The welcome in Rocafuerte
On Monday, June 12, we were welcomed at the «College San Francisco de Sales» whose portrait is already visible on the outside, with all the Ecuadorian cordiality that touches us so much.
Each time, he is so beautiful, gracious and full of heart; even the Mayor of the city was present and, after a warm greeting addressed to the visitors, he gave our Mother – as a symbolic gift – the keys to the city! Nothing less than a…
Through beautiful dances, young people and children, and even Associates, presented life in the Manabi countryside and planting and harvesting of corn and rice. At the end of this presentation we were offered the typical dish of the country: «the tonga». Even now, this food is prepared in families; in a large corn leaf, is deposited either rice, or cornmeal, a piece of chicken and pieces of sweet bananas. The large corn leaf is carefully folded on all sides and cooked on the fire in a special way. And it’s really very tasty!
Visits near Rocafuerte
In the afternoon of that same day, Sister Johanna-Francisca surprised me by taking me to a remote neighborhood where parents of students have a workshop where they make objects in «tagua», also called plant ivory. It is a small fruit that grows on a kind of palm in tropical countries. After a certain maturation the exterior has a brown-brown colour, while the interior has an ivory colour; the fruit is then hard as a stone. This is how it is worked, cut, and as needed, tinted. In this workshop, for example, a dozen employees make a lot of jewellery for sale. Everything is handmade, and everything is done perfectly well. For my part, I was amazed; especially since the employees do not work in well-air-conditioned rooms, but ventilated though.
Another visit, a little further, ends this beautiful exit. We go to a lady whose house is hidden under large palm trees and other trees. She works with terracotta and makes all kinds of items for sale: her livelihood. Despite the shade of the large trees, it is warm under this veranda where some chickens walk silently. In a hammock is the husband of this lady who in an accident lost his sight and both legs. His wife took care of him and, through her handicraft work, sought to provide for their survival. – All these discoveries are like lessons in life.
The mission in San Plácido
On our way we saw many small chapels. This is where Sunday comes to celebrate Mass, Father Geovanny, parish priest of San Plácido. During the week there is not much rest: our Sisters tell us that every week the Father, together with the mother, prepares meals and food for about 90 elderly or sick people who live in the vast parish. It is he himself who will visit them with this comfort, no doubt eagerly awaited.
Sister Alba-Inés followed him somewhat, for her occupation on Sunday was to bring Holy Communion to many people who could no longer move. As for Sister Leoni-Alexandra, she regularly comes to certain chapels of these mountains to do meetings of missionary childhood and catechesis. Sister Patricia-Esperanza, for her part, looks after families. If you have a missionary heart, there is no lack of work here!
Community meeting in San Clemente
This Sunday, June 18, is planned a community meeting around our Mother, for all our Sisters on the Side and almost all were able to come! We are more than forty! And what a joy it is to meet again, to meet again, to exchange… Holy Mass is the central point of this day so much appreciated by all. Before lunch, a short getaway to the edge of the Pacific is in order. There are only a few steps to take! The number of these Sisters, all in white and radiant with joy, inspired a few passers-by. At this place, the beach is almost empty and a group of Sisters takes the opportunity to play a ball; when the tide is low, the sandbar is as firm as a dirt road.
Welcome to Puerto Quito
What a surprise in the morning: part of the 800 students – all in uniform, as everywhere – form a hedge of honour, from the house to the large multi-purpose room. Each of the Sisters is accompanied, personally, by one of the senior students. After having received a very pretty bouquet of flowers, we walk, on the arm of one of these big boys, to the room where all the other students are already waiting, from the children of the kindergarten to the bacheliers. It’s an impressive crowd! Welcoming words, poems, beautiful dances typical of the region, everything is really beautiful and warm. The teachers, the parents of students, a group of about fifteen Associates of St François de Sales, everyone wants to thank and greet our Mother!
May the good continue in this place, under the protection of St James, while the young are unfortunately watched over, even here, by drugs and violence. When we visit the classes, these young people greet us with such joy and affection, young and old alike! By circulating among the primary, children, in recreation, immediately surround us, say hello to us in French and tell us lots of things (in Spanish). When they take their leave, they spontaneously ask for a blessing, and they do so with great seriousness. Drawing the sign of the cross on their foreheads, I say to some children: “God bless you and your whole family”! One of the boys in his grade ten says, “I don’t have a full family.” It must be missing either the father or the mother; it hurts to hear that from a child.
Feast day in Quito
On July 1, the jubilee ceremony of three Sisters took place, as well as the taking of the habit of a postulant. An article is dedicated to it.
The time for goodbye :
The time has come to leave this beautiful country with so many faces: so much beauty everywhere, in the landscapes so different of the Sierra, with its hills and mountains, its abundant vegetation, and then the Coast, with the majesty of the Pacific… And everywhere on the roads, on the outskirts of villages or towns, there are these little markets where you can find fruits, vegetables, eggs, yuca rolls, sweets, etc. Is this livelihood really enough to live on? – One could say that Ecuador is the country of extremes. With each step, we discover so many beautiful things, so much warm cordiality in people, from the first meeting; and what can be said of these faces of children and young people whose big black eyes reflect joy and hope. Yes, we leave this country with a heart filled with gratitude for all we have been able to experience, discover and share! Remembrance and prayer will remain very strong bonds!