Saturday and Sunday – Campamento has begun!

12 Jul

The second and third group (the rest of of us) arrived on Saturday afternoon. Father Tim, Shannon, Gina, and I enjoyed a delicious pizza and Coca-Cola (made with Dominican sugar) while waiting for Kathy, Erica, and Rhema to land at SDQ. Heatherly and Jeanne arrived with Sister Grace and Sister Stephanie at about the same time that the second group made it through customs and baggage claim.

Shannon is onboard!

The Other Guagua, from our Guagua

We picked up Sister Maria, who is from Azua, on the way back. She came to camp as an aspirante and a noviate. Now she is a Sister. She’s lovely with an inner peace that shines through.

The welcome party was so special this year. The oldest girls wore traditional Dominican dresses and danced traditional dances to fun music. Presenting this dance represented the significance of the relationship to them. We’ve been together since 2002 – they appreciate that consistent support. This relationship has meant a lot to so many travelers over the years. Personally, it’s influenced my life

I can’t imagine what my life would be like without this crazy week every July! I have new ideas on how I can demonstrate this to the Sisters. I’ll write more about that later.

After unpacking the suitcases, a delicious dinner, and setting up our mosquito nets, we went to bed! It was a long day.

Spanglish Mass/Misa

Father Tim said Mass this morning! The Sisters set up the alter, kicked off the celebration, and provided the music. Three girls read (first reading, responsorial psalm, and second reading). The Gospel was the Parable of the Sower. It seems like Matthew was talking about the Hogar, the Sisters, the workers, and the girls. The Sisters, with great love, built the home about 30 years ago. There was nothing else here, just a lot of scrub brush. But, wow, was it “good soil.” Here at the home, the girls are thriving, as well as the literal gardens of fruits and vegetables that we are enjoying a hundredfold. Thanks to the Sisters who embrace the Word through their life.

Father Tim was very brave to use his 3 months of Spanish training in Bolivia, plus some practice with Miguel :-), to celebrate Mass in Spanish. In the homily, which Jeane interpreted beautifully, Father Tim challenged the girls to bravely try new things, learn new things, and make the right choices. I couldn’t help thinking that the Sisters themselves are so brave to choose the religious life, in a world with so many other options. And the travelers are brave, too. You just can never describe the experience enough to prepare you for camp. They take a risk and give up more than one summer week, to contribute to camp personally. Everyone appreciated Father Tim celebrating Mass. It made me think that people appreciate effort in giving, even if it’s not perfect. He apologized for any errors and Sister Grace (bilingual) said out loud “You didn’t make any errors!” And they clapped at the end!!