Where the tourists don't go
Dear Friends in Christ-
Our mission team spent yesterday crisscrossing the city, in yellow taxis, from the southernmost neighborhoods to the northernmost neighborhoods. We visited three mission churches (none of the 26 churches in the diocese is a parish because none are self-supporting - not even the cathedral!
Every mission church we visited greeted us so warmly! And it wasn't just the priest who was there in the middle of the week in the middle of the day, but members came to greet us (and feed us!) as well. They weren't just curious about "Los gringos"; they wanted to share their joy in their church and show us their ministries. Each church had a particular ministry or two. One had a ministry to Colombian refugees (1,000 come over the border each month), one is recovering from leadership under a dissident priest and looking to start a restaurant where they can employ people and feed the poorest for free, and one has a nursery school in the poorest part of town.
Today we head over the mountain for Tacusa. We can't wait to present the school supplies to the school and soccer balls to the kids .... And to see how progress on the church is going.
The weather is beautiful; the sun is coming up and the birds are singing as I write this. No houses here have heating or a/c, so the cool not cold fall air is most welcome.
Blessings
Janet+
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