Holy Thursday

Today is long and busy. Up at 6:00, morning prayer, cleaning, breakfast.

The group split today. The returning missionaries and Javier went to Matzatan...a little town about an hour from here where Sophia's parents live. Sophia is currently an exchange student at Helias. The boys worked on a project for the parish, but did not finish. There was more to do than expected, with a lot more to do. So we are looking for a time to go there again.

The new missionaries went to La Antorcha. La Antorcha is a squatters village at the edge of town. They have no water or electricity, but ironically there are housing development all around, a cell phone tower and in the distance a big hotel. The people make bricks. I tried to explain to some of the boys the process, because it was all there. First, bricks are formed and air dried. Then they are piled carefully into a structure that is about 12 foot wide and 18 ft long and maybe 12 foot height. It is carefully planned to allow heat to be evenly distributed throughout the stack. Wood and I think there were actually tires placed in the chambers. The whole structure is then covered with clay and the fuel is lit. It heats in reduction for a week and then takes another week to cool. But all the steps of the process were visible.

This week were the first Masses celebrated here in at least 10 years. Many of the people do not have transportation, even though it is in the city limits. The first thing we did when we arrived were visitas...going door to door telling people that a priest was coming for Mass. Mass was outside in a woman's yard. The altar was a rather rickety table, smaller than a card table. The altar cloth just a scrap of frayed white linen. The managed to assemble six unmatched chairs for some of the older people, the rest leaned against the rusted truck parked in the yard or sat on a flower planter or on the ground. There was no crucifix, but someone had hung a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the chain link fence. Our boys were the apostles and had their feet washed.

After Mass, the table and chairs and Eucharist were carried to an area in the shade near a dry creek bed. We had a hour of adoration. It was quite touching to see the people kneel in the dirt in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. Then some of the students brought the children over to say a prayer and explain the presence of Jesus.

After adoration, we had some time to play with the children while the ladies received instruction. After play, the kids were separated by age group and colored pictures of churches.

After another quick visita to announce tomorrows schedule we returned to school.

We had another liturgy with washing of the feet with what is left of the students here and a few parents at 6:00. Adoration lasts until 10:00 and then we are doing another hour in our chapel.
The Brothers provided dinner tonight....tamales, beef and maybe nopale...not sure...just that they were good. Have to go pray...more later. New photos are posted.