Beautiful Vilches

1. Wow, it is amazing to think about all the adventures we have had lately. Our first story starts with a train ride down south to the sleepy little village of Vilches... ok, it's not really quite a villiage... more like a string of houses, along the road side, nestled into the foot of the Andean Mountains.

We had the amazing opportunity to get in touch with some Maryknoll Missioners who are working with the rural poor on agriculture projects and public health. They also open up their home for retreats and get aways for religious and other people working in service in the larger cities. A real need if I may say so myself. Meet Ted and Maruja along with their daughter. (If you click on the Title of this blog entry it will send you to their Maryknoll bio).

It was our first really relaxing weekend get away in a long time. They invited us to stay with them at their cozy little home where we slept in until noon and woke up to a sleepy drizzling rain. The hills, the trees, the pastures, the greenery was so refreshing. They have two beautiful black horses that we just had to go visit and they sent us home with home grown honey. The perfect weekend! Probably the most refreshing part of the visit was to be able to talk with lay people who work with Sisters and Priests. Who know the unique struggles and challenges of working within the Religous culture; the structure, the hierarchy, the rigidity and the strengths. They had some very good ideas and suggestions and were so encouraging.