November 14, 2010

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Before I can mention today, I must begin with last evenings events.

After preparing the meal with Kiké, we left heading for downtown.  Within a few kilometers we stopped at a Super Selecto where about 14 folks were sleeping on the sidewalk.  Then we moved on to downtown where upon our arrival a line quickly formed.  Some in the line had raced towards us, leaving another group that was feeding them, but only after forcing the hungry to listen to a sermon.  Unfortunately for us – for them – we had to leave as people were cutting in line and the crowd became unruly.

                   

  At the next stop another line quickly formed.Here there were even more children than at the previous stop.  There was also the scent of glue from the people sniffing.  We ran out of plates, beans, tortillas, and stew.  At the end, we were giving cups filled with the remaining liquid from the beans.  I estimate that we served 115 plates of food.

That’s the rough itinerary for the night, now for observations and reflections.

First observation, there were a lot more children on the street and who came for food than last year when I served with Kiké.  Second observation, and I struggle to put this into words, is that the social structure seems more fragile than before and it was already on the brink of collapse.

My reflections center around 2 questions:  Why did we do this?  Where can we find hope in the midst of this situation when it overwhelms?

I think we do this, serve this meal, because people are hungry and we want to help them.  But the need is so overwhelming that it could lead us to wonder if it actually makes any difference.  Why bother?  So I need a bigger and deeper reason.  I do this to stand in solidarity with Kiké, to support and encourage him and this ministry.

I believe we experience God in the “in-between”; in between our relationships with those to whom we are familiar and with those with whom we are not familiar.  Maybe it can be described as the closer we move towards one another the closer we move towards God; the closer we move towards God, the closer we are to one another.  Picture the image of a wheel with spokes.  When we move towards the center, everything is closer.
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Starting with this idea leads me to recognize those whom I serve are created in the image of Lord, that they are my sisters and brothers.  When the poor do not know justice, wholeness, and love, then I cannot know them fully either.

I help serve this meal to support Kiké – I move closer to him and those he supports and I move closer to God.  The space between us gets filled up, becomes more full with the Holy.

I think of hope as the ability to imagine tomorrow differently.  It is not the idea that everything will turn out okay or that tomorrow will be better.  That idea is optimism.  I think optimism crumbles in the face of tough times.  I find hope  sustains us in the “in-between”.  As our relationships become more full, then our capacity to endure grows.  Standing in solidarity breeds strength in our resolve.

Bishop Gomez

I wonder if this is changing for Bishop Gomez?  When I spoke with him on Saturday, he seemed to be more relaxed, less tired, and more full of energy.  Unfortunately, I missed worship today.  My back pain and the effects of the medicine left me feeling tired and restless.  So listening to the description of the sermon, it sounds as if Bishop Gomez is beginning to see a different tomorrow.  A couple of folks said the bishop was full of energy as he preached and that there was more passion in the sermon than last year’s visit or even the year before that.

I wonder if the bishop is shifting his ideas about hope because he seems to have changed his position on immigration?  I have always heard him advocate for the people of El Salvador to stay here.  Now he suggests that leaving may be the only chance people have of surviving.  As reported to me, Bishop Gomez spoke of how this country faces the challenges of ecological disasters as well as the challenges of growing gang violence.  It will take some time to sort through these thoughts.

Hotel Plaza lobby
Sonsonate, El Salvador

To wrap up my entry I’ll share the remainder of the day’s events.  After lunch at Casa Concordia, we packed and departed for Sonsonate.  We made a stop to buy groceries and then a stop at Lago Catapeque – a crater lake.  We arrived close to sunset.  Hotel Plaza was good as always.  We shared pizza, beer, and sodas and sorted out the medicines.  An early night for everyone.  I sense the group’s anticipation for getting out to Puente Azul.

Dale Matherly