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Catholics from the archdiocese write about their experiences in Nicaragua |
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By The Catholic Spirit
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Tuesday, 31 March 2009 |
Eight Catholics from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis traveled to Nicaragua last June on a mission trip sponsored by the archdiocesan Office for Mission to learn about the work of Catholic Relief Services and how Fair Trade impacts farmers, artisans and their communities. READ MORE HERE.
During the trip, members of the group wrote their reflections in a communal journal. Below are excerpts from that journal.
June 16, 2007: Well, it’s wheels up! Eight sleepy pilgrims left family and friends and arrived in Nicaragua. . . .
God was with us in our amazement of all CRS does here in Nicaragua and Central America, in the men, women and children to whom CRS gives dignity. God was also there as I looked out the plane window and saw the polluted Lake Managua, with its huge dumps along its shores. God was there with the little girls at the airport begging for quarters, in the smell of rotting garbage, in the street boys washing car windows for a quarter. God was truly with us today.
Dear God, what is it you want from me (us)?
— Deacon Paul Tatone, Our Lady of Peace, Minneapolis
June 18, 20007: Oh, the gentle joy of the artisans. Argentina’s family lives in the mountains and lives with so little. The children seemed so happy. My heart was saddened when they said they did not go to school. Will they continue to be able to make a living?
— School Sister of Notre Dame Irene Dohmen, pastoral associate, St. Margaret Mary, Golden Valley
June 19, 2007: Today we leave the relative comfort of the Hotel Casa Real, the energy and urban poverty and material excess of Managua, and are transformed to the lush beauty and rural poverty of mountainous central Nicaragua.
Fields of corn, cabbage and bananas are interspersed with heaps of abandoned refuse, much of it plastic. Fat cattle and emaciated horses pass by the windows of our bus, as does the surreal scene of a road maintenance crew guarded by a uniformed man on horseback toting a rifle — a stark reminder of the exhausting violence of Nicaragua’s not-so-distant past.
The road ends at Terrabona, where we enjoy the lavish hospitality of Father Jaime Montesino and his parishioners. Songs of solidarity incorporate us into this loving community, along with a wonderful meal that surely must have put a serious dent into Father Jaime’s monthly food budget. God’s work is being done here in the dispensary and elsewhere.
A visit to SOLCAFE gives us an appreciation for the art required for successful coffee production. . . . Our understanding of Fair Trade practices has just begun.
Tonight we rest within the quiet simplicity of Selva Negra. The sounds of the Central American jungle rain, the denial of all furniture except a bunk bed and nightstand, and the fellowship of each other help us to focus on what is important.
Thank you, Lord.
— Lee Moisant, parishioner, Our Lady of Peace, Minneapolis
June 20, 2007: . . . At 10:00, we were off to CECOSEMAC and became familiar with the cooperatives and their efforts to join together to get a fair price for their coffee.
We came to know that organic coffee is without chemicals and is certified. Fair Trade is also certified but may not always be organic.
It was great to see the pride these men showed in sharing both the successes and the challenges to find more buyers. Gracious hospitality was a gift as we shared a cup of coffee and biscuits.
We got into the bus and made our way to La Pacayona community, and we got to see coffee trees with the growing beans and cacao trees, which provide shade. . . .
We are so blessed with the warmth of the people, the smiles of the children, the efforts of the people, the beauty at every turn, and a great group to share the experience with.
— Sister Irene Dohmen
June 23, 2007: What a glorious day! Today we visit some of the ACORDAR farmers and walk with them through their fields of squash, okra and other specialty produce designed for the U.S. export markets. These men radiate pride from the product of their labors and are eager to show us every aspect of farming we express an interest in. . . .
The highlight of the day (for me, of the entire trip) is the opportunity to visit with one of the families. We receive the gift of their hospitality immediately upon requesting access to the women and children of this community and are humbled and overwhelmed with their story.
In a setting of family solidarity reminiscent of the North American 19th-century homesteaders, we hear of one poor family’s unhesitating acceptance of an abandoned and seriously ill baby into their home to be raised along with their other six children. . . . .
These Nicaraguan farmers (some would refer to them as peasants) possess a commitment to life and to a community that I can only weakly aspire to. I will never forget these people.
When I compliment the grandfather on being such a lucky man, he replies that family is first, family is everything. No wonder they seem to possess such peace. . . .
Only slightly less moving are the stories of warfare told by two farmers and former enemies — Sandinista and Contra. By day’s end, our group is struggling with the complexities of this low point in Nicaraguan history, caught up in points of view we have acquired third-hand and which may be colored by limited perspective, selfish interests, political agendas or self-denial.
That incomplete understanding is our problem, but not that of the two military veterans we met today. They have somehow found the means to set aside the immobilizing pain of that tragedy in their history and sit next to each other in solidarity with their common commitment to their agricultural cooperative.
— Lee Moisant
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