Have YOU ever made seco de… gringo?

So. I have a funny story. Last weekend, I was in Mount Sinai with Marita, another volunteer. We arrived to youth group a bit tired, and as we waited for the others to arrive, we decided to search for these ballin´ new hair clips. Marita remembered a neighbor, Mitzi, sells them, so we headed just down the hill to Mitzi´s house. Mitzi´s mom was so kind as to give us the hair clips, free of charge! On our way out, Mitzi asked Marita and I to help carry the pig legs to the bakery. Mitzi´s family doesn´t have an oven, so the baker agreed to prepare the two 15-lb (maybe 20-lb!) pig legs for Mitzi´s quinceañera tonight. We happily agreed – before we realized that it was a ten-minute walk down a bumpy dirt road … each of us holding a cookie sheet with the pig leg, marinated in a mustard-sauce (called seco in Ecuador), covered with a piece of saran wrap, yet not sealed. The good news: we made it to the panadería without dropping the meat! The funny news: we were covered in seco sauce. As we were washing up, we realized our five-minute search for hair clips turned into a morning of seco de gringo.

 

This family and many more are part of the loving parish of St. Teresa of Avila, in Mount Sinai, Guayaquil. I have spent a lot of time out in Sinai this year, and it wouldn´t be right to the people to go without telling you a bit about what they have taught me. Silvia is a leader in the parish, a mom of Scarlet and James, whose strong faith and sense of right and wrong constantly reminds me of the presence of God in our lives. Hence why when she has asked me to teach Cathescism at the last second, of course I did it -- anything for Silvia!

God is shown to me through Lida and Mercedes, and their mom Mariela, who are always so hospitable. After one shopping excursion downtown (including Marita and I dancing on stage at a Mother´s Day party to the Macarena), Lida invited me to her big birthday bash, where the gringos and her best friends initiated the hora loca and everything. Masks, lots of great food, and so much fun music and dancing!

 

Then there´s the middle-sized church, San Felipe Neri, the school where Marita teaches too. Monica was one of the first neighbors who met Rostro, and someone I quickly learned to love to. She has such a rich prayer life, knowing that God gives her strength through all struggles, and continues to love her, even in the toughest situations.

The Madres at the church are also pretty wonderful -- recently I did a bible study with Madre Nury and some of Consuelo (a neighbor who used to live in Sinai, now lives in the countryside)´s family -- and it was so inspirational to be reminded that we should be simple, like birds, not worrying for anything because God provides.

There was also a huge Bingo at the church -- which inspired me in how many people came out, paid $2 for a Bingo card (a lot for the families out here!), made food and/or bought food, and by doing so contributed to the building of more classrooms and a soccer cancha for the school. Monica, Consuelo´s family, and so many other people were there, such a fun day!

 

And then there´s the big church, made from cane at the top of the hill. Corpus Christi, or the Body of Christ, Church is the hub of the ´´Bautismo de Jesus´´ parish. Father John presides at these three churches´ Masses, on a mission from the Society of Saint James Society. When not talking about Irish culture, Fr John loves getting to know the RdC volunteers and the people of Ecuador. He said a beautiful Mass for my dad on the day Dad became a deacon -- what a special moment.

Don Elio, his son Gregorio and their whole family are a huge part of the big church as well. They run Cathecism, organize the Masses, whatever needs to be done! They always greet everyone with a huge smile. They also contracted the volunteer and retreat house construction -- and let me tell you, that thing got built fast! I first got to know them at the Inauguration of the church´s cancha, a great community space to play soccer. Don Elio loves throwing parties and celebrating at the church! Their joy for parish involvement is super motivational.

I was also at Holy Week celebrations -- and my Fairfield Prep retreat group will tell you that seeing the youth group (mostly from Corpus Christi, but some from Santa Teresa too) act out the Passion of Jesus ... literally whipping the man, tying him to the cross and carrying him on their shoulders ... was the most powerful testament of faith I´ve ever seen. It really is such a core part of our spirituality -- and so important to remember Jesus´ humanity, that he suffered too and overcame so much!

When Marita´s sister Julie came to visit, we painted the mural you see on my Facebook wall. All the neighbors came out to colaborate in painting the landscape of Mount Sinai. We painted all the important landmarks, plus a whole bunch of other fun additions (thanks to the kiddies!).

 

So I suppose thats it -- lots of my special times in Mount Sinai thus far. I hope you are as inspired as I am by reading about some of the faith messages of the people there. Missing you all tons, cant wait to be back in touch with you all super lots in August!

Love, Isa