Monday, June 17, 2013

Super Sunday


We had a really busy day on Sunday. Our morning began with Mass. In order to get to the church, we had to take a moto taxi into town to attend Mass. Well, we had a little mishap...another moto-taxi pulled out in front of us and we had a slight collision with it. Not a big deal. Nobody was hurt, nor the vehicles damaged. We were just a little startled.
Mass was to begin at 9am.  There are two priest at this parish. One of the priests had surgery and Father Jaime had to officiate at 8 different Masses throughout the region. He had already said a 7 and 8 am Mass across town, and had to drive a distance to this church. So Mass began at 9:25am once he arrived. The Youth Mass was packed. Not only was each pew filled with lots of children, teenagers and adults, families were standing along the side isles. We thought it was Easter Mass. We were all amazed at how many people attended. I thought to myself, at St. Paul’s, we have this big beautiful new church, with many empty pews.  St. Francis Parish in Paita is a very old church and it was bursting at the seams. Even when we were at Mass on Friday evening at 7pm, there was standing room only. What’s wrong with this picture? Do people go to Mass because they are so poor and they know that God is their only hope? That has to be it! God is our only hope!

The youth music was loud, and well done. After the Mass, Sarah asked if it was a CD because she thought the kids sang perfectly. No, it wasn’t a CD.  It was just darn good music! Bravo to the children who sang on key with enthusiasm.

After Mass, many of the parishioners stayed in the church to pray. We were there for at least 30 minutes after Mass and people were busy walking from statue to statue praying. There’s the Captive Jesus, which is very important in northern Peru, and then there’s the Lord of the Miracles, and  the Sacred Heart of Jesus. There's also St. Francis, St. Martin de Porres, St. Rose of Lima, Our Lady of Fatima,  St. Anthony and most importantly Our Lady of Mercy, she’s also very important among the people of Paita, and many, many, many more statues. People spend hours walking around the church communing with the various saints after Mass.  
St. Martin de Porres     St. Rose of Lima         St Francis Solano
 




 
The Captive Jesus
We continued our day touring the harbor on boat. We were able to see all the fish factories in Paita that take advantage of the people by hiring them sporadically and paying $5 a day. We also saw lots of fishing boats arriving in harbor after being out at sea for a week. Can you believe it? They also have sea lions and of course, seagulls (rats of the sea).  

 

 

 



 


 


We drove to Catacaos, a very picturesque village just south of Piura. There were vendors selling silver, gold, leather, wood, and clay items. This city is also known for its cuisine. We stopped at one of the local restaurants for lunch. We tried the ceviche which is fish marinated in sour lemon, onion, salt and hot pepper. It was accompanied by sweet potatoes. We also ordered a combination plate consisting of beef and pork, accompanied by mashed plantain banana dish and mashed yuccas. Sarah had the chicken nuggets, which were deep fried, and included a raw carrot and cabbage dish. The food has been excellent. Knock on wood…we haven’t gotten sick yet.








We haven’t told you about their famous drink called “chicha”.  It is fermented drink, made from a special type of corn only found in Peru. We can’t wait to have it again. Here's Sarah drinking chicha.


We bought quite a few souvenirs to show our parishioners and look forward to sharing our stories of Peru. One more thing, we stopped at a cathedral in Catacaos after our souvenir shopping. It was around 7pm and the church was at least half full with people saying the rosary. We found out that the rosary is prayed every day of the year. How awesome!

By the way, if you click on the picture, you'll see a large version of the picture and view all pictures used in the blog post. Try doing that. You'll see more detail.

-Deb
 
 

6 comments:

  1. Nice to here how they live the Catholic faith there. The Mass celebrations sound very simular to the ones in Guatemala. Do the local dogs come to Mass too? Have a very safe and eventful return to St. Paul, see you at Mass!
    Sonia

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Ladies,,,, LOVE! the pictures at the Church ~~ how lovely!! :) The meals you ate I'd love to try. Such a nice variety & healthy looking too! So, glad you all were well & arrived at church in one piece. Your Angels were watching over you all knowing you all you want to get done & see before you leave. SAFE TRAVELS!! dear ladies! _ Hugs, Janine

    ReplyDelete
  3. The doors are wide open during the Mass. You can hear the moto taxis, see people walk on by and dogs stroll into the church to visit.

    Thanks for checking the blog and check back again later for another update.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What wonderful pictures and accompanying stories! Thanks for sharing so much with us. Chicha Morada, or "purple juice" is made from purple corn that is boiled and then cooled down to drink. You can't find anything like it here, so enjoy it as much as you can in Peru. I see a bottle of Inca Kola, and if you get a craving for that when you come home, you can get it at Mercado El Rey in Milwaukee. We buy it a lot for parties here. The food in Peru is so fresh and presented so artfully. It's so nice that you got to experience their masses and statues. Thank you for your service there and I'll pray for your safe return. ~Peggy, SMV

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hey good to here people have a good relationship with there church .in the usa were to bussy to attend mas. Good to see how people live and eat here :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It has been a wonderful experience being with another culture and learning about our brothers and sisters globally.

      Delete