Sunday Morning Misa

Happy Sunday everyone,

So last night I made my first friend in Peru. This young man, probably about 18 or so, approached me with his paintings. Most people you pass by you have to say "no gracias" because everyone will ask you to look at their crafts. I would love to listen to every single one of them, but you can only do so much. Plus I will be here for two months and probably will end up meeting them all. But his humble demeanor had me interested. Now being an Artist myself, I decided to listen to what he had to say, and I looked through his portfolio. I bought two pictures, one of a little boy, with such emotion in his eyes, and one of 7 ladies selling potatoes. His friend of course asked me to look at his portfolio too, and I did, deciding on one of the landscape, but all in orange, brown and white. They have such amazing talent, and even at the end, after a half hour discussion with him asking me questions about the USA and me asking him about Cusco. He told me he is usually around San Blas and that if I wanted, he would show me around, and help me take pictures of this magnificent city. It thought it was very kind, and gave me a glimpse into how willing Peruvians are to show you about where they come from. Last night, I spent the night in my room, reading, watching TV, listening to the Fireworks at the Plaza, and walking around the hotel, admiring the beauty of the place as it was illuminated by lights. And from my window, a statue of Jesus on the hill was in perfect view, and last night he was the highest thing you could see, with open arms, beautifully lit.

Now we come to this morning. Packing took a while, but When I finally went outside, the weather was perfect. I headed out to the Church where last night, two nuns were outside and willing to talk to me about the mass schedule, and even about what I was doing here. I had to fight to get through a mob of people to get to church on time. There is a celebration honoring one of the saints, hence the fireworks last night, and there thousands of people in the square, eating, talking, preparing dances, and waiting in line for the parade. It made me rethink how a Sunday should be. This IS celebrating Sunday.

Mass made me think. I am so glad to be Catholic. There is nothing more comforting than going to church on Sunday morning, and being able to have something that I can depend on, no matter where I go. The Priest in the Homily, which I surprisingly followed really well, said that we should not be sad, we should always be happy. We should not be quiet, we should get excited and enjoy life that we were blessed with. That is great words to follow. He just solidified why I am here, and that I need to spend every minute enjoying myself. No second thoughts. I am all in, and happy.

Till next time. Buenos dias!