Today was our final day in Cenovia and it was an emotional roller coaster. This morning we were invited to use the school’s computers because they have Internet. The computer lab was outfitted with thirty computers that have Internet via satellite. The connection supposedly is good until a cloud goes by and then it is lost. After Internet time my team decided to hike up to the top of one of the mountains to pray over the community. Even though we have been in Cenovia for several weeks, I cannot get enough of the mountains. It was a short but steep hike to the top where all of Cenovia was visible. I thought that the other mountains would look smaller because we would be looking down on them, but they looked grander and more diverse in shape and vegetation. I walked to the other side of the peak and was amazed by the quietness. I think this is the first time I have experienced quietness in weeks. Someone is always playing music here and at night the animals don’t get quiet. I soaked up the quiet stillness. Then my team met and talked about how we thought the past few weeks have gone. I said that I think the best thing we did in Cenovia was building relationships with the kids and what we could improve on is spending even more time with the kids.
This afternoon some of the ladies from the church came to cook meat. A cow was killed the day before and a crowd was gathered this morning to buy the meat when we walked the kids to school. We thought the women were cooking meat for the fiesta. We were not excited about spending so much money on the meat, but thought they wanted us to pay for what they were preparing. Alfredo refused to let us pay, but we felt that we really should pay. It is so hard to know what is culturally acceptable and what is expected of us. While the ladies cooked we spent the afternoon preparing pop-corn and buying last-minute items for the fiesta. At three we were told to eat; turns out half of the meat was for our lunch. The delicious meat tasted like beef jerky and was accompanied by tortillas, cilantro, tomatoes, and onions. It was so good, but for our stomachs sake we should not be eating any fresh greens like cilantro.
This afternoon the kids came to play. They kept asking when we were leaving and when we told them tomorrow they did not believe us. Then they asked how long we would be gone and when we would be back. The kids have been such a big part of our lives that it is hard to imagine never seeing them again.
The fiesta began at six and turned into more of a church service than a party. There were probably close to 100 people in attendance. It was great to look out at the crowd and recognize so many faces. We sang songs with the kids and had them say the Lord ’s Prayer. Then the supervising pastor had us sing some songs and share what we enjoyed about the community. Then the pastor did a sermon and we sang more songs and prayed. At first I was annoyed because we had planned a party not a church service, but then I realized that all along we really wanted to be able to communicate with the people and we finally had someone to clearly communicate our reason for being in Cenovia.
After the sermon we served pop-corn, cookies, and soda and then we strung up the Winnie the Pooh piñata. They know how to make piñatas around here. The kids pounded that thing and it just wouldn’t break, so the pastor ripped it open. The kids dove on top of each other in order to get some sweets. It was so hard to say goodbye but it was affirming too. All along we have not had words to communicate. We fell in love with the town, but we did not know if they had received that love. Tears from mothers, hugs from kids, kisses from little grandmothers, and handshakes from fathers were evidence that they had indeed received that love.
