St. Monica Mission Team in Piura

After traveling 22 hours from Edmond, we arrived in Piura at 6 a.m. We were greeted by the smiling parish staff and Deacon Lee's Peruvian family. The photo shows some of the missionaries and staff.

After a quick drive to the parish, we were greeted by more of the staff with bacon and eggs. Then we went to our rooms for a three-hour siesta. At 11 we were up greeting arriving Peruvian families (other photo). At lunch we celebrated Father's Day with the Peruvian staff who are fathers.

In the afternoon each missionary visited their family in their homes. Then it was back to the parish for Mass followed by dinner. Deacon Lee did baptisms.

Tomorrow, Sunday, we have a couple Masses planned, a tour of some villages, and then of the orphanage. 

Buenos noches.

Leaving Tomorrow for Piura

I am all packed and ready to go early tomorrow morning for the airport. New missionaries have been asking lots of last minute good questions. Of course, they will never understand until they get there.

We will overlap a couple of days with a mission group of youth from St. John the Baptist. They stay at the Retreat Center at San Jacinto, a village south of Piura. They interact a lot with the youth of that village. Here is a photo of the two youth groups dancing at a fiesta.

The next post will be from Piura. Hasta luego.

A Small World Story about Edmond and Peru

Today I got the message below from Cheryl Pierce a mission team leader from St. John the Baptist in Edmond. It is a small world!

Good afternoon, ma'am.

I am Fr. Philip Creider. I am a Priest of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. I am a Navy Chaplain. I presently serve as the Command Chaplain aboard USS BOXER. We are presently in the middle of a two month exercise in Latin America. We have stopped in Guatemala, El Salvador, and now Peru. Our continuous job has been to send doctors, nurses, corpsmen, and veterinarians ashore to offer medical and dental treatment, to fix medical equipment, to teach medical skills, and to test and purify water sources. On most days, we see about 1000 patients in a variety of sites. The sites have previously been chosen because of their isolation and poverty. We also send Seabees ashore who have built and fixed clinics, schools, and mission churches. We send Sailors, Marines, Airmen, and Soldiers ashore to clean, paint, and fix the same kinds of buildings.

We are presently in Peru, serving in the Diocese of Huacho. Today, I met the Bishop.

I am writing to you because I once served at St. John’s and I see that your parish has a mission in Peru. Fr. Joe Uhen was one of my students at Bishop McGuinness High School in the early 1970s.

I just had to write to your parish and tell you of our connection over the miles. Please give my regard to your pastor, Fr. John.

I send my best.

Fr. Phil
Chaps.

Mission Team Receives Blessing

At the end of the 5:30 Vigil Mass on June 7, most of our team received a blessing for missionaries from our pastor, Fr. Tim Luschen. He said all the magic words we needed to hear. We had sat in the front pew in our bright yellow mission T-shirts so Fr. Tim would be sure to remember us.

We leave in five days. Please pray for the following missionaries: Christopher Barry, Jeff Higgins, Deacon Lee Hunt, Suzy Johnson, Haily Jones, Robin Justice, Mark Mathison, Helen and Robert O'Connor, Alice Robin, Karen and Wade Phillips, and Debbie and Steve Yandell.

Photos are of the front and back of the T-shirts. Thanks to St. John the Baptist for the design!

Cost of Living in Peru

We know how expensive things are becoming in the U.S. It is also happening for the poor around the world. Things are even worse since the value of the dollar keeps dropping which makes our money buy less in Peru.

As an example, last year it cost $300 to build a new bamboo house with a plywood front like the one in the left photo. This house is about 20x20 feet. Early this year the price was $500 and as I write this it is $545. Imagine if the cost of food is going up at this rate!

The house we are replacing can look like the house on the right. I have been in some that are 10x10 feet. While in Piura we will build some new houses.

Rufina Sosa Silva’s funeral Mass was Tuesday afternoon. Fr. Uhen was the celebrant and the parish staff attended. Fr. Joe said that Rufina is closer to God and is praying for all us. Marlit told of how her grandmother was her best example, teaching her and all her family to live more closely to our God. Rufina was always at Sunday Mass with her husband and listening intently.

May Runfina’s soul rest in peace and may Marlit and her family also find comfort.

The photo is of Rufina and Marlit.

Sadness in the Village of San Jacinto

My sadness was complete today as I heard, by chance, Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony while driving home from a Peru Board meeting. The "Pathétique" symphony is filled with tones of pathos—compassion. 

It was compassion that I felt for our sister Marlit—St. Monica's liaison—today as I learned of the death of her grandmother who raised her. Marlit was keeping her grandmother company while sleeping with her at night when she had a stroke or aneurysm. The grandmother, Rufina, was taken to a hospital that would not admit her because she did not have enough money; she died five hours later. This is a reminder of why so many of us in the U.S. help our brothers and sisters in the villages near Piura, Peru.

The funeral Mass is June 3 at 2 p.m. Please pray for Marlit, her "abuela," and the rest of the family.

Marlit, la bendicion de Dios todopoderoso, Padre, Hijo y Espíritu Santo, descienda sobre usted.