Feliz Día de la Madre

Happy Mother’s Day! Feliz Dia de la Madre!

Mother’s Day is a huge celebration here in Peru, not just within families but all of the schools and many of the churches also have large presentations and celebrations for all of the mothers. Usually on Friday or Saturday the schools have a big show, and the youth groups at the parish decided to collaborate and put on a show for the mom’s Saturday night. Whenever there is a big youth event in the parish it means my week leading up to the event is crazy busy preparing, meeting, and rehearsing.

Our theater group performed two different pieces. The first was a short sketch called “Los Sordos” (The Deafs) and was about a family that misunderstood everything that was said but thought they understood perfectly. It was obviously a comedy, which is something a bit different for our theater group, normally performing religious pieces. But God is in smiles and laughter, and for Mother’s Day we wanted to treat the mothers to a comedy. The group of 4 did a pretty good job, but with only 2 weeks of rehearsal had a few memory slips, not being used to doing pieces with so much dialogue.

The other piece we performed was a bit of mime and interpretive dance to a song by Alex Campos called “Te Quiero” (I Love You). It’s a beautiful song you can check out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLSm3PCR25g
For the verses we had a mother/son pair act out the lyrics and then for the chorus a group of four of us, two women two men, did some dance movements to the song. I was really happy with how it turned out since I created it with a lot of choreography help from Carlos, one of the youth in the group. I think one of the girls filmed it so if I can figure out how to put up a video I’ll try and share. There were many people who told me afterwards the “Te Quiero” piece was probably the best one of the night so that made me proud of the group and how they’ve grown and developed in the last year. This month is the one-year anniversary of TEFA, our theater group, so next week we will probably have a big celebration with Todd, the missionary who formed the group and is coming back to visit this week.

Like all of the Peruvian events/celebrations I’ve participated in here in the last 9 months, it definitely had its kinks and last minute changes and additions. We thought only 4 groups were performing pieces, but a sister and brother from the chapel choir came and wanted to sing a piece, and then the confirmation kids and animators added a dance and some poetry, and a group of little girls wanted to do a dance. Now don’t get the wrong idea about these little girls dancing, it was not cute or precious. The best description I can give for your imagination is “booty dancing” or “stripper dancing.” I am not a fan nor supporter of their main form of entertainment for parties, which is usually a female animator in tight spandex outfit that barely covers the parts it should. And what I find most frustrating is that this is taught to young girls, so that this group of 3 girls who were probably between age 6-10 are in tiny little dance outfits and shaking it for all their worth, moving in very sexually suggestive ways. And with this image and entertainment of women as sexual objects people wonder why there are so many cases of sexual assault against young girls and women?

Back to our Mother’s Day celebration… so we had a few more numbers and were late getting started because there were problems with sound. Exodo (the youth rock band at the parish) was supposed to start the show, but were pushed back to the end with the sound problems. All in all aside from running long and having problems with sound it was a great event and the moms really seemed to enjoy themselves which is the most important part!

In a culture that oppresses women (although really most the cultures/structures of the world are set up to discriminate or marginalize women) it is interesting to see the importance of mother’s day. Many of the mothers here do fit into the image of the suffering, sacrificing, forgiving mother who constantly serves without receiving thanks or credit for her work that keeps the house in order and keeps the family clean and fed. When our theater group was trying to plan what we wanted to do, many of the ideas revolved around the scene of ungrateful children who don’t appreciate their mother until she dies and then they realize how good they had it and how much they were loved and taken care of. This is a common theme in songs and movies here, and seems to fit the reality in Peru in many ways, but we wanted to do something different to bring joy and remind all the moms how much they are loved; not just today, but always. This is also said a lot on Mother’s Day here, that it shouldn’t be the only day to appreciate mothers, rather everyday you can recognize and show your mom how much you care. But we all know that doesn’t always happen, no matter in what country you are living.

So, I want to end this blog with a shout-out to all the mothers out there who tirelessly work each day to care for their families in many different ways and are not adequately valued for the work and love they freely give to their children. Special thanks and recognition to my own mother for giving me life and all her love, as well as my grandmas who gave life to my mom and dad (so they could one day give life to me).

Blessings to all mothers today and everyday!

Holy Week and Mom's visit

Well, it's been a while. Obviously I didn't finish out my Lentan goal of writing one post every day, but that's pretty typical for me to have a good run with the Lentan promise and it kind of fizzles out in the end. Preparing for Holy Week got pretty busy at the parish, so I'm using that as part excuse :) A few months ago I was elected the director of our theater group at the parish, so I've been in charge of all the shows since then, including our production of Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) for Good Friday. We had practices for 3 weeks leading up to the final day and I was still nervous because people didn't remember their lines or their cues, but in the end you have to just give it all up to God and hope that everything goes well. And honestly it did. Sure there were glitches like not having our voice recordings for the majority of the stations and having the priest disappear for 3 of the stations and having to improvise prayers, but I was proud of all the participants and especially the principle actors did a great job. Wed-Friday of Holy Week was a bit of a blur with all the preparations for Via Crucis in making sure the neighborhood was prepared to receive us at each station (the neighbors prepared a small altar marking each station), coordinating all the sound and tech support, picking up all the costumes and ironing (thanks mom! she spent almost 3 hours ironing for us), and making sure we had all the necessary props, etc. And after all the craziness, the final production I would say was a success. Unfortunately for me, looking back I realize I wasn't able to be present to the power of the moment in just accompanying and reflecting because I was so worried about all the details and keeping things running smoothly for all the other participants. I wonder if there is a way to do both? Or if the people in charge of organization and follow through can never fully participate in the activitiy itself? This is why it is important to find moments and activities that I'm not in charge of to participate in, so I too can take a step back to just be and enjoy or reflect.


The best part about Holy Week was that my mom came down to visit! She arrived late Monday night and we were back in Chimbote Tuesday evening in time to finish preparations for my birthday party. I would definitely have to say it was one of the best birthdays ever, considering the context and all the people who were there to celebrate with me Peruvian style. With the help of my boyfriend, roommates, and other Peruvian friends I threw a typical Peruvian party which mostly just includes food, drinks, and lots of music and dancing. I was so happy to see so many people from the parish come to celebrate with me and it was a great chance for me to offer them my thanks as well for welcoming me into their communities and taking time to all celebrate our friendships and life! And the fact that my mom, the amazing woman who gave birth to me and raised me, was here in Peru to celebrate my birthday and see in person where I am and what I'm doing made it an incredibly blessed birthday filled with overwhelming gratitude.










Singing Feliz Cumpleaños Mom and I with my English class


For our Easter celebration, the missionaries invited the CCVI Sisters over for a lunch with touches of typical U.S. Easter tradmarks. Thanks to my mom for bringing down Easter grass, chocolate eggs, jelly bean eggs, peeps, and chocolate bunnies that made up our centerpiece! I think for some of the Peruvian and Mexican sisters this was the first time they had some of the traditional Easter treats from the U.S. It was a beautiful meal shared together to celebrate new life and the life our our congregation here in Chimbote.


On Monday morning Mom and I headed back to Lima to spend a few days sight-seeing and relaxing after a busy week. It was a great mini-vacation for me filled with some good American comfort food, warm water, a comfy bed, a trip to the beach, and a traditional Peruvian dance show. I was reflecting a lot on this little vacation of fun and relaxation and the difference with daily life here in Chimbote. To be honest, I loved every minute of life with my mom in Lima for those 3 days. I thought I would feel uncomfortable, or guilty like I have a lot in the past when I transition from enviornments of poverty to wealth, but the truth is I was just so grateful for everything. And I think that might be the secret to happiness.... well ok, I don't know if it's the secret, but I do think there is a lot of wisdom in gratitude. How does one move from one enviornment to another, from poverty to wealth, joy to sorrow, ugliness to beauty, death to life, all of these components that encompass life at different moments, or in the same moment? And I think my answer right now is gratitude. Gratitude for having and not having, for knowing it all and being able to live it all. Something new to learn in each moment and environment, and the challenge to find gratitude in it all. Also, I think balance is important to really live it all - being comfortable and uncomfortable, mourning and celebrating.

So I end with gratitude for my Holy Week experience in Chimbote, a birthday celebration with friends and family, and a great vacation and quality time with my mom. May you all find gratitude wherever you are.

Paz y Amor

¡Viva el Verbo Incarnado!

Happy Anniversary to the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word! Today we celebrated as a congregation 140 years of CCVI and 45 years here in Chimbote, Peru.

The morning mass was dedicated to the Congregation and we had representatives from the sisters, missionaries, and associates participate in the various parts of the mass. After mass we had a small compartir (sharing of food) with hot chocolate and bread. Representatives of the various facets of the congregation (vowed religious, associates, and missionaries) shared some words about their experience, and our theater group performed two skits. The first skit was a brief history of how the congregation came to Chimbote and the various work we do here. I was honored to play the lead role of Sister Marie Charles who first came to Chimbote. The second skit was on the true spirit of Christmas and inviting Jesus into our celebration instead of focusing on Papa Noel or all of the presents and traditional foods. Being part of CCVI and working so much with religious groups here has been a blessing in really focusing on Jesus this Advent, so I haven't had as much contact with the secularism or commercialism of Christmas; but it is still present here too.

After the morning celebration we had a really nice lunch with the whole CCVI family: sisters, missionaries, and associates. It was the first time we all got together, and it was a great sharing and celebration of the various work and components of the Incarnate Word congregation. Being far away from family for the first time this Christmas and being in such a foreign enviornment, it is really a blessing for me to be part of the Incarante Word family and to have the sisters, associates, and fellow missionaries to celebrate with. Sharing in the group together was a great reminder of our common mission to be the presence of the word incarnate in the world today, to manifest the love of the divine in service of the divine presence in our brothers and sisters. In 5 days, Christians all over the world will celebrate the gift of the Incarnation, of God freely choosing to enter into human history and share fully in our reality, struggles, and joys. My hope and prayer for myself and for everyone this Christmas is that we respond to the incredible gift of the incarnation by following God's example and fully entering ourselves into the reality of human history with all of its struggles and joys, freely giving ourselves to the service of others and working to make real the kindom of God.

Praised be the Incarnate Word!

Celebrating 800 years of the Franciscan Order and 20 years in Peru

Sorry it’s been a little while. Life has become full with less time to sit and write. This weekend marked the end of three weeks of festivities at St. Francis parish celebrating 800 years of the Franciscan order and 20 years of Franciscans in Peru. I helped with a number of events and tried to attend as many as possible. Below is a run-down of the events.

The whole celebration started September 27th with a morning of recreational games and music for the whole family. Our youth council and confirmation kids were in charge of this event, so I had lots of meetings leading up to the big day trying to make sure we had everything prepared. Well, organization and preparation are not what Peruvians are known for so up to that morning I wasn’t sure how everything would run. We would have been good to go if the electricity would have worked. The event was outside in the plaza by the ocean and for whatever reason the electricity did not work; so we had 2 choirs and a group of animators from Periacoto (a Franciscan parish in the mountains) all ready to go but no sound. Yet, it was a beautiful day and we made do. I think all those who came (which weren’t many outside of our own youth) had a good time but I know the padres (priests) were upset because it had cost quite a bit. That afternoon there was a blessing for pets and people from the parish brought their cats, dogs, rabbits, and even a guinea pig (although they mostly eat them here) to be blessed by one of the Padres. It was a lot of fun to see all the kids with their dogs and cats and to see actual pets in Chimbote, since there are so many wild dogs who roam the streets. St. Francis loved all of creation and this was a great way to encourage and celebrate caring for animals.

Then we were supposed to be opening up a photo display in 3 different locations the following day, Monday, but the displays were far from ready. So for basically the next 48 hours I worked with Padre Carlos and another woman, Juanita, on preparing the photo displays and setting them up in their locations. By Tuesday evening everything was finished, so only two days late. Either I didn’t understand or Padre Carlos failed to mention that that evening (Tuesday) we were having a reception to kick off the photo display. I thought we were just putting a few finishing touches on the display at the cultural center, so I showed up in my overall jeans, black t-shirt, sweatshirt, and winter cap. Everyone else was dressed in their formal Franciscan robes or nice clothes so I asked if they had an event afterward and they said a brindis (toast). I soon found out we were all going to the brindis. I was a little embarrassed, but everyone was very kind and no one cared what I was wearing; they were just happy I had helped with the photos.

Wednesday they had a panel forum on life and caring for creation, which I was not able to attend because I was sick and resting.

Friday night we hosted a rock concert in the same plaza as the events on Sunday morning, but thankfully this time the sound worked! About a week or so before the concert Padre Raul told the group EXODO (a band from our parish who was in charge of the event) that he wanted one of the missionaries to be an animadora (kind of like an M.C.) for the event. Courtney is in the band EXODO so she couldn’t be an animadora and no one else wanted the job, so I reluctantly said yes on the condition that I had a script. I was still settling into life and not sure what to expect as well as being concerned about the language difference. Well, Friday night comes and no one has a script for me, but they all seem to have a lot of confidence I will make a great animadora. There are three other guys who host the concert with me and it turned out great! I had a lot of fun and after the concert (and actually still to the day) everyone said I had a lot of energy and did a great job! (although some also said they couldn’t understand a word I said ☺ ) So I can say that in my first month in Peru I helped host a rock concert downtown. I’m also starting to expect that everything will start late. The concert was scheduled for 7pm and our first band didn’t start until about 8:30pm. But it was great and aside from being cold (with the wind from the ocean) everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

Saturday we hosted a marathon from Nuevo Chimbote to Chimbote. I’m really not sure how long that is, but it wasn’t a full marathon length. It started at 8am so I didn’t attend this event either, but it sounded like a success. Also on Saturday was a poetry contest. I attended this, but since it started about 2 hours late I only heard 3 poems before I had to leave for Confirmation that night. Also, the participants never showed, so other people just read the poems that were submitted. Everything had to do with the theme of creation and St. Francis’ Canticle of Creation.

Wednesday (the 30th of Sept.) contained a painting contest and I was pretty impressed with the paintings of both students and teachers. Most of the people here seem to be very gifted in the arts, whether it be music, dance, drawing, painting, theater, or singing. I love it!

Friday morning we had a jornada de limpieza publica which I thought meant we were just going to go around and clean up the streets etc. It was actually more of a march through the streets. Three different schools showed up with their students and everyone had made signs about respecting creation. The most beautiful thing was that all of the posters were so different and truly represented a consistent ethic of life and respect of all creation. Whereas I thought ok, we are focusing on the environment, these students saw the connection between all life and their posters reflected it. There were posters about not littering, not polluting, as well as posters against abortion, against domestic violence, about respecting one another, caring for animals, etc. A great event to have considering it is respect life month. One of the schools brought a band as well so music accompanied our march through the streets, raising awareness and picking up trash along the way.

Friday afternoon there was a program for children in honor of national children’s week (semana de los niños). There were balloons everywhere as well as Disney princesses, Backyardigans (Megan and Beth this made me think of you and Geriana, Ariel, and their siblings), and of course pooh and barney. Lots of singing and dancing and dinamicas provided the kids who came with hours of entertainment and fun.

Saturday was the choir contest held at the Catholic University ULADECH. There were five choirs who participated, but since this also started late and I had another event at 7pm I only heard the first 3 choirs. I also had my first visitor to Chimbote on Saturday! A girl that I went to SLU with, Shannon, is currently living in Lima for a couple months and came to Chimbote on her way to another city. So she met up with me at the choir concert and spent the night. It was fun to have a familiar face and to catch up with Shannon on what she’s been up to. On Saturday night our theater group from the parish performed some scenes from the life of St. Francis. It turned out really well! Everyone did a great job and we had lots of positive feedback. I was a blind person who was cured, and someone who received the good news from one of the Friars.

Sunday was the actual feast day of St. Francis of Asisi so we had a big mass in the morning followed by a small procession around the block of the Church with a statue of St. Francis. The nine days leading up to the feast day were part of what’s called a novena. This means there are nine masses, one each day, leading up to a special celebration.

Finally to wrap things up we had two big events this past weekend. Friday the 9th was a celebration with the whole Franciscan family commemorating 800 years of the Franciscan order and 20 years in Peru. Priests came in from Lima and Periacoto, and the archbishop of Chimbote said mass that evening. There was a charla (discussion) in the afternoon, followed by mass, and then performances of dance, music, and theater. The group of youth from Periacoto did an incredible job as performing two dances: one from the mountains (sierra) and one from the jungle (selva). Our theater group performed our skit again on the life of St. Francis. It was a great celebration of St. Francis and Franciscan spirituality with the whole community gathered together!

Then on Saturday I attended the second annual Franciscan youth encounter. It was from 8am-5;30pm and was similar to youth rallies I have attended in the U.S. We were split into different groups, each with a name that corresponded to St. Francis or the Franciscan order. There were 4 different talks in the morning as well as time to get to know the people in your group. While joven here usually means anyone between 15-35, most of the kids were around 15-17 years old. About half of my Confirmation kids came and there were lots of different parishes represented. Many Franciscan sisters helped plan and organize the event and were wonderful to meet. In the afternoon we had dinamicas, dances, and then ended with a mass where all of the kids received necklaces with the letter T (not a cross as I was corrected, but the letter Tao which is a Franciscan symbol). I thought it was a successful event and hope to help form a group of Jovenes Fransicanas (JuFra) at our parish.

So, that’s just the parish events that have been going on. I’m getting involved in a few other activities but I’ll start another blog for that. This one is pretty long already!

paz y bien (that’s the motto everywhere around here with the Franciscans)

p.s. I wanted to include some pictures, but my computer doesn't like me. So I'll try and work on that.

La Vida Es Un Carnival/2 Cultural Experiences

I have a feeling that there many be many “Carnival” posts throughout these two years as there seem to be fiestas every week. I wanted to share three fiesta/ cultural experiences with you.

The first was the 18th birthday party of Jorge, a former English student of the missionaries, which we attended a week ago Friday. While 15 is the big birthday party for girls (quinciñera), 18 is the big birthday party for boys. To start the night, we didn’t even leave the house until 11:30pm and when we arrived they were just starting introductions. The ceremony is a lot like a wedding reception. There is a front table where Jorge and his date sat (Julie, one of the other IWM’s was his date, but just as a friend. She has a Chimbotean boyfriend, who also came to the party, but everyone seemed pretty good-natured about it). Also at the table were Jorge’s parents and godparents. After all the welcomes and introductions there were a series of special dances: Jorge and his mom, godmother, the parents, the godparents, Jorge and Julie, Jorge and every female member of his family, and after about 30-45 min. of these special dances everyone could join in. They served tamales, beef, rice, and maybe something else I can’t remember. For drinks it was pisco sour and then later beer all night long. Since I am not drinking here, for a while I was quite thirsty as there were no non-alcoholic options, but around 2am someone brought out some Inca Cola (a unique soda here that has a yellow color and bubble gum taste) so I enjoyed that. I have definitely noticed that Chimboteans love to drink and no party seems to be complete without it. This also leads to a lot of societal problems with alcoholism, abuse, and vandalism/robbery. The party carried on until 6am but I left around 3:30am. It was a fun, cultural experience and a great night (or morning) of dancing and visiting with friends.


The Saturday after the birthday party, as we were finishing up a late lunch we heard music from a procession going by. This isn’t an abnormal occurrence in Chimbote, but Alex and Juan Carlos (the boyfriends of two of the other IWMs) said something about a bull and ran outside so we followed suit. Coming down the street was a procession of people with a bull at the front held in check by a few men holding ropes tied to the bull, and accompanied by a band marching along with music. There were also a couple of men dressed up in more traditional clothing who had a doll with red paint on its face that they would use to kiss men who weren’t paying attention and get red paint on their face. Juan Carlos got kissed by the doll and we all got a good laugh out of that. In a spontaneous decision we joined along with the procession and were quickly invited up to the front to dance along behind the bull to the music as we went. It was a completely foreign but strangely beautiful moment to be dancing down the street arm in arm with complete strangers, celebrating a feast day I had never heard of (Lord of the Spirits), preparing for a ritual that I could not understand with my background, but feeling with energy and excitement of the people. When we finally arrived at this open court area there was already a crowd gathered of all ages. As the music picked up the opened a few bottles of beer and sprayed them all over the dancing group as well as threw candy and treats for people to grab. A few people even took their children to get pictures with the bull who was pretty tired and angry at this point. Then came the part that PETA would have a field day about: they killed the bull, drank its blood, and cut it up to cook and feed everyone celebrating. This was definitely a new cultural experience for me and I tried to really observe without judgment and see how this was part of the customs and worldview of the people here. But I also didn’t stay long after they started cutting up the bull. Poco a poco. Oh, and to top off the celebration Alex bought us all ice cream from a street vender who was there. So I enjoyed a delicious ice cream cone on a beautiful day with friends, while staring at a dead and bleeding bull and laughing a little to myself that this is my life.

This current weekend has been the feast day of the patron saint of Mollepata, San Jeronimo. Mollepata is little town outside Chimbote and also the name of the Social/Cultural center directly across the street from us. So, while the center is usually host to the fiesta’s of others, this weekend has been huge because it is their very own patron saint celebration. I am actually pretty impressed with the endurance of Chimboteans who have now been partying for over the last 48 hours straight. The first sign that it would be long weekend of celebration was the 5:30am fireworks lit off directly in front of our house Friday morning. Starting Friday evening it has been non-stop music and celebrations. The coolest thing by far thought was the vaca loca and the Castillo. For any/all of you who are pyromaniacs, this would be your dream come true. On Friday night I noticed a large structure tower up from the center of the Mollepata and asked one of my Chimbotean friends what it was. He said it was a Castillo, and they would light it on fire and it had different things it would do. It sounded cool and strange enough to warrant actually going over to the Mollepata for the first time. So around midnight I headed over with Jane (another IWM) and Juan Carlos to watch the display. Well, it took until 1am to light the Castillo, but just after midnight they lit the vaca loca (crazy cow). The vaca loca constructed in the shape of a cow and someone puts it on over their shoulders and when it is lit it sprays out fireworks and sparks all over the place. It would be completely illegal anywhere in the U.S. The vaca loca then runs around all over the place, basically spraying people with fireworks unless you run away. Don’t worry, Mom and Dad, I’m alive to be writing this blog post.  A quick side note: all ages participate in celebrations here. At every fiesta I have seen babies less than a year old up with their parents until the dawn as well as old grandpas and grandmas probably in their 90s. So, the vaca loca lasted about 10 minutes I would say and everyone had a ball running away (or some towards) the crazy cow that shot out fireworks. After this, I realized that the Castillo was rigged with fireworks as well and super excited to see it lit off. Around 1am the initial spark was lit and it was truly an incredible work of engineering I think. There were multiple levels and the initial spark would travel up each level as the next one was lit off. My words will not be able to begin to describe how amazing this was and unfortunately I don’t have any pictures, so hopefully you have good imaginations. On each level there were different shapes that would spin and turn as they lit off fireworks and colored sparks. There was a banner rigged to fall down with the patron saint, a lit up sign at the top of the Castillo, and a finale of big fireworks and a waterfall of sparks down the whole front. The best ground show of fireworks I’ve ever seen. And we were probably within 30 ft. of the structure. They had another one last night, Saturday, but I had to get up really early this morning to set up for our kick off event for the celebration of St. Francis and the Franciscan order (800 years) so I didn’t stay up to watch that one.

On final cultural experience that happened on my way home today (9/20) about 5:00pm: a drunk man tried to steal my camera which was in my pocket, but I didn’t let him have it. He came up behind Marcelle and I as we were walking and I felt him try to reach in my pocket and grab it but I grabbed it at the same time and yanked it back from his hands as I shouted No! He just kind of looked at us and as we started to quickly walk away he stumbled back the other direction. We’ve been told (and I believe it) that Sunday afternoon and evening are the most dangerous times because the men have been drinking all weekend. But thankfully everything is ok, and I still have my camera.

Peace and Love