Our Mission- Formation of Pastoral Agents and Communities of Faith
This week I began my participation in the works of our community. We had three events planned this week. On Wednesday a visit to to Huacaday to have a meeting with the jovenes(young people) to talk about communities of faith. On Saturday a visit to Yamobamba to have a meeting with the jovenes to talk about mission and on Sunday a jornada (a retreat/workshop day) for the agentes pastorales (adult pastoral agents).
Wednesday's visit to Huacaday did not exactly go as planned. We arrived to give the meeting only to discover that there were no jovenes anywhere in the pueblo...they were in Otuzco attending the wake of a community member. So we did not program that evening. The trip was worthwhile though for one reason- the stars. The little pueblos that we visit are just starting to get some electricity- Huacaday has lights in the church, but when we turned them off the sky just lit up with stars. I have never seen that many stars- there is no large city nearby so light pollution did not obstruct our view. It is also really interesting to look at the stars because here in the Southern Hemisphere- the Southern Cross is our major constellation.
Saturday's visit to Yarobamba was great. We headed out after lunch to travel to the pueblo. The road to get there was so bumpy, which I feel like fits well with my first week here in Peru. There have been many bumps this week with my fumbling over Spanish to communicate with my community and learning basic tasks like how to light the stove and how to hand wash my clothes. The bumps along the way though help smooth out the rough edges and made all of us very excited upon our arrival at our destination. At Yarobamba we had about 8 middle school aged girls who joined us for our meeting. Before the meeting began Jose Luis was playing guitar and he started playing Pescador de Hombres...a familiar song! I sang along and for the first time was really able to pray in Spanish with my community...such a gift. The presentation with the girls went well and I was able to participate a little bit by helping recap group presentations. On the way home, the sun began to set over the mountains...illumining the bright greens, yellows and browns which outline the mountains, a beautiful gift at the end of a good day!
The Church at Yamobamba
Deysi, Jose Luis and Giancarlo
Our group for the meeting- jovenes of Yamobamba, Don America and Jose Luis, Giancarlo and I (Deysi was taking this picture)
The fountain in the little plaza of the pueblo...the sun set over these mountains :)
Sunday's jornada took place at our house/ the Centro de Formacion de Pastoral Rural- Maria Madre del Buen Consejo. Around 45 campesinos (farm folks from the pueblos) arrived at our house between 8:30 and 9 am (ok some arrived after 9 too). We began with prayer in the chapel, then energizing praise songs in the large community room (auditorio). After the songs is was time to start the rotation of talleres (workshops). Giancarlo and I had the taller which focused on fiestas patronales y celebracion de la palabra (Patronal Feast Days and Celebrations of the Liturgy of the Word). I started out by asking our group about patronal feasts, saints and the liturgy of the word...the groups were so patient as I butchered my Spanish. After that we broke them up into groups to see if they could list the parts of a Liturgy of the Word, during this time the campesinos called over to me affectionately gringa or gringita if they had questions. Finally it was time to present our papelotes (like bulletin board paper) of the celebracion which Giancarlo and I had worked on all week. By the time we got to this part of the presentation I was glad- because at least I had a little more of a guide for speaking. After three rotations of the tallers it was time for Mass in the chapel. Padre Ralph drove in from Trujillo to say Mass for us. Mass was beautiful, the chapel was filled to overflowing! After Mass Padre Ralph told me that the reason the Centro Pastoral was formed, was because the people here had been abandoned by the government and the church. It was clear to me, that the campesinos who come here and who we visit feel loved, valued and welcomed in the Spirit of God. They also have a deep understanding of God's love because as they were leaving they thanked each of us who live and work here at the Centro with hugs, kisses on the cheek, deep appreciation and gratitude. I felt so welcome and loved by them, even though I was new and my Spanish was not great- they accepted me and warmly welcomed me into their Christian community of faith.
Opening prayer in the chapel- Isela is the one standing to the far right in red
Opening praise songs
Hermano Douglas and Padre Ralph giving an orientation of the day
After the jornada programming is over- everyone goes down to the cocheria (where we keep the cars) to eat a hearty lunch before heading home...in true Marianist spirit feeding body and soul
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