Food

The last time we sent money down I asked if the missionary could send back a list of what the money was used to buy. We do this for legal reasons but also so we can tell our donors how they are helping.

Usually, we like to fund small projects or get the children clothes or school books. Although we would consider these things essential, they are a luxury to the children we help. It is difficult to hear at times when the missionaries call to say they don't have clothes for the children.

I was even more shocked to hear when I received an email telling me that the money we recently sent was used for food for the children. It seems they are in a very difficult financial situation. Needless to say, they were very grateful to all who have donated.

This next year, I hope we can help the children in Ecuador not only with food, but continue helping with their education and providing a loving home. We are working on some ways to bring in more donations for 2011 and I will send updates as time goes on.

Thank you to all who have sent donations to help Mission Santa Maria in our work with the children in Ecuador.

Too long

After a very long time, I have decided to update the blog. This is the 3-year anniversary of the charity and I wanted to put in some updates.

I have been back to Ecuador three times in the last two years and things are going well. The mission has changed somewhat, but the kids and those who are serving them are doing well. There are now two distinct groups that we support in Ecuador. One that has been there for 40 years and runs the school and many other programs throughout Ecuador. This group was founded by the Swiss priest Fr. Othmar and is run by missionary sisters that are in the process of becoming a Catholic order or religious. The other group will continue to focus on the work with the children who come from very difficult situations. They have started a new elementary school and have a new base where they will move the children in the near future.

In essence, one group will continue to work with poor families throughout the country and the other will children with distinct needs. We are happy to support both organizations and I believe the change will help the long-term sustainability of the two groups.

If you have any questions or are interested in visiting, please e-mail me at Jim@missionsantamaria.com.

I hope you are well.

Jim

Uniforms and Shoes!

This past week school has started again after our “summer vacation.” In past years the children at the mission return to school in old uniforms. This year the missionaries asked if we might be able to help the children with uniforms. There is one missionary sister in each house caring for a group of children (eleven houses in all) and they were worried about their children being ready for school just like any mother before the beginning of the school year. So, thanks to our donors of Mission Santa Maria, we purchased new uniforms and shoes for one hundred of the children. This was our biggest project and went very well. It entailed a day trip to the city (3 hours away) and a full day of finding the right sizes of uniforms and shoes for all the kids.

I have pictured some of the children in their new uniforms. Not only were the missionary sisters very grateful for the shoes and uniforms, but the children were happy to have new uniforms as well. A special thank you to all our donors for their generosity.

Jim

The Amazon!

In March, I had the opportunity to participate in a medical mission to the Amazon with a group of doctors, nurses and students from Franciscan University (my alma mater). This trip was one of the highlights of my time here because we really got to see how the people lived.

We first traveled to a small town on the edge of the Amazon basin, followed by an hour bus ride and a three hour hike into the mountains. Once we arrived in the village the people came out to greet us, but were very timid with their new visitors. The majority of the people did not speak Spanish, but Quichuwa, a primitive dialect. Once we set up the clinic for the people, each doctor or nurse needed two translators. One of the men would have to translate for the people into Spanish and another person would have to translate from Spanish into English for the medical staff.

Since I was translating, I got to hear many of the stories of the people. I had to ask some of the people if they had ever had any medical attention before so I asked them if they ever traveled into the city to see a doctor. “Never,” they said. So I asked them if they had ever been to a doctor that had come to their village. “No one has ever come to see us.”

The people were very humble, very simple and very welcoming. All the people are farmers and live off the food they grow, mostly yuca and other vegetables, perhaps eggs if they have a chicken. The men were very present in the community and were directing the people and served us our food. They were all fathers and you could see that the indigenous values of family life were still very much present in the communities. This is not the case in other parts of Ecuador where many of the families are without fathers.

The story that had the most impact on me was when an elderly couple came in to the clinic. As they have no children still at home, they both work in the fields to grow their food. Every day, all day. After seeing them, the nurse gave them some medicine and told them to take it three times a day with food. After they heard this from the translator, they started laughing. I asked them why and the translator told me because they never eat three times a day. What struck me was they were not embarrassed or concerned, they just thought it was really funny that we would tell them to eat three times a day, as if they had that much food to eat. Needless to say, it was an eye-opener.

Floods.....

I apologize that it has been so long since I have written. There is much to tell you all. As the kids have had “summer vacation” the past three months, I have been able to see more of the country. You may have heard about Ecuador in the news the past few months. Many of the people in the southern part of the country have been affected by severe flooding. Some of the missionary sisters live in a parish near in one of the affected areas and I have the opportunity to visit them. The president of Ecuador was actually visiting the same town.
Many people have lost their homes, many are out of work. When we visited the towns, the most notable thing (besides all the flooding) were all the mosquitoes. I am not exaggerating when I say we were covered in mosquitoes. I would slap one on my arm and then look to see another seven or eight on that same arm. Needless to say, I was covered in mosquito bites when we returned to the parish. I really am not sure how the people dealt with it all. The mosquitoes brought fears of Dengue and sickness. Many people still were in good spirits when we visited them, but it this has still been a very difficult time for these people.

Updates and vacations!

After a two month "blog sabbatical" I am back. I apologize for not writing more on this. The kids here have all left for summer vacation. (All but about 15). The kids are either with relatives or "foster families" for vacation. This serves a two-fold purpose: So the kids have an experience of a family and so the missionaries have a bit of a break. One of the missionaries told she she has not had a break in three years since she is always with the children.

I am proud of a few projects we have completed here. The biggest, in my mind, is that we bought water dispensers and arranged for them to have clean, drinkable water in each of their houses. For this, I thank all of our donors. Before the children would often drink from the tap which led to many problems with the bacteria here. Also, the children are often dehydrated, since it is not easy for them to drink water (especially the little ones). The water dispensers are very easy for the kids to use and they enjoy getting the water themselves.

I have also been able to take some of the young kids out to dinner. Above is a picture of some of my friends when we went to eat pizza. Even when they ate all the pizza they could, there was still room for some ice cream!

I had the chance to take a bit of a vacation myself. My friend Thomas Kosh and I spent a week in Banos, a beautiful town in the mountains. It also happens to be right next to the volcano Tungarahua. You may have heard on the new that it was erupting a few weeks ago. Luckily for us that was our first night there. We could hear and feel the eruptions in our hostel. The man at the hostel woke everyone up in the middle of the night telling us we may have to evacuate in a few minutes and to get ready to leave. Fortunately, we didn't have to leave and the volcano quieted down the next day. The good part is that all the tourists (and some of the villagers) left, so we had a tranquil time and we returned to the mission very well rested.

I hope you all are well.

Jim

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!
Christmas at the mission was beautiful. The children preformed a little play before Christmas Eve mass. Many of the kids here have gone to stay with relatives for the week. There are still about 50 children here and we have been enjoying the vacation from school with ball games and trips to the beach.
This past week 600 sick and elderly people came to the mission for a special mass for the sick. The older boys helped these old men and woman up and down the stairs of the church. To see the priests give them all the anointing of the sick during mass was very moving as they all had made a big effort to come to the mission, arriving in taxis, trucks, and buses. The people were served lunch (which we had the pleasure to help make the night before) and were given a bag of donated clothes and fruit. They were so happy and kept coming up to me to thank me. I felt a little awkward as I was just an observer and was being thanked, but I enjoyed talking to them all and shaking their hands.
Since I work with the smaller children here, I pulled some strings and got Santa Clause to visit for an afternoon. When he entered the room with the children he asked, "Do you know who I am?" In unison they all replied "Jim!" It was quite funny. I think they enjoyed the cookies and the chocolate then seeing "Papa noel."