By now most of you know that my time in Cameroon was cut
short due to the political problems going on between the Anglophone regions and
the oppressive policies of the national government located in Yaounde. As a result, I now find myself in Quito,
Ecuador.
I have been in country for two weeks now and would like to
share some first impressions. The community that I am working with is known as
The Society of
the Divine Word (Latin: Societas
Verbi Divini, abbreviated SVD).
Upon
arrival I was warmly welcomed by them despite the fact that my flight was
delayed for two hours which meant they had to pick me up after 1am at the
airport.
Fr John and Fr Marcos were
there to greet me and they showed no signs of being annoyed; quite the
contrary, when I tried to apologize for the late hour, they insisted that I not
worry at all about it.
The next morning as I was introduced to more and more of the
SVD community members I was pleasantly surprised to see how fraternal they all
were with each other. I truly got the
sense that they genuinely liked one another and I was happy that I was going to
be working with them. This friendship
they share amongst each other is also extended to those with whom they interact
with and I have certainly felt it.
Additionally I have felt very looked after and they continue to make
sure that I am being oriented well and have what I need.
For example, since I have been away from the beach for a
couple weeks now (and “need” to get some salt water on me) I have been invited
to accompany one of the priests to the coast this weekend to visit one of their
parishes.
Ok so maybe I don’t need 😉 to go to the
beach but I am most grateful for the invitation and am looking forward to the
visit. And to make matters even more
peachy, apparently there are a couple surf spots close by that I hope to
investigate. Stay tuned for some
pictures.
Jumping back a bit to my sense of being well looked after, I
want to share another quick story.
Although my Spanish is basically ok to get around and navigate the
country, it is really not up to par for truly interacting with and ministering
to the people of the parish. Since this
is the case I expressed my desire to take some Spanish classes and within a few
days of my arrival I was already signed up with an agency that Fr Nevil trusts
and knows to be reputable. That alone would be good enough but the icing on
this cake is that the agency also helps their students engage in some cultural
experiences such as learning to cook Ecuadorian foods, visits to the Old Town,
and even Salsa dancing classes just for fun.
Today we learned to make Cevichocho, a vegetarian version of ceviche,
and really had a chance to bond with the other students and teachers.
Back at the parish, I continue to be introduced to many
people and have been already met with the youth group which apparently will be
a significant part of my ministry. This
parish in particular is made up of several barrios which are divided into three
segments, each with a separate church/chapel.
I have already had the opportunity to visit each of the three churches
and they now know that there is a gringo among them, hahaha.
Ok I suppose that is all for now. Blessings to everyone, and
please remember to keep me in prayer!
