Gaylord, MI 49735 
School Visits and Celebrations
Having made our way to Matagalpa, we arrived at the Diocesan offices. Bishop Solorzano was visiting with guests who had been stopping by all morning to bring him birthday greetings. Indeed, as we traveled for the rest of the day his cell phone rang constantly as people wished him well.
Bishop Solorzano was installed as the 8th bishop of the Diocese of Matagalpa in December of 2005. It was one of the last appointments by Pope John Paul II. Bishop Cooney participated in the installation ceremony. I had met Bishop Solorzano last year when he traveled to our diocese and was one of his drivers as he visited parishes here. He is a tall, quiet man who does not speak English. In the short time he has been in Matagalpa, he has clearly become a beloved leader. On several occasions I’ve seen him simply hold up an index finger slightly to gain the attention of his priests or quiet a room.
The Bishop rose to meet us and within minutes we were all back in the car to visit the site of a new minor seminary which is under construction. We also visited the young seminarians who are temporarily living at the home of one of the priests near the cathedral. In all, eleven men aged 15-22 are currently sharing two bedrooms while they await completion of the living quarters of the seminary in about two months.
We then walked up the hill to
We stopped in various classrooms to meet some of the children who instantaneously rose when the Bishop entered the room. Their eyes and smiles widened as the Bishop introduces us as his “friends from the United States.” Though some of the children are studying English, only a couple have the courage to ask us a question. One young boy asked, “What’s your favorite animal?” I didn’t know how to say koala bear in Spanish and in the moment I tried to think of something they could relate to, so I simply blurted out “perro” (dog). He told me he prefers tigers.
We then joined a classroom of the oldest students who are in their last year of study. They told us after completing school they will leave the area to go to Managua to try to find work or go to university. No one volunteered that they intended to stay in Matagalpa.
I thought of the young people in our area faced with a parallel situation – having to move out of the area in order to find gainful employment or further their education. I’m also keenly aware that while here, every child is entitled to an education, there are many areas in Nicaragua where children simply do not have the opportunity to attend school.
As we chatted with students, a bird flew past my face and over Kristin’s head. Mourning doves have made their home in the rafters of this classroom. I did find myself wondering how often the concentration of the students in the line directly under the nesting area was interrupted by “gifts from above” -- but I didn’t ask.
Next we walked across the street for Mass in honor of Bishop Solorzano’s birthday. The cathedral was full as we were ushered to our seats in the sanctuary area. Time is not as commanding a factor in Nicaraguan culture as it is here. Everyone was just calmly waiting when our visit to the school delayed the Mass by some 45 minutes.
Mass was mostly consistent with what we experience here – except a little more lively. After the concluding blessing, however, the atmosphere changed dramatically as the first of four mariachi bands we would encounter during our visit emerged from the sacristy area. For the next 20 minutes or so we all enjoyed the bright sounds from the trumpets, guitars and singers costumed in blue. We later learned this band also awakened the Bishop at 3:00 a.m. to begin his day.
Lunch followed at a really beautiful hotel restaurant and we met Gladys who would host us for the evening. She is a delightful lady who took great care of us. ‘Those are cooked, you can eat those,” she said of two green beans and a carrot lying atop a bed of lettuce, “but not that,” pointing to the majority of the salad.
Returning to the diocesan offices, we had a formal meeting with the Bishop and some members of their Hermanamiento Committee about projects we are working on together in the areas of medical care, chapel construction, education and spiritual growth. It was at this time we exchanged the additional luggage containing medicines and prayer cards. While each parish in both dioceses have been invited to pray for each other on the last Sunday of every month, the 25,000 prayer cards we took were developed to be distributed to parishioners throughout the region to help personalize the partnership and encourage prayer for our parish leadership -- this time specifically focusing on priests, deacons, parish life coordinators, and the Gaylord Steering committee. Each card included a picture of the individual, basic statistics and current assignment or position.
We emerged from the meeting to enter the large narrow room which had been reconfigured and was now full of people with more peeking in through the open windows from outside the building. The next two hours were strictly entertainment as students from various schools performed traditional dances for the Bishop as their birthday gift to him.
We were then transported to Gladys’ house for a brief time before we met for dinner. It was a very simple building in the middle of a block. The outside did not reveal the spectacular inside which included a magnificent tropical courtyard complete with three large colorful parrots and a small live lizard meandering along the ceiling.
A short time later we departed for the Bishop’s birthday dinner celebration. We climbed up, up, up three floors of a beautiful circular staircase to the apartment of Juliette and her husband. By the time the celebration actually began, there had to be 30 people or more in the small apartment. The second mariachi band, costumed in black, hid in the kitchen until the Bishop came into view from the staircase. Simply put, it was a great party full of laughter and even included a clown piñata. There were no children present but once the piñata burst open, adults dove into the center of the room to grab a share of the candy as it spilled onto the floor. For the few who chose not to enter the fray, handfuls of loot were delivered to them. Bishop Solorzano and some of the priests even joined the mariachi band and nearly everyone spent some time on the makeshift dance floor as chairs were pulled away.
Dinner itself took place at the end of the evening. A woman named Yvette was seated by us at the table. She had spent nearly 15 years in the United States before returning to Matagalpa and spoke English very well. She was enjoying the opportunity to use her English and told us of her family and her church. Nearly everyone we spent any time in deeper conversation with mentioned children or family members who had been sent away during “the war” referring to the Contra-Sandinista battles in the 1980s. Families were split physically and politically during that time. Though much reconciliation has taken place since then, there is still an obvious underlying pain. It is mentioned quietly and often matter of factly, but in the core of the people, there is still much healing to be done. Yvette went on to describe their recent parish festival which is strikingly similar to such an event here – except it went to two weekends and included fireworks in addition to food, music, sales and auctions. Yvette shared her frustration about how hard it was to get help for the event. She explained how at times personalities clashed and how trying to do something different was a challenge because “We’ve always done it ‘this’ way.”
As I drifted off to sleep back at Gladys’ I reviewed the day and realized we were 2,200 miles away from home and the same stories were told. It was clear: People are people – whereever you are. We may face different challenges depending on economics, geography and political structures, but at the core we are the same.
to be continued....