Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Day, November 22nd, marked exactly our fourth month here in Ecuador…WOW time has flown!

While our physical surroundings appear nothing like Thanksgiving back in Boston (90 degree weather here!) we are surrounded by tangible gratitude every day. In these four months we have a lot to be grateful for: a (relatively) healthy few months, the support of our communities both here in Ecuador and back at home, and most especially for the relationships and lessons learned from simply living here with our neighbors. Henri Nouwen describes this lived gratitude best in his book appropriately titled Gracias which speaks volumes to the experience I have had thus far in Ecuador:

“Gratitude is one of the most visible characteristics of the poor I have come to know. I am always surrounded by words of thanks. ‘Thanks for your visit, your blessing, your sermon, your prayer, your gifts, your presence with us.’ Even the smallest and most necessary goods are a reason for gratitude. This all-pervading gratitude is the basis for celebration. Not only are the poor grateful for life, but they also celebrate life constantly. A visit, a reunion, a simple meeting are always like little celebrations. Every time a new gift is recognized, there are songs, or toasts, words of congratulations or something to eat and drink. And every gift is shared. ‘Have a drink, take some fruit, eat some bread’ is the response to every visit I make, and this is what I see people do for each other. All of life is a gift, a gift to be celebrated, a gift to be shared. Thus the poor are a Eucharistic people, people who know to say thanks to God, to life, to each other. They may not come to Mass, they may not participate in many church celebrations. But in their hearts they are deeply religious, because for them all of life is a long fiesta with God”

Although thousands of miles from home, we still celebrated Thanksgiving here in Ecuador. First on the 22nd we got together with the other Rostro de Cristo volunteers, their retreat group in-country, and various other Gringos and friends for dinner at Nuevo Mundo, a school that two Durán volunteers teach at. Our Rostro de Cristo founder, Father Jim, was in country for the week so we celebrated mass together and then shared a delicious turkey dinner!

Then on the 24th (also fellow volunteer Ana’s birthday) we cooked our own Thanksgiving meal and invited over Greg´s Ecuadorian family and our guards to share in the celebration. It was quite a process (and pretty hilarious) as we all joined our little cooking knowledge to roast a 15 pound turkey. Everybody contributed something to the dinner table – I made my Mom’s stuffing and a chocolate cake for the birthday girl!

Turkey Prep

The spread

Everybody before dinner

With la cumpleañera Ana and the chocolate cake I made

Gratitude has taken new form and new meaning here in Ecuador as I feel I am constantly being humbled in my daily activities and learning to live and love in gratitude. It was nice to have the opportunity to celebrate Thanksgiving and reflect on how I can embrace and embody the example of gratitude my neighbors live.

Love and miss you all. Hope you enjoyed the holiday,
Colleen

Pictures of the updates I´ve forgotten to mention

Hi friends,
It has been a busy and exciting past month. I thought I would share in this blog some photos of the moments and updates that haven’t made it into any of my blog posts yet.

We got a new Rottweiler puppy (just 4 months old) to keep our guard dog, Clubber, company. We named her Nala after my favorite Disney movie, The Lion King.

We built and began composting in October. We hope it’s a sustainable project that will continue for years to come in Sinai.

We celebrated many birthdays this month. First Grego turned 22nd in October. We had a nice dinner together in our house that night and then his amazingly hospitable family threw him a large party that weekend in their home in Guayaquil that we all attended. We then celebrated our guard (and my running partner!)´s birthday later that month with a delicious dinner and chocolate cake that Ana and I helped prepare.

There are two Mormon missionaries living in Mt Sinai, one from California. We had dinner with them one night – its great having one more person in Sinai that I can catch up with in English!

Work at Hogar continues to go well. I am working on my own small projects and accompanying the community groups. A few weeks ago we celebrated the one year anniversary of COCOGE – the larger overarching community group in Mt Sinai (PHOTO ABOVE).

Our office supported a medical brigade in Sinai – a truck providing free vaccinations, psychological visits, and general medicine visits. I had a great day literally just sitting and chatting with our neighbors as they waited for their appointments.

We went to Ayangue Beach (a small cove about 3 hours from Mt Sinai) for our first volunteer weekend retreat after about 3 months in country. It was led by a Rostro Alum and it was a great time to relax, reflect, and just enjoy the beautiful beach of Ecuador.

Love and miss you all,
Colleen

The lens through which we view the world

“Grant me, O Lord, to see everything now with your eyes…Give me the clarity of understanding that gave Ignatius” – Prayer of Pedro Arrupe, SJ

Seeing the world with new eyes is something I’ve been reflecting on recently. How much my attitude, my culture, my biases, and my weaknesses may influence the way that I not only see the world, but participate in it.

Back in September while running after school programs in Mount Sinai with the three Jesuit novitiates one of the kids approached me with a homework assignment: writing a rap. I told her first to pick a theme – it could be anything – something she knows well, enjoys doing, or can write a lot about. She chose el barrio (the neighborhood). I was curious what she would write – fully expecting her to point out those things foreign to me like the dirt roads and stray dogs. The positive light she shed on her situation honestly surprised and inspired me:

El Barrio

En el barrio hay persona tranquila
Se encuentra bonito animal
Hay casas hermosas
También hay flores bonitos, arboles de fruta

[In the neighborhood there are cool people
You find nice animals
There are beautiful houses
Also there are pretty flowers, fruit trees]

She doesn’t describe her neighbors as poor or hungry, instead tranquilo. She doesn’t describe the animals as stray or dirty, instead bonito. She doesn’t describe the homes as small or made of flimsy cane, instead hermosas. Of all our surroundings she does not identify the dirt and dust that covers everything or the random bits of trash that litter the streets, instead the flores y arobles de fruta. What would it be like to view the whole world through these lenses she uses?

Love and miss you all,
Colleen