November Post

November has been the longest month so far. It started with Marco leaving to go back to

the US for a wedding and ended with a beautiful celebration of Thanksgiving.

The first week of November, Guayaquil entered into a State of Emergency because of gang riots in Center City. We were and are still safe, but the weekend came with a lot of unknown and fear. We were able to rely on our neighbors for information and entered into a new sense of solidarity with them through these events. We experienced the violence alongside our neighbors and got a glimpse of what encapsulates living in Monte Sinai. The State of Emergency set the tone for the events of the next week of noticing more and more violence closer to home. Unfortunately, due to the state of Emergency, the first three retreat groups canceled their immersions to Ecuador. One of these groups being St Joe’s. I was really looking forward to sharing this experience with dear friends and getting the opportunity to lead the group of students on their immersion. While I understand why, I am saddened and disappointed that I will miss the chance to see some smiling faces from home and share Monte Sinai with them. The first few weeks of November held a lot of heaviness that I struggled to hold and also create joy for myself amidst the heaviness. This is something I’ve learned a lot about this month and reflecting a lot about how Christ does not abandon us in the hard moments. Rather, these are moments where we continue to know God deeper. Relationship with Christ is beautifully messy.

Work is still the place I find the most joy! November was an incredible month with the woman. One of the women Nicole and I are especially close with left Casa to move onto something new. She has a contagious spirit that filled the walls of Casa. Saying goodbye to her and her two sons was very difficult, but also a good reminder that I am only a small blip in her journey. It is a wonderful thing that she could leave and move onto rent an apartment and find a job yet it is always hard to say goodbye to a friend especially someone who reminds me that we can find joy in all situations.

November 25th is International Non-violence against Women Day (like my mom said shouldn’t that be every day!). The week leading up Nicole and I participated in the workshops with

the women creating posters and butterflies to decorate Casa and take to the Women’s March. I felt honored to be a part of the process of empowering the women to recognize that they are more than their violent experiences and that they deserve more than that. They were all excited about the event and the March. It inspires me to create more spaces where women empower and uphold each other. I am reflecting about how I can take this spirit from Casa and bring it to my streets in Monte Sinai. We ended the week with an event at Casa, where Manny and Fr. Jim, the founder of Rostro, came and we celebrated the day together. The women performed songs and dances about their experiences. The visitors reflected on ways they can bring the spirit of non-violence into their daily lives. Again, it was a privilege to be a part of the process of empowering the women to expect more.

We also had the Casa Christmas Tree Lighting this month. The municipality comes with a tree and gifts for the kids! The women, kids, Nicole, and I performed two dances for the visitors. We spent time opening up their gifts and decorating the tree! It was so special to be included and put me in the Christmas spirit- even though it’s 90 degrees! I’ve never sweat so much decorating a Christmas tree!

Outside of work, I am spending my time getting to know my neighbors more and more. Hugs from sweet Anie bring me an immense amount of joy. She greets me screaming my name and running with a hug ready for me. That’s how I imagine God greeting us as we reach heaven- arms open wide rejoicing that we’ve come. I thank God for Anie. We made dinner for Monica and David’s family earlier this month. Like I’ve said before, the comfort level with their family is unmatched. Monica helped me find a cure for a weird bacterial infection I had this month (super cute!). Angie and Samuel came

over for a movie night with us- they are our friends, not just our neighbors! Adami has grown so much this month too. She’s saying phrases and playing much more than before. She even said Maggie once- my heart melted on the spot!

Steven, Lilly, and I spent an afternoon with Selena and her mom. We made Llapingachos, a traditional Ecuador dish, with her. The gals spent a morning with Lida and her family. Lida has so much energy and has known volunteers for a few years now. She’s 24 so it’s fun to talk with her because again, she’s a friend! She’s also pregnant so that’s been fun to celebrate! The World Cup started this month! We watched the Ecuador game with Luz Maria and Jamie in their barber shop! That was so fun to be a part of the spirit here. We all have matching Ecuador jerseys, which made us even more of a spectacle. We’re all very disappointed here that they didn’t make it to the next round, but it was exciting while it lasted!

I was nervous going into the week of Thanksgiving. It didn’t feel like Thanksgiving and I knew I was missing my family. Fr. Jim was here for the week, which was nice to have his presence here around this time. We came home early from work that day and Steven and I cooked Thanksgiving dinner. We made chicken with an apple brown sugar stuffing! We had vegetables, green beans, sweet potato casserole, and chocolate beet cake to top things off!

We set our kitchen table with candles and a mix of colorful plastic plates. I loved celebrating in our house and having the big Thanksgiving table. We celebrated mass in our living room after and then played LCR with my community mates because I can’t miss out on that Thanksgiving tradition. It ended up being a very special day filled with fun, laughter, and new family.

We went to Nuevo Mundo on Friday to celebrate more there with Pat and Sonya. Pat is from the US and Sonya is from Ecuador. They are two women who started a school about 40 years ago for kids who did not have access to an education. Today, they have a beautiful space with a school, courts, and other amenities for kids to use. These are two incredible women who gave their life to serve the children of Ecuador. I want to spend more time with them and learn more about their motives and their struggles.

After our Thanksgiving celebration, we left for a weekend camping trip with a local organization. There were 50 jovenes from the surrounding neighbors. It was just as crazy as it sounds. We got lost (twice) on the way there- many many laughs in the back of the van. My team was a team of four guys and myself, which felt nice to be back in that space like I was in college. Lilly, Nicole, and I had some good laughs being the last ones up on Saturday morning and running laps not three minutes after waking up. I crawled under a bridge of the river, put my face in flour to find limes, and slid down a slip and slide fully clothed. Saturday night ended with a dance battle between the women and men (obviously we won)! It was filled with a TON of laughter and fun memories that I will hold for a while.

We have decorated our house and getting into the Christmas spirit! This was one of my favorite community nights this month because it made our home feel even more like home. I planned Spirituality Night this week. We danced together to our favorite dance songs and reflected about how we can create joy for one another and the importance of vulnerability and connection to God through all things. We just celebrated three months in Ecuador! People ask me if it’s going quickly or slowly, and I would say both. August feels like five years ago, but I feel well adjusted and comfortable for just being here for three months. My language progress is a nice tangible measure of my overall comfortability. I feel confident in my language abilities and have become comfortable asking questions if I don’t understand what’s happening.

I thought November was a jam-packed month, but it has nothing on December with Christmas celebrations and some fun traveling! Thank you for continuing to read and staying up to date on my life here. It’s a real comfort to think about the support system I have at home so please know it doesn’t go without appreciation from here! I hope to hear from some of you soon in a note or an email! Until next time!