High School Visitors

Sorry that I posted so little last week. I know I had some pictures up, but the text was lacking. There just hasn't been much time to write in the past two weeks. That's because of a couple of Jesuit run high schools from Texas.

Strake Jesuit and Dallas Jesuit both brought groups of high school boys (they're all boys schools)* to the Quispicanchi valley. They were looking for different things. Strake wanted a volunteer experience and Jesuit wanted an immersion experience. Both groups were a lot of fun. But they required a lot of time and energy. Major PROPS to Victoria and Erin who worked out last minute plan changes and did the bulk of the hosting work.

Both groups treated us to dinner. As if often the case when a group of Americans comes, we have some new goodies in the house.

I really enjoyed hanging out with the guys. We played a lot of soccer with local kids. I think High School is a fun age, and I was reminded of how fun an age it can be over the last two weeks of interacting with these young people.

I also had the chance to lead a reflection with the boys from Dallas Jesuit. We hiked up to the cross** on Thursday morning. We read the Parable of the Sower (text below) and an essay from the JVC Community Resource Binder (CRB) called “When powerful experiences aren't enough.” The idea I presented to them was that this experience they had in Peru was a seed. As the essay from the CRB illustrates, such seeds aren't enough to bear good fruit. They must be tended and cultivated. “Don't let this just be a cool trip you did in high school,” I told them, “care for it so that it can be something more.”

My idea wasn't to make sure they all join JVC in 5 years when they've graduated college; my hope was that they would let this trip touch them and change them for the better. I got through to at least one of them. He left us a very nice note about his reflections and hopes from the trip. It's always nice to know that a connection has been made. And I look forward to seeing the chaperones again next year if they come down. Some of them were already talking about planning next year's trip.

*I love and respect the Jesuits as individuals and as an order. Part of love is honesty. Hey Society of Jesus – why do you run co-ed schools and all boys schools, but no all girls schools? Seems like when it comes to the youth, “men for others” favors other males. Get it together.

**About a third of the way up one of the mountains. The background pic for this blog was taken from the vantage point by the cross.

For those who didn't grow up hearing the Parable of the Sower read to them on Sunday morning at least once every year since they were born, here's the text from the Gospel of Matthew:

Later that same day Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake. 2 A large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat there and taught as the people stood on the shore. 3 He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one:

“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. 4 As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. 5 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow.6 But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! 9 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”