Hello, yes, you got it! I'm back from the mountains. I am in Moro, and I am sat down behind my computer, writing to you all. Boy, are you ever intelligent!

I left approximately two weeks ago. During which time we had a course for the catechists, celebrations in Pamparomas, and five village feasts. The course for the catechists was great.

We are now starting to learn how to meditate the word of God, using eight points:

� find a nice quite solitary place, (which is not too difficult in the Andes Mountains).

� say a prayer asking for the help of "you know who" in the meditation.

� choose and read a passage.

� imagine you are at the scene of the passage, hearing, seeing, and experiencing all that is happening,

� discover what God wishes to communicate through this event of the Bible.

� discover what God wishes to say to you through this passage,

� make a commitment based on this message, and

� say a prayer of thanksgiving.

It is fun to teach the catechists this, as they really want to learn how to use the Bible. We also continued to studied how to prepare the villages for the confirmation in October. We had a contest to see who could draw the nicest Holy Spirit. It was hilarious. What were supposed to be doves turned out to be ducks, turkeys, and other unidentifiable scribbles.

We also had two lay women from Chimbote up to teach the catechists about Acts of the Apostles. They are great ladies, so dedicated. This is the fourth time they have been up to give courses on the bible. They are now forming a group of catechists who will learn how to go around sharing the course with others.

This time in Pamparomas also has been a time of forming a group called the ladies committee: (no it is not for gossiping purposes) They are taking charge of having a type of flea market. We have receive clothing, shoes, eye glasses, and other things from Caritas, and I have decided that we can put a moderate price on them, and start a small fund for the parish.

The committee now has purchased a nice door for the small adjoining room of the church, and is fast raising enough for closets and dressers to store the church robes, and liturgical implements.

After the catechetical course, and Mass in Pamparomas, it was off to the villages to celebrate their village feast. I baptized more that fifty children, married a few, had first communions in two villages, heard confessions, and celebrated the Eucharist with the villages.

It is both rewarding and challenging. Rewarding due to the fact that I can see how the people are becoming more and more interesting in finishing their chapels through their own efforts. We have helped them, but now are not able to, and they have decided to figure out ways to continue.

In Huaracpampa they are building a nice little chapel, and are very excited about it. In Yuracrumi, they are repairing the fallen chapel. The catechist of Yuracrumi told me quite a compelling story. They were working on the chapel, fifteen members of the community, when the ladder two of them were standing on collapsed from under them. The catechist cut his leg very seriously, and the other man hurt his back. Donato, the catechist, relates how he went to his house, and lay down, but then he remembered how much he wanted to finish the chapel. This moved him to get up and go continue working until the roof was finished that day. He then spent ten days in bed recovering.

In Coto and Pias, they are determined to buy the chapel bell, and have now raised half of what they need. It is also rewarding to see how the catechists are more enthusiastic. I used to constantly hear how they were disheartened by the people's response. But now they are energized. I think it is partly due to the fact that we have been giving them song books, celebration books, and little books about Jesus, so now they have materials to teach with.

Coto was very interesting, as I went to the cemetery to pray. The people basically dragged me there. I really did not like praying in cemeteries, but it is a very strong tradition here. It has become for me, however, a moving experience to pray in the cemeteries of Peru. I ask the people who it is we are praying for, and ask them to tell me a little about them.

The tears and suffering that one encounters is great. Eustacia Milla: 13 years old. Dies together with her little baby at birth.

Margarita Alegre: 15 years old, raised by her grandmother. Died of cancer. Her grandmother weeps during the prayer. Juan Botello and Mar�a Botello (Father and daughter). Juan died this year. We pray for him at the request of his wife, and two grandchildren(3 and 5) who look on. Mar�a the mother of the two died last year.

Then there are the little graves. Fathers and mothers asking you to pray for their little ones who died of pneumonia. We pray for Juan Rivers's father, while Juan weeps when asked to tell us something about his dad.

The people somehow blame themselves for many of these deaths, and one has the opportunity to console, and take some of that guilt away.

In Coto a man came offering me ancient Inca clay pots. Well, I had always had a policy of not buying grave stealer's stuff. However I am changing, due to the fact that it is important to maintain in the area the artifacts of the area. Some archeologists had mentioned to me that they could not identify the cultural levels of the area without artifacts. So now we are thinking about starting a little museum. I spent $12.00 buying two incredible beautiful painted clay pots. One was used in liturgical ceremonies, as it is painted with dark and light contrasts, and the other is an interesting one that they used to toast corn.

The difficult part of the village feasts is trying to control the use of pure alcohol. As the village feast is not only religious but social there is drinking and dancing. Family members who have migrated to the city often return at Festival time.

Well, pure alcohol wipes you out fast and cheap, so it has been a popular thing here during feast time. The problem with it is that it often brings out the negative side of people. There is fighting, swearing, family violence, and other problems.

So yours truly a few years back has started this gradual frontal move against this side of the Feast. We have been making a lot of progress, but this year was more demanding, as Chunya decided they were going to have a super Feast: four musical bands, and nine crazy cows( fireworks).

Well, I sure sat them all down real fast, to lay down the rules:drinking? yes. pure alcohol? no . Either the feast was civilized or this cowboy was riding out. After throwing some alcohol down the slopes of the Andes Mountains, and screaming at some sellers, things turned out O.K. Now they have decided that they can have a party without pure alcohol. Hey, the next day I even had a beer, and danced a jig.

So, as certain parts of my body are getting sore from having sat down so long, I just thought I would tell ya you're all a great bunch of goofy people.

Oh, and remember, I'm winning the letter writing contest.

God Bless ya all,

Fr. David

P.S. Melanie should be back any day now. She was in Bolivia getting here papers fixed up. You have to be out of the country to get a Peruvian visa.

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