HOLY cow! what a WEEK!

Well, Holy Week in Latin America is a very huge deal. I took the opportunity to go to a VIDES camp in El Salvador. We went to a village on the border of Guatemala, called Casas de Tejas. I was so excited because I thought it would remind me of being home in Texas, but teja is a kind of brick that all the houses are made of. The community still kinda reminded me of D'Hanis, only with a lot less technology. I'll try to let the pictures do most of the talking, so you get the idea. Special thanks to Sydney and Chiky for their photography skills, as my camera is still on the bench.

In the mornings, we went out in teams of two to four to visit people's houses. We read the Gospel of the day, and asked for their input. While we were there, we asked them what their needs were (if they have electricity, running water, access to a doctor or a pharmacy) and took notes for our next trip out there.

A lot of times, they would invite us in for a coffee or to see their rooms or their cows or whatever else they wanted to show us. Even though I was a little wary around going just to read the Gospel, people were pretty accepting of that and were appreciative too. I don't know if I would've let me in if someone showed up at my house wanting to do the same thing, so I have to thank them for their openness.

After the morning visits, we all came back to the church we were staying in to make lunch. One day, I made all the tortillas for our group (about 20 of us), which made me completely exhausted, but I was very proud of myself.

After lunch, we'd have a little time to get things in the afternoon prepared, like crafts, packing things up or whatever else we needed to do. Then, the group divided into two smaller groups and headed out to two different locations, one to a school in Boca de la Montaña, and the other to the Common House in Casas de Tejas. It takes about fifteen minutes walking (about 3 minutes in a car) to get to the Common House, but about an hour walking (15 minutes in the car) to get to the other location. It was a long, dusty road, but we always had a full house waiting for us when we got there.

We always started with a "chat," something to benefit the whole community. Some of the VIDES group members are in dental school, others are medical students. So one day, they gave a talk about dental hygiene and how you can save your tooth if it falls out, another day, how to rehydrate your child if he or she has diarrhea and there's no medecine. Another day, they talked about arthritis. Then, we'd break people up by age. I always went with the kids.

We did projects like finger painting, origami, making crosses out of newspaper, and playing games and singing songs. The last day, we had all the kids trace their hands, cut them out, and decorate them. Then, they glued them to a poster as a sign of a promise to take care of their planet, their school, their house, and to respect their teachers and parents. They all made the "promise" and stuck the poster on the wall of the classroom.

Meanwhile, the adults were outside, on the patio, learning a new trade, like making jelly they could sell, using wire and beads to make fashionable jewelry, and thread to weave bracelets. All of the things they learned how to do, they learned well enough to sell and help their economic situations with a small additional income.

After that, we headed back to the church in Casas de Tejas and started the evening activity. The first night, we had a soccer tournament with the kids. First, we played boys vs girls and the girls held their own for quite a while, until most of them had to go home to help their moms get dinner started. Once we were drastically disproportionate, the boys gained the advantage and beat the girls. After that, they had a game just with the older guys that were there. This camp, we hadn't had much prepared for this demography, so the contact through the soccer tournament was very important.

That night, we had a Rosary with just ourselves. But some people from the community heard us and came and joined us. The next night, we had a community-wide Rosary, followed by a Celebration of the Word the next night. The last night, we had a living Stations of the Cross, where we were the "actors" and a different family from the community hosted a different station.

There's a tradition here in Central America that goes hand in hand with the processions. Lots of people make alfombras (carpets) for the people to walk over in the processions. The alfombras in Chalchuapa were extremely elaborate, but the ones in Casas de Tejas were simple, but beautiful, made of twigs, fruits, and flowers.

We ended the Stations of the Cross at the church, and had a dinner with all the food that the people from the community had given us throughout the week. A lot more people showed up than we were prepared for, but somehow we had enough food for everyone and for ourselves. The kids all surprised us by helping us out with passing out the food and collecting the plates to wash so we could serve more.

The next day, we all went for a dip in the river by the soccer fields, in a creek called Aguas Tibias, which wasn't as cold as I thought it would be. There were women there washing their clothes, and lots of kids swimming, jumping out of trees into the water, and a few little bitty kids getting baths. After that, we headed back to the church, dried off, and said adios to Casas de Tejas. Our plan to is continue to visit them once a month, teaching new trades or bringing a doctor, or something to lend a hand, until we do another week-long camp in December.

The sister that came with us, Sor Marta Lilian, is from Chalchuapa, so she, Sydney, and I all headed back home from the camp in time to go to Mass in Chalchuapa on Holy Thursday. This Mass celebrates the last supper and when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. The church was decorated so pretty, and the altar was hidden behind a (very rickety) staircase leading up to a giant Eucharist. We had a mini-procession (one that I'm more used to) that went out one side of the church, around the front, and in the other side to do Adoration.

Afterwards, Lupe, the only interna still in Chalchuapa, Sydney, and I ate pizza at the fair in the park and went to look at the giant, elaborate alfombras in the streets, already getting ready for the next day.

On Friday, we anxiously awaited the arrival of Karina, another American volunteer working in the eastern part of El Salvador. She's fairly new, and it was her first time on the bus by herself. Turns out she missed her stop in Chalchuapa and went all the way to the end of the line. Then, on the way back, she missed it again, but this time didn't go as far. Third time was a charm, and she got off with the help of everyone on the bus, and two other gringas waiting for her at the bus stop to make sure she made it alright.

After we got Karina, we went out to meet the procession of the Stations of the Cross. We walked along the route ahead of it, checking out the alfombras as we went. They're made out of fruit, sand, leaves, paint, colored salt, flowers and whatever else is really creative. Chalchuapa is the just the right size to have really intricate alfombras and lots of tradition, things they say you don't see much in the larger cities or in the smaller towns.

When, we finally caught up with the procession, we were just at the right spot. First came the band, playing really slow, doomsday music. Then, there were a bunch of kids, carrying objects on platters that symbolized different parts of the death of Jesus. After that, came the two parish priests, followed by people who were walking the whole route for a specific intention, all of them barefoot, and some of them walking backwards so they could keep their eyes on Jesus the whole time. The most hard-core were people who were blindfolded as well.

The image of Jesus carrying the cross was carried by about eighteen guys, all barefoot. Each time they came to a station, they turned Jesus sideways to see the altar on the sidewalk and then continued on.

At the corner where we were waiting, they had the encuentro, or the meeting. That's where the procession with Jesus meets up with a smaller procession of people carrying three images, one of Mary, one of Mary Magdelene, and one of St John. They meet at a street corner, that coincides with the station where Jesus meets his mother. The other three images were carried by three groups of eight women, all barefoot and dressed in white. They make the statues bow to each other by making the people at the front stoop low and the people at the back raise it up high over their shoulders. Then, the processions join up, with Jesus in front, and the other three saints behind them.

We stayed with the procession for a few more stations, then headed home for lunch. About an hour later, they were passing by the house and we all went to the corner to watch it go by on its way to the church. It got to the church about half an hour before Mass was about to start, making the whole procession a five-hour affair. All the alfombras were completely ruined by the people walking over them, but people were already out, cleaning up and starting new ones for the next procession that night.

There was hardly anyone at the Good Friday service, but it still lasted about four hours. At one point, two of the sisters went out to the fair outside and came back with snacks for everyone. After the service, we headed back to the house to eat dinner and get ready for the other procession that night.

This other procession was called the Holy Burial, where they march Jesus around town, along the same route, in the tomb. This time, He's carried by about 40 guys, and it was so tall that they had trouble getting under power lines. They'd get lower, then back up and try again, until they finally made it. Even without stopping for stations, this procession also lasted long into the night. The three saints were also trailing behind, but this time the women were dressed all in black. We joined up with the procession at the same point as the Station of Cross, and left at about the same point too.

We all headed back to the house, where Sor Marta Lilian, Karina, and Sydney called it a night and I headed back out with a few VIDES friends to see the end of the procession. We went to see the alfombras that hadn't been stepped on yet, and waited for the procession to arrive at the church, where they had a heck of a time parking Jesus's tomb. We almost got run over multiple times as the tried a 30 point turn, but finally got Him all settled in. That was the end of the night, so we all went home for some much-needed rest.

The next day, all the sisters, Sydney, and Karina headed out for a field trip to Esquipulas, the basilica in Guatemala that I have now been to three times. So I stayed home to catch up on sleep and grading papers (haha, yeah right). I got to man the door and the phone, do everyone's chores and watch some tv. However, I did NOT feel like cooking lunch. About the time I wanted to go make a bowl of cereal, the pharmist who lives across the street came over with some lunch that his grown daughter had made. I don't know how he knew! But it was delicious.

About mid-afternoon, the same VIDES friends came over to pick me up and go sight-seeing. We went to a town called Apaneca, just to get out and about from the city life (as if we hadn't just spent five days in the pure countryside, cooking over an open fire and bathing out of a bucket!). Anyway, we went to a hotel/restaurant that had a dance floor, ate cheesecake and danced all afternoon, and then went back home. It was so fun and a nice break!

We made it back in time to go to the Easter vigil. This is the Mass that starts at 9 pm and I never go to this Mass in the US because it's so late and lasts so long. Here in Central America, the Mass on Easter Sunday is just like any other and the big deal one is Saturday night. So we went to that one here instead! It started at 9 but I didn't make it there until 9:50, but it was just beginning when we showed up, so I don't know what they must've been doing for all that time before. Anyway, the whole service lasted until 1 am, but then we had ANOTHER procession after that, and didn't make it home until about 2:30 in the morning.

However, I think this last procession was my absolute favorite! After a VERY long Mass, they bring out the image of the resurrected Jesus, and the three saints again, but this time, they're all dressed in really pretty clothes (they all have wigs too). The put Jesus on one street corner and the three saints on a parallel corner. Then, four guys carry a box on their shoulders that has the "little angel" inside. Although I had been told about it beforehand, I was not expecting it to be a two-year old girl, dressed like an angel! She starts out with Jesus and they give her a microphone. She asks Jesus if He would like to see His mother. Then, the four guys take off running down the street, away from Jesus, turn the block, and run down til they get to the three saints. Everyone takes off running after them, and it's a race to see who can get there first. Most of the old people don't even participate, but all the kids and the younger adults do. Once they arrive at the three saints, the "angel" asks Mary is she wants to see her son. Then, they take off running again, until they get to Jesus. During this time, the people carrying Jesus and the saints are walking slowly closer together, so every time the people run, they don't have to run as far. Then, the little girl tells Jesus that she's spoken to His mom and that she wants to see Him. So she runs back around the block again to the three saints and tells Mary that she'll take her to see her son. Then, the four guys carrying the girl and the fifteen women carrying the saints, and all the people still able to run at 1:30 in the morning take off running again, to get to where the people carrying the image of Jesus are, and that's when the last procession starts. The band shows up again, this time playing happy music, then comes the guys carrying the two-year-old, then come the people carrying Jesus, followed by the three saints, followed by all the people. All along the route, people throw confetti and pop fireworks. And then everyone goes to bed to sleep off all the excitement and activities from the week.

And on Easter Sunday morning, at 8 am, I was on the way home to Santa Rosa. Seriously, what a week! I slept on the buses all the way home, and all this week I was exhausted, but I wouldn't trade any of it.