|
Amigas del Señor (Women Friends of the Lord) is a community of women dedicated to prayer and care of the Creation. Founded in 2006, the religious Order is rooted in Methodist, Quaker, and Western monastic traditions. We are nuns living poor among the poor with a regular schedule of worship and physical work. Our contemplative lifestyle is facilitated by the Monastery's location in the foothills on the North Coast of Honduras. Besides our ministry of prayer, the Sisters also engage in outward ministries, including volunteering at the local public health clinic and sharing The Upper Room devotional booklet on buses. Read the latest news from the Sisters at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/amigasdelsenor/ |
|
The two permanent residents are from Oregon and are members of United Methodist churches: Sister Confianza (aka Prairie Cutting, pictured above right), a member of Hermiston First UMC; and Sister Alegría (aka Dr. Beth Blodgett, pictured above left), a member of Oak Grove UMC. Amigas del Señor Monastery spiritually shares in a Covenant of caring with Multnomah Friends Meeting (Quaker) of Portland, Oregon.
|
Experience life with us
We welcome women aged 18 and up, who do not have partners or under-aged children, to sojourn with us for a year or longer. We also invite women high-school-aged or older to attend our summertime Spiritual Formation Programs.
|
Consider coming if any of the following apply to you:
|
4-week Spiritual Formation Program
Dates: 28 June - 26 July, 2018 Cost: $500 plus airfare to/from San Pedro Sula, Honduras (Financial Aid may be available.) 12-month Sojourn Dates: Start dates are flexible. Cost: No fee charged. |
How we liveOur daily life is structured around three prayer/worship times — all in Spanish — that include psalms, scripture readings and songs. We use El Aposento Alto (The Upper Room daily devotional) each morning. Days include a time of Spiritual Formation (study/reflection/prayer), shared readings, and journaling. We sing a lot, in worship and while working. At night we keep silence.
_______ Sundays are our day of rest and include unprogrammed (Quaker silent) worship, as well as programmed (more typical Protestant) worship. On Tuesdays we walk and hitch rides the 4 miles to Limón. Sister Alegría is a pediatrician, and we volunteer at the Centro de Salud (Public Health Center). During our visits to Limón we also buy groceries, get our mail and use the internet, as time permits. Physically, our life is that of campesinos. [Depending on which dictionary one consults, campesino can mean peasant, farmer or country person.] We live in a rustic one-room house on a small plot of steep land without electricity, telephone or plumbing. We use a dry-compost toilet. We cut and haul firewood, scrub our laundry by hand (in the creek during drier months), and try to raise some food. We grind corn for tortillas and cook on a fogón (clay wood-fired stove). As a contemplative monastery, we are fairly traditional: we live in voluntary material poverty, celibacy, and mutual obedience. However, we are non-hierarchical and are governed using Quaker process, discerning God's direction together in worshipful silence and sharing. |
|
What to bring to Amigas del Señor
We invite you to take the Amigas "simplicity challenge": bring only what is on this list. Consult us if there are other things you think you need.
Please keep in mind that items you bring with you could be worn out, used up, lost, stolen, stained or destroyed during your trip or your stay here. If you feel attached to something, don't bring it.
If you need to buy any clothing items, we recommend first looking in a used clothing store or charity shop. Please let us know if you have trouble obtaining anything. Together we can find a solution.
Clothing to bring:
Other items to bring:
Do NOT bring:
Money
Optional/recommended items to bring:
Menstrual supplies to bring:
Sister Confianza (age 34) says:
Disposable pads are available for purchase in Central America, but trash disposal is not very sanitary here. In bathrooms with plumbing, all paper must be put in a trash can, not flushed. At the Monastery we have a dry-compost toilet that separates the liquid from the solid waste. Paper goes in with the solids, along with ashes, and in time becomes compost to fertilize our plants. Non-biodegradable trash must be burned.
To that end, please bring biodegradable or reusable menstrual supplies. I recommend a reusable cup, insertable like a tampon (brands include Moon Cup and Diva Cup), plus a few cloth pads/pantiliners to wear along with it. I use this combination and find it very handy. The cup only needs to be changed every 8-12 hours, and the pad catches any drips (I can usually wear one for 24 hours). If you don't already use a cup, I suggest getting one promptly to allow time to get used to it. It took me some time to get comfortable with it.
Using only cloth pads is also an option. We may have the opportunity to make some cloth pads during your time at the Monastery.
Otherwise, you can find biodegradable supplies at natural food stores and co-ops.
HEALTH ISSUES
Please keep in mind that items you bring with you could be worn out, used up, lost, stolen, stained or destroyed during your trip or your stay here. If you feel attached to something, don't bring it.
If you need to buy any clothing items, we recommend first looking in a used clothing store or charity shop. Please let us know if you have trouble obtaining anything. Together we can find a solution.
Clothing to bring:
- 4 short-sleeved blouses (button-up dress shirts, any color)
- 1 button-up long-sleeved blouse (this is the only "jacket" you'll need)
- 1 sun hat
- 1 skirt, mid-calf length, to be worn in the stream for washing clothes and bathing. For daily use, we will provide you with two blue uniform skirts (Spiritual Formation Program) or three blue sleeveless dresses (12-month Sojourn).
- 4-5 bras
- 5 pairs of panties (underclothes should be plain white or colors that do not bleed)
- 2-4 pairs of socks
- 1 pair of slacks or jeans (loose-fitting, for work)
- sleepwear (modest, but for hot weather)
- 1 pair of flip-flops or other sandals
- closed-toed shoes, to be used as we use our rubber boots — for working on hillsides and wading in the stream
- 2 pairs of bicycle/under shorts (if your thighs chafe)
Other items to bring:
- menstrual supplies (reusable or biodegradable) (more information below)
- 2 cloth handkerchiefs (to serve as both hankies and napkins)
- 1 washcloth
- 1 small, thin bath towel (thick ones won't dry quickly)
- 1 comb (hair bands or barrettes, if needed, should be inconspicuous)
- 1 toothbrush
- sunscreen
Do NOT bring:
- clothes with printed words
- jewelry and accessories — not even watches, rings, or earrings (eyeglasses OK)
- aerosol cans
- mirrors
- personal electronics
Money
- You will pay your registration fee before leaving home. All of our/your living expenses, including food and local travel, are paid out of communal funds.
- Bring $40 cash to pay your airport exit fee when you leave Honduras. (VISA cards are accepted, but your bank/company will charge a fee.)
- If you wish, you may bring additional cash to buy souvenirs or gifts as you are leaving, and spending money for your return trip.
- During your time here, you will share the management of the community purse. It's a very interesting spiritual practice.
Optional/recommended items to bring:
- Spanish/English dictionary
- 1 pair of work gloves
- mosquito repellent
- money belt or hidden pocket
- rechargeable (solar or manual) flashlight
- anti-itch cream
Menstrual supplies to bring:
Sister Confianza (age 34) says:
Disposable pads are available for purchase in Central America, but trash disposal is not very sanitary here. In bathrooms with plumbing, all paper must be put in a trash can, not flushed. At the Monastery we have a dry-compost toilet that separates the liquid from the solid waste. Paper goes in with the solids, along with ashes, and in time becomes compost to fertilize our plants. Non-biodegradable trash must be burned.
To that end, please bring biodegradable or reusable menstrual supplies. I recommend a reusable cup, insertable like a tampon (brands include Moon Cup and Diva Cup), plus a few cloth pads/pantiliners to wear along with it. I use this combination and find it very handy. The cup only needs to be changed every 8-12 hours, and the pad catches any drips (I can usually wear one for 24 hours). If you don't already use a cup, I suggest getting one promptly to allow time to get used to it. It took me some time to get comfortable with it.
Using only cloth pads is also an option. We may have the opportunity to make some cloth pads during your time at the Monastery.
Otherwise, you can find biodegradable supplies at natural food stores and co-ops.
HEALTH ISSUES
- Worms (intestinal parasites): You'll take a single dose de-wormer when you leave.
- Malaria: You'll sleep in a mosquito net.
How to donate to Amigas del Señor
The First United Methodist Church in Hermiston, Oregon, accepts donations for the Monastery. You may donate by check or electronically.
Electronic Donation:
Go to http://www.herfumc.com/giving-and-donations/
Click on the drop-down list and select "Missions and Ministries." Then click on the next drop-down list and select "Amigas del Senor." Enter the amount you want to donate in US Dollars. Click NEXT and put in your contact info. Click NEXT and choose to make a credit/debit card payment or e-check. Then enter your card or bank account info to make the donation.
By Check: Make your check payable to "HFUMC", with "Amigas" in the memo line, and send it to:
FUMC
191 E Gladys Ave
Hermiston OR 97838
The church has a locked mailbox, so mailed checks are safe.
Electronic Donation:
Go to http://www.herfumc.com/giving-and-donations/
Click on the drop-down list and select "Missions and Ministries." Then click on the next drop-down list and select "Amigas del Senor." Enter the amount you want to donate in US Dollars. Click NEXT and put in your contact info. Click NEXT and choose to make a credit/debit card payment or e-check. Then enter your card or bank account info to make the donation.
By Check: Make your check payable to "HFUMC", with "Amigas" in the memo line, and send it to:
FUMC
191 E Gladys Ave
Hermiston OR 97838
The church has a locked mailbox, so mailed checks are safe.
Learn More
- Visit the Amigas del Señor Yahoo Group, where every few weeks the sisters post stories from their life. Anyone can join!
- See more photos here: www.flickr.com/photos/amigasdelsenor
- Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/amigashonduras
Have any questions?
If you have any questions please contact Sister Alegría either by email or postal mail.
Amigas del Señor
Limón, Colón
Honduras
Please note that the Sisters have access to the internet at best weekly (sometimes as infrequently as monthly) and that it can take up to 4 weeks for postal mail to reach us so it may take a while to get a response.
- email: amigashonduras@gmail.com
- postal mail:
Amigas del Señor
Limón, Colón
Honduras
Please note that the Sisters have access to the internet at best weekly (sometimes as infrequently as monthly) and that it can take up to 4 weeks for postal mail to reach us so it may take a while to get a response.
|
Giving Up Something Good for Something Better
by Sister Alegria del Señor and Sister Confianza del Señor Newly published in 2017, this book covers five years (2008-2013) in the development of Amigas del Señor Monastery. It includes stories of the Sisters' daily life in rural Honduras, their work at the public health clinic, and adventures with robbers, wildfires, the spiritual side of things, and more. $15 paperback (https://westernfriend.org/books) $4.99 Kindle ebook (color) $10 per book with FREE shipping for bulk orders of 10 or more copies. Contact Russ Hanson directly (riverroadrambler@gmail.com). |
Amigas in the Media
Article: "Finding Truth in Fiction" by Sister Confianza
Posted on the Western Friend website in March 2017. "A tale wherein our Methodist-Quaker Hermanas confront a would-be attacker in their Honduran monastery and receive assistance from a character found in a novel about twelfth-century England."
Audio Interview: "The Need for Poverty"
Sisters Alegría and Confianza were interviewed by Mark Helpsmeet of Northern Spirit Radio on September 1, 2015. Listen online to a one-hour edited version plus several three-minute bonus clips. We talk about what led us to found Amigas del Señor Monastery in Honduras, our call to live in "world-class poverty," our Methodist and Quaker influences, and more.
Article: "Overcoming Need" by Sister Confianza
Western Friend, a bimontly magazine for Quakers in the Western U.S., published this article by Sister Confianza in their May-June 2015 issue. It asks us to consider what our real needs are, as distinguished from our wants and desires.
Article (in Spanish): "El Aposento Alto en Honduras" by Juan Guerrero
The May-June 2015 issue of The Upper Room included a page about the Sisters. It was written by Juan Guerrero, former United Methodist Superintendent of Honduras (and regional distributor of El Aposento Alto) after he visited the Monastery in 2013.
Article: "Letting God change her"
The alumni magazine of the Medical College of Wisconsin published this article in 2012 about Sister Alegría, a "pediatrician who left comfortable life behind for monastic service in Honduras."
Letter: An open letter from Sasha Bosbeer, a visitor to Amigas del Señor in 2012
Book: Amigas del Señor: Methodist Monastery by Beth Blodgett and Prairie Naoma Cutting
Rosalie Grafe of Quaker Abbey Press edited the email updates sent by Sisters Alegría and Confianza to create this book, published in 2010. It tells the story of the founding and first two and a half years of the Monastery. Contact Judy Billings <judybht (at) gmail.com> to order a copy for $20 plus shipping. (It is also available through Amazon.com, but they take most of the profits.)
Article: "Finding Truth in Fiction" by Sister Confianza
Posted on the Western Friend website in March 2017. "A tale wherein our Methodist-Quaker Hermanas confront a would-be attacker in their Honduran monastery and receive assistance from a character found in a novel about twelfth-century England."
Audio Interview: "The Need for Poverty"
Sisters Alegría and Confianza were interviewed by Mark Helpsmeet of Northern Spirit Radio on September 1, 2015. Listen online to a one-hour edited version plus several three-minute bonus clips. We talk about what led us to found Amigas del Señor Monastery in Honduras, our call to live in "world-class poverty," our Methodist and Quaker influences, and more.
Article: "Overcoming Need" by Sister Confianza
Western Friend, a bimontly magazine for Quakers in the Western U.S., published this article by Sister Confianza in their May-June 2015 issue. It asks us to consider what our real needs are, as distinguished from our wants and desires.
Article (in Spanish): "El Aposento Alto en Honduras" by Juan Guerrero
The May-June 2015 issue of The Upper Room included a page about the Sisters. It was written by Juan Guerrero, former United Methodist Superintendent of Honduras (and regional distributor of El Aposento Alto) after he visited the Monastery in 2013.
Article: "Letting God change her"
The alumni magazine of the Medical College of Wisconsin published this article in 2012 about Sister Alegría, a "pediatrician who left comfortable life behind for monastic service in Honduras."
Letter: An open letter from Sasha Bosbeer, a visitor to Amigas del Señor in 2012
Book: Amigas del Señor: Methodist Monastery by Beth Blodgett and Prairie Naoma Cutting
Rosalie Grafe of Quaker Abbey Press edited the email updates sent by Sisters Alegría and Confianza to create this book, published in 2010. It tells the story of the founding and first two and a half years of the Monastery. Contact Judy Billings <judybht (at) gmail.com> to order a copy for $20 plus shipping. (It is also available through Amazon.com, but they take most of the profits.)
Summer 2013 Apprentices
at Amigas del Señor
Two apprentices spent seven weeks at Amigas del Señor during the summer of 2013 and posted to the monastery's Yahoo group some of their observations and feelings about their experiences there. Their comments are presented below, in chronological order, along with some photos and some comments from Sisters Confianza and Alegría pertaining to the apprentices' stay at the monastery.
June 10, 2013
We're ready. Sister Alegría and I celebrated that fact last Sunday with a pancake breakfast, giving a grape Koolaid toast to God for bringing us this far.
We spent most of April and May preparing for the 7-week program we are offering for the first time this year. We had many conversations about aspects of the program, from details about the daily schedule and how many pots to buy, to what spiritual practices to teach in this short time. We took an hour after breakfast each day to plan the curriculum, the hour we will use for the Spiritual Formation courses for the "students." We finished rearranging the house using our new bunks and furniture, and sewed blankets and mosquito nets. We also made two significant shopping trips to Tocoa to buy foam mattresses and other items and arrange flight details. We have spent a lot of time on the internet communicating with people, especially women who contacted us. We have experienced lots of anxiousness and excitement as we wondered how many women would come and imagined possible scenarios.
Now we declare ourselves ready. We are spending these last few weeks immersed in our regular monastic life, living in the now (the only time that really exists).
Bendiciones,
Sister Confianza
June 10, 2013
So who is coming for our 7-week program? I asked the two young women who registered to introduce themselves to you. Since they come from backgrounds different from each other and from us, we are sure to have a fascinating intercultural experience at the monastery here in rural Honduras. Please keep all of us in your prayers during our preparations, travel, and as we experience this time together. They will be arriving Wed. June 26 and leaving Thurs. Aug 15.
Bendiciones,
Hermana Confianza
HERMANA AHSIA: My name is Ahsia, and I graduated from Bennett College for Women last May. The degree I earned was a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Chemistry. I have aspirations to be a general practitioner in an E.R. by the age of 28. This fall I hope to be attending school to get my Masters in Biomedical Science by May 2014. I am from Washington, D.C., where I was educated from Pre-K-12th grade. I am thoroughly excited to spend seven weeks at Amigas del Señor — helping people in the health center, perfecting my Spanish, living in simplicity, and most importantly, bonding with God.
HERMANA CATALINA: While I am at Amigas del Señor Monastery I will be Hermana Catalina, the Spanish version of my name Kathleen. I'm 31, a primary school teacher from London, England, and I'm deeply thankful to God for the opportunity to spend this summer with the Sisters. I am quite amazed by the work of the Spirit in making it possible. When I read the invitation back in March and saw a photo of 'Lauds at dawn' among the trees, I felt my heart do a little flip. I was attracted by the chance to live simply in these beautiful, natural surroundings alongside two women who have chosen to dedicate their lives to God. It will be a great privilege to live a life structured around prayer and to learn from the Sisters about living in community and living a life of service. Having never been to Latin America I'm also much looking forward to the chance to meet the local people and to experience life there. I'm at a stage in my life of change and new beginnings, so this program has come at a wonderful time. I have no doubt that over these few weeks I will grow spiritually and come to know God in new ways. I would be immensely grateful for prayers for God's blessing on Ahsia and myself over the coming weeks.
June 26, 2013
In El Pino. Both Sister Ahsia and Sister Catalina arrived on schedule. Home tomorrow.
Bendiciones,
Alegría
We're ready. Sister Alegría and I celebrated that fact last Sunday with a pancake breakfast, giving a grape Koolaid toast to God for bringing us this far.
We spent most of April and May preparing for the 7-week program we are offering for the first time this year. We had many conversations about aspects of the program, from details about the daily schedule and how many pots to buy, to what spiritual practices to teach in this short time. We took an hour after breakfast each day to plan the curriculum, the hour we will use for the Spiritual Formation courses for the "students." We finished rearranging the house using our new bunks and furniture, and sewed blankets and mosquito nets. We also made two significant shopping trips to Tocoa to buy foam mattresses and other items and arrange flight details. We have spent a lot of time on the internet communicating with people, especially women who contacted us. We have experienced lots of anxiousness and excitement as we wondered how many women would come and imagined possible scenarios.
Now we declare ourselves ready. We are spending these last few weeks immersed in our regular monastic life, living in the now (the only time that really exists).
Bendiciones,
Sister Confianza
June 10, 2013
So who is coming for our 7-week program? I asked the two young women who registered to introduce themselves to you. Since they come from backgrounds different from each other and from us, we are sure to have a fascinating intercultural experience at the monastery here in rural Honduras. Please keep all of us in your prayers during our preparations, travel, and as we experience this time together. They will be arriving Wed. June 26 and leaving Thurs. Aug 15.
Bendiciones,
Hermana Confianza
HERMANA AHSIA: My name is Ahsia, and I graduated from Bennett College for Women last May. The degree I earned was a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Chemistry. I have aspirations to be a general practitioner in an E.R. by the age of 28. This fall I hope to be attending school to get my Masters in Biomedical Science by May 2014. I am from Washington, D.C., where I was educated from Pre-K-12th grade. I am thoroughly excited to spend seven weeks at Amigas del Señor — helping people in the health center, perfecting my Spanish, living in simplicity, and most importantly, bonding with God.
HERMANA CATALINA: While I am at Amigas del Señor Monastery I will be Hermana Catalina, the Spanish version of my name Kathleen. I'm 31, a primary school teacher from London, England, and I'm deeply thankful to God for the opportunity to spend this summer with the Sisters. I am quite amazed by the work of the Spirit in making it possible. When I read the invitation back in March and saw a photo of 'Lauds at dawn' among the trees, I felt my heart do a little flip. I was attracted by the chance to live simply in these beautiful, natural surroundings alongside two women who have chosen to dedicate their lives to God. It will be a great privilege to live a life structured around prayer and to learn from the Sisters about living in community and living a life of service. Having never been to Latin America I'm also much looking forward to the chance to meet the local people and to experience life there. I'm at a stage in my life of change and new beginnings, so this program has come at a wonderful time. I have no doubt that over these few weeks I will grow spiritually and come to know God in new ways. I would be immensely grateful for prayers for God's blessing on Ahsia and myself over the coming weeks.
June 26, 2013
In El Pino. Both Sister Ahsia and Sister Catalina arrived on schedule. Home tomorrow.
Bendiciones,
Alegría
July 1, 2013
On Sunday we had the great privilege of being invited to the neighbours for the celebration of the 1st birthday of their son. It was a day for making tamales — a dish reserved only for special occasions, and as the day went on I understood why. The sound of chopping wood rang out as we approached at 8am, and it was Reina hacking branches with a machete for her stove. Her mother-in-law was inside working on the corn which Reina had got up at 3am to grind. A duck and a chicken had also already been killed, plucked and chopped, and this was just the beginning. Seven hours later, the final stage of preparation was underway. In the hours between, Reina and her mother-in-law worked in the hot kitchen and outside under the hot sun cooking over a fire in a hole dug out of the ground. We helped as much as we could, peeling potatoes, washing lots of dishes down at the stream, and then wrapping up the parcels of food in banana leaves, ready to be steamed. This was true 'cooking from scratch'! Since I don't yet know Spanish, I didn't understand the dialogue going on throughout the day, but the Sisters later said that there was lots of advising and instructing going on from mother-in-law to 19-year-old daughter-in-law. This was the passing on of a tradition, and a big day for Reina to be hosting the preparation of tamales — which once steamed and served, were delicious! We went away with a pot of them to take, and as is the custom, they were going to distribute others between themselves and their friends. My first taste of Honduran family life, and a very special one, too.
Sister Catalina
July 1, 2013
Before I came, a friend of Hermana Alegría and Hermana Confianza said the way they live is different. Lee, the woman who told me about this, made it clear to me this experience will be different from the life I am used to in the States. I knew from pictures that this summer in Honduras at a monastery would be far different from my usual life. However nothing can prepare you, you just have to live it. You have to actually bathe and wash your clothes in a stream that you walk down a steep hill to get to. We don't have running water and use a dry compost toilet, using ashes and water as the "flushing" methods. Getting up to pray at 4:30am is the norm. It has been an easier adjustment than I thought. Living without electronics, or constant contact with loved ones. This lifestyle cannot be explained, but for true understanding, only lived. I cannot imagine spending my summer anywhere else. A lot has happened in this first week alone. Excited to see what is next! Our sisters are one of a kind. :)
Sister Ahsia
July 8, 2013
It is surreal, about to come to the close of our second week here at Amigas del Señor. Hermana Catalina and I have been here a short time, but we are adapting nicely to Hermana Alegría and Hermana Confianza's way of living. The time we spend at the health clinic helping local patients is wonderful! Wednesdays, when we chop wood to fire up the stove, take me back to what it must have been like to live in the early 1900s.
I love how eager people are willing to help others here. We had an excellent meal on Monday, with many privilege foods, like peanut butter. Moreover, we received rides on our trip into Limón, so we did not have to walk the full long distance; courtesy drinks, because the friend of Hermanas Alegría and Confianza knew we walked a long ways to get to Limón. Hermana Catalina and I are catching on to the landscape of these mountains quickly, and I am excited to see what is next.
Sister Ahsia
July 15, 2013
Having lived most of my life in a town or city, heading out to cut firewood for the stove has been such a great experience. The first time we went we didn't have far to walk into the woods that surround the monastery before Sr Alegría and Sr Confianza spotted a tree to cut down that was leafless, dry and dying. They showed Sr Ahsia and I how to use the axe on the trunk, and once the tree had fallen, the machete on the branches. I watched in admiration at their skill and strength, learned and built up over their years here. I loved doing it and feeling the physical exertion of it. At home I just switch on a stove with no physical work at all! Back at the monastery over the next few days we learned how chop it and prepare it for firewood. There was a sense of the sacred in the whole process, a tree that was once alive and vibrant, now dying and providing us with wood to fuel at least a week's worth of fires. It is a connection to the wild that is hard to get in London city life!
Sister Catalina
July 22, 2013
Feliz Navidad! Sister Alegría and Sister Confianza celebrate Christmas a second time each year, on July 25th — who can dislike that! Sister Catalina and I have been here almost a month, and I am more comfortable with doing our scheduled activities. All skills I am learning at the monastery are improving daily: washing clothes, cooking, chopping wood with a machete, gardening, and most importantly, deepening my connection with the Lord.
I have always heard of being a vessel for God, and wanted to be. I feel like I am closer to allowing God to use me at full capacity. "My life is not my own, to You I belong, I give myself, I give myself to You."
Lastly, Bienvenidos al mundo pollitos! After 3 weeks of incubation by a hen I like to call Rosie, 7 chicks were born. Very cute!
Sister Ahsia
July 29, 2013
My dad is passionate about living simply and I respect it now more than ever. Living with Las Amigas del Señor I'm greatly inspired by the many ways they live a life of simplicity. The Sisters do, make or fix things themselves whenever they can. This week the chimney for the stove broke, so Sister Confianza set about repairing it using a piece of sheet metal left over from the construction of the roof. Using part of an old boot she repaired some flip flops, and we took a pan with a hole in it to the mechanic to be filled. I could give many more examples. Such a contrast to the throwaway culture of the global north.
They cut each other's hair and this week Sr Ahsia and I had our first experience of it, too. Made me think of the money I could save cutting my family's hair if I learnt! They make all their own clothes, something I'd love to do but I've never learned to sew. This week I'm going to learn as Sr Alegría works on some new trousers, and I definitely intend to practice when I get back to the UK.
Living in such beautiful natural surroundings I also now feel very drawn to living in the countryside. We talk a lot about growing food. Though the land around the monastery isn't ideal, they grow what they can. We made delicious jam from their pineapples, eat katuk leaves with our rice and sometimes even tasty sweet potatoes. Together we also planted a coconut tree, another first for both Sr Ahsia and me! I'm now making a mental list of what I could grow in an English garden, something I've never considered before, and I'm excited by the idea of becoming more self-sufficient.
I've also found that things I thought I was attached to I am quite happily doing without, and that I can bathe using far less water than ever before in my life. I'm so glad to be here and learning from two very inspiring women about simplicity. A life-changing experience.
Sister Catalina
August 5, 2013
We are about to enter our final week at Amigas Del Señor. I wanted to do this summer program to deepen my relationship with the Lord, better my Spanish speaking skills, and volunteer in a health clinic. I was able to do those things, and so much more!
Living at the monestary I received insight into the contemplative monasteric life, and the lives of people attached to Sisters Alegría and Confianza, whether it be family or friends. Together Sisters Alegría, Confianza, Catalina and I were able to work as a team to provide firewood, cook, clean, etc. Most importantly, we were able to come from diverse walks of life and beliefs to worship God. Which was possible by being humble and putting God as the primary focus. We may not have always agreed, but we lived peacefully by putting aside personal preference at times, for the good of each other. Easier said than done. Moreover, this practice is essential to community living.
I am leaving with three new sisters, and a new friend, Cremosa. Cremosa is the Sisters' cat and she is, cute, funny, smart, a good hunter, and has sooo much personality.
Lastly, I have learned to trust my singing voice, and more ways to continue my efforts to be more eco-friendly at home. I am excited to get some cloth menstrual pads! Just as I have learned from all the Sisters, I hope they have learned from me. We talked about Everything. These women are the coolest nuns I know.
Sister Ahsia
August 12, 2013
I've shared many varied and beautiful celebrations of Holy Communion, though none until now in the way of Las Amigas del Señor. They have a tradition of Communion on the 1st Sunday of the month, so we've celebrated it twice during our visit. As a Catholic it was moving to be led in Communion by Sister Confianza, a woman, speaking the words Jesus spoke. She led it beautifully, a 'homemade' celebration, done the way that felt right for us. We had a tortilla for our host and a shared cup of communally prepared juice from wild berries growing behind the monastery. Each Sister offered the bread and juice to another, with a personal invitation to take this spiritual food, shared out for her.
Sister Ahsia and I fly home on Thursday, after seven very rich and varied weeks. We have been strengthened, challenged and changed and I thank God for it all. I pray for courage to make the changes to our lives that we have been inspired to make, on our return home. Many thanks indeed to all who have followed our stay here with interest and support.
Sister Catalina
September 10, 2013
Home Safe: Our summer apprentices Ahsia and Catalina arrived home safely and are sorting out what they will do next in their lives.
Hermana Confianza