City-wide blackout

The team left for the usual monastery visit and an afternoon in Antigua after morning Matins and breakfast. Thank God, they had beautiful weather all day long! Things were peaceful around the hogar, as the children were in the colegio and Anya and I were organizing thousands of icons. The girls spent some time in the carpenteria, catching up on projects.

Oftentimes, the city of Guatemala will loose power for no reason. This occurs without warning and usually at the most inconvenient times. Yesterday around noontime, I was in the middle of compiling the Epistle Readings for a book Madre will then bind and will be used regularly when this occurred. Oh the luck! We got power back after lunch, but no internet. The entire town was without internet until about 9am this morning. I think many businesses rely on this form of communication, so cutting the lines at noon on a Monday was not the most beneficial situation for anyone. Thankfully, I have caught up on everything and am now working on translating Daily Matins into English for books for the missionaries.

The team left this morning. As always, it was an emotional time. After we sung many years and the children said their goodbyes, we had a quick breakfast of beans, rice, and apples (are you tired of hearing my meals when it never changes? Surpisingly, I am not tired of any of the Hogar's menu!) where I got to talk with the missionaries about their day yesterday. Since the majority of them are hogar-alums, they were very impressed with the progress of the monastery and the new orphanage. It sounds like they all had a lovely time.

We received a blessing from Mother Ivonne to take the little ones to the zoo tomorrow! Including some nannies, there will be 23 of us going. We can even take them to Pollo Campero for some papas fritas and coca-cola! I am so excited for our little excursion, and God willing, we will have nice weather!

Just another Wacky Cake

We had a very nice Divine Liturgy this morning. A lovely couple on the team is celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this month. May God grant them many healthy and happy years together! Proceeding the delicious lunch of potato patties (I don't know if they refer to them as llapingachos like they do in Ecuador), we had another wacky cake in celebration of Mike and Helen's 50 years together. They also bought sorbet for all the kids and missionaries. I had mango! Sunday afternoons, especially rainy Sunday afternoons, all the kids get to watch movies and eat poporopos (popcorn). The little ones watched Sleeping Beauty (again) and Kung Fu Panda, while the main lobby viewed Fantastic 4 and Jump. I sat in the back while one of the girls was teaching a missionary a pretty spanish song about friendship. I love little moments like those. After dinner, the team decided to have a Paraklesis service. The humble few congregated in front of the Panagia while Anya's beautiful voice led us in prayer. Tomorrow, the team will go to the monastery and Antigua to visit. They leave Tuesday morning. It seems as if they just got here. They have been doing a lot of yard work and plumbing this week. It is hard to believe that this summer is coming to a close and that I will be heading back to PA in just a few short days. There is still a good week left, so I want to live in the moment, and take advantage of every minute with the children. I do know that even though I will be leaving Monday, I will be leaving a part of my heart behind with these loving little souls.

Blessed Transfiguration

When I haven’t written in a while it’s a good thing. It means I haven’t been on my computer as much, and it means I’m keeping busy. It could also mean I just didn’t blog because I didn’t feel like it. I promise in this instance, it is not the latter. Upon return to the hogar, I found my inbox full. I kind of liked not having internet access, and having not to worry about anything. Of course, the longer I stay away from it, the more I have to deal with when I come back. There was lots of news and emails from Juniata, which only makes the fact that I am a senior in college that much more realistic. Yikes!

A team from a Greek parish in Indianapolis arrived Wednesday afternoon. Most have been here before. They are a very sweet, cultured group. 2 were born in Greece! Because they are a returning group, I don't work with them as much. I was able to watch a presentation on a couple's trip to Greece though. They visited many holy places on their mini pilgrimage. They told this miraculous story of healing from an icon of the Panagia, that gave me goosebumps (in a good way..ask me if you are interested in hearing it). It made me even more excited for the (God willing) Pascha in Greece adventure with little Hatch.

Yesterday was the Feast of the Transfiguration. Happy Feast day to all! We had Divine Liturgy led by Father John Schmidt. Communion hymns were sung by the team, as well as this woman who chanted Arabic (so neat!). Afterwards, he blessed the fruit which Madre Iness handed out after services. This feast day is special for the hogar because it is the name's day for the church, Holy Transfiguration. Mother Ivonne gave a little talk to the children about how important it is to be grateful for everything God has given us. She said she hopes the children's souls "transfigure" from the darkness of their pasts to His eternal light. Father John's sermon on Confession was a good complimentary piece to Madre's words. He explained how at Baptism, a little flame is ignited in our hearts, and every time we sin, the light grows dimmer. Confession is our chance to strengthen that light. Every time we receive confession, it is like we are being re-baptized or "transfigured." He closed with warning the children not to let Satan blow out that eternal flame.

We have Great Vespers in about a half hour, so I should go prepare for that. I apologize for the lack of detail in this post. I am also trying to catch up on uploading my pictures to facebook, so check them out too!

Day 5 & 6

Sunday, August 1
After a beautiful morning service, we had a lunch of pasta with a pica de gallo salsa. In the afternoon, I witnessed God's imminent grace once again as one of the most miraculous things I have ever seen appeared in the sky. Over the lake, a rainbow was visable. Rainbows are always a beautiful miracle from God, but in this one, all the colors were present, AND you could see both ends. Stretching across the waters of Amatitlan, hawks in flight, this breath-taking sight hung over the lake like a halo. After a photo session of attempting to capture this astounding scene (my pictures do not do this landscape any justice), another rainbow, less vibrant, yet just as spectacular, appeared above the first. It was the perfect parting gesture from the Lord, as we are planning to return to Zone 1 tomorrow morning. Now we really do know where the end of the rainbow is, but the treasures that lie there are far more valuable than any pot of gold.

Saturday, July 31
Not much worthy of mentioning happened today. We did not have matins, and were allowed to sleep in a little. Unfortunately, my internal clock had other plans. I was up at the usual time, but persisted in reading until an appropiate hour for a light breakfast of yogurt. All the flan that we made must be eaten by tomorrow, as the Forefeast of the Life-Giving Cross begins. The faithful fast from August 1st until the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos on August 15th. We had a nice dinner, and lots of flan, with the nuns and the boys. They are great. They are free-spirited, faithful little souls around the age of 17. Two of them are twins, very well known by the missionaries, who love to serve in the alter with the missionary priests. They live at "Rio Dulce" another orphanage in Guatemala. It is primarily children from the jungle of indigenous backgrounds, who speak a variety of languages. It is so wonderful to see the boys continuing their life with Christ on their own in such a not as encouraging environment.

Day 4

Friday, July 30
So, I have had caviar before, but never prepared like this. Commonly referred to as Taramosalata in Greece, these baby fish eggs have the taste of mayonnaise, and with a few drops of fresh lime juice, make a great spread on toast. Along with oatmeal, I really enjoyed this new food for breakfast. Madre Ivonne is bringing the older girls to the monastery for lunch today, so all morning we were preparing for their arrival. Before they came, we helped feed the fish. We learn a little more about the way they raise the tilipia at the monastery. The ponds are purposefully designed fairly small and are only 4ft deep. These tiny quarters prevent the fish from swimming long distances, which would enhance their muscle mass. They remain a decent size to eat, and once a week, they fish and throw back the little ones that are not done growing. I can't recall the number, but I think it is close to 1000 fish in each pool, 4 pools total. The ducks were bathing in the pools as well. They are not a bother to the yielding of the tilipia, because they do not eat the fish, but rather the small insects. Ducks are really fascinating creatures, because unlike most, they mate for life. We were told that we could look for the duck eggs tomorrow, because they do not have a specific nesting area on the grounds. When the girls arrived with Madre, we were greeted with I miss yous and big hugs. Once again, the kids have only been absent in my life for less than a week and we are feeling these emotions; I am not looking forward to saying goodbye in less than 2 weeks. A few of them joked that we had become nuns, because by the 4th consecutive day at a monastery, we should know everything there is to know about monasticism, according to the girls. We had a lovely meal of lentals and papaya salad with great company, as the girls were sharing their latest adventures at the movie theater. Some saw Shrek 4 (can you believe they keep coming up with sequels for this!?), but the majority went to Karate Kid. It is interesting to see the girls' reactions to the movie. Some could only recall the kissing scenes with the young Jayden Smith, while others loved the action scenes. I really have no desire to see this movie, especially after the critique from the girls. Some said they were sad I couldn't go with them, and they felt sorry for me that I was at the boring monastery while they were at Oakland Mall. I think some are just a little too young to appreciate the full beauty and simplicity of this environment. Eventually, and through the grace of God, they will understand and come to appreciate their faith even more than they already do.

Day 3

Thursday, July 29

Scrambled eggs with peppers and onions along with white tea was today's breakfast. In the afternoon, we learned how to make flan, with a very basic recipe. Its a long process of just stirring sugar on the stovetop until it caramelizes. Before lunch, Anya was teaching me a little Greek. I have been practicing the alphabet and attempting to read small bits of Greek, like the Saints' names written on icons. Before vespers, Madre Maria was teaching us how to correctly tap the semantron the Greek style and the Romanian style. The semantron is a piece of wood used to summon everyone to church. In Palestine, those that used church bells were prosectuted--thus the birth of this percussion-like instrument. It is really interesting that something as simple as a way call a congregation to order can have such rythmic diversity based on culture. We also visited the bunnies. They are so cute and cuddly while at the same time a delicious main course!

Day 2

Wednesday, July 28

After morning prayers, a breakfast of oatmeal with the monastery's harvested honey was served. When the dishes were done, I went outside on the patio overlooking the lake and read. I had nice background noise of the Guatemalan nature along with Anya and Sarah's beautiful singing of church hymns. The sun was out and there was a slight breeze, perfect for just basking in God's glory. I took a nice, long nap before vespers, and felt completely refreshed for the evening. We had an appetizing supper with lisichki which are pureed chanterelle mushrooms, very popular in Russia. I have learned that delicious cusine doesn't always have to be these extravagant dishes but rather can be simple things. We had some dark chocolate covered pomegranates for a little snack afterwards. We spent a nice evening just talking with the nuns. Sometimes it is hard for me to go to bed when it is still light out, so I take advantage of this time reading. Our days are very simple at the monastery, and although they seem boring on a blog, they were indescribably fufilling and rejuvenating.