So here it is, my last blog...I guess this is the beginning of many lasts as I had my last spirit night this week too...it seems to early for "lasts" but as time picks up faster and faster each day I suppose it is time to come to grips, I also suppose the only certain thing we knew when we came here was that we would one day leave...I just never knew how hard that would be...

It will be hard to say goodbye to all, but what will be harder is the responsibility each of us now holds in our hearts...The famous Pat line is that we now can´t say we didn´t know what poverty was like, now that we´ve held it in our hands, kissed it, watched it cry, now we must carry that burden of information. Some say ignorance is bliss, and there are days that I come close to believing that, how much easier would our lives appear to be if we had never come here? But, I believe, we were all called here to bear witness to the world around us and to never stop speaking about the things we have seen. We now hold this place and these people in our hearts, and it is us up to us to testify to that.

Lately I have been struggling with how we do that. What are our gifts and how do we best use them to serve? Erin gives me grief because I think we should all go for the senate :) , but the reality is, as she reminded me just yesterday, and poco a poco is life. I still want change now...and I recognize that maybe that is because I am young enough to be idealistic...but I dream about change over night where people no longer stand on the street and scream for the water truck...

I guess I´m not aiming for the senate, but I am struggling about how I will chose to live my life to serve the worlds poor. Education? Ministry? Politics? Who knows...solo Dios...

So signing off from Duran, I hope these words find you all hopeful and well.

Peace.
Emily
(don´t foget to see what you can do for Ecuador)

The downhill

i'm still smiling from reading what jackie and emily wrote. i couldn't say it better myself. through all the fun and laughs, through all the challenges and awkward moments, and through all the times I counted how many more days I had until I could go home (only once or twice :)) , we have become more than friends. we have become family. what an amazing experience. life is better with more ñaños.

i can also echo the sentiment that our time here is coming to an end. in mid-may it really set in. now we are full swing again with our retreat groups and will be that way until the end. i am beginning to realize what all the hype is about two year volunteer programs. it would be amazing to be able to spend another year here now that everything is clicking. así es la vida.

all is good here. valdivia is back in full swing as the kids have returned to school. I've fully realized why emily never stops talking about the kids. they energy and love is contagious. it's hard to imagine having to leave them, although i know they will be in good hands. yesterday we had a game day with the retreat group john carroll university and we had over 60 kids show up. they loved playing with the water balloons and getting piggy back rides from all the willing retreatants.

as the end is quickly appraoaching, i try to live even more in each moment, to relish the good people and amazing experiences i have already and continue to encounter. i ask that you all keep the people of durán and the whole rostro de cristo community in your prayers.

peace,
erin

home sweet home

I must apologize for neglecting to blog, but thanks to a Erin, Em and Kerry, there are still updates! So as much as I try to stop talking about how little time we have left, and my house gives me a lotta crap about that (sorry Em!), I am reminded by many a neighbor or coworker that August is slowly approaching. And this really scares me, for many reasons. Like Emily was saying, this community does feel like home, AJS feels like home, Duran feels like home. Coming back from my brother's wedding, it was hard to leave my home in the United States, but not that difficult because it felt like I was coming back to another home, a community that welcomed me back with open arms.
But I am also scared because I feel like we are not done yet, that there is still so much to do, so much more to develop. At the risk of sounding corny, I really do love and care very deeply for our Duran friends, and especially our housemates. We struggle in trying to etch out what exactly an intentional Christian community is, and I think that is a good and neccessary thing. But the tension can get rather high and I pray that the inevitable difficulties in community can only make us stronger and that we can learn to understand each other better.
I am scared because it sometimes feels like I have been here for 10 months and really haven't done a significant thing, that I have taken more personally from my worksites and relationships here than I could ever possibly give. For instance, getting the opportunity to drive Shalom around Duran all Saturday night until 8 AM on Sunday and hear them serenade mothers for el Dia de la Madre. All I did was drive around and chat with Clarita and the guys while they sang their hearts out and brought tears to these mothers' eyes.
It scares me that on some days it seems like all I do is fail, that our presence here does more harm than good. And then there are days like today when I went to the soup kitchen at AJS, and was humbled that Fannie and the women dedicated a mystery of the rosary to the RdC volunteers, both past and present. That they were actually praying for us blew me away and made me think that maybe all of our efforts are not in vain. Godbless those women and their generosity.
So today I pray for unity in the RdC community, for understanding and mostly in thanksgiving for the incredible time that I have had here and the times to come. Godbless.

Jack Attack