Short Stories, Big Prayers

So I walk into the comedor (kitchen) of the Project this Wednesday to see if I can help Rosario out with preparing the meals that about 100 malnourished children will consume. “Of course you can help!” Wonderful! So I help her serve rice and a vegetable brew into the little bowls. As the professional and chef, she soon realizes that I am serving either too much or too little in each bowl and promotes my job to placing the spoon in each bowl. I’m okay with this special job since I remember I am here to “be with” people and not necessarily move mountains. She arranges the bowls with such speed, precision, and love, while I make sure the spoon is strategically placed under the weight of the rice so they don’t fall upon serving. As I finish up, I notice her looking for something on the floor. What are you looking for Rosario? “Don´t worry about it, Margarita, its just a little part of my earring.” Bummer, right!? She loves those pink-ball dangly earrings. Naturally I start to help her and she resists as if she doesn’t really care. “No, don’t worry about it, Margarita, it’s SO small and I have other earrings.” But I help her anyway. I ask to see the other earring to know what part we are looking for. YUP, it’s small… a thin, silver pin that actually goes inside the clasp. I figure, it’s silver and shiny, we should be able to find it on this maroon, sorta-ceramic-tiled floor. But Rosario pretends to stop looking, tells me over and over to not worry about it, and continues the work in the kitchen. I try to tell her, “Don’t lose hope! Come, we can find it!” She starts sweeping, just to clean up the floor, and I know she is still looking for it, but I try to step back, hoping that if I don’t look like I am worrying about it, she won’t feel as bad. And as she is sweeping, she finds, IN THE CRACK of the floor. Stuck deep between two of the tiles, where rice and dirt were accompanying this millimeter-size silver pin. Woo hoo! Ohh she´s psyched! “These are my favorite earrings, and maybe they can fix them in the market!” Her “small victory” filled my heart with faith and hope, as she is a totally humble, simply, joyful woman, always a pleasure to spend time and converse with, and yet a part of the deep struggle of Nicaraguan women. In this moment I was reminded of the word “solidarity” – a quite perplexing word and concept to develop and hold dear, but an act so simple and crucial: accompanying another with faith and hope in the search and rescue of something that seems lost.

***

August 14, the day in Nicaragua of the Purísima Chiquita… the “junior” of the December 7 celebration of the Immaculate Conception of Mary.* The prelude, the pre-game, that is only celebrate in the city of León…and at my bank team meeting this week...

Grety, my dear co-worker and companion, comes dancing into work all dressed up. “Estámos de Fiesta!” She exclaims. We´re having a party! For Mary, of course. She commands Silvio, “Get out the Vírgin!” meaning, to take out the 2´ statue of Mary so we can arrange an altar. “Margarita, set up the altar!” OH BOY… I think to myself. These devotions to Mary are perhaps the most serious and reverent practices of Catholic Nicaraguans and Grety is quite the commandante when it comes to Mary and the Catholic faith, so I start sweating at the sound of this task. Have you ever seen an altar to Mary? In Latin America? I find Silvio´s coffee table ready as Grety has already set in front of some plants in the garden. I wipe it down with a cloth and set a white lace tablecloth as a bedding to put the Virgin on. Silvio, also totally devout to Mary, literally asks me three times if I have wiped the table down. “Yes, Silvio.” I’m laughing to myself remembering that this is not a common practice “where I am from” and that arranging an ornate altar to Mary isn’t second-nature to me. “Ni importa, Margarita”, Grety tells me… Just make sure it’s beautiful for Mary. So maybe not second-nature, but this is my second-year as a JV in Nicaragua… 2 occasions of Purísima experience under my belt, and I have learned a thing or two about how to arrange an altar to Mary:

• The table must be wiped down well. The space must be clean and pure.
• The table must be covered with a beautiful cloth, lace preferred, that is arranged creatively (i.e.: not logically placed folded square to fit the shape of the table)
• The Virgin must be secure on the table. The statue should not be rocking, unbalanced even the slightest bit, for risk of Her falling.
• Decorate with any leaves, flowers (real or fake), or random cut-out images of happy things that you can find.

I too, loving and adoring of Mary, do my best to make an altar and it appears to be acceptable to Grety and Silvio. Phew! I am calm and pleased as we start the prayers and songs and celebration. During the prayer I admired the altar and statue of Mary and I rejoiced giving thanks and praise to Mary and God for the blessing of being a part of such devotion to Mary. Grety made chicha, the special corn drink, typical of the Purísima, to share with us after the prayers and even made the little baskets of candy and cookies that are given out at the December Purísima. It was so special to be a part of Grety´s passion and effort to celebrate Mary in this way. Grety and Silvio have taught me so much of faith, and specifically adoration to Mary. My love of and prayer to Mary has grown dramatically here, and I am sure is it because of their influence. And later, telling Grety that I would write this story on the blog, she affirmed me, “But yes you COULD make an altar! And did you see how beautiful it turned out!?”

*The Purísima is dedicated to the December 8 Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. It is perhaps comparable in size and grandeur to Christmas in the United States: rooted in the Catholic tradition though it extends to celebration for all in Nicaragua. More on that in December…

***

One of my dear friends from BC, Mike, just left from a week long visit. A blast, from start to finish! Energizing, Rejuvenating, Life-giving, and Laugh-giving. We were out and about the whole week, showing him all kinds of beauty I have experienced here in Nicaragua. From days at my worksite and the “monuments” of Managua to hikes in middle of nowhere/everywhere the mountains, farm, Laguna, and neighbors´ houses, he successfully learned the chorus to “Nicaragua, Nicaragúita,” Nicaragua´s unofficially anthem and, one could certainly argue, the beat of her heart.

We felt much of the pulse the night of August 9, the eve of the celebration of Santo Domingo (Saint Dominic, Patron Saint of Managua). The saint (an action figure of St. Dom) is kept in a church outside of Managua and brought through the capital each year in August to celebrate and worship. So the party on the 9^th is somewhat of a “vigil” held right outside our block, on the eve of the day when Dom will pass on His way out of the city, back to the church. I was thrilled that Mike would be here for this occasion to experience such a cultural event. That night he not only tried the country’s famous rum, Flor de Caña, and heard the sharp noise of the hear-only fireworks, but also saw the many women out on the street selling everything from gum, to cigarettes, cotton candy, candy apples, enchiladas, tacos, grilled meat and chicken, etc. He saw the main attraction of the “Palo Lucido”… the telephone pole greased in animal fat that Nicaraguan men, young boys, and brave JVs try to climb every year for the prizes at the top. He heard the popular music and saw some “night dancing” (the drunk-man, uninhibited dance). Mike even danced himself… swing-danced with yours-truly in the middle of the street, to the great amusement of a circle of starry-eyes fans (Swing dance by “foreigners,” as the DJ called us, is not typical of Nica or this feast day, but thoroughly enjoyed). With a far-from-celebratory feel, he saw the young children of working mothers trying to sleep in the grass by their stands (one boy in a wheel-barrel!) amidst the raucous of the event. Shirtless men passed-out drunk, totally unconscious of their surroundings. A large tattoo-ed man screaming brutally at a young woman, before he hit her powerfully across the face. And then the decorated float that passed around 11 to go pick up the Saint from another church. Upon returning to the house that night, I felt exhausted and sad at the obviously ugly sights of the night. Maybe I wasn’t thrilled that Mike was able to see all that, but still thankful – for it displayed a part of the reality of Nicaragua.

thanks for reading, and loving, and praying! more soon! xoxo

life giving

Life Giving...

...some of the women in Banco 6: xiomara, auxiliadora, esperanza, maria louisa, and yakeline

...esperanza and her boys! Alejandro and the new one

...mary, my community mate, and technically "co worker" too, on a field trip with work
...co-workers eating ice cream in Leon (same field-trip)
...students from St. Louis University who were experiencing abroad on the Mev Puleo trip and our community ... a spontaneous day trip with Josh to Jinotepe where we found a sweet church, a larger-than-life statue of John Paul II, and a delicious bakery
...a mural-reminder of the beauty of Nicaragua

...prayers from you and for you. love you, miss you, happy summer!

Hope in the Struggle

We have arrived back from retreat #2, still reflecting on "Hope in the Struggle"... We have many struggles here... our own and the experiences of those with whom we live and work here in Nicaragua. Though our faith calls us to trust and hope in God and each other, so here we are... believing in Hope...

BUILDING COMMUNITY

(not only on sand)

James, Josh, Margie, Michael, Jenna, Mary

Josue y Margarita

Michael and Jenna

Vivan Las Mujeres! Long Live the Women!

This month in the banks, we made a dream come true. We had an encounter on May 18^th in which we gathered all of the women from the 7 different mini-banks for a “conference” of sorts; something the bank team has been idealizing for awhile. Silvio, Grety and I worked very hard prior to the event as there was so much to organize. We gathered the women with the objectives of strengthening the unity of the women in the banks, allowing them space to get to know the women from the other groups, and uniting forces of the women that have the same businesses so that they might be able to start buying items together at lower prices and through this, benefit them and their clients. We arranged with the women that the Sunday morning activity would count for two workshops* so that they would come [*in a 16 week cycle, the women receive 3 workshops: one of evaluation and two of personal growth]. 111 of the 166 women arrived to a beautifully decorated pavilion with all their names on scrolls and name tags, images of working women, a sign that read “Vivan las Mujeres” and a rose in hand. With a prayer, ice-breakers, group work, and of course, refreshments, we certainly achieved our objectives and I believe most of the women really enjoyed being there.

I loved being a part of celebrating these women. They work so terribly hard and they inspire me daily with their strength and perseverance. These are the women that wake up at 2am to make tortillas from scratch and sell gum and cigarettes from baskets on their heads in the middle of boulevards´ traffic and who often raise their many children on their own. This morning I had to thank God for the privilege to be here in Nicaragua to see these women all together smiling.

Quickie :)

Hello dear friends and family!

Just a quickie to tell you hello, I love you, and that this past month has been FULL of fun... visits from two dear friends, Mary´s family, and James´ family (arriving tomorrow!). The visits have been a reminder of how beautiful the unity of family and friends is, especially after a long time of not seeing each other! I believe that in those airport-arrival type moments, we are really aware of how much we mean to each other... and how much we can miss each other! I have loved meeting my community mates´families, as I loved sharing my own... it all comes down to love, doesn´t it?!

LOVE!

Field Trip

Last Sunday we the Bank Team organized an affordable field trip to the beach for the women! When there is not enough money to put food on the table, recreation is hardly an option. The Banks were able to ease a bit of the financial burden and about 100 went in total, women with their children. No bathing suits, no problem! Just go in with your clothes! ...wade, bathe and enjoy! What a blessing to share with them and their families in the exhiliration of the BEACH! It was one of my favorite days yet.

Haisy, Mary, and Karla chattin´and relaxin´

Doña Moncha and Doña Candida, waiting for the other to go in first! They both went in eventually :)

Xiomara´s mom and son Manuel

Grety, my co-worker in the banks, with her "little pups," Jenny and Paolo

Easter update

Easter People: James, Margaret, birthdayboy Michael, Jenna, Josh, Mary
Sign: complements of my grandmother, Kay Lynch :)

Lent, the Tridium, and Easter Season have always seemed to create a sacred time for me. I’ve decided that because at Easter, unlike other holidays, there are so many less commercial distractions, it seems so much easier to keep it about what it is REALLY about! The “reason for the season” is crystal clear. Being away from home, I remember clearly the family and church traditions I participated in at St. Peter’s. I miss the familiarity and the routine, though I know there is brilliant beauty in the new experiences I have been a part of here…

Holy Thursday mass was an intimate experience. Josh and I went to Adolfo Reyes, one of the Christian-based communities where Father Joe Mulligan, our in-country coordinator, serves as the pastor. I recognized immediately how he is very much a Shepard-like figure in this community of women, gathered around the Word. The church was small, though decorated with posters of Oscar Romero and the UCA martyrs, a hand-made ornament that Joe brought back from Palestine, and many flowers, candles, and cloths. The women arranged the benches to form a big table that we all sat around to celebrate the mass of the Last Supper, and celebrating the first mass! The women brought food to share afterwards which they placed on the table. It was so real to sit around a long rectangular table, with a bunch of women and children, and Joe, so simple and honest, remembering that which Christ taught us to do. And of course, the washing of the feet! A Nicaraguan woman washed my right foot! Talk about humbling. After the mass the women served the food, a bit for everyone, like the loaves and the fishes, and I left feeling so loved and welcomed.

And Good Friday, whoa that was cool! We participated as a community in a Stations of the Cross, Against the War in Iraq and For Peace, around Managua… well, not all around Managua… around two blocks, from the old US Embassy to the new US Embassy. Christ is still being condemned, carrying the cross, falling, and being nailed in the daily struggles of the people. Each station was read and reflected on by a different community in Nicaragua, to demonstrate how the Cross is still being carried today. Among these included a community of widows from Chichigalpa who were representing their campesino (farmer) husbands, who have died because of the pesticides that large sugar companies are using. Another was a community from Arenal, where 1500 people do not have access to potable water. This community has been working for years with the water company to try to make this possible. We as JVs prayed the 9th Station, Jesus falls a Third Time, and spoke about the situation in Guantanamo – the “erosion of human rights” that has been occurring for too long. Too many falls, too many generations, too many presidents that have let this go on. What is next from these struggles, is the cross, and death, and so we asked how long do we let this go on for? There were more than 100 of us, all united in this Way of the Cross, remembering how Jesus was killed because he spoke out against the hypocrites, the wealthy, the imperialism, the lies, the injustice, the hatred and discrimination, and responding to the call to model as Christians. I felt honored to walk with the Nicaraguans, Joe, and my community members in this struggle, remembering the Passion of Christ and the Passion of the People.