Christmas at Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos is celebrated on
Christmas Eve- starting with a Mass together at 4pm, followed by a Nativity play
put on by the twenty-four young foreign volunteers who have given a year of
their lives to serve here. We had a special Christmas dinner with a wonderful
salad, vegetables and roast pig (usually the pork is always boiled and served
in a sauce over rice). After dinner, a bonfire was lit, and most of the kids
stayed up listening to music by the fire and watching the fireworks that people
in the nearby town were sending up throughout the night. Many of the kids spent
time gazing at the Christmas tree. (The grandmother of an ex-volunteer gave me
some money to spend on the kids, and we found something mammoth, the largest
tree that the store had in stock.)
Most adults who work here were gone, away on vacation the
last two weeks of December. And so, aside from a couple of coordinators and
volunteers, the children were watched over by their “brothers and sisters”
studying at the high school and at the university. They did a great job, and I
think that the absence of paid employees actually contributed to a heightened
family environment among the children who were here.
About half of the kids were away during the month of
December, staying with aunts or uncles or older brothers and sisters. Some have
a parent that they could stay with- many spending ten hours or more on a bus to
get there (some kids do have parents, but were placed here due to extreme
poverty, or because there were issues of drug/alcohol/physical/sexual abuse at
home). Of course, those coming from homes where abuse had take place did not go
back to those homes. Despite this, when the kids return from their away time they
always have to pass through the clinic for an exam and an interview about their
home experiences. The biggest problem is that sometimes the kids return a bit
malnourished.
Christmas Day felt a bit strange- there were no gifts to
open, and the children who do have family outside were not able to call them
(as any phone calls have to be overseen by the social workers, who were on
vacation). I suppose since the kids did not know any different, it was not so
hard on them. But to me it seemed a bit sad. Actually, there are some donations
of clothes that were packaged as gifts, but these were given out on New Year’s
Eve, when all the kids were back and here to receive them. I myself received a
special gift on December 30th- a box I had filled with clothes and
other personal items and shipped from Chicago
on January 2nd before coming here finally arrived!
The university students working on the plans for the chapel
put in a lot of time during December, taking over from the professional
architect who was working for free, but did not have time to complete the job.
I am confident that we will finally be in the position to solicit bids in early
2014, and get started as soon as possible after that with the construction…
Fortunately, I was able to spend a couple of weeks back in
the States during early December, and did my best to cram in six months worth
of socializing into two weeks. Part of this also involved what I hoped would be
the final push for fundraising for the chapel. Between the donations that have
come in and a couple of generous pledges, I believe we will be at around
$170,000 by mid-January. I am hoping that some additional end-of-year donations
made it to the parish before December 31, and after I get a report from the
Director of Operations at St Alphonsus mid-month, I will post an update on the
to-date total.
Christmas falls amidst the week of the big town festival,
which is celebrated in each town in Guatemala at the time of the
parish’s patronal feast day. Our parish is dedicated to the Holy Innocents,
whose feast day is December 28th, and so the park and nearby streets
were filled with rickety rides (that I can’t believe anyone dared to ride on),
and games of chance and “skill” that I did not see anybody win :) There were numerous processions and
night-time fireworks. We had a beautiful Mass at the parish on the morning of
the 28th, concelebrated by the Papal Nuncio, the diocesan bishop,
the pastor and about fifteen priests. The Nuncio was greeted by the townspeople
about a mile out, where he left his car and processed to the church on foot
under a canopy, walking over pine needles and flower pedals that blanked the
street- Guatemala’s
version of a “red carpet.” The flowers in the church were beyond belief- many
flowers are grown in our area for export, but plenty remain to use on the altar
throughout the year, more than I have ever seen in my life.
I spent some time alone on my patio on Christmas morning,
reflecting quietly and gazing out at the hillsides and the volcano in the
distance. I realized that this was the first Christmas morning in my life that
I was able to spend some time in prayer! Throughout my childhood and early
adulthood at home, Christmas mornings were always a rush to open gifts and
enjoy being with family. As a priest, we always had Midnight Mass ending in the
early hours of Christmas day, with an early wake-up call to start the run of
Masses throughout the morning. It was
actually quite beautiful to have some time to meditate on the year that passed,
and on all of the blessings that I have experienced these past months.
Reflecting upon the fifty Christmases I have experienced, my mind was flooded
with many wonderful memories of these special days in years past. It was
difficult to be away from family and friends this year, but I realize that at least during
my time at NPH, my place is here on a day like Christmas.
Happy New Year to all!
