Around our Barrio, cont'd.

A few regulars at the Wednesday morning Breakfast Club

On Wednesday mornings Lynn and I walk about 6 or 7 blocks to the La Salette church.  After Mass we attend an informal breakfast of coffee, tea, bread and warm milk at the priests' house  Mostly this breakfast is a time for fellowship.  We talk about our activities and what we plan to do.  Left to right in this group photo are Lil (Maryknoll sister from Louisville, KY, a vet of the SOA protests, with years of service in Peru and Bolivia), Adrian (a lay Franciscan who sings well, usually heats the milk for breakfast, and recently said he wants to start learning English), Willa (a Maryknoll lay missioner from the United States and a 3rd-year law student at Notre Dame specializing in immigration law), Padre Juan Francisco (a La Salette priest originally from Boston who speaks very good Spanish and always makes everyone feel welcome), Padre David (also a La Salette priest but from Tareja, Bolivia, incredibly always in a good mood, and a specialist at delivering homilies that draw in the whole congregation), Maggie (a Maryknoll sister originally from Tanzania who runs the apoyo escolar program at the comedor and school behind the La Salette church. She's experienced at keeping order among the children, and she welcomed Lynn to help her), Lynn Myrick (a multi-talented FMS lay missioner who loves the children and works in the apoyo escolar program in the mornings on 4 days each week).

Lynn and I on either side of Sister Jacqueline

After breakfast, Lynn and I meet with Sister Jacqueline of the Hermanas Misioneras del Santisimo and several young students who also wish to learn English.  We use the same textbooks for the course as we do for the men at Carcel Abra, Top Notch, and we progress at a rate comfortable for them.  In the few months that we have been meeting with them, they have gained confidence.  Their pronunciation has improved, and it's amazing to see how at first a sound seems difficult to produce and then suddenly they get it right. They especially like to hear songs with words in English.  This is a good break from grammar. When we can, we try to provide them with a copy of the song lyrics so they can practice after class and form questions about the meaning of particular phrases.

Padre David with the children at almuerzo

The apoyo escolar program at La Salette Church has been run by the La Salette order for about twelve years.  Before that it was run by the Franciscans. In its present form children can attend before or after school, depending on whether they attend school in the morning or afternoon.  After completing school assignments, they have a light meal of freshly baked bread, soup, and a drink such as api.

Around our Barrio

In June Lynn and I made a trip to the United States to visit family and friends and then returned to Bolivia and our mission work here.  Even though it was difficult to separate ourselves temporarily from Bolivia, it was a good trip, and we won't go back again until the end of our mission term in December of 2012. I think every mission experience has phases of involvement in projects and self reflection. The latter seems to me the way we spent our time away from mission work here.  We were able to think about what we have been doing and why.  We were able to have the direct encounters we needed with the people we are so far away from. It amazes me how quickly all of our lives change and complicate.  It's good to know that people can get along without us, but it also feels good to know that we have been missed.

Before leaving for the United States, we took photos of places where we work and the people we work with.  We also reviewed some of our other photos since moving from Carmen Pampa to Cochabamba (Cbba) in January of this year. I'm glad we did this.  Besides the fact that it makes it easier for us to share the experience with others, it does me good to remember that we really are only here for a short time.  We want to be able to remember the experience ourselves, and while we're here we want to keep at the forefront of our plans the need to make good use of our time.  To me that means enjoying the process of building relationships and also staying focused on the ministry of presence that is central to us as Franciscans and members of Franciscan Mission Service.

Lynn, Joel, and Clare during a board meeting in May 2010

In passing, I have to say that it was hard to say goodbye for a while to fellow FMS missioner Clare Lassiter. She performed excellent work for her volunteer site in Cochabamba (Cbba), Niños con Valor (dedicated to caring for infants with HIV and/or serious birth defects), and that her mission spirit will continue to benefit many whether continues to volunteer in Bolivia or returns to her own family and friends in the United States. We had a lot of fun as classmates during our five month session at the Maryknoll Language Institute, and she was always an insightful contributor to our weekly gatherings after Lynn and I returned to Cbba from Carmen Pampa.

I am also grateful to Clare, Camilla and Kate for house and dog (Blondie) sitting while we were in the US. It's never a good idea to leave a house unattended, but her in Barrio Magisterio, people tell us to be very careful about leaving any valuables unguarded.  Despite the high wall around the property, the barbed wire and broken bottles atop the walls, the deadbolt locks and bars over all the doors and windows, professional thieves seem to view these types of security efforts as enticing problems to solve.

Before I write about our trip to the United States, here are some of those photos of our world in the south end of Cbba. In March, the Diocese of Cochabamba held a day of celebration in which all parishes were invited to celebrate the richness of their culture and faith traditions.

Along with field games of building human pyramids, blind man's bluff (yes, an occasional "Marco!" and "Polo!" could be heard), tag, and numerous types of traditional dancing, all participants could learn more about each other's local churches, share lunch and see how exhilarating it was to be together outside on a beautiful day.  The celebration concluded after Mass was celebrated by Bishop Tito and numerous co-celebrants from the holy orders serving in Cbba.

In April we witnessed a Dia del Peatón here in Cochabamba. This is one of three days during the year in which--for about 7 hours--motorized traffic is not allowed on the streets.  The pavement is then free for more relaxed and less-polluting modes of transport such as scooters, bicycles, skates, and shoes.  There also is no age-limit for the drivers.  It's a very relaxed time, with more refreshments than usual along the way such as vendors with fresh-squeezed orange juice. Peaton days are an enjoyable way to make people more aware of air pollution.

Circuito Bolivia, the road around Laguna Alalay during the dia del peaton in April.

In Cochabamba, many of the cars and minibuses are powered by natural gas rather than gasoline.  Bolivia's large deposits of natural gas make this a less expensive way to power vehicles. Auto mechanic shops that convert vehicles from gasoline to natural gas can be found throughout the city. I'm not sure if the emissions are any less polluting than engines that burn gasoline. On a regular day of traffic, the vehicle density in Cbba is far less than in a US city. However, of the ones on the road, a larger percentage are old and probably pollute more heavily.

We are in the dry season here in Bolivia.  Recently, because the pump for our community well was being serviced, we had to buy water from one of the tank trucks that pass through. On this occasion, when we filled our below-ground reserve tank (there is also a smaller one on top of the house) it cost 60 Bolivianos, about $8.00. This doesn't seem expensive, but it is for some people, and it is also more expensive than paying for water from the community well.  We try to keep our reserve tank filled when there is a good supply of water coming from the community well.

No matter where we go there always seems to be a pack of dogs.  Some have owners. In March or April crews circulated through neighborhoods and vaccinated the dogs against rabies.  The ones vaccinated had a yellow plastic ribbon (Lynn says that it is green, but I think that at most it's yellow-green) placed around their necks.  We put out some food on the sidewalk for the dogs near our house because some of them do not seem to get much food.  I think when they're weak they're more susceptible to attack from the other dogs. Somehow, the children of the neighborhood seem to move through the streets without being bitten. I should say that I haven't heard of anyone being bitten. For fear of that, I'm probably more cautious than the local people.

I have run out of time and will continue with Around our Barrio tonight or tomorrow.