The Meaning of 'Gracias'

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I have been thinking a lot lately about gratefulness. It occurred to me on Tuesday during a very fruitful Spirituality Night led by my community mate Danny that the word ¨gracias” literally means “graces.” I can’t believe that after all of the times that I have used and heard that word, I had never come to that realization before. Graces. I love that. It’s like when we thank someone, we are acknowledging a way that they allowed us to more fully encounter God’s grace and also wishing that God’s grace surround them and accompany them. As I approach the three month mark of my second year here in Ecuador, I feel joyful and very thankful for all of the opportunities I continue to have to witness grace in the people that surround me.

It feels like such a blessing to be back in this place where the whole-hearted “Gracias” spoken after sharing a meal with you seems to place a seal of confidence and sacredness around the conversation shared; this place where people say “Gracias por la visita” when it was in fact them who offered you their most comfortable chair and stopped whatever they were doing to give you their full attention and probably even serve you a heaping plate of food; this place where people greet each and every person in the room they just entered with a kiss and a smile, even if it is a meeting, perhaps to say – your presence and our interaction is considerably more important than whatever business we are trying to take care of right now. In this second year I have felt a heightened awareness of the fact that Ecuadorians are sacramental people. They do see God’s grace in everything. Being around this so much leaves a U.S. American like me starkly humbled, and of course, thankful.

I encounter so much grace and sacredness through my volunteer position in the Pastoral Ministry Department of Hogar de Cristo. One of the main initiatives of the department is to work with women in the surrounding parishes to develop base faith communities. Throughout the past few months I have been accompanying these communities that meet bi-weekly for faith formation and faith-sharing. The Pastoral office is such a fun place to be, too, because the women we serve are always dropping in to work on little projects or just to talk. I love being with them - listening to them talk and engaging in conversation with them about faith, justice, and ways that they themselves can be agents of hope and change in their neighborhoods. It is energizing. To me, these women are glimmers of hope in sections of the city that otherwise look quite bleak. One of my favourite moments was when a twelve old girl participating in a meeting about dignity said, “Sometimes in this country they tell me that because I am a girl, I can’t. But I know that I can.” Grace.

Last week, we went to visit the site for the new house, Casa Tomas, and it is going up! It has been at times hard to feel like a part of the neighbourhood in Monte Sinai while living outside on the Perimetral, about a thirty minute bus ride away. As things often are in this country, the process is slow. But after a few months of heading in each weekend to spend time in the parishes and begin to make relationships with neighbors, I am feeling so excited for us and for volunteers in years to come to grow with this vibrant community. We have been going to church and teaching catechism in the parish Bautismo de Jesús which is headed up by Fr. Colm Hogan, an Irish missionary priest from the Society of St. James. He has been a phenomenal support for us, and he is dearly loved by the members of the three chapels that he serves in the area. The largest of the three, Iglesia Corpus Christi, where we attend Mass on Sunday morning, recently started using a beautiful new bamboo church building. The lovely space reflects the energetic worship that occurs inside. I have been singing for the past few Sundays with the youth choir, Hijo de David, which is made up of committed and VERY talented teenaged musicians and singers.

The neighbors I have met in Monte Sinai are beautiful, hilarious, faith-filled, humble, and welcoming people. Are you surprised? Of course not. We have left more than a few houses smiling and saying, “That family is totally going to be friends with Rostro volunteers for years to come!” One of the families I have gotten to spend the most time with is that of Jhonny and Rosa and their two kids, Diego and Domenica. Jhonny is the night guard at the church and spends seven nights a week there on duty. He is laid back, with kind eyes and a big belly that shakes when he laughs. His wife Rosa has a gorgeous shy smile, and she giggles at just about everything we say. Our first visit there, Carolyn and I watched Diego and Doménica as they constructed a Sponge Bob año viejo, about two months ahead of time, and we shared a cola and conversation in plastic chairs out front. I looked around in that moment and felt home. What a blessing.

In conclusion, I am joyful here in the northern part of Guayaquil and feel God working in my life in so many ways. We have, of course, continued to see the ugly part of the culture and the way unjust systems oppress the very same people that we are coming to know and love. But the face of Christ is alive and shining bright in the homes and churches that we have been blessed to enter. I think I realize more and more every day what a grace it is to be part of this Foundation that has helped us to grow so much as individuals over the years and to encounter Christ more deeply. What a grace it is to be connected by this shared experience that is so much bigger than any of us. Thank you for your continued prayers as Rostro expands into a new place. I wish you and your family many graces in the coming holiday season and always!