Moving Day

Hello family and friends, I hope you are all well and had a Blessed Easter Celebration. As you might have guessed from the title of this email “it’s that time again.” The time in my life that brings both dread and excitement. Dread: because I will be leaving another community that I have grown close to over the last 5 months. Leaving a country, culture and language that I have enjoyed immensely. Leaving creature comforts like air-conditioning, having my meals cooked and my laundry done for me. Having daily mass, evening and morning prayers and shared meals with the Priests. These things will be hard to leave, but no one said missionary life would be easy and I am up to the challenge of my next site. Oh, the excitement of going to some place new. Meeting new people, speaking a different language and experiencing a different culture. God has indeed blessed me over the past 6 months while I was here in Brazil and I have faith that He will continue to bless me and watch over me when I go to Bolivia.
Moving day will be on the 19th of April. I will leave Ji-Paraná behind and travel 6hrs by bus to Porto Velho. The following day I will travel another 6hrs by bus to Guajará-Mirim, the border town between Brazil and Bolivia. This is where the adventure will surely begin. I have never been there before and haven’t heard too much about it. I know they have a Bolivian Consulate and that is why I am going there in order to secure a visa into Bolivia. Hopefully it won’t take more than a couple of days because my Brazilian visa expires on the 27th and I need to be in Bolivia by that date. New visa in hand (keep your fingers crossed) I will take a boat across the river to Guayaramerín, the border town on the Bolivian side. From there (if the roads haven’t washed out due to the rainy season that they are in) I will take a bus to Riberalta and grab connecting buses heading Southeast until I get to Yapacani in the Santa Cruz department. Yapacani is my final destination and where I will be spending the next year of my life working with the Salesians in those communities. We have one Salesian volunteer there now named Chris and he is expecting me in early May. If the roads are closed I will have to find an alternate route or means, probably another 5 day boat ride down the Beni River to La Paz. After already serving penance for 5 days on my boat journey on the Amazon River back in November, this is something that I would like to avoid. Have I mentioned, no one said missionary life would be easy : )
Apart from preparing to leave and finalizing things on this end I had a wonderful Lenten Season and Holy Week here in Ji-Paraná. I remember when I was in grade school and those 40 days of Lent felt like an eternity. Easter couldn’t come fast enough when you were a kid and gave up sweets and pop (soda-for everyone on my email list living outside of the Midwest) for Lent. Oh, how times have changed. Lent this year felt like it was over in a blink of an eye. I was so busy with my classes and church activities that the time flew by.
The parish of São José put on the Paixão de Jesus Cristo this year and I played the part of the thief and murderer Barabbas. I told Padre Alberto I wanted the part with the least amount of lines and where I could skip shaving for the next couple of months, Barabbas fit the bill on both accounts. We had rehearsals the first couple of weeks during Lent and then had shows on the weekends after mass leading up to Holy Week. I really enjoyed it a lot and the people in attendance did as well. I still get people calling me Barabbas once or twice a day now.
I also really enjoyed the Stations of the Cross every Friday during Lent and the procession on Palm Sunday. 1,500 of us walked about 20 blocks down the main drag in Ji-Paraná; singing, praying and waving our palms in jubilation it was quite a sight to behold. I wanted to do something special with my English class for Holy Week so I asked Padre Alberto if we could sing a song in English on Good Friday. I have always loved “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” and have fond memories of singing it back in my home parish every year, so I spent the better part of Lent teaching it to my students. We had a smaller group show up this time on Good Friday but they did an exceptional job and once again received many congratulations from the parishioners after the service.
Holy Week was a joy as always with the Holy Thursday mass of the “Last Supper” and “Washing of the Feet”, Good Friday’s service and on Holy Saturday’s Easter Vigil we welcomed 6 women into the Catholic Faith. On Easter Sunday after mass we were treated to a fabulous breakfast buffet brought in by the parishioners.
The Salesian Provincial was with us during the first part of Holy Week and I was able to talk with him about my experience and about the future placement of volunteers here in Brazil. He invited me to join Padre Alberto and Padre José in Porto Velho on Monday following Easter to attend the mini-assembléia Salesiana on their discussions of the 26th General Chapter. I was pleasantly surprised to find out how far my Portuguese has come over the past 6 months in discussing such “heavy and complicated topics”.
I am back now in Ji-Paraná for my remaining few days and am trying to get everything done for my departure. We are going to have a mass for my students on Thursday the 15th and I will give them their certificates for completing the English class at that time. Following the mass we are going to have a pizza party at a local restaurant and my final class will be on the 16th. I have to admit out of all of the places where I have taught English (Bolivia, Africa and Venezuela) my students in Ji-Paraná have progressed the fastest in such a short time as 3 months. I am extremely pleased with their dedication and progress and enjoyed immensely teaching English here. My last weekend the 17th and 18th I will say my good-byes, pack my bags and will take a bus to Porto Velho after lunch on Monday the 19th.
Looking back now and reflecting over the last 6 months of my time here in Brazil, I would say the greatest highlight from the many that I experienced would be the arrival of the urn of St. John Bosco’s Relics. I am sure I will have many great highlights and experiences in this next year in Bolivia as well and pray that you all do too.
In closing I would first like to thank God, for allowing me another opportunity to serve Him, for protecting me and watching over me during my time here and in strengthening me spiritually in my conviction to do missionary work. I thank St. John Bosco for his commitment to the youth and establishing an order that continues in his charism. I thank the Salesians in New Rochelle and in Manaus for their collaboration in making this experience here in Brazil possible. I thank the community of Ji-Paraná (Pe. Alberto, Pe. José and Pe. Edmundo) for welcoming me and making me feel at home here. I thank the parish and especially the youth here for once again showing me, why I do what I do, is a blessing and a treasure from God. Lastly I thank all of you for your continued support, prayers and well wishes.

God bless (Deus abençoe)