A Cup of Cold Water

I don’t feel that my Spanish is coming along as quickly as I had hoped.  However, I have gotten comfortable with certain words and phrases dealing with construction materials for the many houses we’ve been working on here in Leoncio Prado.   Cuanto cuesta por los ladrillos?   (How much for the bricks)   Necesito cinco cubos de arena y viente bolsas de cemento.   (I need 5 cubic meters of sand and 20 bags of cement)  People are very poor here, and their houses are in very tough shape.  Most are made out of dirt and as you can imagine with the amount of rain that falls here it doesn’t take long before walls come tumbling down and dirt floors become muddy messes.  Safe and secure housing is a real problem here.  Thanks to the generosity of our mission sponsors, we’ve been able to make a major difference in the lives of several families by providing brick walls and even some cement floors to the poore...

“So that this call should resound throughout the world, Christ sent forth the apostles he had chosen, commissioning them to proclaim the gospel: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”” CCC 2 Our Catechumens this year! Early on into our time in Peru, I started to hear whisperings about this youth receiving her Sacrament of Confirmation, and that youth her Baptism, and yet another who would be receiving all three of the initiation Sacraments.  At that time, I didn’t put any thought into what the logistics of all that might look like. I was focused on setting up our house and feeding my family three meals a day.  As time went on and our basic needs were met, I continued to hear about youth receiving their Sacraments this year, so I began to inquire as to who was forming them, and when formation was happening...