El Ultimo Domingo

Buenas Tardes!

I pray everyone is having a wonderful Sunday back home in Clarendon Hills!  I can't believe it, but today marks mi ultimo Domingo aqui en Quetzaltenago. The time has truly gone by fast, and I thank God for the wonderful opportunity he has given me. This past week was really quick for me. With my final exam practice Mass this past Monday and making pizzas for the teachers on Thursday, time just ran away.  I'm looking forward to this week, but it's going to blaze by as well!  We have three practice Masses this week, a trip to the city, my final written exam Thursday, and graduation!  Friday I will be spending the day in Antigua.  Antigua is an old tourist site here in Guatemala. I'm told its very beautiful and it will be a great way to spend my last full day in Guatemala.  Then Saturday around noon I fly to Houston and then from Houston to Chicago, arriving mas o menos ocho de la noche.

So as you can see time is moving and like all good things, my time here is coming to an end too. I have made many great friends, and have received a true gift. I'm anxious to use the Spanish I've learned when I get home.  Es mi espanol perfecto?  No, not at all.  However, to be able to communicate with Spanish speakers, or to be be able to pray the prayers of the church in Spanish is amazing!  It blows my mind that I can listen to my teacher talk for an hour or have a conversation with some of the Benedictinos aqui por 45min. and understand 90% or more of it.  It's truly amazing the grace Our Lord has given me aprender esta idioma.  

In this last week, I ask that you continue to pray for me.  That I continue to learn as much as I can in my last 4 classes, and make the most out of the time I have left. Also please pray for me as I prepare to receive Candidacy in 2 weeks.  Candidacy is another major step towards Holy Orders. The church will officially be recognizing me as a good candidate for Holy Orders, and I will publicly promise to live my life in a way that prepares me to be a worthy candidate of Holy Orders. This is really exciting for me as it has been described as getting engaged to the Church so to say, so please pray for me as I take this next step!

Know of my prayers and I look forward to seeing everyone soon!

-Cristobal

http://www.flickr.com/photos/66858764@N08/with/9112948990/

Really...Russia

Hola Amigos,

Sorry I haven't been able to post a lot recently.  Things have been busy here, and this message will have to be short to. However, I wanted to just say hello to everyone and send out a quick update. First the title of my post. When I logged in, it said I had viewers of my blog in Russia. Why?  I'm not sure, but I thought that's pretty neat!  Maybe that's where I will learn my next language :)

Things have been going well here.  I have been here 8 weeks today.  I have to admit, I'm starting to get ready to come home, but I'm making the most of my time during these last 10 days. Since my last post I have said my practice Mass (which I got an A on...photo proof to come), one of my close friends has returned home, have visited a university in Guatemala, saw mi villano favorito 2 (Despicable Me 2), and conversed with people I never met before at the Centro in Spanish!  So lots has been going on, and lots continues to go on.

Coming up tomorrow we have a full day here. My buddy graduates and we make pizza for the teachers.  Yes, the American pizza has become a sensation for everyone in Guatemala. My friends and I are waiting for an offer to open a restaurant at the mall :). Some how I think we could manage evangelization and pizza making.

Speaking of the pizza I have to go make sauce for 7 of them and also get in my prayer time.  I'll try and post again this weekend. Until then, I hope everyone is well, and please know of my prayers. I'm looking forward to July 28th when I'll be back at ND for Mass and hopefully get to see a bunch of you!

-Cris

San Andreas

Hola Amigos!


¡Yo espero todas personas estan bien!  Yo estoy bien, pero yo estoy consado hoy.  I'm tired because today we visited the church of San Andreas. This is a very beautiful church here Guatemala. It was the church I wanted to visit most during my time here, and I finally got to today.  It was a little bit of a journey to get there, but it was well worth it.  Believe me, you haven't ridden on a city bus until you've ridden on an over packed (and I mean OVER packed), old, multicolored, dirty, loud, school bus, with stickers, and a sound system.  Oh yes, and the first ride, livestock attached to the roof. Yes...the chicken bus.  I knew why it had the name it did, but living the experience is a whole different adventure.

I'm approaching 7 full weeks here.  It has been a true blessing to be here. I've really enjoyed learning Spanish, and I'm blessed to have learned the Spanish I have. I'm excited to start using it back home once I return. Speaking of returns, I come home in about 2 and a half weeks!  I'm excited to see everyone and spend time with everyone too!  Plus, that comida de America, esta llmando mi nombre tambien!  I've been getting my fix each week in the food court, so my internal systems haven't reached the critical levels of withdrawal yet :)

This Thursday is the feast of St. Benedict. We are having a huge day of celebration at the monastery!  Since the are Benedictines, I believe this is a Solemnity for them. Entonces, after Mass on Thursday, we are having a big basketball game with the other seminarians, and I believe a large festive lunch too.

Everything keeps moving along here smoothly as I'm sure it has back home. I think of Notre Dame a lot out here, and how blessed I am to have the parish that I do. Many seminarians don't have the love and support from their parishes that you all show me, and for that I'm truly thankful!  Please know of my continued prayers for each of you who read this blog, and I look forward to chatting again soon!

-Cristóbal

Ps, many new photos!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/66858764@N08/with/9112948990/

Happy 4th! ¡Feliz Cuarto de Julio!

Hola Friends,

¡Feliz Cuarto de Julio! ¡Yo espero todas personas en Los Estados Unidos estan teniendo un buen dia hoy!  Aqui en Quetzaltenango yo estoy teniendo un buen dia. Yo extraño Los Estados Unidos hoy, pero mis amigos vamos a celebar esta noche.  My teacher for class today brought firecrackers to shoot off before we started our lessons. During the break she let me drive her motorcycle around campus too!  I kinda want one now....sorry mom :)   My diocesan brother Juan and I also celebrated the best way we could as Americans in Guatemala....by eating McDonald's!  If I can't be in America today, at least I can have a taste of it!  Later tonight we are grilling hamburgers and hotdogs here at the monastery.  My teacher also bought me additional fireworks as a gift, so tonight we will at least get to see some. Fireworks are very popular here. If my alarm doesn't wake me up in the morning usually fireworks do. In the very early hours of the morning people set off firecrackers to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries.

This week has gone by pretty fast. I found out I celebrate my practice Mass next Wednesday and have a test on Monday. We are also planning on going to the zoo tomorrow!  The grammar I have been learning this past week has been pretty easy too.  It's basically past, present, and future progressive. Yesterday I also went to the movies. My friends and I saw Monsters University. It was all in Spanish, but I understood a lot of the words and got the overall concept of the film. I highly recommend it!

Nothing else major going on here. I can't believe I only have 15 days of class left before I come home. Time is flying by!  Even though I'm excited to return home, I know I'm going to miss Guatemala in the future. I have learned so much here, it truly has been a blessing. These next 3 weeks I'm sure are going to seal everything together too.  I hope everyone is doing well and that everyone enjoys the holiday today!  Know of my prayers for all of you, and we'll talk again soon!

-Cristobal