Dear my Sisters and Brothers in Risen Christ,
Happy Easter to all of you. Thank you so very much for all of your prayers. I will summarize my ministries here, a week before the Holy Week until the present time. I have a day off today, Alleluia! Here is my summary.
On Wednesday, a week before the Holy Week, we (Fr. Ricardo, OP, S. Violeta, Santos who is a translator, from Spanish to Khechi and me) went to a village and stayed there just for 1 night. We hiked for 1 1/2 hrs. It was the most difficult and challenge hiking for me because the angles mostly were at least 60 degrees. Sometimes, I felt like climbing at 80 degrees angle! If you already hiked Mission Peak, Muir Wood, and especially the Castle in Saratoga, those hiking trails were NOTHING compared to this hiking trail!!!! I already visited many different villages and hiked a lot; but this one was the most difficult one for me.
As usual, S. Violeta and I left the community at 5:15 AM and walked to Fr. Ricardo´s place at 6:00 AM. He drove for 1 hr and he parked the car at one place. We then started our hiking at 7:00 AM. This is the ¨order of a line of this group: Fr. Ricardo, S. Violeta, Linh, and Santos. He is always behind me because if something happens to me, he can help me immediately!!!!
I hiked for 20 min. then could not hike any more. I told Santos: ¨I suddenly become an 80 yrs old lady. I need to stop.¨ He just smiled. I stopped for 1-2 min. then went on. I met S. Violeta 10 min. later on. She was resting at that time. She told me in Spanish: ¨ Let Santos carry your backpack because we still have a long way to go.¨ (My backpack weighted about 15 lbs. It included about 3 L of water for 2 days, 1 blouse, 1 pant, 1 sleeping bag, and other stuff. Water is very heavy!!! But I needed that much water to survive with the hot weather here. I usually drink 2 L/day) I let Santos carry my backpack and I carried Fr. Ricardo´s backpack (Santos had been carrying his backpack. Fr. Ricardo had 2 backpacks) which was much lighter!!!
While I was hiking with my heavy backpack, I sweated a lot and breathed with labor. I thought about Jesus who was carrying a heavy cross. He did not have to, but He obeyed HIs Father to do so. So, I talked to myself: ¨ Jesus had a reason to carry the heavy cross, so do I (to respond to HIs call to come here.) I have sympathy with you, Jesus! Let we walk together! ¨ Then, I continuously meditated about Him walking on the road to Jerusalem and to Calvary while I was hiking! I slip about 2 times because it was very muddy. Santos caught me immediately! Thanks God! I wondered how the road was at His time!?! Very ridges, slippery, muddy (raining the night before), and was he hiking or walking???
With a light backpack, I was able to hike better and longer. We finally stopped for 10 min. break. For this difficult and challenge hiking trail, I stopped 5 times :( and they stopped 3 times. We finally got to a village after 1 1/2 hrs of hiking. To be honest with you, I always feel much better (all of my tiredness was immediately VANISHED!) after I arrived to the villages; not because I got there, but there is/are a/the reason (s) for me to go to the villages.
During the Holy Week, I shadowed S. Pati to visit different communities or villages. I did not have to walk or hike a lot because she can´t walk for a long time. A truck is her transportation. We provided services to them. We mostly left at 7:00 AM and did not come back to the convent until 7:00 PM because each community or villages are very far away. On the Good Friday, S. Pati was told that the roads would be closed at 7:00 AM so we left the convent at 5:00 AM in hope that we could get to the village before 7:00 AM. Unfortunately, the road was closed at 4:00 AM, so we got stuck. The roads were closed because the people here created the 14 Stations of the Cross right on the roads! The 14 stations were designed by them self and they were very interesting. So, we decided to hike! We hiked for 1 hr! We asked one of a boy from a village to lead us to a village that we wanted to go. Without that boy, we all definitely got lost!
The people at the village started the Stations of the Cross at 10:15 AM and it took them 1 1/2 hrs to finish all the 14 stations!!! It was extremely hot on that day but most of people from the village came to do the 14 stations. It was very hot, so I lost track of the number/order of the stations. When I heard they said (these people speak Khechi only): ¨Veronica, ¨ I remembered the order of the stations. I thought of Jesus while he carried the heavy cross. I told myself: ¨I did not carry anything with me, except my hat; but I sweated heavily. It must be hard for You, Jesus! The weather over there might be very hot too. No wonder why you felt 3 times. It was so generous of him to carry the cross for you for awhile and it was wonderful of Veronica who wiped your face. Now, I know how challenge it is while walking in a hot weather!!! ¨to be honest with you, I did not expect it would take 1 1/2 hrs, so I did not bring any water with me. I tried my best to survive the hot weather, so I was distracted from meditating the stations most of the time!!! I did take a walk to all the stations prior they actually started and it took me only 20 minutes!!!
On Easter Sunday, I attended Mass which was celebrated by Fr. Rolando, OP who is from Switzerland. He speaks Spanish fluently. Late afternoon, Fr. Ricardo, S. Violeta, and I left to a village. He celebrated Mass there. I learned something new about the Maya´s culture. For my main and short mediation on that day was: ¨with Risen Christ, there is/are NEW way (s) of looking at things/perspective in my life, in a community, or in each person that I encounter daily. With a new ¨set of eyes¨, I asked God to open my eyes so I could see what He wants me to see and direct me in HIs path.
I am still doing fine; except for having nose/sinus infection. I have been praying daily to God not to let me get sick, so I can finish my 2 months here. I have been inhaling a lot of dirt (because the roads here are God made road, not manmade roads!) so I got nose/sinus infection. I have been treating myself. I only brought antibiotic for getting sick from drinking or eating, not for sinus infection. I only brought my inhaler for bronchitis. So, I asked God not to let me have bronchitis because I do not have any antibiotic for it, just an inhaler. So far, I am doing better. The infection is almost gone. The point is, if I get bronchitis, I cannot hike!!!
I thanks God that I have been having wonderful time here, regardless how little Spanish I know, how tire whenever I hike. Actually, the Sisters and Frs. really pay attention whenever I talk to them because they know that I do not Spanish well. I have been using the dictionary, and my ¨body language! ¨ I sometimes joke at the Sisters or Frs., we all laugh together. They laughed because they understood my jokes. They usually repeated what I said first then we all laughed together after that.
My letter to all of you is veryyyyyyyyyy looooooooooong, so I must stop now. Again, thank you so very much for all of your prayers, emails, and support. Even though I am very far away, but I do pray with and for all of you daily.
In Risen Christ and with my love,
Phuong Linh, OP, Little one of God (my nick name)
PS: by the way, I have a FREE membership of the gyms, at the 24 Nautilus and Curve here!!! Whoever wants to join it for free, welcome here. I have been exercising all of my muscles! I exercise my hands, fingers, bicepts, and tricepts for washing clothes by hands; my gastrocnemius and hamstrings by walking and hiking; my latissimus for carry heavy backpack. And please do not be surprised when you see me again at home because I have a lot of tattoos. They are FREE! The tattoos come with different shapes and sizes!! They are designed by the mosquitoes and other insects here.