Will you sing?

While my dad and my uncles can sing beautifully…
While I attended St. Olaf College where they harmonize happy birthday in the cafeteria…

I was a non-singing Ole… and while I can sing, by no means am I as talented as my father or trained for that matter.

Yet, in Israel the children asked. Will you sing us something in English? And I agreed, but first I taught them the same song in Spanish… Jesus loves me/ Cristo me ama… which they did not know. We practiced several times, and with each repetition more children crowded around me straining to hear and adding their delicate innocent voices to the song. The adults were paying attention but still going about their business, it was after all the evening of the churches anniversary. Finally, it was my turn. The minute I started singing in English, everyone and I do mean everyone, went silent and I sang Jesus Loves Me for all to hear that night.

Each evening after that first night, the children approached again wanting to practice their new song. We practiced and I taught them a few other songs and “treated” them each night to one song in English.

Maybe four years of Olaf and four at Luther Seminary, also a place filled with people who can sing, sunk in a bit. Regardless, I left Israel with a promise to learn more songs because the children want to learn and asked me to help them.

Padre Horacio during the National Council Meeting of the ILAG. Where we also taught classes to the leaders. 

Classes

In the heat of Israel, inside the Lutheran church building, underneath the sheet metal roof, seated on hard wood benches, we held theology classes for four days for the leaders of the church who had come from their individual communities to receive more tools to lead and share the gospel.

It was my first time teaching the leaders. I had prepared a class on the liturgy of the worship service… where things are in the bible and what they mean for us. For example, what is confession and absolution and why is it important using Romans 6. I also had prepared a class on the church year. I had thought about an hour each…

Well, it turned out that the leaders really got into my class. Instead of teaching 2 classes for an hour each I taught 5 classes from between 1.5 hours and 2.5 hours. For many it was the first time that they had heard many of the texts that I used, the first time they had thought about the why behind the ritual… it was rewarding seeing how we worship explode with meaning for them. It was challenging as well because at least two of the leaders present did not know how to read, but they still asked for my handout so that they could bring it back to their community and have someone who can read and write read the passages to the congregation so that they too could understand.

I have found my vocation… a fit and something that brings me great joy… and something that helps the members of the church and more than just in matters within the church for these ideas, these promises of Christ which we receive freely, extend into all areas of our lives.

Women of Iglesia Luterana "Jesus de los Milagros" en Israel, Ixcan preparing food for the leaders of the National Church. 

The women of Israel involved in the Store. 

A break from soccer

While in Israel for the National Council Meeting and classes, Esther and I spent some time with the women of the church. They received a loan from a church in Colorado earlier this year to begin a store; we thought that it would be hard for them to have success with their store due to distance from any supplier and need to carry everything in to sell… not to mention the poverty of everyone in the community. But they have worked hard and not only have a beautiful building but also have already made the money to repay the loan! We congratulated them on their success and hard work and talked about being women in the church. They have many roles and getting them to see that they are important takes time. Many started having children at 14, many cannot read or write… getting them to see the importance of their role as wife, mother, cook, but also teacher of their own children and the children in the church, and that they too are leaders is sacred ground for it threatens to knock down barriers and open horizons, it dares to breathe life into their daily routines. We also took time to share that they can and should find time for themselves… whether just to bathe or to adorn their hair with a pretty ribbon or something more significant… as ways to satisfy themselves and communicate to themselves and others their value as individuals and as women.

Most of the week the men or boys had been playing soccer on the field outside of the wood slat church… the evening of our talk with the women, while the food was heating over the wood fires in huge smoke blackened kettles, they took to the field. In their skirts and sandals and with a small amount of skill they played basketball. Their 5 foot no inch bodies rounded by multiple pregnancies raced up and down the dirt court while their husbands and sons watched and occasionally exclaiming at a rough play. All enjoyed the break from soccer, the break the women had from caring for everyone and attending to everything. The women took time to play. When the black beans, eggs and tortillas were ready for dinner, the women wrapped up their game and fed all gathered… renewed.

Family

The last month has been so full of life, of renewal, of hope that I have not known where to begin to put letter to experiences that cannot be contained in black and white… but taking a lesson from Homer in the Odyssey, I will begin where I can… right in the middle.

Tuesday my parents left in their 88 Corvette for South Dakota leaving me home alone. They had planned their vacation a year ago not knowing, of course, that I would be visiting from Guatemala. We had a week together before they left, including time with my sister and her husband—also very important. I am very glad that my parents have found this group of friends and an activity that they can do together now that they are empty nesters. It was still hard to say goodbye for all of us when they left, but they will return the evening before I fly back to Guatemala.

That same night my godparents, Bryan and Laura, invited myself, Bill and Sandy, Marvin and Margaret over for the evening. We all got together for the evening… my family on this side of the river. The original idea was to have dessert but when they found out that my parents had left, we had a delicious dinner. I was well cared for! It was so wonderful to spend some time with my aunts and uncles. They are all such phenomenal people. I am thankful that we took time to sit down around a dinning room table and share life with each other.

My living in Guatemala makes it even more apparent how much they mean to me, and this is a positive of being away, for if I was closer I could easily take for granted that I could stop by or spend my time waiting for them to stop by and see me. By living far away, I can return and just call up and see who I can catch. I went out to the farm one evening with my mom last week and was lucky to find everyone at home. The only aunt and uncle from my mom’s family that I have not been able to see is Kathy and Bob due to distance… but today I received an email! I even got to see Sandy and Greg from my dad’s family while I was visiting Maren… called up and they were able to drop what they were doing to come over. It is important to try and a true gift to reconnect.

My roots… my family has been in Northfield for generations… and my roots are very deep and very strong. Because of these roots, I am able to go and experience the world. While it is hard not be here when someone is in the hospital, or when my two youngest cousins were baptized, and I do not like missing weddings and graduations… but I know that my family cares and that they support me. A gift that is priceless.

Part of the hike out of Israel 

Getting there... Israel

Once again just getting there was an adventure... there this time was Israel... not MiddleEast which presents its own problems... no Israel, Ixcan, El Quiche, Guatemala. We visited this beautiful community at the end of June for the Iglesia Luterana Agustina de Guatemala's National Council Meeting.
Leaving at 3:30am we loaded up the pick-up with ourselves and our luggage and donations... 3 of us having to travel in the bed of the pick-up... we finally arrived in Israel at about 5pm that same day... a long day of driving, some waiting in Playa Grande followed by an hour long hike into the community in the pouring rain. I was thankful for my rubber boots and my poncho... and also thankful that we still had sunlight...
You see we found out later that the last community, Villa Hermosa, before we need to hike in has had several tiger sightings. I still cannot quite fathom that I live in a country with wild tigers but I do.
We were welcomed into Israel and made comfortable as we waited for members from other churches in the ILAG to join us.