Well, my Saturday was uneventful, but my Sunday was anything but. Sunday morning, I met up with a woman who used to work for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and now she works and lives in Antigua. It was nice to make a connection with someone from back home, even if I hadn't met her before. Just being able to talk about familiar places like Broadripple and Glendale Mall was a little comfort in a place so far away. The cool thing is that she works for an organization that coordinates medical missions to Guatemala. So part of her job is to bring doctors from other countries to come to Guatemala and perform surgeries on people who usually could not afford them. As such, she works very closely with San Pedro Hospital, a Catholic hospital located in the heart of Antigua. This hospital is a medical clinic for people needing short-term treatment, but it is also a place where people with mental and physical disablities live full-time. Oftentimes, Guatemalan families who have a child with a disability cannot afford to take care of him or her. As a result, many of these families bring them to San Pedro Hospital to essentially be raised there. So people live their entire lives at that hospital. It is very sad, though what an incredible service.
When I met up with this particular woman from Indianapolis, we went to mass at the church next to San Pedro Hospital. When I walked into the church, the first thing I saw was the middle aisle and sides of the church lined with people in wheelchairs. Hospital nurses were wheeling people in left and right for Sunday mass. The sides of the altar, especially, were full of small children in wheelchairs. Each Sunday, these same people who live at the hospital full time, who have either mental or physical handicaps, are wheeled in to attend Sunday mass. In fact, most of the people at that Mass were residents of the hospital, though there were a good number of others from the community as well. It was quite an experience, let me tell you. Throughout mass I was astonished by the level of care given to these people, even in regards to their religious faith, which showed in the way many of them tried to sing along with the songs, say the Lord's Prayer and Nicene Creed, and say the proper Mass responses. On my way out of mass, several people in wheelchairs reached out to give me peace. When I took the hand of one of the men, who was in his forties and had a severe mental handicap, I was astonished when I saw him take it with both hands and kiss the top of it. I didn't know what to do: it was completely overwhelming.
On the way out of Mass, I was greeted by none other than Rosa Maria, my Spanish teacher. She goes to that Mass almost every Sunday and volunteers at the hospital next door afterwards. Volunteers at the hospital do many things, but she volunteers in the ward where the disabled children live. So she and the other volunteers do things like playing with the children, feeding them, and simply holding babies in the nursery to make sure they receive the human touch they need. When I toured the hospital a few minutes after Mass, I saw Rosa Maria again, sitting in a chair holding a baby with a small breathing tube. I didn't really know what to say: it was overwhelmingly sad, but beautiful at the same time. I hope to volunteer there, starting soon. It is right in Antigua and my afternoons are pretty free. That is my plan and I will be sure to keep everyone posted.
Today, as many of you probably know, is the Feast of the Assumption of Mary into heaven. This is a big deal for Catholics; it is one of the few Holy Days of Obligation. So today, in Jocotenango (the neighborhood I live in), there was a humongous festival in front of the Church of Jocotenango. Actually, the festival has been all weekend, but today it had more of a religious flavor. The Church of Jocotenango is, I believe, called La Iglesia de La Asuncion (The Church of the Assumption). So obviously, today was especially important for them. They had tons of food and games and merchants, people doing dances in the street, and they even had carnival rides. This morning, they had a Eucharistic procession through the streets of Jocotenango, and the rest of the day there was Eucharistic Adoration in the church sanctuary. I spent some time in the afternoon in the church and outside, just seeing all the festivities. There were so many people, so it was very cool. I took a video of some women dancing outside of the church, which you can see here:
Don't ask about the masks because I have no clue what their significance is, and I don't know enough Spanish to ask yet. Maybe in a few weeks.
So yeah, the festival was quite a sight! They are very interested in their religious holidays here in Guatemala. You can click here to view more pictures of the festival.
On another interesting subject, when I was reading the Guatemalan paper this evening, I came across this article:
I know this was a long post, so I'll leave you with something on a slightly lighter note. My homework for tonight? Reading a Dora the Explorer book in Spanish. I have to read it out loud to my teacher tomorrow. Here's the book:
Yeah, I feel about two years old. Oh well though!
Much peace to all who read this!
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