Visitors

I haven’t written for quite some time since I had visitors – and I was often in places where internet access was limited.

Father Jon Seda, the pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas in Ames, Iowa, came with two young men – one is a graduate of Iowa State University who had visited about two years ago; the other is a senior at ISU, active at St. Thomas.

Tyler, Fr. Jon, and Joe (Chepito) with Adán and his family

For a few days we followed Padre German, Dulce Nombre de Maria’s priest, as he visited some of the distant villages. There Father Jon concelebrated and even helped in baptisms.

anointing with the oil of catechumens

In the villages, they also shared the banners that St. Thomas Aquinas had made for the churches of the Dulce Nombre parish.

Fr. Jon presenting a banner to the San Antonio church in the town of Dulce Nombre

 The town of Dolores and the village of Plan Grande Concepción had the experience of a Mass in English – with translation of the homily.

The group also stayed in Plan Grande for a night. The next morning they experienced the process of making dulce, raw sugar. They had hoped to do a little harvesting of coffee – but the weather was too wet and cold.

Isaías pouring the sugar into molds.

A few more photos follow.

  

Joe with some of the baptized in Aldea Nueva

Tyler and Joe in San Jose El Bosque

Tyler and Joe outside the Yaruconte Church

Father German and Father Jon - with Yaruconte in the distance

Moises, an incredibly good 13 year old lector in San Jose El Bosque

Delmar tying Joe's shoe

Delmar enjoying the sugar cane juice being cooked

Fr. Jon at the Greeting of Peace in Dulce Nombre

Fr. Jon and Padre German concelebrating

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More photos of Fr. Jon's visit can be found here.   

More photos of the sugar cane process (including some photos from 2013) can be found here.