Today is the first day of spring, but it has not arrived. I'm sitting here wearing sweats with the shutters open so that I can see the lush jungle hills and thick grey clouds. It's trippy to think that it's September and it's spring. Having Christmas in the middle of summer is going to be even crazier.
We had a couple of outings over the weekend and the weather was not obliging. On Saturday we made a pilgrimage through Salvador from...oh dangit, I can't remember the names, but it was a big new church to a little old chapel. (that really narrows it down! LOL) We carried Our Lady of Compassion before us and prayed the rosary along the way (I'll post photos someday). Part of the walk was along the seafront and from the wind, rain, and surf, we all ended up drenched. I guess it wouldn't have been a proper pilgrimage if we hadn't suffered a little. Sunday we went to the beach--all 40 of us, and had a blast. The rain drove us out around 3:00, but at least no one got sunburned. I can't even tell you how fabulous it was to have these outings. We so seldom leave the Fazenda (I only leave once or twice a week) and we rarely all go anywhere together. It was a total crack up to see all the little girls getting gussied-up. "Honestly Rafaela, you painted your fingernails to go on a pilgrimage?" Hey, she doesn't get out much. They go to school everyday, but that's it, so this was a big weekend for the children especially.
I have to admit, I get cabin fever regularly. I suppose anytime you take a girl out of the city and place her in the jungle with limited transportation and practically no communication with the outside world that's going to happen. I'm supposed to have a day of rest every 2 weeks. Usually I leave Saturday morning and come back Sunday night, but with the activities of the past few weeks I've been thrown off schedule (that's normal here, schedules are mere suggestions). So I was scheduled to go for a day of rest today until tomorrow night, but yesterday I got sick. My first case of Montezuma's Revenge (actually, I don't think Montezuma made it to South America, but probably one of his descendents did). I stayed in bed or in the bathroom all day yesterday (TMI, I know). Joselita (Brazilian woman who has lived here with her children for 10 years, makes the most amazing peanut ice cream) heard I was having tummy trouble and sent her 9 year old son, João Lucas, to help me. He arrived with his machete (everyone has one) and cut a fresh green coconut for me, then opened it so I could drink the coco water. Apparently this is very good for any digestive problems. Today I am having a mini-rest day in the Fazenda. I'm staying in one of our guest rooms and I don't have to do anything. I get to read, write, sleep, and pray all day to recuperate. If only we had wi-fi up here I'd be all set.
So I was enjoying the solitude when Lúcia came to visit. Ok, I'm ashamed to admit it, but I'll tell you anyways because it makes for a better story...I was annoyed when I heard her call out for me and thought "doesn't she know I'm sick and on a rest day? She shouldn't be bothering me." Well, she brought me a freshly cut green coconut to drink. Along with a nice big dose of humilty!! I gulped both down and thanked her profusely. 10 minutes later she arrived with 2 more coconuts and told me not to eat anything except coco water and coco meat all day and that she would bring more this afternoon. A day of only coconuts--fine by me! Then she came back later with a thermos full of delicious tea made from some herb growing here in the Fazenda that is also good for tummy troubles. And she also brought me a flower. Her thoughtfulness, generosity, and tenderness is better medicine than a whole jungle full of coconuts and herbs. Her presence is even more profound because I can't say that Lúcia and I have become very close. Now if Erica had come to care for me I would have also appreciated it but would've just thought that she was being my darling friend that she is. It's a totally different thing with Lúcia. She's been one of the more difficult ones to befriend. She's from the Passagem; I've met her mother and some of her siblings who still live there and their conditions are heart-breaking. She is 32 and has lived in the Fazenda for 10 years with her 19 year old daughter, Bel (do the math). She also has Bea, who's 3 1/2 in her care. Bea was abdoned by her mother when she was 6 months old, and as her mother was friends with Lúcia, Lúcia felt a great love for the child. I don't really know how to help Lúcia. I don't know her whole story, but knowing where she grew up and that she had a child at 13 tells me that she has pain inside her that I cannot imagine. She's grown-up, so I can't really play with her like the kids, but often more immature than her 19 year old daughter. She's not physically ill so I can't help take care of her that way and when I have tried to just sit and chat with her she talks about pretty embarassing or unpleasant things. One day in mass she sat next to me and I held out the hymnal for her to sing along. Then I remembered that she can't read...I'm such an ass. Of all the people in the Fazenda she is the one with whom I have the least mental or spiritual connection. But then it's she who brings me coconuts, tea, and flowers when I am sick. That completely blows my mind! God could not have offered me a better cure for my sickness. Maybe what she needs is to feel needed and appreciated. I couldn't offer her that without being weak and needy myself. Maybe the best way to help her is to let her help me.
love,
Sunshine
PS. Here I was feeling better from all the coconuts, tea, and love, but now I have a fever. Back to bed I go! Please pray for me and send me your prayer requests: sunnywallsings@gmail.com
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