Sometimes the slower pace of life here and lack of “inefficiency” (as we would name it in the U.S.) can be frustrating, but most of the time, I find that it invites me into a newer and deeper communal and shared life. I am almost surprised sometimes by how each day here is filled with so much conversation and how, in many ways, it seems to be easier to get to know someone here in a shorter period of time than it does in the U.S. where I share a common culture and language with people! I think this can be attributed to the time allowed for conversation made possible by the lack of material possessions and individual privacy and space. Yes, almost everyone here, as in the rest of the world, has a cellphone and t.v. Despite the pervasive economic poverty in my community, it seems that no one will sacrifice at least owning these prized possessions. However, the poverty here also makes it so people don’t have unlimited texting and calling plans or the luxury of turning on their t.v. (and leaving it turned on) whenever they want. They also aren’t able to escape into their own rooms or disappear into a quiet corner in their house because space is small, houses are side-by-side, and the few rooms in each house are shared by many family (and extended family) members. While a lot of people I have met here sometimes fantasize about having more or being like the U.S., as an outsider, I also see what they have that we are losing—the art of conversation and a sense of not living an isolated, individualistic existence. I want to make it clear that I say this not from an attitude of judgment but rather from one of observation, questioning and reflection. However, at the same time, in my personal experience thus far it is hard not to notice the fruits of this change of life.
It has been making me think a lot about community lately. Part of the reason is because community is one of the Holy Cross pillars (the other two are mission and prayer) and both during orientation and the couple of meetings we have had with the Holy Cross priests here, we have talked about the importance of community. In the Holy Cross mission statement it says, “ Our calling is to serve the Lord Jesus in mission not as independent individuals but in a brotherhood. Our community life refreshes the faith that makes our work a ministry and not just an employment; it fortifies us by the example and encouragement of our confreres; and it protects us from being overwhelmed or discouraged by our work. . . It is essential to our mission that we strive to abide so attentively together that people will observe: ‘See how they love one another.’ We will then be a sign in an alienated world: men who have, for love of their Lord, become closest neighbors, trustworthy friends, brothers.” I love that part of the Holy Cross Constitution, and I think that it is so vital in our world today! We are trying to learn how to live this out in Santiago by being intentional about community—both our immediate community in our house and our wider community with our neighbors, the Holy Cross religious that live close by and the school and service ministry communities where we work. Last week at the inauguration of one of the Fundamor sites, Father Mike, the superior of the Holy Cross congregation in Santiago, made an interesting comment about the type of community we are trying to cultivate in Andacollo by stating that our goal should be that in the years to come, our neighborhood will be known as el Barrio Santa Cruz (“the Holy Cross Neighborhood”). He went on to explain why he has hope that this will soon be a reality by highlighting the fact that we are already cultivating a rich and diverse community by the fact that within a few blocks, there are houses of Holy Cross priests, Holy Cross sisters, lay missioners, the Holy Cross parish center and K-12 school, the Holy Cross Fundamor service ministry and a variety of community members working and serving in all of these areas. This is definitely a unique situation and, for me, it is such a blessing to be among so many people who are investing in the great and difficult task of creating true Christian community and who are daring themselves to be challenged by a faith that is real.
In practice, we are trying to support and nurture the ideal of Christian community in several ways. One of the most basic is that each house is dedicated to establishing at least one community night per week—a night to spend time together, to reflect, to have fun, and to also grow spiritually. Myself and the three other missioners I live with have our community night on Thursdays, and it usually involves making dinner together, doing some form of community prayer, and/or doing something fun together like playing cards or going somewhere in Santiago. This is not to say that we don’t have meals together on a daily basis or do stuff together at other times, but if/when the weeks get busy, we at least have a commitment to that community day. We also have community night with each of the houses of Holy Cross priests in Andacollo and St. George and the HC sisters once a month. This is the minimum that we strive to uphold. It’s not always perfect, but at least everyone shares a mutual responsibility in this task—a commitment to hold each other accountable, to share joys and sorrows, and to recognize the need to grow together if we are ever going to actually live the Gospel and meet the challenge of confronting the nitty gritty of seeing Jesus reflected in the face of all of our brothers and sisters. As my housemates and I have only been together as a new community for a little more than 2 weeks, we are still pretty much in the honeymoon phase of our new shared life, but we are also having many good conversations about what we want our community to look like and how we are going to concretely support that vision. All of these conversations have made me think a lot about how different all of our communities and circles of friends might be if we all explicitly committed ourselves to community nights, community prayers, and more open discussions about the day-to-day struggles of living together. An experience at the retreat last week with one of the 5th grade classes really made me reflect on the need for this in today’s world. The subject of the retreat was on treating others with respect and not making fun of/picking on classmates. In one of the big group discussions, one of the boys shared that he was really hurt when one of his classmates said to him, “well, at least my parents are still together.” Hearing this little 5th grader say this in front of all of his classmates broke my heart. The issue of divorce and broken families is huge in our school and community. The class teacher told me later that out of the 42 kids in her class, 18 of them have parents that are divorced—and that is only the number of those she knows for certain are divorced. She remarked that she knows that others are living in similar situations. That number is incredible and makes the issue of shared community and faith that much more urgent and necessary!
Well, I think I’ve written quite enough for this entry, but I just wanted to quickly describe what some of my actual tasks are here as several people have been asking if I have been assigned to certain classrooms/projects, etc. As of right now, my primary assignments are to teach 4-6 grade English, help with the English “taller” which is similar to an elective, work in the Andacollo campus ministry helping to organize class retreats and masses, and help run the meetings for the groups of high school students that go on mission trips to rural Santiago. I am also going to be singing in the mini Andacollo parish youth choir and will most likely be helping with a Peace Studies course for high school students at St. George’s (the other school that Holy Cross works at in Santiago). That’s all I know for now! Please keep our community in your prayers, and also feel free to send me your own prayer intentions!
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