Some Pictures from the NOERC Meeting

Here are a handful of pictures from the past couple of days. Enough to give a small flavor of what I've been doing. First, our trip to Philadelphia.

This is the front door to the Bishop White House. That's the curator telling us about the architecture and what they had to restore and rebuild when the Park Service took over the block.


And here we are listening to the curator.


And here we are in Bishop White's study. They were able to restore it pretty accurately because when the bishop died, his family commissioned a painting of the study as it was then. Some of the books are actually from his collection, and the rest are based on what an educated man of Bishop White's stature probably would have had on his shelves.

This afternoon Bishop Edward Lee, retired bishop of Western Michigan, visited with us and told us a couple of stories about Bishop White. One was about a time when Philadelphia was dealing with one of the epidemics common to cities of the period. City leaders came to Bishop White, a man of great influence in the city, and asked him declare a day of penitence and prayer. The good bishop, who counted among his friends prominent physicians of the city, told the city leaders that first they would have to clean the city streets AND institute a regular cleaning and pick up of garbage. Only then would he declare a day of prayer. They did. He did. And the city then had the first sanitation program in the States.

One of our members commented, "And bishops have been cleaning up crap ever since!"

Four of my NOERC colleagues having a discussion during one of our breaks.

These are the kinds of meetings the upper management at the Church Center don't seem to understand. Technology is great, but even if you can videoconference, it still doesn't replace in person, face-to-face interaction.

And how did I manage not to take any pictures of Christ Church while we were there???

Peace,
Jeff

From The Sublime To The Ridiculous, Or The Ridiculous To The Sublime?

This weekend I was up in Woodstock, CT for the Lavender Country & Folk Dancers' Spring Dance Camp. Beautiful setting, good friends, good music, good dancing, some meaningful conversations, and a missed opportunity. Someone asked me to go for a walk with him after breakfast on Sunday morning, except that it wasn't very clear that's what he was doing. By the time I realized that's what he was asking, it was too late. I mended that fence after lunch, though it really didn't need mending. Now I have to figure out just what this dance we're doing is...

Usually I take the Friday and Monday of Dance Camp weekends as vacation days. That means I'm not rushed to get out of the City from work and get to camp by 5:00 or 6:00 in the evening. I can take my time packing Friday morning and take my time getting to camp. Monday serves as a "re-entry to the real world" day. I didn't get the re-entry this time, because I had to drive to Philadelphia (well, Haverford) for the National Organization of Episcopal Resource Centers (NOERC) annual retreat/meeting. So last night I came home and unpacked the Dance Camp stuff. This morning I packed for the conference plus a visit to my brother & his family. I returned the rental car (four people plus dance camp luggage would not have fit in my little car!), had the oil changed in my car, ran a couple of errands , and left for Pennsylvania only 15 minutes after my target departure time of Noon.

So much for a gradual transition from camp to real world.

It was actually a decent day for a drive, in spite of the humidity. There was little traffic except for the usual slowdown on the Cross Bronx Expressway, and I arrived at my destination in about three hours, including a stop for lunch.

So, here we are at the Saint Raphaela Center of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The rooms are clean, if a little crowded by the furniture in them. The meeting spaces are good. The food is well-prepared. There are no fans in the rooms. It may be a sleepless night.

Tomorrow is a field trip into Philadelphia.

It's A Retreat Center

This year the National Association for Episcopal Christian Education Directors (NAECED) annual conference is being held at the Vallombrosa Center in Menlo Park, California. The former Hopkins estate was purchased by the roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco in 1947 as a retreat house for women. It now hosts a variety of retreats and meetings.

I've been to many retreat centers during my life, and especially during my tenure at the Church Center, including several run by various Roman Catholic organizations from the Jesuits to the Sisters of Mercy. Many started out as homes or estates of the wealthy. Some started out as seminaries or monasteries/convents. The basics include a twin bed, a chair, a table or desk for writing or study, and a place to store clothes. Bathrooms are sometimes in the room and sometimes down the hall.

The rooms here are small. One of my fellow board members commented, "what is it with Catholics and cells?" But they are clean and comfortable. Each has its own heater and bathroom. The thing that caught my attention here? There are electric blankets on the beds. Of course, this is California. For a New Englander 50 degrees isn't cold, especially in the middle of winter.

As with all retreat centers, our rooms do not have televisions or telephones. On the other hand, we do have wireless throughout the Center.

Our host parish is Trinity Episcopal Church, which in good weather would be within walking distance. The NAECED board held our meeting there this afternoon, and will meet there again tomorrow morning. Tomorrow afternoon the parish will open its campus for a variety of activities as the conference begins.

There are 12 board members here, and we are currently sharing the Center with a large group of high school-age girls here on retreat. So far we've had little interaction with them, but tomorrow we will be having breakfast and lunch with them in the dining room.

The rain continues.

Peace,
Jeff

It's Raining, It's Pouring...

It was a beautiful morning for the beginning of my trip--sunny and mild. The van shuttle arrived at 6:45, which got me to JFK by 7:45, three hours before my flight. If I'd taken the recommended departure time of 7:20, we'd have run into rush hour traffic, and that would have been cutting it close at the other end. It gave me time for a leisurely breakfast and to get some work done for the conference.

I've been keeping my eye on the weather in California for a couple of days. I wondered about flight delays, but everything said my flight was on time. They began boarding us at 10:15, just as CNN reported 1-2 hour delays at the San Francisco airport. When we should have been leaving the gate, the pilot announced that our departure had been delayed by Air Traffic Control in San Francisco due to the weather. Our "wheels up" time was scheduled for 12:09. We sat at the gate for about 15 minutes before heading out to the runway holding area, just in case we got an earlier clearance. We actually took off at about 12:05.

We arrived an hour and a half late in the rain. We were given the wrong carousel number for collecting our bags. And then a handful of us were missing our checked luggage. Just as I was getting ready to go find the baggage office, I was paged. It turned out that they had put my suitcase on the earlier flight.

My friend Dennis met me at the airport and drove me to my hotel. Once I got checked in we headed out to find something to eat. We also stopped at a CVS, so I could pick up an umbrella because mine is still in my briefcase. On the rocking chair. At home.

Tomorrow it's off to Menlo Park for the NAECED board meeting and final conference prep.

Peace,
Jeff

Cleaned, Packed, And Ready

Yesterday afternoon I did laundry and dusted my entire apartment. This afternoon I cleaned the kitchen and bathroom and vacuumed the whole apartment. I can give the entire apartment a good cleaning in about two hours, so spaced over two days, it's not a big chore. Usually I do a little bit of basic stuff every day and the major stuff every couple of weeks. Except when I travel. Then I give the entire place a thorough cleaning a day or two before I leave, put clean sheets on the bed and clean towels in the bathroom the morning of departure. It's always nice to come home to a clean apartment and fresh sheets.

Once the apartment is clean, I begin packing. Actually, I start the packing process days before I pack the bags. First I make a list. I make piles. I winnow the piles. Certain things get taken to the office to be shipped with the meeting supplies. If it's going to be a lengthy trip, or I'm taking stuff that can't be shipped (when we go to Central or South America, for instance), I borrow a large suitcase from Mom. I also run to the library or the bookstore to get a couple of paperbacks to read while travelling (and during free time, if any). Packing day--that day before departure--the piles get moved to the bed, and the suitcases come down from the storage shelf. Usually by this point, I have a pretty good idea of which bag, or bags, are going on the trip. I winnow the piles one more time and then pack everything but the last minute stuff that goes in right before I go out the door.

Not today. I'm only going for four nights, so I could go carry on. Except I'm taking my flute. I'm too close to a gig to miss an entire week's worth of practicing, and my boss has said that I will have time to practice. So, I'm checking one bag and carrying on one bag with the flute as the one "personal item." Frankly, having to "overpack" and be able to take a little piece of sanity with me this trip is worth the checked bag fee.

I will need that sanity. Bronwyn (our "new" boss), Ruth-Ann and I will be making presentations to our networks about goings on at the Church Center. I've told them that they will have to talk about the reorg.... ummm... reconfiguration because I'm just not ready yet to be a cheerleader again. I'll be doing a lot of biting my tongue and taking notes. Or something. We have coloring pages for participants, and I may throw my crochet stuff in my bag before I leave. Keep busy, stick to the script, and don't talk about the stuff management doesn't want us to talk about.

I'm as ready as I'm ever going to be.

The shuttle comes at 6:45 tomorrow morning. I think we'll have Internet access in Kanuga, so I'll keep you posted.

Peace,
Jeff

A Week By The Lake

I spent last week in Burlington, Vermont at the Bishop Booth Conference Center meeting with the Episcopal Council for Christian Education (ECCE). I drove up, which was a nostalgic experience. We spent some of our family vacations in Vermont while I was growing up, so I drove by a lot of familiar places--if only the names. The Conference Center sits on the shores of Lake Champlain.

ECCE meetings can exhaust me, but once I recover from the meeting itself, the experience energizes me. These folks--two representatives from each Province of the Episcopal Church--are my network, my "peeps," as my nephews would say. They keep me sane in the ever-changing mess that seems to be the Church Center these days. These people, along with their peers across the church, are the reason I have not walked out the door these past six months. They do incredible work, and I am proud to be their colleague.

At every ECCE meeting we try to provide a development component. This time a former ECCE member did a four hour workshop over two days on the Enneagram Types. The organization he works with is the Enneagram Institute. If you want to find out more about what we learned, you can visit their web site. I am Type 6 - The Loyalist. And this surprises us how? I know people get very caught up in this kind of thing, as also happens with the Myers-Briggs typing that runs rampant through the Episcopal Church. These are tools we can use to help understand ourselves. But each is only one kind of tool. They are not the be all and end all. Not every tool works for every person. Here endeth the lecture.

The ECCE meeting ended at lunchtime on Thursday, and three people heading to the Los Angeles for another meeting were staying over until Friday morning. Ruth-Ann and I stayed as well so that we could spend some time with them to prepare them for the meeting, which we are not attending due to travel restrictions based on budget issues. Before that meeting, however, we needed a break. Even in as lovely a setting as the shore of Lake Champlain in the Fall, you need to get out and have a change of scenery.

Our first stop was the Vermont Teddy Bear Company's Factory and Bear Shop.



We did the tourist thing and took the picture. This is Cindy from the Diocese of Olympia, Nancy from the Diocese of Northern California, me, and my friend MerLynne from the Diocese of Minnesota.

We took the tour.

This is the stuffing station.

We saw lots of bears and outfits.

This is a Renaissance Bear in the custom workshop.

Ruth-Ann bought a bear as a Christmas present for her grandson.

And yes, I came home with a bear.

How could I leave him there? He's purple. (Well, they call it amethyst, but he's purple!)

After a short stop at the cathedral bookshop, we spent the rest of the afternoon wandering up and down Church Street, which is pedestrian street in downtown Burlington. We had dinner at Three Tomatoes and then drove back to the Conference Center to have our meeting.

Friday was a travel day, which for Ruth-Ann and me, consisted of a 5 1/2 hour drive back down to Connecticut. Ruth-Ann the continued on the Port Jefferson Ferry to Long Island. It was a beautiful day for a drive, but when I got home, my body pretty much said "you're done now," and I slept for 12 hours Friday night.

Tomorrow, back into the... office.

Peace,
Jeffri

Walking

I went out for a walk during the first half of my lunch break. Outside. Walking. I haven't been able to do that for weeks. It's either been too cold, too yucky, or we've been too busy at work. Pretty soon I'll be able to walk from home to the train station in the mornings and back again in the evenings. I thought about it this morning, but it was 22 degrees outside. That's just too cold to be outside for the 20 minutes it takes to walk to the station.

I do "walk" most days. What I actually do is pace in my apartment while reading in the evenings. However, it is effective, and I can see the difference in my legs; not to mention that between the walking and watching what I eat, I am losing weight gradually. Faster would be more gratifying, but I'm more likely to keep it off the way I'm doing it this time.

My plan is to start bicycling again, with the ultimate goal of being able to take another bike tour next year. There are still a couple of trips in Ireland that I'd like to take, and the same company now offers a variety of trips in several other countries. They also offer some walking tours, but I really enjoyed the biking I did in Ireland. I can't believe it's been almost seven years since my last trip.

But walking is enjoyable, too. I like walking in the City at lunchtime. Lots of people watching as well as seeing how the area changes gradually. And the exercise is good.

My lunch break is about over, so it's back to my work.

Peace,
Jeffri

Quick Report From The Dominican Republic

I'm in the Dominican Republic to provide logistical and technical support for a workshop for writers from around Province IX of the Episcopal Church. They are writing a Spanish language Christian Education/Formation curriculum for all age levels for the province that comes from their own context rather than being a translation of something put together in the United States. We are meeting in the Dominican Republic because it is fairly easy to get to from the other eight dioceses of the province.

It has been an interesting experience for me because I have been operating in three languages: English, Spanish, and German. German is my second language, so when I start to struggle with my limited Spanish, my brain reverts to thinking in German. At that point I have to translate for myself back into English and then into Spanish. Generally I understand what I hear and read in Spanish, but I still have a lot of trouble speaking the language. Fortunately, we have three people who can translate.

Because our internet connection here has been unstable, I have not had much news of the tempest in a teapot that seems to be the Anglican Communion these days. Instead, in this meeting room we have been steeped in the work of the Church.

If I get a chance, I will write more before we leave. Otherwise, I'll be back in the States next week.

Peace,
Jeffri

Wanderlust

It is the middle of August, and "the great migration" is about to begin. The college kids will return to their various institutions of higher learning--or begin their first semesters--and children across the country prepare to return to school for a new year--or begin their first year of school. For 18 years, from the time I was 5 and began kindergarten, until I was 23 and completed one year of graduate school, I participated in the annual move back to school. In my mid-20's I spent three more years in graduate school pursuing a master's degree in education. The pattern, ingrained at an early age, and reinforced over several years, exerts a pull on me every Fall.

While the yearning to pack a bag and travel is strongest in the Fall, it can hit me at any time of year. For the past year I have been following the adventures of a high school classmate who is riding his motorcycle around the world. Allan has worked hard over the past (almost) 30 years, and he can afford to take the time for this adventure. Yet it is more than just the financial ability. He has packed up his bike to follow a dream, something many of us never do. Doing it by motorcycle may not be the way I'd do it, but I often envy him the experience.

On the other hand, I've been fortunate over the years. My father was a schoolteacher, so every summer we packed up and took off. By the time I was in high school, I had seen more of the country and of Canada than the vast majority of my friends, neighbors and classmates. Between my junior and senior years of high school I spent the summer in Germany as an exchange student through Youth for Understanding. As an adult I have had jobs that offered me an opportunity to visit other parts of the USA and the world. On occasion I have even made vacations doing things I've dreamed about--sailing in the Caribbean, biking in Ireland.

Even so, the wanderlust strikes. There are still bike trips I would like to take in Europe. There are train trips I dream of taking on most of the continents. There are cities ancient and modern I long to see. And sometimes, I just want to pack a bag and go where my whims lead.

This Fall my job will take me to two new places here in the USA and one place in the Caribbean that I've been before. Between the last week of September and Thanksgiving, I will be away four weeks for work related trips. I will also be taking a couple of long weekend trips with friends during that same time period.

That should more than take care of the wanderlust. At least until Christmas...

Peace,
Jeffri

And It Wasn't Even A Hurricane

Less than a month after telling its passengers what to do in case of a hurricane, Metro North failed the weather test. This morning in the space of an hour the New York City Metropolitan Area (or the Tri-State Area, as it is also known around here) received over two inches of rain. When I left the house at 7:00 a.m., it was pouring. By 7:15 it had tapered off to a more moderate rainfall--many of us stood on the platform of the South Norwalk Railroad Station without getting soaked to the skin. We boarded the 7:23 semi-express to Grand Central Terminal little knowing that the usual hour and 10 minute ride would turn out to be almost two-and-one-half hours.

According to the notice that Metro North employees scattered on the seats of the trains during the evening rush hour, this is what happened:

The service disruptions and delays you experienced this morning resulted from the intense storms that passed through our area, causing flooding in the Bronx that affected all three lines.

The high waters inundated our third rail, switches and signals. These conditions were especially severe between Mott Haven and Melrose, forcing us to temporarily suspend service in both directions on the Hudson, Harlem and New Haven lines shortly after 7 AM.

We were able to restore southbound Hudson Line train service about 30 minutes later. At approximately 8:25 AM, southbound train service was also restored on the Harlem and New Haven lines.

While system-wide service was restored, all lines were operating with significant delays as trains had to operate through the Mott Haven area at restricted speeds.

Full northbound service was finally restored at around 8:50 AM, although trains continued to pass through the Mott Haven area at reduced speeds.

We regret any inconvenience you may have experienced as a result of these weather-related service disruptions and thank you for your patience and cooperation.

The train I was on was held at the Stamford station for nearly half an hour. At one point they unloaded the train across the platform, and those passengers crowded onto our train. Then they announced that we would shortly be leaving Stamford, but only going as far as Woodlawn in the Bronx, where we could take the subway into Manhattan. However, immediately after that they told us the subways were not running. There was a stampede of passengers getting off the train. I decided to stick with the train and figure out my options when we got to Woodlawn.

The by now half-full train did not stop at Woodlawn. As we passed through the station, most of us muttered to each other something along the lines of, "well, this can either be good, or very bad..." Immediately after passing through Woodlawn they announced that one track into Grand Central was open and that we were heading in. Shortly after that we stopped and sat somewhere in the Bronx for the next half hour.

I arrived at work an hour late, which was not bad considering some of the other horror stories I heard from coworkers.

Many folks did not make it in to work at all, including many Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA, of which Metro North is a part) employees. Full subway service had still not been restored by the time we left at 5:00 p.m., although Metro North seemed to be running on time--at least according to the radio stations and online news services we checked.

And what of the web site (http://www.mta.info/) we were supposed to check for updates? Basically, it could not handle the traffic and crashed and burned for most of the morning. By lunchtime it was accessible, but no one could find any updated information about service. Only when someone in the building emailed us a direct link to a page of updates were we able to find the information on the MTA site. It was exactly the same information the New York Times and CBS Radio 880 had been posting on their sites throughout the day.

Weather happens, and when it does, the MTA doesn't.

Peace,
Jeffri

In Case Of Hurricane...

I commute to the City (New York City, specifically Manhattan) by train for work. The corporation that operates the trains is MTA Metro-North Railroad, which took over the old New Haven Line many years ago. Every month or so we board the train in the morning to find copies of Mileposts: A Publication for MTA Metro-North Railroad Customers strewn on the seats of each car. Among other things, it gives the most recent "On-Time Performance" statistics available for each of Metro North's three lines. Invariably, the New Haven Line has the worst on-time record of the three. Of course, we also have the oldest equipment. There are also updates on construction and renovation projects, special events, and safety tips. And usually some sort of "seasonal" advice.

This month's seasonal advice article, titled "'Tis The Season...", gives the riders information about how Metro North responds to hurricanes (the "season" of the title is Hurricane Season). For the most part, there is nothing new in the article, just restatement of the obvious. Then they give us valued customers tips to "help you cope during hurricane season's worst." Here they are, directly from the newsletter:

• Check our website (http://www.mta.info/) for updates.
• Sign up for email notification. (See the next story to find out how.)
• If severe weather requires us to run other than our normal schedule, we will post alternative schedules on the Web as part of our service advisories. (Make sure you also have a copy of our current timetable. If you can't access the Web, the printed timetable will help provide you with a frame of reference for train departure times.)
• Listen to the radio and television news. During any storm emergency, this is the fastest way to find out how train service is affected. We will continuously provide information to the media.
• Call our Customer Information Center at 800-METRO-INFO (800-638-7646); in New York City call 212-532-4900.

Did the people that wrote and approved this article for publication think about what they were writing? Have they ever been in a hurricane, or even a severe Nor'easter? I wonder where these people were during the blackout of a couple of summers ago? Their offices are located in Manhattan, which was one of the areas without power longer than most. I wonder if they were posting to the web site on the computers in their offices so that those of us in Manhattan and other areas affected by the blackout could check them on our computers? Or maybe they were sitting at the phones waiting for the calls coming into the Customer Information Center.

On the other hand, why should I be surprised? This is the same organization that can't remember from one winter to the next how snow affects their equipment...

Peace,
Jeffri

The Tourist Pictures

Finally, here are some pictures from our last day in Ecuador. This was our day to play "tourist," and Javier drove us to several places in Quito.

This is one of the plazas in Old Quito. I think this is San Francisco. It is interesting because you can see the original building and the later additions.

La Virgen de Quito, which sits atop El Panecillo (the little loaf--so called because of its shape). There are some wonderful views from the observation deck at the base of the statue itself.


At the base of La Virgen is this little sun temple, which dates back to Inca times.


Inside the recently restored sun temple.

I don't have a picture yet of me straddling the Equator at Mitad del Mundo, so here is one of Veronica. The monument/museum is behind me. I'm still trying to find the picture of the monument.

This is La Cuidad del Mitad del Mundo, taken from the observation deck of the monument. It could have been a very tacky tourist trap. Instead, it is a well thought out "shopping village" with restaurants, shops, and even a church clustered around a plaza. We did most of our souvenir and gift shopping here.

Members of a dance troupe performing in the plaza.

More members of the dance troupe. The little girl on the far left with her back to me was learning the dances by doing them with the older women and girls.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable day, and I wish we had had a couple more days to spend seeing the country.

Peace,
Jeffri

Keeping Track While Traveling

I have kept a journal off and on since I was 10. For a long time I used three ring binders and college-ruled notebook paper. For the last few years, however, I've been using 8 1/2 x 11" spiral notebooks with a pocket divider for holding odds and ends. The journals have become a combination of journal and scrapbook, especially when I travel, as I will often tape things into them as I write. Over the years I have sometimes used a separate notebook when traveling. When I went to Germany as and exchange student, I kept my journal in a couple of 6 x 9" spiral notebooks. I used the same type of notebook for my first trip to Ireland, but for the second I took my regular journal rather than using a separate one.

Lately, however, especially when traveling on business and packing carry-on as much as possible, lugging my full-size notebook--even the spiral bound one--just takes up too much room. I started using a Moleskine Ruled Notebook for my writing journal (I have long kept a separate notebook of some sort for jotting down ideas, thoughts, and image for stories, poems, and other creative endeavors). For the trip to Ecuador, I thought I'd try something a little different. I purchased a set of Moleskine Cahiers and modified them slightly.

Somewhere years ago I read that instead of carrying an entire travel guide with you, you should photocopy the pages you need and discard them as you traveled and no longer needed those particular pages. While I did do that for the trip to Ecuador, I also thought I might like to at least have maps in my journal. This idea was somewhat inspired by the Moleskine City Notebooks. So I photocopied some maps and glued them into the Cahier. Inside the front cover is a map of the whole country.


This is how I solved the problem of fitting the maps onto pages that are only slightly larger than an index card (3 1/2 x 5 1/2"). These folded maps are of Old Quito and New Quito. Of course, they turned out to be pretty useless, as our hotel was north of the portion of New Quito shown on the map, and we were in Old Quito for only one morning.



This is how it looks with the maps unfolded.













Inside the back cover are a map of "central Ecuador," which covers most of the Diocese of Ecuador Central, and one of the Avenue of the Volcanoes, a portion of which we traveled on our way to Ambato.

And here they are unfolded.

I made three sets of two Cahiers--one for me, one for Ruth-Ann and one for Veronica. Ruth-Ann kept hers with her but didn't really use it. Veronica used hers for notes as we traveled.

I filled one of the Cahiers completely and started a second during our week in Ecuador. I wrote down my impressions, stories Javier told us, facts about the diocese and the country, information we would need when we returned to the Church Center, expenses, names of people we met, notes on the churches we visited, etc. One thing quickly became clear as I wrote in the Cahiers. The soft cover does not provide a stable writing surface. The next time I do this, I will use the hardback Ruled Notebook.

Peace,

Jeffri

More Pictures From Ecuador

Deep in the Andes the "blond, blue-eyed, anglo Christ" image persists.

















This is Cynthia, one of the children at Nueva Esperanza, carrying the fan we gave her.

















Students at the Canterbury School having lunch. The school is currently using the basement and Sunday School classrooms of the Catedral El Senor while a dispute over who owns the actual school buildings--located just behind the cathedral--is being settled.









Cristo Liberador, Quito (the blue building on the right) and its neighborhood. This is where we saw the goats, right in the middle of the city. Unfortunately, I was not quick enough with my camera to get a picture of them.










The Senior Breakfast at Cristo Liberador. Three days a week the church holds breakfast and prayer for the seniors of the neighborhood. They were waiting for us and greeted us with a round of applause when we stopped in to visit with them.









This is a Sunday School classroom at Buen Pastor, Quito. No commentary necessary.

















Mission Emaus, Quito, is literally a second story store-front. The lower of the two blue and white signs announces the Saturday health clinic












This is Emaus' worship space. I stood in the entrance to take this picture, so you are seeing 90% of the space.












The women's needlework project at Emaus. The display they set up for us is in the room directly behind the chapel--it serves as the "parish hall," among other things. Ten percent of the money they raise through the sale of their work goes to the church, with the other 90% going to the women.








Next to the parish hall is the one-room clinic. Again, I stood in the doorway to take the picture, so you are seeing almost the entire clinic in this shot. A doctor comes on Saturdays. Patients pay $2, if they can afford it, but no one is refused care. Medicine is purchased with funds that come from Christ Church Cathedral in the Diocese of Indianapolis.







At the end of the short hallway is the Sunday School classroom--one classroom. It also serves as a "drop in" center for neighborhood children. Except for the two small bathrooms, these five pictures show you all of Emaus' space.









I will post more pictures as I continue to sort through them.

Peace,
Jeffri

Finally, Some Pictures from Ecuador

I've finally downloaded the pictures from my camera to my computer. Here are some of the first ones.

Okay, so this is the obligatory tourist "the view from my hotel room window" shot. However, since most of Quito sits at approximately 9,200 feet above sea level, that mountain at the edge of the city rises up from there!









This is Mison Nueva Esperanza, about an hour or so west of Ambato, in the Pilahuin area. Here we were at nearly 12,000 feet up. The unfinished building is the church the community is building themselves. As they earn/collect/save enough money, they build the next section, providing all the labor themselves.








These are some of the people of Nueva Esperanza, who are Chibuleos. You can identify them by the men's red ponchos with braid trim and the white hats worn by both men and women. Their priest, Raul, is the man standing fourth from the left. He travels between his five missions by bicycle--in the Andes, he travels by bicycle!







Here you can see how much work they still have to do on the church: finish the roof, put in a floor, install a ceiling, windows... It will take approximately $12,000 to buy the supplies to finish the church building.










Not too long after we arrived, some of the men carried in the table and benches, and a couple of women laid the cloths over them. A few minutes after I took this picture, we were invited to sit down, and they served us a lunch of potatoes with a scallion sauce, cheese, and cuy (yes, that would be guinea pig). The surroundings may have been spare and unfinished, but the hospitality was warm and open.






That's my boss, Ruth-Ann, on the left. She's a Yankee fan, and look what we found even in the a remote part of the Ecuadorian Andes. The young man was very shy, but did agree to have his picture taken. He really wanted to get back to the volleyball game with his friends.








After leaving Nueva Esperanza, we drove downhill for about 15 minutes or so to Mision Resureccion, in the settlement of Resureccion. Here Ruth-Ann is giving some small gifts to the children who greeted us here. The people in this village are Salasanca--black ponchos and different hats.








This would be me. The picture was actually taken a couple of days later. Our driver, Javier, pulled into this scenic overlook and said it was a view that we absolutely had to see. As usual, he was right. However, we did have to watch out for sheep droppings. People keep animals even in the city limits. We saw goats being herded down a city street in Quito. I wasn't quick enough with the camera to get a picture.





I'll post more pictures as I sort through them.

Peace,
Jeffri

Adventures With American Airlines

Travel days tend to be long. The alarm woke me at 4:00 a.m. Quito time, which was 5:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. I packed the last minute odds and ends, met my traveling companions in the lobby to check out of the hotel, and took the 5:00 a.m. shuttle to the airport. Although there seemed to be lines everywhere, we didn't seem to spend much time in any of them. First; an initial check of our passports; second, check in and get boarding passes; third, pay the departure tariff; fourth, go through security--after passing through a small maze of shops, of course. We had plenty of time to eat breakfast in the small cafeteria in the gate area. Then there were two more lines to endure. The first one was at the entrance to the gate area where they hand searched our carry on luggage and confiscated liquids that would have been perfectly allowable had we been departing from a U.S. airport, such as bottled water purchased inside the security perimeter. The last line, of course, was to board the plane.

The flight left twenty minutes late, and we were a little concerned, since we had only about an hour and 45 minutes to clear immigration and customs in Miami before making our connecting flight. Fortunately, the pilot made up some of the time during the flight. The longest wait we had during our time in the Miami International Airport was actually going through security again after clearing customs. The process of going through immigration, claiming our baggage at the carousel, and clearing customs probably took about 25 minutes. The we had to take the luggage to be rescreened, even though it was already checked through to New York. It probably took us another 10 minutes or so to get through security. Thankfully, the international arrivals terminal and the terminal our flight was departing from were right next to each other. We arrived at the gate for our flight to New York as they were boarding Group 2--we were Group 4.

They boarded the plane pretty quickly, and then we sat at the gate. They waited for several people coming from connecting flights. While it was annoying to be delayed, if I'd been one of those people making a tight connection, I would hope the airline would hold the plane for me. We left about 15 minutes late. I shared the middle row of four seats with a young family with two toddlers. It could have been a nightmare, but the younger one slept for most of the flight, and the older one entertained herself with her toys. The flight went pretty smoothly, and we landed only 10 minutes late. After that, things began to fall apart.

We landed at 6:15 p.m. and then taxied for half an hour. Well, some of the time was spent sitting on the runway, and the last pause was just short of the gate. The cabin crew chief thanked us for our patience, which by that point was beginning to wear a little thin. Especially since we realized that we were coming into a gate in an entirely different terminal than where we were scheduled to arrive. Little did we know.

We were told that our baggage would come in on Carousel 2. Then someone came to tell us that our bags would actually arrive on Carousel 1, but only after the luggage from another flight had been unloaded. Over half an hour, and still no luggage. Finally, the Puerto Rico flight's luggage began to appear. About 10 minutes later, without warning, Carousel 2 started up, and folks from our Miami flight saw their luggage appear on the conveyor belt. It came in dribs and drabs. So after an hour, many of us were still waiting for our bags. Of the four pieces Ruth-Ann and I checked, only one had shown up. Soon it became all too clear that there was no more luggage arriving, and about 50 of us were still without at least one of our checked pieces. So we began the longest wait of the day, standing in line at the luggage claim office to fill out paperwork. There were 50 of us and only two American Airlines employees behind the counter. It took at least 10 minutes, and usually more, for each customer to file their report. A Couple of people called customer service both to complain and to file their report with them. At that point, a third employee arrived at the counter to help with the line. I tried to call customer service, but the automated phone service kept cutting me off. I was about to try again when it was suddenly our turn at the counter.

Ruth-Ann and I maintained a calm and cheerful demeanor. It wasn't the fault of the employees at the counter. They actually had the system down pretty well. They had laminated cards with pictures of all types of luggage and colors to help them get descriptions of each missing bag. Ruth-Ann and I had each tied identifying ribbons (mine were crocheted rainbow ones) to our bags, so it will help identify them more quickly. The other two employees were asking folks to name three things that were in their bags, but the one helping us said that didn't really help identify the bags, because they weren't going to open them. They would match the numbers of the airline baggage tags, so why spend extra time getting an inventory. He also told us that this often happens on flights from Miami.

My driver from the car service arrived in the middle of all of this. It turned out to be someone who has driven me before, and it was nice to see a familiar face. He helped both of us with what luggage we did have, and he waited with it while Ruth-Ann and I waited in line and filed our claims. All three missing bags had Ruth-Ann's things, even though one of them was my suitcase. That way she avoided having to pay for an extra bag. By the time we filed the report and said our good byes, it was pushing 8:45, nearly two hours since we'd arrived at JFK. My driver had us on the road by 9:50, and I was home by 10:05.

Except for the gentleman at the luggage claim counter, most of the American Airlines employees we encountered during the day were terse, and some were even downright rude. And it would seem to me that, if they are experiencing this kind of luggage problem with their flights from Miami, they ought to be working on a solution rather than telling us that "Miami is always a problem." In the meantime, until they solve that problem, they should have more employees available to assist passengers in filing their claims.

Thus endeth the rant for the day.

Otherwise, I am glad to be home. I will try to post pictures from Ecuador over the next couple of days. But first, I am going to get some sleep.

Peace,
Jeffri

Report From Ecuador #6

Today was a "rest day." I put that in quotes because, while we were not working, we were still running around Quito for most of the day. Javier picked us up at 10:00 this morning, and we were off. We let him choose what he thought we should see, and his choices were excellent. There was one small piece of miscommunication, so we missed going to the big market for native artisans and crafts folk.

We actually drove through Quito rather than around it. This gave us an opportunity to see the Colonial section of Quito. Lots of narrow one way streets that open into large plazas. Also lots of churches. Our first stop was El Panecillo where a large statue of the Virgen de Quito stands. One story about the Virgen is that the chains on the statue are to keep her on El Panecillo and prevent her from descending into the Old City to join the festivities on May 24th from where she might return no longer a virgin. The statue itself is made of cast aluminum. The views from the balcony at the top of the base are fantastic. Just below the Virgen is an ancient Inca temple dedicated to the sun, which we also visited. At some point after we return home I will get pictures posted. Next to the Virgen workers were constructing an ugly metal framework soldier. Javier told us it was a temporary structure for the Independence Day celebrations on the 24th.

Leaving El Panecillo, we drove back down into the city and up Pichincha (they call it a hill...sure....hill) to the west. There we visited the Templo de la Patria. This huge, modern, concrete structure houses a museum dedicated to the Battle of Pichincha in which Ecuador won its independence from Spain on May 24, 1822. There were some wonderful views from the museum, but we were not allowed to take our camera in, as it is essentially a military institution. The soldiers, however, were polite and informative. There are wonderful symbolic murals and exhibits depicting the battles of the war for independence. These exhibits were designed with care and were quite easy to understand. Workers were sprucing up the grounds and the museum for the upcoming Independence Day celebrations, when the President of Ecuador will be visiting the Templo. There is a mausoleum in the museum, which was cordoned off. We asked Javier about it after we returned to the car. He said it is the tomb of Don Calderon, the child hero. He joined the army at 16 and at 17 was the standard bearer in the Battle of Pichincha. The legend says that he received more and more wounds, until he was carrying the standard in his teeth.

Then it was off to the Mitad del Mundo--the middle of the world. The Equator crosses Ecuador and Quito. There is a monument that is now surrounded by La Ciudad Mitad del Mundo. It could easily have been a tourist trap. Instead it was well thought out and designed with care. It was built as a small town around a plaza, with the monument to the west of it. There are restaurants, shops, and even a small church. We met Marco and his wife Dolly there for lunch, which we had in one of the restaurants. I had trout, which Dolly said Ecuador was known for. I also tried a local drink called chicha, which is made from fermented corn. The version they served us was made from parched corn that was ground along with cloves and then fermented with sugar cane juice. It was very good, but I only had one. Otherwise they would have had to carry me to the Equator.

We took the obligatory pictures of us straddling the Equator and then went up into the monument. You take an elevator up to the Observation Deck, which has wonderful views, although not quite as dramatic as the ones from El Panecillo. You descend by a staircase which winds through several levels of exhibits on the various ethnic groups in Ecuador. Again, the exhibits were well thought out and nicely designed. During our time in the museum we learned that on Tuesday we had met two separate groups of indigenous people in the Pilahuin area.

Because we missed the craft market, we spent the rest of the afternoon in the Ciudad shopping for souvenirs and handcrafts. Marco told us that the prices were higher here, but still good. Frankly, we were astounded at how little many of the sweaters and shawls cost, even the ones made of llama and alpaca wool. I spent less than $50 and will be taking home several Christmas gifts as well as crafts to give folks when I see them next. One of the things I bought for myself was a beautiful, red, alpaca wool poncho. When I started to try it on, the woman in the shop had to tell me three times that I was putting it on inside out. I'd wanted to look at it because of the beautiful design, and I'd only seen the INSIDE!! It will be perfect to wear at dance camps when it gets chilly in the evenings.

We finally left the Midad del Mundo so that Javier could drive us back to the hotel and go home to his wife. We couldn't quite decide where to eat and decided to take a look at the little pizza parlor just down the street from the hotel. It turned out that they had an upstairs dining room with a pretty complete menu of Italian dishes. I was translating the pizza menu for Ruth-Ann, with only minimal help from Veroncia, when the waiter returned to the table and said they had menus in English, which he handed to us. I still managed to order my entire meal in Spanish.

When we got into the elevator to return to our rooms after dinner, two men got on with us. They started speaking in French, and I had to stifle a laugh. Ruth-Ann asked me what was wrong, and I told her I'd tell her when we got to the rooms. One of the men got off on the second floor, and we got off on the fourth. As we left the elevator, Veronic said "Buenos noches" to the other man. After the elevator doors closed I said to her, "You realize that you said 'Buenos noches' to a Frenchman." She said, "Of course." Then I had to explain to them why I started to laugh in the elevator. I understood every word of the men's conversation, and I haven't spoken French in years. Ruth-Ann said it was because that part of my mind was functioning doing all the translating in Spanish.

It's late, and I have to finish packing. We are taking the 5:00 a.m. shuttle to the airport. Tomorrow night I will be sleeping in my own bed.

Peace,
Jeffri

Report From Ecuador #3

Today we visited four mission churches in Quito. I'm still not sure exactly where we were, but I think the first was in Quito Norte and the rest in Quito Sur. These are parts of the city few tourists see. We have been here three full days, and we still have not seen either the Mariscal or Old Quito (the Colonial area), which is where most of the tourists hotels and services are. The reason I'm not sure exactly where we were is that Javier, our driver, would go to roads that skirt the city in order to avoid traffic in the city itself. Quito is long and narrow, and the traffic is much like that in Manhattan. But not as bad as in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic where driving is like playing one giant game of chicken!

We started our day at Cristo Liberador, which has the largest congregation in the diocese. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays the church provides breakfast and a prayer service for the senior citizens of the neighborhood. We arrived in time to greet the senior citizens and have our pictures taken with them. We also handed out the plastic bracelets we carry with us. The adults seem to love them as much as the children. The church also runs a food pantry for those who need food in the neighborhood. The neighborhood also supports and donates to the food pantry.

Father Raul (not the same one who was our host on Tuesday) gathered his educators to meet with us. Some of the young adults on the team took time from their jobs to be there. Others are unemployed. They were eager to share their programs with us, and we were pleased that they provided copies for us to take and share with others. It is important for those of us in the United States to remember that the culture in Latin America is different than the Hispanic/Latin culture in the United States, not to mention that they have different social concerns.

Raul has created two programs in the parish. The first is for "lifelong formation," and everyone who is interested in participating in the ministries of the church (vestry, teachers, even the acolytes) must take the course, but it is open to all. He said that some people who have completed the course have begun the process of discerning ordination to the priesthood. The second is a "Center of Bible Studies." In this class people learn about current methods of reading and interpreting the Bible. They bring in lecturers from other denominations to talk about their manner of interpretation, but the emphasis of the class is primarily on the Episcopal understanding of Scripture. Raul hopes to bring this program to the entire diocese. The Bibles they use most are the New International Version and Dios Habla Hoy (God Speaks Today).

Raul has produced booklets of the Book of Common Prayer services in large type for the seniors. He also has one on baptism that was very good. We could use something similar in English! He is working on booklets on First Communion and Confirmation.

Sunday school classes are two hours long, although they told us that often they could only get in an hour and fifty minutes. They were amazed that in the United States most of our churches only have 45 minutes to an hour for Sunday school. Adults meet Wednesday evenings from 7:30 to 9:30. Another group meets at one of the educators house on Mondays from 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m., which is primarily seniors. A young adult group meets at 8:00 p.m. on Thursdays.

While we were in that section of the city, we saw people leading goats through the streets. Quito is growing very quickly, but there are still pockets of "rural" activity. Many places we saw patches where corn and other vegetables were being grown--some of them carved out in the oddest places. One of the reasons Quito is growing so fast is that ALL government offices and services are here. The government is only now planning to set up offices in other cities throughout the country. Today is also the first day I saw the blue hearts Marco told us about chalked or painted on the streets. The hearts mark places where fatal accidents happened and are done by an organization that promotes safe driving.

Our second stop was Mision Buen Pastor. We were supposed to meet with Juan Carlos, the priest who serves the mission, but he had been called away to do an emergency funeral. After a short tour of the building, we drove to Mision Reconciliacion. The church owns quite a bit of property, some of it prime commercial space, but most of it is empty. There is also a house on the property that was rented to an old woman by the previous diocesan bishop in such a way that the parish can't touch it until she either leaves or dies, not even to make repairs. The church is right by the old railroad station, which is currently unused. The railroad was all but abandoned after storms in the 1980's washed out the tracks in many places. There is a plan to repair the tracks and restore service on the Quito-Guayaquil line. Once that happens, the railroad station will also be restored, and the neighborhood will be renewed. The church is in a perfect location to both benefit and help with the revitalization of the neighborhood.

Juan Carlos also oversees this mission, so we missed seeing him there as well. Some of the staff met us to take us on a tour of the facilities, including one room that serves as a gathering place for prayer, counseling, and work for a women's ministry. They also served us a lunch of chicken, potatoes and salad (we didn't eat the salad).

As there has been over the last two days, and unlike our visits on Tuesday, there was a lot of talk about the politics of the diocese. The previous diocesan bishop, Neptali Larrea, ruled the diocese with an iron fist and was, as people have been learning more and more in the years since he left, corrupt. Bishop Ramos, the third and current interim bishop for the diocese, has his work cut out for him healing the people of the diocese.

Our last visit was to Mision Emaus. Lourdes, the priest in charge of the mission, gathered members of a women's cooperative she established there to meet us. They set up a display of their embroidery and crochet work. All of it was beautiful. The produced the altar cloth for the altar in the church. Ruth-Ann bought a couple of pieces. The money the cooperative makes from selling their work is collected in a "pool," from which 10% goes to the mission and the remaining 90% to the women who do the work. The mission also has a small one room clinic. A doctor comes once a month, and families from the neighborhood come for medical care. The cathedral of the Diocese of Indianapolis donates approximately $3,000 to pay for medicines for the clinic. The Sunday school room, as most of the ones we have seem, was pretty spartan, but the walls had a painting of Noah's Ark, and there were a table and chairs for the children. They have 12-18 children on Sundays, and many of them will stop in during the week because they know it is a safe place, and there are games and activities for them. Lourdes and her people accomplish a tremendous amount work in four rooms, which includes the small church.

During our travels today we observed a police officer taking a bribe. I'd read that this is not uncommon, but it was still a bit of a shock to see it actually happen. Police officers are paid minimal salaries, as are many people. For example, it takes $450 per month to feed a family of four. This does not include housing, clothing, or anything else, just food. The diocese pays its priests $400 per month, and that probably stretches the diocesan budget quite a bit. All the missions are in poor areas, except for the cathedral. There are no parishes in the middle class or wealthy neighborhoods. That means that financial stewardship is difficult, and the diocese and the mission projects depend on assistance from companion dioceses and churches in the United States doing outreach work.

Mission. Every church here falls under the category of a mission according to the canons and the practice of the Episcopal Church. However, the connotation of the word "mission" in this part of the world is work with the poor and the indigenous people of the area. That comes from the Roman Catholic concept of a mission. It might be beneficial for the growth of the Episcopal Church if they called their churches "parishes," even if only on the signs.

It is late, and we have a full day workshop to lead tomorrow, so I am off to bed.

Peace,
Jeffri

Report From Ecuador #2

Today involved much less travel than yesterday. Our first stop was the Diocesan Center, which is in a residential neighborhood not far from the hotel. The converted house holds both the diocesan offices and the seminary. We met most of the diocesan staff during our brief visit and were given a tour of the entire complex. More about the seminary on Friday.

From the Diocesan Center we drove north and east to the Cathedral of Our Lord. I knew that the cathedral had been designed by a Connecticut architect and built with significant contributions of money and material from the Diocese of Connecticut, so I was looking forward to seeing it. I was not prepared for the bright red roof! The building would not have been out of place in the United States, with different roofing, because it is one of those semi-A-Frame buildings. Inside, however, the space is wonderful. The stained glass windows are magnificent. Above the altar is not a crucifix, but a sculpture of the Risen Lord. They are still doing repair work to the building because the last diocesan bishop (there have been three interim bishops since then) neglected it.

We met with lay educators and clergy from the Quito area, and Ruth-Ann conducted a workshop for them. We began with a reading from First Corinthians, which I read in Spanish. It was my first time reading out loud in a public setting. By all accounts I did pretty well. The other member of our team, Veronica, who is from Honduras, said I read very well with a good accent. She encouraged me to study the language, something I will be doing soon, as we will be doing more work with the dioceses in Province IX.

It was interesting to watch the group work through the process Ruth-Ann gave them. By the end of the workshop it was quite clear that their hopes, wishes, and dreams were much like those of groups in many of the places we have visited.

We had dinner at a TGIF in the big mall across the main road from our hotel. It was quick, easy, but we still had to think in Spanish! The images and titles of the dishes in the menu were the familiar, but everything else was in Spanish. After dinner we wandered into the mall to find the Internet shop so Veronica could make a phone call at a cheaper rate than from the hotel. A mall is a mall is a mall is a mall. You could pick this one up intact, change a few signs, and drop it in any U.S. city without anyone noticing.

I'm off to bed. More tomorrow.

Peace,
Jeffri

Report From Ecuador #1

We arrived at our hotel in Quito late, because our flight from Miami was delayed. First we had to wait for the cabin crew, who were on a flight from Dallas/Fort Worth. I have never flown through that airport without experiencing delays. The crew arrived, and we were departing about half an hour late, but then we sat on the runway. It seems there was a problem with the automatic pilot, so they had to find us gate and have the technician meet us there. By the time we finally left Miami we were an hour and a half late.

Coming into Quito we could see lights, lights, and more lights. Today Marco, our host and guide from the Diocese of Ecuador Central, told us that Quito is a city of some 2.5 million inhabitants and growing rapidly. We could see the extent of the urban sprawl as we drove out and around the city today for our journey south. We passed not only Quito Sur (South Quito) but Quito Sur Sur! Quito sits at about 9,200 feet above sea level. Neither Ruth-Ann nor I have felt any effects of altitude sickness because we were given a drug to help prevent it. We should be able to stop taking it tomorrow. It does have one interesting side effect--our sense of taste is affected. Some things over the last couple of days have tasted very strange.

Once out of Quito we drove down the Pan American Highway to Ambato. We passed several active volcanos, although we could not see the tops of them because of the clouds. The corridor of the Andes along this stretch of the Pan American Highway is known as "the Avenue of the Volcanoes." There are several national parks in the region.

In Ambato we visited the Iglesia Episcopal El Salvador and its primary school. The school's 170 students, kindergarten through 7th grade, were gathered in the courtyard to greet us, with the 7th graders presenting the welcoming speech in English. We thanked them for our welcome, through a translator, and told them how pleased we were to visit with them. Then their teachers took them back to their classrooms so that we could visit each class in turn. The lower grades greeted us with a song in English, usually along the lines of "welcome, teacher." The 7th graders were in the school's computer lab (a project of the Diocese of Atlanta) working in PowerPoint. They were making slides that said, "My name is ______," and "Your visit makes today a special day." Before we left we were served a snack of fresh corn on the cob, mozzarella cheese and orange juice.

We left Ambato with three additional passengers: Heydi Mantilla, the priest of El Salvador, her daughter, and Raul Rivera, a priest who serves six missions in and around Pilahuin. He does three services on Saturday for three of the missions and three on Sunday for the other three. He travels by bicycle. In the Andes, he travels by bicycle! Traveling between the missions can take an hour and a half, if he is biking uphill, or 40 minutes, if he is going downhill.

We drove west from Ambato into the area around Pilahuin. The first mission we visited was Nueva Esperanza--New Hope--which is at about 12,000 feet above sea level. It is a community of indigenous people, and they are building their chapel themselves of cinder blocks, eucalyptus wood, and a tin roof. The roof is not complete, and the floor is dirt. When they hold services, the people sit on the floor. Just after we arrived, they brought in a couple of benches and a table, which they covered with a cloth. Everyone greeted us, eager to shake our hands and say hello. Some of them were quite shy. I was reluctant to take pictures, because everything I'd read in preparation for this trip said that the indigenous people did not like to have their pictures taken. But Raul told us to take pictures before we even asked. Some folks were eager to have their picture taken, while others slipped away. We listened to their stories about the church, the diocese, and the village. For most of them Spanish is a second language, their first being a Quechua dialect (I'll check the spelling of that later). Raul told us that there are no materials available in Quechua, not even the Book of Common Prayer. They served us a light lunch of potatoes with scallion sauce, cheese that tasted like cottage cheese but had the texture of mozzarella, and guinea pig. Yes, I tried guinea pig. It doesn't taste like anything else I've ever eaten. I was a little anxious about eating what we were served, but accepting their gracious hospitality outweighed any potential intestinal problems--and we have things to take for intestinal problems, if they should occur.

Because of the meal, we were late leaving Nueva Esperanza and so were late arriving at Mission Resurreccion. The Senior Warden arrived and announced our arrival over a loudspeaker that could be heard throughout the community. A handful of people showed up, mostly children. We toured the small church. The church is finished, but they are in the process of building a parish hall, which will also provide a place for the priest to stay overnight when he comes.

The third mission we visited was San Lucas in Pilahuin, although no one from the congregation was there. Lastly, we visited San Isidro in the village of San Alfonso. Once again, the Senior Warden used the church's loudspeaker to broadcast to the community that visitors had come. One of the women said that we should have let them know we were coming so they could have prepared (more food probably!). The showed us their little church and the new health clinic, built with assistance from the Diocese of Atlanta. Unfortunately, the clinic is not yet open because continued funding ceased due to problems in the Diocese of Central Ecuador that are only now being cleared up with the presence of Bishop Ramos as the diocesan bishop.

After leaving San Isidro, we dropped Heydi and her daughter in Ambato and then returned to Quito at about 7:00 p.m., smack in the middle of rush hour.

My overall impression of the churches and the people we met today is one of hospitality and a wish to be a part of the larger church. Our parishes at home could learn a lot from these mission churches.

More tomorrow, if I get a chance.

Peace,
Jeffri