Firstfruits of the passion flower

 

Our passion flower vine produced its first fruit during the week of our Lord’s Passion.

The English name is derived from the Latin name for its genus, Passiflora (there are several species). Missionaries to South America in the 17th Century the flower to illustrate the crucifixion of Christ. They saw the crucifixion reflected in the coiled tendrils, similar to the whips used in the flagellation, the three pistils corresponding to the three nails of the cross, five stigmas or wounds in the five stamens and the crown of thorns in the purple filaments that adorn the flower. 

The vine is thought to have originated in Paraguay, southern Brazil, and northern Argentina. It is commonly eaten and used in cooking throughout South America. In Venezuela, flower, fruit and vine are known as la parchita. In other regions it is called the maracuyá or pasionaria. We tried growing a passion flower vine several years ago, but the soil proved too poor to sustain the plant.

Our cacao tree also began producing during Holy Week. The word, cacao, refers to the tree’s beans which are processed to make cocoa and chocolate. Although early chocolate production is often associated with Mexico, the Spaniards found cacao trees cultivated on the shores of Lake Maracaibo and the Orinoco River in Venezuela, too. Before the world became interested in petroleum, chocolate was Venezuela’s major export and to this day, Venezuelan chocolate is recognized internationally for its quality.

A subdued Semana Santa

Our Semana Santa, or Holy Week, was rather subdued because of renewed concern over COVID-19. For a second year, we did not take our Palm Sunday processional through the streets.

There was talk of reopening the schools (including our preschool) after Holy Week, but than a new variant of COVID-19, called the P.1 virus, made its appearance in Brazil. Brazil is currently one of the global epicenters of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the world’s second-worst outbreak in terms of both deaths and infections, only after the United States. The P.1 variant is said to be more contagious than the original virus and has slipped over the Brazilian border into eastern Venezuela. Now restrictions on travel and business hours are stricter than ever.

We have heard that some of our sister congregations in eastern Venezuela have been hit hard by this new virus. Malnutrition and pre-existing diseases, such as dengue and yellow fever, make many Venezuelans vulnerable to COVID-19. Please continue to pray for these people and that Global Lutheran Outreach may find new funding for its shipments of medicine to Venezuela.

Solar batteries back in place

We have a new set of solar batteries in place after the explosion of one which I talked about in the last newsletter. It is good to have the solar backup system up and running again as power outages continue, with one lasting 18 hours within the last month. The acid from the exploded battery removed the polished surface from the floor in more than one room. Now the house often has the smell of raw cement from the exposed floor. Our house is the oldest structure on the property, having stood as a farmhouse in the 1950s and later used as a school before Luz Maria acquired it. We have an extra bedroom that we have used to offer visitors a place to stay. Our thought is that it would improve the house as a shelter if we installed ceramic tiles as the new surface for the floor. We have an estimate of $400 for materials for this project.

From Venezuela to Peru with love

Luz Maria’s daughters, Yepci and Charli, were teachers in our preschool before Yepci moved to Peru and Charli left for Ecuador. In 2009, Luz Maria and Charlie developed a “My Holy Week Book”, with a Bible verse and manual activity for every day of Holy Week. We used it in our preschool every year until 2020. We did not think about offering it online as an activity for the homebound child last year, because we thought the closing of the schools was only for a short while and we did not realize that was how things were going to work for more than a year. But Yepci remembered “My Holy Week Book” when she recently became involved in improving the Christian education program at the Lutheran mission in Los Olivos, Lima, Peru. Charli designed a new edition of the book for her and the children of Castillo Fuerte took to it immediately. Luz Maria also has distributed the new edition of the book online to women in the online deaconess training program for use with children at home.

O God of infinite grace and love, we beseech you to let your Word be fruitful in every land, dispel the gloom of ignorance and sin, loosen tongues to sing your praise. Help those who suffer for the sake of truth to find your strength in their weakness, to see you glory in what is despised, to feel your presence in what is desolate. For the welfare of your people everywhere, keep all in your steadfast love in Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, now and forever. Amen.