Happy Solemnity of Corpus Christi! Today we celebrate Jesus Christ fully present in the Eucharist. As Catholics we believe that during Mass the bread and wine transform into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. The feast today celebrates this fact and reminds us of the importance of the Eucharist as the source and summit of our Catholic faith.

The day started with an optional hike, I chose to stay back from the hike this morning so as to not aggravate my ankles/feet. Instead I spent some time in prayer in the chapel. A cute story, the sisters were praying morning prayer when I got in the chapel and toward the end of their prayers they were going to turn on a song to listen to for meditation and instead of the correct song turning on “Happy Birthday” start playing. All of the sisters started giggling – it was cute.

We had breakfast before leaving for our morning projects. Chocolate pancakes, omelets, cereal, beans and tortillas today. The projects this morning were pretty simple, we drove back to Parramos and we were putting new roofs on some houses. It doesn’t take many people so while we helped get the metal onto the roof, the masons did all of the work of securing the metal sheets to the structure. We spent the time visiting with the family that lived there. It was a multi-generational family so Alma was the mother and her daughter Erica and her 6 week old baby boy, Christopher. Unfortunately, Erica wasn’t able to breastfeed so they are having to buy formula which is very expensive. We were able to donate some money to them to help pay for the formula. Alma and Erica were so overwhelmed with emotion, it was such a small amount of money in reality, but for them it was so much!

It only took about an hour to finish the roof and then we were able to join the people of Parramos for their Corpus Christi procession. It was so unlike anything we would see in America, fireworks, bands, thousands of people processing before and after the Eucharist. The procession was led by all the children making their first communion. It was beautiful to see. Parramos is a smaller town so their procession took 1-2 hours but one of our interpreters was saying that the procession in San Andres Itzapa could take 3-4 hours as they walk through all of the streets. The procession path is lined with a carpet of fresh pine needles and cut flowers as a path for the priest to carry Jesus on. It was a very beautiful and moving experience to see people of all ages, babies up to elderly people processing in the streets.

After the procession passed us we started out way back to the bus, but stopped along the way for ice cream. We had about an hour of free time when we got back to the convent before lunch so we just hung out around the courtyard. The sisters had some of their items that they make for sale, jewelry, journal covers, bookmarks, clothes, etc. so we were able to do some shopping and support them as well.

Lunch today was chicken, a fresh berry salad, potatoes, tortillas and cantaloupe. The chicken was delicious, I’m not sure what kind os seasoning they used on it, but it was very tender and juicy.

After lunch we drove back to Parramos to do care bag deliveries. We broke up into six groups each with an interpreter and a volunteer who acted as a “minister” – we were invited into the homes of people who are shut ins and unable to work and needed food. We each visited five different homes. While we were in the homes we had a chance to learn about them, we asked questions about their families, how many children they had, did they leave nearby or in the same home, if they were married, how did they meet their spouse, etc. We also had a chance to pray with each family before giving them a bag of household items, mainly food (rice, pasta, salt, sugar, powdered milk, cereal) as well as soap and laundry detergent.

I have been trying to think of how to adequately describe the homes and how the people here live without being rude or inconsiderate or belittling their way of life, but also get across how poor these people are. The level of poverty is unlike anything you can imagine. The poorest of the poor and the worst living conditions in America would be luxurious compared to these homes. Chickens and stray dogs wander the streets and get into the homes. Most do not have any lights and depend on sunlight for everything. They are lucky to have running water and a sewage system in some parts of town. It is not uncommon for a home to consist of one bedroom that everyone sleeps in and a mainly outdoor kitchen that consists of a wood stove. Some will have a courtyard where they may have a small garden or fruit tree. Very few have refrigeration systems so they have to travel into town daily to buy meat and produce. Some homes have a crude uneven concrete floor, but most are just packed dirt. There are no windows and while there is a door to the outside/street, inside the doors (if any) are sheets or blankets. The walls separating rooms could be made from sheet metal, plywood and in some cases cinderblocks. (It didn’t seem polite to take pictures of their homes so you will have to use your imagination.)

While visiting our families we heard stories of how some were injured and so can no longer work, how some were beaten as children and have been unable to walk and talk let alone work. Of the people we spoke to, the most schooling any of the adults had was one year, many cannot read or write, some can only write their names, others cannot even do that.

These people live in unimaginable poverty and yet they are some of the happiest people you will ever meet. They are grateful for everything they have! All expressed their gratitude for the meager food we offered saying how helpful this was, one lady was so overwhelmed she couldn’t even speak through her tears.

After our visits we went back to the convent and had about an hour and a half to relax and get cleaned up before dinner. Dinner tonight was pizza and a movie with the sisters! We ordered Dominos and watched Moana, in Spanish with English subtitles.

I was pretty tired so after a quick trip to the chapel to pray night prayer I went to bed before the movie was over. It was a much slower paced day today which was nice, but I am excited to get back to work tomorrow!

Mileage Tracker:

• 9,216 steps
• 3.94 miles