Sunday, January 30, 2011

Laura's Legacy

Last weekend we celebrated the commemoration of the death of Blessed Laura Vicuna. She was just 12 years old when she died. Despite her short life, Laura made her days count. One day, remembering the phrase of Jesus: “There is no one greater than the one that gives his life for his brothers," Laura decided to give her life in exchange for her mother's salvation. As time passed she became seriously ill with pulmonary tuberculosisBefore she died, Laura told her mother: “I die, because I asked Jesus two years ago; I offered my life for you, asking for the grace of your salvation. Before I die, Mother, would I have the joy of seeing you repent?” Mercedes tearfully answered: “I swear, I will do whatever you ask me! God is the witness of my promise!" Finally Laura smiled and said to her mother: "Thanks, Jesus! Thanks Mary! Goodbye, Mother! Now I die happy!" On January 22, 1904, Laura died of her disease, weakened by the physical abuse she previously received from Mora, having offered her life for the salvation of her mother. 

Here in Venilale, we celebrated this occasion with a mass (as usual) in Laura’s honor. Although I arrived at the church 15 minutes early, there were NO seats in the entire building! I should have realized that a mass in celebration of a child (soon to be) saint would be attended by every school child in the village and surrounding areas. Some students, sisters and myself brought chairs down from the school to accommodate for all the people! I have never had to bring my own chair to church before! Sporting events-yes. Church-no.
In the evening, the high school students put on a performance complete with singing, dancing and retelling the story of Laura’s life. It was a really fun time and the show lasted more than an hour and a half! Afterwards, we prayed a novena in Laura’s honor.

I am sure Laura had no idea her actions would affect not just her mother’s life, but the lives of millions of people today who remember and celebrate her shining example of a (short) life filled with love of God and neighbor. Her example shows that no act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. No life lived for God, no matter how seemingly insignificant, is ever lived in vain. 

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

un-BALI-vable

Dining on the beach-the perfect ending to a perfect day!

My one day in Bali was absolutely incredible! After a short one and a half hour flight from Dili, I arrived in Denpasar at 11 a.m. Two Italian sisters (one named Sr. Paola has lived in East Timor for the past 20 years) accompanied me. They were heading onto Jakarta after their stay in Bali. I was very grateful for their company. They arranged for us to board at a Salesian convent in Denpasar which was just minutes away from the airport. Sr. Paola also planned the activities for the day, which was a welcome relief for me.
We bought fruit and bread from a roadside stand on our way to the convent, and dined on sweet mangoes, tomatoes and roast beef sandwiches for lunch.

In the afternoon, one of the sisters at the convent served as our chauffer and drove us to a temple along the seashore. Although Sr. Paola speaks Tetum and a little English, whenever I asked her a question in either language, she never seemed to know what I was saying or asking. It was very frustrating! Thus, I had very limited information as to where we were going, what we were doing, how far away anything was, etc. I expected we would walk to the temple. We drove. I thought it would be a quick trip. The drive was more than 1 hour! I didn’t mind; it was a great way to see a lot of Bali in the limited time I had. I am getting pretty used to receiving very little information and being OK with that. Sometimes (or ALL the time if you live in East Timor) you just have to go with the flow.

So, how to describe Bali? It is very…oriental. Almost every building, whether it was a home, shop or business, had a thatched roof. Along our drive I saw dozens of small temples, and statues of gods and goddesses. We drove down narrow streets lined with dozens of vendors selling food, clothing, souvenirs and knick knacks. We also drove on larger streets with heavy traffic and stoplights (which are very rare in East Timor). There are more motorcycles and motorscooters on the roads than cars. They precariously weave and zig zag in and out of traffic, and bunch up in between vehicles at stoplights. Vehicle drivers must be VERY careful not to hit one of them.  I don’t know how there aren’t more accidents. Although the scooters are small, I saw families of 4 or 5 riding on some, a passenger on another scooter carrying 2 metal ladders, and a lady carrying several clear plastic bags filled with fabric. She looked like she could barely hold onto all of it!

We passed through the urban downtown of Denpasar and I saw several restaurants and furniture stores, as well as stores selling surfboards, glass and wooden crafts. I was happy to see some businesses I recognized from the United States-Circle K gas station, McDonald’s, KFC, and even an A&W Restaurant! The road on the last leg of our trip wound through rice fields, which was really very scenic.

The temple grounds were packed with tourists from all over the world, and I heard many different languages being spoken. Upon entering the temple compound, you had to walk half a mile or so to the coastline. The road downhill to the coast was packed with small souvenir shops selling “I Love Bali” t-shirts, hats, bags, magnets, stickers, etc. It was difficult for me to grasp the concept of rupiahs. How could something relatively inexpensive cost 200,000 rupiahs? I didn’t have a conversion calculator on my phone, so I was very confused as to how much everything cost. I didn’t see anything that particularly caught my eye, so, while I took a lot of pictures, I didn’t buy any souvenirs.

We reached the coastline and the view was breathtaking. There were signs warning it was “High Tide”, and the water was slamming against the rocks just a few feet from where the tourists were allowed to stand. A group of a dozen Chinese tourists tried to take a picture on a large rock, but their attempt was interrupted by a huge wave that splashed up on it-they only narrowly escaped! Interestingly, I took more photos of the cliffs, beach, rocks and ocean than I did of temple buildings. I kept wondering when we would see the temples up close. I then remembered reading previously that many temples do not allow access to tourists. This was the case here. Therefore, I got several pictures of the outside of the temples, but none from inside. Oh well, at least the scenery was really beautiful.

After exploring, we stopped in a café for refreshments. As we approached our table, I laughed when I saw some diners sipping from coconuts-this is something I had only seen on t.v., although apparently it is common among natives in East Timor as well. I was elated when Sr. Paola asked me if I would like to try some coconut myself! I eagerly agreed, not knowing that she meant I would get my very own coconut! These coconuts were huge (easily the size of a size 4 soccer ball), and I didn’t even know if I would like the taste! I had tried coconut milk at the convent in Venilale once, but it was sweetened and served in a glass.  I hesitantly took my first sip, trying to play it cool so the sisters wouldn’t know how concerned I was about liking it. The liquid was clear and was relatively tasteless. I breathed a sigh of relief-I could definitely drink this! Now I just had to worry about finishing the whole thing! I couldn’t help but smile as I sat there at the café drinking straight from a coconut along with 3 others sisters. I recalled that last year at this time I was flying to New York for my last semester of college. I never imagined that a year from then I would be soaking up the sun, exploring temples and sipping from coconuts in Bali. God is so good!

There was a fee to use the restroom, and thankfully, after drinking ALL of my coconut juice, I didn’t have to go. I did worry that I might not be able to make the long ride home, though.  We didn’t head straight back to the convent after our excursion. Instead, we stopped at a relatively plain looking restaurant with seafood displayed on its porch. I didn’t care what the place looked like-I was excited to get the chance to eat seafood! To my surprise, we were escorted through the restaurant, out the back and onto the beach! We were seated at a table just a few feet from where the waves splashed onto the shore! What a spectacular view! There was a nice island breeze and the sun was just setting. We were in paradise!

The sisters discussed what to order amongst themselves, but I had no idea what they requested. They either spoke in Italian or Indonesian, neither of which I speak. I DID hear the word calamari, and although I am not a picky eater, I REALLY don’t like that dish. I hoped we weren’t getting any of that. No one asked for my input, so I just decided to count my blessings instead of focus on the fact we might be eating something unappetizing to me.

Within a few minutes, we received spicy soup and peanuts as appetizers. I choked a little as I tried to swallow the first spicy spoonful, but managed to do so without drawing any attention to myself. Although it was spicy, it was soooo good! The shelled peanuts really complimented the soup and helped to counteract its spice.

Before long, our dinner was served. A basket of rice was brought out, along with 2 small bowls of a green vegetable (it appeared to be kanko) and a platter of fried calamari (I don’t mind calamari if it’s fried)! It looked good, but I had my doubts as to whether this would really be enough food to satisfy all 4 of us. I should have known the sisters didn’t order just 1 dish to share…they ordered 3! Promptly, two more dishes were brought out. One platter contained two very large, grilled red snapper fish, and the other platter had spicy jumbo prawns! I was so excited! Now I wondered how we would EVER manage to eat all of the food in front of us! Pineapple, melon and watermelon slices were served for dessert! Everything was absolutely delicious…Yum!

As we dined, we were treated to a spectacular sunset. At nightfall, bright fireworks shot off from nearby and flickered over the ocean before fading into the darkness. It was a perfect ending to a perfect day.

All too soon, we had eaten EVERYTHING on the table! Thoroughly stuffed, we waddled back to the car and headed to the convent. I couldn’t believe my time in Bali was already over! At least it had been a wonderful day!

Sunday, January 9, 2011

DILI-gence

Happy (belated) New Year! January is here, which means the students and orphans have returned to Venilale and classes begin on Monday. I couldn’t be more excited to greet them-there’s only one problem…I’m not IN Venilale right now. Yes, once again, things here have NOT gone as I would have planned or anticipated. I was told late Tuesday evening that I would have to leave by mikrolet early Wednesday morning for a Visa interview in Dili (a 6 hour bus ride). I was summoned to Dili for a pointless Visa interview last month (it consisted of 2 questions: Where are you staying and what are you doing? Both of these questions were answered by the sister who accompanied me), so I was not too excited about returning again-especially since the orphans would be returning to Venilale on the same day I was leaving the village.

To make a long story short, at my meeting I was told I need to go to Bali for at least 1 day to complete the extended Visa application process. I cannot get any answers from anyone as to why this is, which has left me feeling more confused and isolated than ever. The good news is that I will be able to travel with a sister from Dili to Bali on January 14. The bad news is I will return on January 15. If I have to travel to another country, I wish I could at least explore it a little. Unfortunately, I must remain in Dili until my departure for Bali on Friday. I know it’s not the end of the world, but after waiting a month and a half for the students and orphans to return from vacation, I was eagerly anticipating their arrival this past week. This also means that I will miss my first week of teaching English at the high school. Interestingly, there is also a 23 year old Australian nurse named Caroline who is volunteering for 3 weeks in Venilale. I got to spend 1 week with her before I was unexpectedly called to Dili. It was very, very nice being able to speak English with someone, and I am disappointed that I can’t spend more time with her, too.

I’m sorry if this blog seems a little less upbeat than some of my other ones, but isn’t the purpose of a blog to share the GOOD and the BAD things that happen? Plus, often you can learn much more from bad experiences than from pleasant ones. Throughout my mission experience I have been praying for patience, obedience and trust in the Lord. My long stay here in Dili seems like the perfect time to practice these principles. At the beginning of my mission trip, I stated that I didn’t know why I was being sent to East Timor. I find my thoughts returning to a similar statement-why am I being forced to stay in Dili? This time, though, I am okay with not knowing the answer. I trust that God has a reason for my stay here. I might not feel very useful, and I certainly don’t feel like I need a break (on the contrary, I am ready and eager to start a new school year), but I am letting go of this need for answers and understanding and instead choosing to trust God and believe He knows what He is doing. He doesn’t ask for our input. He only asks for our willingness to follow Him.

So, while I still feel confused, I have also discovered a newfound sense of peace and contentment. Yes, I wish I was in Venilale, but I know everything is going to be okay. God’s in control, not me. My past 4 months here have shown me that God really does know what He’s doing. Even if I don’t understand His plan, I can trust it. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to hurt you. Plans to give you a hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

So what exactly have I been doing here in Dili?

Praying, drying dishes, sweeping floors, walking around the convent, sleeping and journaling mainly.
Things here in Dili have been very slow, but I have been trying to make the most of this relaxing time before things really pick up on my return to Venilale. I am trying to make lemonade out of lemons. When I was summoned to Dili, I assumed it would be an overnight trip (as my past 3 trips here have been). I asked a few sisters how long I would be staying, but none of them knew or could give me a definitive answer. To be safe, I brought along 3 shirts, but only 1 pair of jean capris and 1 pair of blue flip flops. If I had known I would be staying longer, I would have brought exercise clothes, a skirt for Sunday mass, a comb and hair gel(I only brought a brush), a book to read or study, etc.

Fortunately, I got the chance to go to a supermarket the other day. I was looking for a skirt to wear to Sunday mass and athletic shorts (neither of which I really expected to find there), and maybe a snack or two to satisfy my sweet tooth. I was so excited to get the chance to shop in a “real” store again! I walked through every single aisle, slowly browsing over the various items for sale. I was shocked to see the prices of everything here-it was all so expensive! Generally goods here in East Timor are very cheap, but here at this store (where mostly Caucasian ambassadors and diplomats were shopping), all the prices were ridiculous! A knock-off brand of Raisin Bran cereal was $12! One of my favorites, Rice Krispies, was $9. A box of cake mix was $3, a can of Seaweed flavored Pringles was $2.50, a 12 pack of Extra gum was $2.50, chocolate bars ranged from $3.50-$5, a very small bottle of shampoo was $5, a small bottle of peanut butter was $7, and small bags of gummi candies were $3. I’ll admit, I have REALLY been craving gummi candies in my 4 months here, so I begrudgingly paid the hefty sum to get my hands on a bag of some racing car-shaped gummis. They were definitely worth the money-they were delicious!

I had fun shopping around, but I still had not found a skirt to wear to church the next day or athletic shorts to walk/lounge in. As I exited the store, I saw some huts across the street, so I headed over there. At the first hut I stopped in, the clothes for sale were heaped in huge, messy piles on tables. They also had a distinct, musty smell to them. I didn’t stay very long. After browsing through a few a huts, I came upon a place that had some nice looking ladies blouses. Upon closer inspection, I found a rack of skirts and shorts. I saw a cute just-below-the knee dark gray denim skirt that said size M. The size description was clearly not very helpful in determining if it would fit. As you can imagine, in this hut that didn’t have walls, there were certainly no dressing rooms. There was no way I could chance trying the skirt on right there in the hut. Everyone was staring at the “malae”. I wasn’t sure if the skirt would fit, but it was the best thing I had seen all day and I was feeling adventurous. I bought it anyway-I was elated to hear it was only $3! What a find! I also bought some gray athletic shorts with pink trim. They were pretty ratty looking, and probably weren’t worth the $2 I paid for them, but all in all, I think paying $5 for 2 articles of clothing is a pretty good deal!

I don’t know how long I will be in Bali (it looks like it will just be an overnight trip), but I will make sure to post all about my exciting adventures next week!