I’ve been feeling a little under the weather, but that all changed early this morning when three women a block from church started yelling “Hola, Diácono Lee, cómo está?” They gave me more Spanish than my brain could handle. I recognized one as the lady who runs the Hospice Center where I take Communion every week.
Then I experienced the Stewardship Fair in action after Mass let out. I was amazed at the crowd at the Evangelization booth. That booth is usually empty at home. In Spanish, the word “gospel,” good news, means “evangelio.” Maybe that is the connector in Spanish speaking countries. The Fair was a shoulder-to-shoulder event.
The ladies at the St. Monica booth mobbed me. Each village with a chapel also has a sign-up booth for local activities. I received a brochure that thanks St. Monica Parish for helping build the chapel and it also lists weekly activities of rosary, Bible study, and evangelization. St. Monica Parish families sponsor nine of their families.
At 10 a.m., the Peruvian family of Carol and Mark Mathison picked me up in their moto-taxi (see photo). I have maintained a relationship with them after helping build their house there years ago. I told them that I was under the weather and not eating much. But when Caridad served me a plate of ceviche, I couldn’t stop eating. Ceviche is the Peruvian nationally known food of raw fish pickled in limejuice. Maybe I like it because of eating herring based on my heritage. After lots of photos they dropped me off at San Jacinto for noon Mass. I found out later that no one from the parish had ever made that long of a ride in a moto-taxi – see photo. At that Mass the Peruvian families of my daughter, Andrea, and of my son, Chris, also greeted me.
Photos of the McKinney family baptisms and wedding appear in the sidebar link of “Photos and Movies.”
The day ended with an evening shower here in the desert.
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