Theology 2 in Venezuela #5

(By Allan Paul Eilen)

Today, after breakfast and Morning Prayer, we got a tour of the parish. Afterwards, we toured some of the different barrios with Fr Schaeffer. Sadly, at one of the visits we learned of a shooting the night before that killed the godchild of one of the female leaders in this particular barrio. The wake service will take place tomorrow. After lunch, I went with Fr. Tim Norris for a wake service of an elderly woman (94 years old) who had recently died. I assisted Father at the service, which was in the home of the family. There were about 30 or 40 in attendance. Because they don’t embalm the body, they have the service usually within a couple days of the death. The top half of the casket is open and covered with Plexiglas in order to view the upper torso. The woman looked rather peaceful. All told, the service lasted only about 20 minutes. Father initially expressed his condolences to the family before gathering all together for the prayers. Before leaving, he again expressed his sympathy and promise of prayers. In the afternoon, we had a bus tour of the cities of San Felix and Puerto Ordaz. Our mission is located in the city of Guayana, which is a sister city to San Felix. After Evening Prayer, Mass, and Dinner, we were to visit with the people of the Barrio of Guaiparito, but this was cancelled due to the fact that this was the barrio where the young 15 year-old born was shot and killed. There were rumors that a young child was injured as well, but I will have to confirm this maybe tomorrow. Tomorrow morning we have Mass with the Missionaries of Charity at @ 7:00 AM.