Update and Cenotes

Dear Family and Friends,

Hello! In the midst of all the international press Mexico is getting these days, I wanted to let you know how things are going at the mission in Mérida.

Classes at all schools were suspended last Monday afternoon until next Wednesday, May 6, as a preventative measure against the spread of the flu virus. We sent the girls from the shelter home on Tuesday. As far as I know, there are reports of only one or two cases of flu in Yucatan. Most businesses are open and most people are going to work. Surgical mask are used by a few.

Today is Children's Day, which is usually very celebrated in Mexico. Unfortunately, all major events that would draw large groups of people have been canceled or postponed, so no big parties for the kids today. We were happy that we were able to celebrate Children's Day early (on Tuesday) before the girls went home. I'll post a picture of the party.

I'll also post a couple of pictures of our collection of plastic bottles for recycling. In half an hour, 15 girls and three adults collected 1004 plastic bottles in a four or five block radius of the shelter. I'm trying to emphasize the need to use returnable bottles, too. The girls have already asked when we can do another collection day, and they're bringing bottles from home.

The final picture is of one of the three cenotes I visited near the village of Cuzama. Cenotes are subterranean lakes, or sinkholes, and are very common on the Yucatan Peninsula since it is formed by a highly permeable limestone shelf that rainwater quickly seeps through. The water system is underground here, almost no lakes and rivers above ground. Some cenotes are more spectacular than others. I felt lucky to see and swim in the ones near Cuzama.

Please keep the people of Mexico in your prayers, for a quick end to the spread off the flu and for recovery of the economy which has been hard it by the decrease in regular business and tourism..

Love,

Tricia

Happy Easter

I pray that you have a sense of hope and joy this Easter Season, and are enjoying the new life of spring.

I was glad to be able to participate in Holy Week and Easter liturgies, and the Stations of the Cross at one of the neighborhood parishes. My Easter gift showed up on the mission's back patio last Tuesday. The kitten pictured above has been keeping me company, along with a few other cats, since Cari and Marilyn's departure on Palm Sunday.

The Nueva Vida girls have a two week school break, so things have been very quiet for me. I've been doing some preparation for classes, some site-seeing around Merida and reading more than usual. I was happy to invited to the beach by Silvia, the director of the mission's child care center, for a family party on Easter Day.

Before Easter break, the Nueva Vida staff and I started to talk with the girls about environmental conservation, and to do projects related to the theme. When the girls return, we hope to continue by beginning a plastic bottle recycling project. I hope that this will further instill in us our responsibility as stewards of the environment. Posted above is a picture of the mural they created.

I am still trying to discern my path for the coming school year. Please keep me in your prayers.

Peace,

Tricia

Saludos de Merida

Hello Everyone!

I send you many greetings from Merida, Yucatan, hoping that you are healthy and happy. I imagine Colorado is beginning to come alive with the arrival of Spring.

Merida is hot and green already, and we're in the midst of mango season. Every day we pick up dozens of them that have fallen from the tree in front of the mission house. Typically, it keeps getting hotter in April and May until the rains come in June. For the time being it's in the 90's during the day and it still cools off a bit at night.

I feel quite at home here already with the warm welcome that Cari, Marilyn and the rest of the mission staff have given me. Merida seems very modern, developed and close to home after having lived in Aru. They even have wireless internet service in some of their city parks now! Merida is the biggest city, and a regional center of commerce, though. The people in the villages and even those who live on the outskirts of Merida still are often without electricity and running water.

I spend my mornings working at the mission house doing translations for the sponsorship program or assisting Cari and Marilyn with other mission projects. In the afternoon, I go with Marilyn to the south part of Merida to work at the Nueva Vida, a home for elementary-school age girls whose family situations are difficult. They stay at the shelter Sunday nights through Friday afternoon (they attend a neighborhood school) and go home on the weekends. I give English and computer classes to small groups of girls, and work with the first grade girls on improving their reading skills. I'm really enjoying working with them. I'll post a few pictures.

I appreciate your prayers as I continue to discern my next steps. You remain in my thoughts and prayers,

Tricia

Returning to my Mission Roots

Dear Family and Friends,

I hope that upon reading this post, you find yourselves in good health and high spirits.

I returned from Italy on February 9, grateful that I had the opportunity to go. Fausto and his family were very gracious hosts showing me the spectacular beauty of Northern Italy and the warmth particular to Italians. We saw Luca several times and did a mission presentation together at a middle school in Luca's home town. We also visited Rome to meet with Sr. Pat, the VOICA director. This time in Italy helped me bring closure to my mission experience in Congo.

I have still been keeping in touch with Liz in Aru, though. She said that they are building a new wall and rearranging the computer center to make room for the library books, so the people there will have access to both books and computers in the same place. She thinks that this will be up and running within about a month. I've asked her to send pictures so that we can see what it's like. Please keep Liz and Kyle and the Sisters in Aru in your prayers. They are faced with many challenges.

When I returned to Colorado from Congo, I was contacted by the directors of the Mission of Friendship (Merida, Yucatan, Mexico) where I served as a volunteer for a year and a half in 1995-1996. We have kept in touch over the years and I have returned to visit the mission several times. They invited me to return as a volunteer for a few months during this time of transition. After returning from Italy, I agreed to go to Merida. I plan to help out at the mission there from the beginning of March through the beginning of July. I think this will be a way for me to finish out my "mission commitment", sort out my life a bit and remember my Spanish. I am grateful for this opportunity and for the enduring faith and friendship of Cari and Marilyn, the mission directors.

I'll let you know how things are going in Merida. Thank you again for your prayers, concern and kindness.

Tricia

2009

Hello Everybody,

I hope that 2009 has begun well for you. I was happy to spend Christmas and begin the new year in the warmth of my welcoming family and friends.

I'm not sure what 2009 will hold for me. For now, I will not be returning to Congo. I went through several weeks of limbo, waiting for medical test results, talking with friends and family, waiting for news from Congo, wondering and praying about what path to take. Last week, I received an e-mail from Sr. Pat, who coordinates the VOICA program in Rome, saying that she agreed with Sr. Tina (in Congo) that it could be a serious health risk for me to return to serve in Aru, since there is no hospital to treat stroke patients nearby. No cause has been determined for my stroke (all the tests came back normal), but having one stroke is a risk factor for having another.

I am sad that I will not finish the school year with my students, and that Liz and Kyle are left "alone" since Fausto also returned home for health reasons. I also regret leaving the library project in its beginning stages. I hope that I can continue to support the development of the library from afar. I know there is a reason for my time in Congo, and for the events of the last few months, too, although those reasons aren't clear to me yet.

For now, I continue to discern what direction to take from here and my vocation in general. Serving in mission in another location is a possibility. Part of my discernment process will take place in Italy where I'll spend a few weeks (mid-January-beginning of February). I am also beginning the application process for schools on the Western Slope of Colorado for next school year. As you can see, I'm not sure what my future holds. Please keep me in your prayers, that I discern wisely where God is leading me. I also ask prayers for Fausto and Luca as they adjust from returning from mission, and for Liz and Kyle who courageously continue their work in Aru.

Thank you again for your overwhelming concern and support.

Love,

Tricia

Update

Dear Family and Friends,

Hello! I hope that you are well. Thank you for all of your prayers and support.

I apologize for the lack of new posts on my blog in recent months. A lot has happened during this time. Now that things are settling down I will try to give you a concise update.

The Sisters in Aru and Kampala were so helpful and understanding during this time, for the wonderful warmth of the VOICA community in Aru, and for the support of my family, especially my uncle Bob. Thank you also to all of you who prayed for me.

In Aru, the computer center classes are going very well, the new classrooms for the elementary school are nearly completed and there are big hopes for a new library. On November 21, Luca returned home to Italy after completing his year of service. His presence is certainly missed. The bakery continues to produce bread thanks to the two Congolese men Luca trained as bakers. Fausto is back in Aru after spending over two weeks in Kampala for medical care. Liz and Kyle are quickly learning about mission life.

I am planning on staying in Colorado through the holidays as I discern my next steps. Going back to Congo is a possibility. Please continue to pray for the sisters and volunteers in Aru, and that I discern wisely which direction to take.

I wish you all a blessed Advent season.

Love,

Tricia

Belated Post

Here's a post I wrote almost two months ago, but wasn't able to get on the internet.

Hello, Everybody!

I hope that you are well and enjoying the falling leaves and autumn breezes. Sorry that it's been so long since I've written!
A lot has happened here since I've last posted a blog. After the short-term volunteers departed at the end of August, we enjoyed the visit of Luca's cousin Andrea. A week later I took the bus to Kampla to meet the new long-term volunteers Liz and Kyle. After a short night with the sisters in Kampala we got on the 6:00 bus to return to Arua where Luca and Fausto awaited us.
Liz is from Rhode Island and just finished her studies in Math/Elementary Education. I'm really happy to have some female company, and especially hers. She is a lot of fun, very helpful and thoughtful. Kyle just finished his studies in psychology and is from North Carolina. It's nice to speak in American English with other native speakers. Seven weeks after their arrival, we are gelling into a community of five, and they are learning to speak the language of VOICA (our strange mix of French, Italian, a little English and some other words and grammar structures that were made up ourselves.) Liz and Kyle have already received the "baptism of Africa" (as the sisters call it): malaria for Liz and typhoid fever for Kyle.
Classes began September 1. I am teaching Sophomore, Junior and Senior year English and working with the pre-schoolers once a week, as I did last year. There's still talk of a strike as the government hasn't paid the teachers for February and March of last year, but for now the parents are paying extra and the teachers continue to work.
I also have begun teaching English at the school for the promotion of women. The class is small and the women are eager to learn. There is a group of eight aspirants this year. I will probably spend an hour each week working on English and music.
We were happy to receive the news that all but one of the eighty or so seniors at our high school passed the final exams last year. Last week there will be a big celebration at the school.
I am hopeful that before I leave we will have a functioning library. We have some friends in Italy working on fundraising to construct a new building to serve as the library. On my next post, I will also let you all know how to contribute if you would like to support this project There may be a container coming within the next year. We hope to make contacts in France to get books donated there and shipped in the container.
I've been tired, but healthy and enjoying community life and teaching. The time goes by quickly here. We are still getting a lot of rain, so everything is green and beautiful. We have a problem with the inverter for our solar panels, so many times we are without electricity. This means problems preserving food and a lot of washing by hand. The last few days we've had more consistent electricity, so maybe the problem is solved.
I continue to learn a lot. Fausto and I began taking Lingala lessons, and lessons for life are constant. I thank God for answers to prayer and for his creative ways of teaching me.
I miss you and pray that you are well.

Love,

Tricia

Fausto has been sick with malaria and typhoid fever for the last week. Please keep him in your prayers.