and a whole lot of learning!!!!

What´s it spell???? Rostro de Cristo!!!!!

Paz afuera,
Marissa

Thomas Merton wrote in a prayer:
My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you and I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing. And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road although I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death, I will not fear, for you are ever with me and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.


I think of this prayer at least once a day. Mertons words ring true with me as I have been thrown into this contemplative state where I am trying to figure out really what I am doing here. I sometimes even wonder if I am doing anything productive or helpful. We are faced with this seemingly endless cycle of poverty, and we are here for a year a mere blink in these peoples lives. I always knew that I would get more out of this than the people whom I am serving, but I never thought that notion would be so hard to swallow.

I often find myself having these transcendential moments where I step outside of myself and look at what my life is here. There are things when I was sitting in a dorm room filling out my application that I never even thought of, and now, these things are my reality. For example, I never had the time to truly contemplate the idea of "being" and how that might not be as easy as it sounds. I always knew I would love these children, but I never knew just how much it would break my heart when they tell me of the abuse the suffer.

I constantly find myself thinking about "the real world," and then, like a ton of bricks, by the Hand of God alone I am reminded that this is the real world. More people live like this than what is my reality at home, and that is dispicable. So here it is, this world of struggle, pain, abuse, hunger, inhumane living conditions and sad children, where do we find hope in hopelessness? This is a beautiful part of formation, but no one said it would be easy...

And just when I think I´ve lost all hope, a Valdivia kid, after crying about getting hit at home, tells me that his favorite commandment is to love God above all other things and that God is here with us now...This boy, and that comment are my new inspiration for la lucha.

La Paz.
Emily

AJS

While little has changed since the last entry, I have a new proactive attitude (as of yesterday) and have decided to be punctual with my blog. All is well in AJS. We are back to normal activities feeling renewed and refreshed after last week's change of schedule. It was a bit hard to wake up for PE this morning, although seeing the kids again reminded me of how much I love it and how lucky I am to teach them (the credentials and spanish are lacking, but I can definitely show them how to dribble a basketball). I think everyone's jobs are coming along well. Every day I amazed at the passion and dedication my fellow community mates have for their jobs and all the Ecuadorians.

I am fortunate to be the first AJS volunteer to have a parent visit. My mom is coming tomorrow to spend a week here. I am so excited for her to be here and meet everyone and finally understand a little better what life is like here. Just like Chelsea said about the retreat groups, I think it will be a positive experience to be with someone as they experience Durán for the first time.

For those of you who know the AJS community, I am happy to report that Jesus' daughter is pregnant and due in February. She is feeling good and all seems healthy. On a sadder note, Diego's grandmother has been sick the past two weeks. She seems in good spirits but just isn't feeling well and Diego spends a lot of time taking care of her. Other neighbors seem to be doing well.

Peace and Love,
Erin

Vacation...

Well things in Duran have begun to settle down a bit, and yet at the same time is beginning to fly by. Each week more busy than the last and each weekend filled with bailes, church concerts and soccer games. This past week was vacation for most the public schools and so I found myself with lots of free time. It was nice because I was able to spend some time at the hospital playing dominoes with Fortunato, who of course swept me under the table. I also had a chance to make another visit to the prison, which I´ve come to find I really enjoy. Of course as Christmas is coming I put in my order for Christmas cards, and as a result will be broke until next pay day. But, así es la vida! Fatima has been working constantly with the store and now that they´ve begun serving food as well she´s working extra hours. She still sits and chats with us, mostly about the hope that she´ll soon be going home. It is amazing that these women still have the hope of going home even after so much time without being sentenced. On Wednesday we went with 15 Ecuadorians from the Arbolito community to Milagros to visit the finca of Patricia´s family. It was crazy! We were able to play soccer on a grass field and went swimming in the river afterward. Lunch was good, as it always is, and after a few more hours there we headed home burnt and tired, but ultimately having enjoyed the day outside the city. As this vacation week comes to a close I was really happy to have the opportunity to visit some sites that I normally am not able to. Tomorrow unfortunately I will be grading exams from 28 de Agosto but I don’t feel so bad having waited this long since they pulled my entire second grade class before the exam to cut their hair. Oh it’s the little Ecuamoments that make this experience that much more enjoyable! But by Monday it´s back to the grind of 28 and Guayasamin gym class. I´m sure the kids will be riled up and ready for more pelota and jumping jacks.

Saludos desde Duran!!

Things down in Antonio Jose de Sucre neighborhood are rolling right along....a few things changing but many remaining the same. As part of Marianita´s (mayor of Duran) long obra of improvements around the city, our streets are looking like they are getting closer to getting pavement! This means that there have been bulldozers building up and leveling the dirt on the road to make it suitable for paving. This is exciting news in part (less mud and mosquitos once the rainy season comes!) but also brings along some problems because it means that many houses in our neighborhood are now lower than street level, and so when the water comes it will run off the road and flood some of our neighbors´ houses. Thus those that have dirt floors in their houses have had to bring in dirt to raise the inside of their homes a couple of feet so that they will not be in standing water once the rainy season hits. Our driveway is also in the same situation, so we have had to build it up in order to not face the floods in a few months. Besides these changes, many things remain the same in the AJS community. For instance, our neighbor Freddy is still always out in his hammock, ready to chat when we walk by, Gabriel is still totally welcoming and ready to greet any visitors with Pepsi and Coco cookies, and Carmen (who owns a store we always buy from) is still saying ´ya niña´ after every transaction.

A couple of weeks ago, AJS also had its fourth retreat group since us new volunteers have been here, but its first that we newbies have actually had to lead....a group of 14 from Villanova University. I had the opportunity to lead this great group of students from Philadelphia and had a wonderful time spending the week with them. The most amazing thing was being able to see Duran again as if it were the first time. After being here for just a short time, all of the poverty and suffering that we see on a daily basis had begun to feel normal, and the inital shock that we all had when we arrived had been taken away from me, and I imagine from other volunteers as well. However, by leading around the retreat group and visiting all of the sites in Duran where we work, it was shocking to (re)confront all of the injustices, all of the suffering, and all of the need that is here with us every day. I was able to see it all again through the eyes of a retreatant and experience with them the joys and also the struggles of being here with the people. It was a very moving week and am grateful to have been reminded that we have to constantly fight against the feeling of complacency throughout this entire year.

This past weekend, we were all refreshened by a retreat that we took to Playas, the beach town nearest to Guayaquil. It was a great weekend to re-focus on our mission, both collective and personal, for coming to Ecuador, and also a chance to build community as an entire volunteer group. And between the sessions, we had time to hang out at the beach...which was amazing! The waves were huge, the water was warm, and the sun was hot...a perfect combination for sunburns and a near-drowning for Juanito! But we had all made it back safe and sound by Sunday night with renewed spirits for continuing with and improving our work here.

It is incredible to think that as I write this, we have already been in Duran for nearly three months. Time is passing so quickly, yet at the same time, it seems like ages ago when we first got off the plane in Guayaquil to begin our year long adventure. So many different people and different moments have touched our lives thus far, and I look forward to many more in the months to come. Take care and you will be in our prayers.

Con cariño,
Chelsea Nicholls

Antonio Jose de Sucre Update !

Greetings from the Antonio Jose de Sucre Community. Again thank you for reading our updated postings and many blessings to all. My emotions in Duran have been nothing but unsteady. The challenges that I face are ones that are uniquely composed of unforeseen events. This means that there is not one day that is predictable and because they are unpredictable the struggles trigger other hidden areas of thoughts that I never knew existed. For this I am most grateful. This totals to a complete novice year.

In my primary service location I am abundantly enriched by the students and parents in the surrounding 28 de Agosto sector. As an English teacher I am constantly reminded that it is not about how or what I teach but rather the simple joy of being in the presence of utter smiles, chants and innocent laughter. This is what sets my day and allows me to see the Face of Christ through each of my children. My personal struggles lies in the communal aspect of my experience because it is very much like living in front of a mirror. I share a living space with five intelligent women whom I care for dearly. These women make me aware of how I am as an individual but most importantly gently allow me to reinforce the areas of my life that need remodeling.
I have also picked up playing the guitar and enjoy staying up late at night chatting, listening to music or reading a book.

Until you read this website again …..TALK TO YOU SOON….

In Christ, Jon

Arbolito Update!

Greetings from Arbolito! Things are moving along, especially the time, and it seems that all of us are keeping quite busy in all of our various work sites.
Semillas is going well, and it has been very inspiring to see how much ¨Semillas pride¨has been worked up over the past month or so. It has been commented by Conor, one of its main coordinators that we are beginning ¨to feel like a family.¨ This includes many dedicated Ecuadorian helpers. We are also trying to slowly but surely empower some of the older kids to take leadership roles within the program. We had the first Semillas parent´s meeting a couple of weeks ago, and it created a great opportunity for us to directly communicate with families about what our goals are in the program, and how they can reinforce the same values in the home as well. Watch out for many more future happenings in Semillas this year!!
Teaching reading at Victor Murillo (the local public elementary school) has been quite an experience. I find myself getting frustrated at times, especially as it is not always easy to deal with all the discipline issues that present themselves in the classroom. The way that the students are use to learning in a class of 60-70 kids truly shows through in the form that they approach education. By God´s grace, I somehow find something that keeps me going back, trusting in a process that I cannot even fully see or imagine at this point.
All the women in the Arbolito house had the beginnings of an Arbolito women´s group begin this weekend. Some women from the community and us volunteers met with a woman from Antonio Jose de Sucre who has a women´s center over there. She was able to provide us with some great foundational information into getting such a group started. The women that we had present seem very committed to it, as there is a great need for it in this community. I am really excited to see how this group will take form this year.
We will be retreating this weekend so that we can re-center ourselves as to what our mission and purpose is here in this place...especially as the Face of Christ. For me personally, I think it comes at a perfect timing.

Please keep us in your prayers...that we might continue to discern and seek God´s greater glory in all of our experiences here in this year.

Much Duran Love,
Elena

Arbolito checking in...

Greetings! Here's the latest from Arbolito.

First of all, on Saturday, Ecuador qualified for the World Cup! Now this may not be big news back home, but here it is huge! The whole country was celebrating and everyone is super excited. One reporter on tv said that these 11 players have given happiness to an entire nation that the government, due to its corruptness, never could. The statement is kind of depressing, but everyone here holds a lot of pride in their country and all are very excited about the World Cup. The phrase 'si se pudo' basically means 'We did it!' and it has been all over the place since Saturday.

Saturday was a really big day for me personally too, as I was the caballero in the quinceañera of a friend of mine here. So now to explain what that means, a quinceañera is kind of like a Sweet 16 party for a girl, except here the custom is when a girl turns 15. The parties can be very formal and depending on the part of Latin America. Similar to a wedding, the birthday girl has a caballero (gentleman or date) and can also have damas (similar to bridesmaids) who would have their own caballeros (gentlemen). In this particular party, there were no damas, only the birthday girl and myself (the caballero). This particular quinceañera was fairly informal and my main responsability was to dance the waltz with the birthday girl in front of her family and friends (around 60 people). The dance went off perfectly as did the rest of the party. The whole experience was a blast and the rest of my community was there to share it with me. And in true Latin spirit, the party lasted until about 6:30 the next morning, although I only stayed until about 4:30 (party-pooper).

In other news, construction is underway on our retreat house now and is progressing nicely. Hopefully that should finish up around November in plenty of time for our first retreat group in Arbolito in January. Also, I have started doing some physics tutoring/teaching at the high school I work at. I hold class four hours a week and also try to sit in on some of the students' physics classes, but everything is in Spanish! Teaching in Spanish has been a challenge, but it is definitely helping my language skills. I have also started tutoring some neighborhood friends in math and physics a couple of times a week. In addition, I am still spending time at the Hansen's disease hospital and getting to know lots of people in the neighborhood.

So, if you want to know what the weather here is like, all I can say is it is hot, and only gets hotter. Most days it gets to about 33 °C in the afternoon, roughly 90 °F. The strange part is that it doesn't even seem that hot any more. Currently, we're in the dry season and it hasn't rained once since I've been here. Starting in December, we will enter the rainy season (Winter) where it rains pretty hard every night and the temperature gets even hotter. I've been told that the mud is just out of control, but for now everything is just dusty.

In Semillas de Mostaza news, we've been having record setting days. Last week we had around 90 kids show up for an hour of homework, an hour of recess, and free bread, bananas, and water. Also, October 12th was Dia de la Raza and we marched 18 of our 'semillas' down main street in Duran during the parade. We marched behind the students from the tech school. It all went off super-chevere and the kids had a blast singing and marching down the street.

That's all the news I can think of for now. I hope all is well with you and yours. Peace.

Jason

Two Months Already?

You know that you are starting to feel more at home in Duran when...
...your once (semi)puntual self shows up a lil late to almost everything...
...a meal isn´t a real meal without a healthy heaping of rice...
...you find the word, "chevere" seeping into both you Spanish and English conversations...
...it takes you an hour and a half to walk a down your street to the corner store because of all the
neighbors that you stop and talk to...

And so it goes here in Ecuador, our first two months proving to be a fascinating yet challenging transition with only a few minor stomach problems to report (speaking of which, our stomachs are still full, thanks to the generosity of the board of directors who visited us last week...thank you!!!). We have jumped into our job sites at local public schools, Nuevo Mundo, the Padre Damien hosptial, after-school programs and more...all this to the tune of the Reggeaton that is blasted from almost every bus and house. Gotta love that Daddy Yankee!!! But the most significant developments have not occurred at the work sites, but in our very own nieghborhoods. Duran is really beginning to feel like home. Not only can we now put names to the faces we see when walking down the street, but conversations are much deeper, smiles more heartfelt. Now if only my spanish could cooperate with me more! Thank the Lord for the patience of those who listen to my attempts at the spanish language.
The Antonio Jose de Sucre (AJS) community is about to welcome our first retreat group of the "005-2006 year. Villanova will be spending a week with us starting on Saturday, with our own Chelsea Nichols at the helm. Bring em on! And a happy birthday to Keri, who celebrated her 22nd birthday this Tuesday.
And now for some random news...many of us are still trying to learn the guitar...still attempting to learn how to cook from scratch...and what started as a few people meeting together to run has flowered into quite a team: almost nine people showed up last weekend to run the back road in Arbolito (the one by the Pedregal, for those who know the area), half of those being Ecuadorian. If we keep this up, a team T-shirt and official team name is sure to follow. Updates to come!
Well that is about all the news from south of the equator...take care and God bless!!!

--Jackie Heap

2005-2006 volunteers prayer

Below is the prayer written by the 2005-2006 group of volunteers who head to Ecuador on Monday August 1st.

May we find solace in compassion and struggle.
We go no to do, but to be.
…not to lead, but to accompany.
…not to preach, but to practice.
…not to enlighten, but to discover.
May we find solace in compassion and struggle.
We go not only to make change, but to be changed.
…not to bring Christ to them, but to encounter Christ with them.
…not to go with pride but to enter with humility.
…not to seek comfort in our excess, but to embrace simplicity.
May we find solace in compassion and struggle,
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