One day at a parish Ecuador, I was doing some decoration work in a large parish room. A few of the children I knew from the pueblo came by looking for something to do, but unfortunately, there isn’t a lot to do in a small village. I started to try and think of how they…
Last year when I arrived in Ecuador, I spent time in the initial days playing with the kids. I am like a large, living toy. Playing usually takes place in the large field in the center of the village where people play sports. So this time, a large group of little kids began to gradually…
Some years ago I had a girlfriend, and of course we liked to be together and do things together. I remember that every time she called she would always say hello, and then ask, “What are you doing?” That’s the mark of someone who loves you: they want to be with you, doing what you’re…
Last summer I was working on ferry boats taking passengers to islands in Boston Harbor. We did usual runs to islands, and also plenty of charters, and I was a deckhand literally learning the ropes. One day, I was working on one of the smaller boats that had poor visibility for the captain, and so…
One day I was visiting a person living on the street in Boston. She was sitting on the sidewalk, leaning up against the wall of a building. A blanket covered her whole body, and all you could really see was her head. So, I was down on the ground myself, talking to her and having…
We hit a home run! The fundraiser for Barriers To Bridges reached it’s end at the end of October. Good news: the goal was reached! (OK, $2 short!) A few days after the Red Sox won the World Series, I got hit out of the park! 🙂 People gave $1548, thank you very much for…
A village where I go in Ecuador is located in a valley, at the foot of a mountain. On the other side of the village is a river, and then a cliff to another mountain. At nighttime, there are streetlights and houses in the village have lights too. But darkness covers the mountains, and you…
Back last January, I was visiting a friend in a poor, rural, and hot part of Ecuador. He is a pastor in a large, very dynamic community, with a lot of activities and groups and events. One night, I got an invitation to head out at mid-night: we were going to a birthday celebration. In…
A few weeks ago, I was walking along, having just entered a subway station here in Boston. It wasn’t crowded, but there was a man walking toward me, leaving the train stop, as I was approaching it. Just before he got to me, I heard a loud splat, as his cell phone fell out of…
When I was a child, there was an excitement every morning. We had a front porch that made a good landing spot for the newspaper deliverer to launch the daily paper. So every day, whether they had tucked it in between the screen door and the main door, or whether they had launched it from…
A beginner. When I started working on a boat, I was a beginner. I didn’t know much about boats, and I was learning as I go – you don’t come in understanding things. And one of the first things you learn, that is very important, is that you do whatever the captain says. If the…
I have been working on ferry boats in the Boston Harbor. In the hot weather, all the activity can get you sweating. So, whenever we would arrive at the docks at one of the harbor islands to drop off passengers, while we waited for passengers to board, I would gaze over to the side of…
