SM- Siesta Marianista

“Sometimes prayer is an inner struggle, and sometimes it means surrendering one’s whole being. At a given moment it becomes simply resting in God in silence.  That is perhaps one of the high points of prayer.” ~Roger of Taize

The culture here in Peru has a wonderful gift called siesta.  It is a time during the afternoon where everyone rests, shops are not open, the sun is blazing hot, so folks normally take a nap.  While in the US the initials SM have many jokes (Still Meeting…etc) here it refers to the time after lunch for siesta (SM = Siesta Marianista).  J

Siesta is such a gift. I really like the pace it sets for the day, and the focus that work is important but what is most important is taking care of yourself and that means taking time to rest.

This past weekend I had time to rest.  We celebrated Fiestas Patrias (Peruvian Independence Days) so we had a couple days off.  I spent the weekend in Trujillo with the Brothers Community at San Jose Obrero.  The Brothers who live in Trujillo are all Americans who have been living here for decades- and for me that is good news because it means they are bilingual.  Our conversation was a mix of Spanish and English all weekend…which provided me with a bit of a mental break. 

I was able to take some time to just walk around the property, think, listen to music and enjoy archaeological sites in Trujillo.  While walking and reflecting I came to realize that my first month here has been filled with grace, but also has been a little overwhelming.  With learning a language and culture I was pretty tired all the time, but was not taking time to rest the amount I needed to.  The above quote about resting in God in silence was a really good reminder. Here's to siesta, resting and balance...new challenges for the month ahead!

Our Community taking time for some leisure to celebrate the Anniversary of the Pastoral Center here in Otuzco.  Such a fun night of good food, drinks, good conversation and some dancing.

 Resting at the beach in Huanchaco- near Trujillo

On my days off Padre Ralph and I visited archaeological sites.  This picture is from the Huaca de la Luna- the temple of the Mochi people who lived around 200BC.  

 This little museum that we visited is a private collection of artifacts and is under a gas station.  Our guide was very casual with the artifacts and this is me blowing into a conch from 200BC from the Mochi people.  Holy cow- I held and used an artifact that was 2200 years old...pretty cool!