Lent in Bolivia

Hello All,
I hope that this finds you well and enjoying the beginnings of Lent. I am not sure how Lent is celebrated ehre in Bolivia but I will keep you informed.
Just 2 short stories that might give you a clearer insight into my experiences here. I was blessing house in La Rivera last week. We would bless one house and one of the kids of the barrio would run ahead to see if the family in the next house wanted their house blessed. One of the kids ran up to the neighbor and asked if they wanted their house blessed and the old man who lives there laughed and said "Why would a priest come here?" He didn't believe that anyone would come up the mountain to a new and poor barrio to serve. I pray that our presence there shows the love of the Lord and the Church for the people there. I have to admit as I was walking through the mud and the rain the question "Why would a priest come here?" went through my mind as well.
Also last week I was visting a family who live in a 1 room house with a dirt floor as many families here live in. The young mother (she looks about 17) had a 2 month old baby with her. I asked the her the baby's name and she said "Bruce". This not being a usual Spanish name I asked her why Bruce. She said that he wants to be American. Such is the perception of many people that the US is the answer to so many of their needs. About 1/2 of the working adults in our barrio are working overseas primarily in Spain, Venezuala, Argentina, Brazil and the US. This wreaks havoc on family life but so often people feel they have no alternative. Please pray for us especially for our children who suffer so much.
Our school program is up and running and it looks like we will have a number of short term volunteers coming down to work in the area.
Thanks for all your prayers and feel free to post a greeting here on the blog.
Much love.