Quick Update

Alright, alright I haven’t written in a long time, I know, and I’m sorry.

Writers block is a real thing, you know.

A lot has happened since the last time I’ve blogged and, as usual, I don’t know where to begin, what’s important, what you want to know or are curious about…which also means that I’m thinking about it way too much.

So here’s my unblocking strategy:

I’m just going to talk to you.

My director from the United States visited. Her name is Kathy. She’s from New York, which is apparent (She pronounces the word “human” like yoo-man like some sort of Yankee) She’s brand new to Incarnate Word Missionaries too, arrived at the same time Katie and I were going through orientation in San Antonio. With her being new and all, she felt like it was important to visit the mission sites so that she can have an understanding of exactly what it is we are up to down here.

So, she visited each of our works sites with us. I just realized you may not know what we all do so:

Kyle: You know me. I work with Women’s Global Connection which helps groups of women form productive organizations and I also volunteer with the nutritional program Sembrando Infancia. 

Pusaq Warmi, a group of women WGC works with and I visiting a prospective group in Tangay, Peru.

Katie: I’ve talked about her before in other blogs. She came down here with me. (She’s also from Texas which is important). She’s a nurse and she works with the Hospice program for terminally ill patients established by the Sisters of the Incarnate Word.

Katie and her angry Med. Tech.

Emily: She’s been here for a little over a year now. She’s originally from a really small town called Dodge in Nebraska. She works in the Parish with youth ministry and she also has started reaching out to other parish youth programs to provide support. She also works with the parish theater group. 

Emily with one of her Confirmation students. Also, Daniela.

Kelli: She came down with Emily and is from Isanti, Minnesota which sounds really cold. She volunteers with a program that was started by the Good Shepherd Sisters that helps women who prostitute and their children. She mainly works in an area called La Balanza or “the Balance,” which is a dangerous area of Chimbote. 

Kelli at the Plaza near the harbor.

Fidea: She’s originally from Chimbote, Peru. She’s a cat. She’s orange. She doesn’t cook and she only cleans up after herself, but she’s funny So we keep her around for morale. Her work mostly consisted of loafing around the house all day, eating, drinking, sleeping, but as of Friday she’s a mom of four.…oh, how that tables have turned, Fidea.

Fidea doing one of her famous Katie impressions.

I know what you’re probably thinking now…

“Poor Kyle, living in a house full of girls.”

This is the part where one of my guy friends elbows me in the side and says, “Oh yeah, I’m sure he’s hating it.”

But it is tough sometimes. Just living in a community with four other people in itself comes with challenges—especially because this isn’t like some college dorm where we all happen to share the same house. We have to be a community. We pray together. Eat together. We are growing together, and working towards something.

and it is difficult sometimes when there is only one Yin to three Yangs.

Am I happy?

        Without a doubt.

But I also miss walking into my brother’s room after having a big fight with him, punching him on the arm and saying, “Dude. We cool?” and him shrugging that we are.

Now that’s communication.

Anyway, Kathy really helped us to focus and re-focus on what it means to be a community. 

She gave us the task of coming up with a name for our house and a mission statement. We did, it’s cool, you’ll like it…when I get around posting more about it. But long story short, the name we chose is Casa Manna, because, in our house, the lord provides. 

That's all for now. This doesn't even scratch the surface, but at least I got something out, right?

Kathy with us at the only Mexican food restaurant we've found to date.