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Young Lasallians Gather in Memphis
The first gathering of Young Lasallians in the USA-Toronto region took place June 20-26, 2010 in Memphis, TN, on the campus of CBU.
Including staff and presenters, over 40 Lasallians participated in the gathering, which was based on the Young Lasallians gathering in Rome in 2009. Tina Bonacci, Director of Formation and Accompaniment for the Midwest District, headed up the Planning Committee along with Michael Prat of the NOSF District, both of whom attended the Rome session.
Brother Bob Schieler, General Councilor, and Bro. Charlie Kitson, Director of the Lasallian Family, were both present from the Generalate in Rome. Young Lasallians attending from the Midwest District were Dan Bryan, Dan Dowling, Tim and Ashley Gossen, Scott Hingle, Wilson Phillips, and Adam Runge. Brothers present from the Midwest included Frank Carr, Pat Conway, Larry Schatz, and postulant Tony Elfering.
LTIP trip to Guatemala
Leaving Guatemala
I’m here in the Guatemala airport. It’s early Thursday afternoon, and I am waiting to board my flight to Chicago. Unfortunately, it seems there is no wifi here, so I may have to wait a while to post this.
I’m heading back a day earlier than the rest of the group to attend a District Council meeting tomorrow. Since Bro. Pat will not be there, I will do his report on the trip and on the new LTIP cohort.
Despite being closed for a week, today the airport is open and thriving. Once again, it seems, this LTIP tour is singularly blessed. Yesterday, no one knew for sure if flights would be operating today. But today and tomorrow, as scheduled and God willing, we will be able to get back home with no delays, unlike so many other travelers and groups.
During our nearly three weeks here, we have witnessed the devastating effects of both a volcanic eruption and a tropical storm with its ensuing landslides. And yet, the only real challenge we faced was having to find an alternate route to San Lucas last Sunday when we found out the road was closed. Max and his boat got us there and back!
I have mentioned this to a lot of people: we have felt the power of the prayers directed our way. Things have worked out for us, despite some significant potential odds. So often on the buses and trucks here in Guatemala, we see the phrase “Dios Me Guia” (God is guiding me), and only a slight alteration is needed to describe our experience: “God is guiding us”. There is no doubt hat we have been in the hands of Providence.
What a blessing to be with Adam, Cullen, Jon, and Steve, as well as Brothers Pat, Jim, and Marty as we travelled this journey together. The Lasallian spirit and hospitality we experienced in so many places was outstanding. The beauty we saw on our many drives though the country was often spectacular. But perhaps what touched all of us the most is the joy and gentleness of the people here. Their unwavering faith is humbling; their sense of community, especially in the face of adversity, is an inspiration.
My heart is filled with gratitude for this very special experience. Thanks to all of you for your interest and support throughout our Lasallian journey here in Guatemala.
¡Vive Jesus en nuestras corazones—-por siempre!
Live Jesus in our hearts—-forever!
Bro. Larry
“Got more cars than a beach got sand” – DMB
Yesterday we left from San Lucas for Guatemala City. We decided to leave a day early from San Lucas for security reasons, namely, making sure we had a flight home. Our trip started off with a boat ride from San Lucas to Panajachel where we picked up the van and headed off down the road. Though it is somewhat hard to make out in the picture we ran into a traffic jam. If you look closely you will be able to see cars lined up bumper to bumper, stopped because of a mudslide that occured 30 minutes before we got there. Luckily some machines showed up an hour later and two hours later we were moving again. However, that was only one of a few slow downs. The trip took us almost all day but it was amazing to see how fast the roads were cleaned up with the limited resources that they have down here.
Today we are heading into the city and this evening we will have one of our last meetings for class. Tomorrow we will have our final early in the day and then have the rest of the day to get packed and rested for the trip that lies ahead of us. We miss you all,
Love Steve and the LTIP Group!
San Lucas Toliman
Hello everyone from San Lucas. Tropical storm watch day 3. Yesterday we finally got a chance to get dirty as we helped some locals clear their road from all the mud. After 3 hours of intense shoveling we escaped with a only few blisters, hardly comparable to what the people who live here have had to deal with.
This morning we learned that a small community of homes right outside San Lucas was hit badly by mudslides. Over 20 families lost their homes and for sure one family of six has lost their lives. There is the possibility that many more have died as well. We’re not sure how much you all are hearing about this in the States but for us it’s an entirely real experience and we are right here in the middle of it. Still, it seems that by Providence alone we have been spared on numerous accounts from really being affected by it. Even now, as other volunteer groups struggle to make travel plans, we are continuing our journey to Guatemala City, leaving in about a half an hour. The airport is planned to be open by this afternoon.
In the coming weeks San Lucas and its residents will struggle to get back to normal and maybe even to survive. The price of food and supplies has already doubled, and all but one road to the city is entirely wiped out. The one road that is passable is dangerous; last night people were robbed and assaulted while using it. A huge truck transporting water to the town is now half buried in the mud, a fitting symbol of how difficult it is for resources to reach the community. Chris, the volunteer coordinator here, has taken our e-mails and will keep us updated. The danger for these people is far from over so please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. By God’s grace we will be in the capital later today.
Thanks for everything,
Cullen
The Adventure
Today was by far our most adventurous day! I don’t know if any of you know, but there was a huge tropical storm that hit Guatemala over the past couple days. Because of this nonstop treacherous rainfall there have been numerous mudslides all around the country. Today we were planning on traveling from Huehuetenango to San Lucas, which is located on Lake Atitlan. Partway through our trip we were told there was no way that we would be able to take our van the whole way to San Lucas. So we left our van, jumped on a boat, and made our way to San Lucas. This was much more of an adventure than these words on the computer screens make it seem like. The damage was terrible, literally wiping out homes of people, killing some, and injuring others. It was hard to look at as we drove through the country. Once we were on the boat we were able to see the landslides from far away. It was quite a sad scene. Luckily we arrived safely to San Lucas, and we are excited to get to work. After talking to other volunteers and missionaries here, we realize that they haven’t had a storm here like this since 2005.
We are all excited to partake in this unexpected adventure. We promise to be safe! But after a volcano erupting and a legendary tropical storm stranding many people, who knows what will happen next! Hope everything is going well back home!
- Jon Delwiche
I would do anything for a steak right now.
Hola! I hope this finds all of our readers well. We had a full and rainy day today which consisted of visiting two schools as well as visiting the site where Brother James Miller was murdered in 1982.
I would like you all to know that we are all alive and well. You may have heard about the Volcano Pacaya erupting. Yes, this is the same Volcano we climbed five days ago. Thank God we managed to enjoy the volcano without it exploding on us haha.
At 6:40 am we woke from our slumbers ate breakfast and proceeded to tour La Salle Primary school which only required a short walk since we are currently staying at the Brothers residence on the schools grounds. This particular Lasallian school in total caters to 1300 students. Our reception at the school was very welcoming and the school itself was wonderful. At this point I must say I am beginning to feel like an exhibit at the zoo when we are visiting the schools. Touring the schools has been a lot of fun I can honestly say I have never been stared at this much; this must be how the penquins at the zoo feel.
The highlight of the day and possibly the trip was visiting the school that Brother James Miller worked and was murdered at. This was a profound and humbling experience that was facilitated by Brother Martin breaking down the tragedy step for step. I find myself speechless trying to describe my feelings in regard to visiting the exact place where Brother James was shot. It was a powerful and chilling and experience I will never forget.
God Bless and thanks for reading!
Adam Runge
On the Way to Huehue
With an early morning departure we started the long and treacherous trek to Huehuetenango. With the added presence of Brother Martin Spellman, the van capacity is now at eight which makes the trip a little less than comfortable. The roads consisted of speed bumps, potholes, and winding curves that traced the outline of the huge Guatemalan mountainside. Despite the traveling conditions it was a truly inspiring day.
Tucked high in the mountains surrounding Lake Atitlan is the town of Santa Maria Visitacion. The Brothers have a small but thriving school of about 125 students with great opportunities for students to learn trades such as weaving, music, baking, and carpentry. Seeing the happy students and their reactions to our presence was only half the fun. The greatest moment was watching the music class play their marimbas, the national instrument of Guatemala. The beautiful sounds were made more impressive by the fact that the students do it all by memory. It was really a blessing to see the Lasallian ministry alive and working in a completely different part of the world. One picture of today is of the group with Br. Cristian Romero at this school. Great thanks to Br. Cristian and the community who treated us to lunch and a tour even though we showed up unannounced.
The other picture is of Br. Cristian, Br. Larry, and myself in a sauna that belongs to a family in a village home. The family gets together on the weekends to bathe in this unique fashion; it is a ritual as well as practical. We continue to be amazed by the hospitality of the people in this country. I can´t believe that they allowed us to see the sauna. Imagine someone coming to your door in the U.S. and asking to see your bathroom. I doubt the reaction would be the same.
Now we are in Huehue and look forward to a few days of learning about the life and death of Brother James Miller. Br. Martin was stationed in Huehue with Br. James when he was murdered and now that he is here with us we have the privilege of hearing the true story and seeing the places he worked and lived. Look forward to more information on this amazing man and martyr in future posts.
Also,, to all of you reading and commenting, thanks for all of your support.
God Bless,
Cullen
Goodbye Chiquimula!
First and foremost, for those of you who are concerned about your comments not showing up right away, internet has not been available to us 24/7 and the comments need to be “officially” submitted so, it may take some time for the comments to appear.
Last evening, not only did I have the pleasure of having two geckos fall into my lap as Cullen described for you, I also had the opportunity to play “futbol” with the boarders (the students who live at the school). It was amazing to see how much you can interact with others in a sport without knowing the language. It was a blast!
This morning we got up and left La Salle in Chiquimula. We arrived in Guatemala City early afternoon. We ate lunch at Burger King and let’s just say it did not sit well and the Imodium is definitely not working!!!! We then visited the Human Rights Building, the Cathedral, and lastly La Salle Indian Center. In the photo you see us getting a tour of the farm that is on the school property. There are 120 boarding students at the school that come from all over the country (mostly the mountainous regions where the indigenous people live). They are taught better farming techniques for both crops and animals while also taking a full load of classes. There are 22 different dialects that are still spoken in Guatemala. The students at this school represent 13 different dialects and they have classes spoken in both Spanish and Mayan. They grow many, many, many different crops one of which is coffee! I thought it would be cool to somehow send some money down and get some Lasallian Coffee sent back up. (There wasn’t any coffee available today. We were told that they harvest it in January or February.)
We head out for Huehuetenango tomorrow; however, we have heard that people have been blocking the road and are not letting any vehicles through. I raised Brother Pat’s blood pressure by saying that if the protesting was still continuing tomorrow that I would jump out and join in. Viva la Guatemala!
Love you all, Steve!
A Day in the Life of the Mayans
Today we got to sleep in until 7:30 and at 9 we left for Honduras. The hour and a half trip across the border was a surprise to us all, as Brother Jim gave us the option of going to the city of Copan, where there are some Mayan ruins dating back to 400 A.D. It was incredible to view so far back in time to a civilization that was as advanced as the Mayans. The irrigation systems, intricate artistry, and enormous, multi- leveled buildings were awesome evidence of a clearly intelligent and thriving culture. Makes you wonder what happened, and how different the world would be if it had been them that had discovered the wheel first! Also interesting to think that their ancestors (the indigenous) are still living around this part of the world with some of the same traditions. We have nothing close to this in the US.
After the ruins, we stopped at a local, very, very traditional restaurant. There was no need for menus because there was one option, chicken, that had been harvested only a few hours before, along with soup, rice, tortillas, etc. Adam and I found ourselves totally immersed in the culture as we basically challenged eachother to eat chicken livers and hen´s eggs (which were cooked inside of the hen, never taken out). I can still taste the liver: Adam loved it.
On an exciting note, we were playing cards outside on a patio area when two most-likely-mating gekkos fell on Steve´s lap. Some dancing and screaming followed but we were eventually thankful they weren´t scorpions. When I picked up one of the gekkos I grabbed it by the tail and in an instant I was only holding the squirming tail of gekko which had quickly ran into the bushes.
Life in Guatemala is amazing; between wildlife and Br. Jim´s driving, there is never a dull moment. Now if it would only cool down.
God Bless,
Cullen
