Martin Chambers Ecuador Trust

Well a Happy New Year to “ yin and a’ “! I hope that your celebrations went well for Hogmanay and that you are not in too much of a National Recovery position! Here Hogmanay is a fantastically noisy affair. It really is a mixture of Hogmanay and Guy Fawkes’ night; for the 31st December they do all the things that people do back home for Guy Fawkes – they make a ‘Guy’ our of paper and go round the streets asking ‘penny for the Guy’. The only difference is when the clock strikes twelve for the New Year, their Guy is stuffed with firecrackers so the burning doll starts to go wild with noise and light. The first time I was ever here for Hogmanay, I thought I was in a war zone with all the noise going off. Having said all of that, there is a great atmosphere with everyone walking the streets (I did too) and meeting folk. I went in to people’s houses as I passed by – sharing their food and drink. I needed up at the Bells in Jose Carlos’ house (he was one of the group in Scotland last year) and it was a very happy evening. So, having partied for a few hours on the streets it was time to put my head on the pillow and try for some sleep in the face of opposition from the massive speakers of the street party next door! Happy New Year! On New Years’ Day a group of the priests from here met in one of the hotels in the centre of town. It was a great afternoon with a great meal (smoked salmon was even on the menu but sadly no steak pie) and the good craic meant that we stayed all afternoon chatting and getting extra rounds of water and coke!!!! Earlier in the week I had gone out to Ayangue on the coast to see the work going on there. With my new responsibilities in the St. James’ Society, I have to look after the work there. At the moment they are building an outer wall around some of the land next to the house. Basically Ecuador’s President has decreed that any unused land is to be taken back into the control of the state – so there has been a mad rush to fence in all sorts of land. We only have a wee parcel around the house there but in any case it is getting fenced. So it was good to see the workers and see how it was progressing. And, taking Jose and Arisela with their kids meant that we had a morning on the beach. Mmmmm, Christmas week and swimming in the sea – lovely! I also took a group last week along to one of the orphanages we regularly visit – Sor Domingo Bocca. We went with a group of the youth group here. They has asked us for a Christmas Mass but we also put on a few numbers and they acted out a wee sketch. So, with the Christmas sweeties that we took along, it turned out to be a great afternoon also. Apart from that things have been quiet around the sector as people go away into the countryside to visit their families there for the Christmas week. And today – the 2nd – things are still in recovery mode after New Years. I am enjoying the quiet and rest.