Monday night, August the 12th, was a delightful evening with the passing of a summer shower at Lake Harriet’s Beard’s Plaisance shelter. SJA members met with Guatemalan Sister Parish member Miriam de Batres as she passed through Minneapolis. Miriam, a past delegate to SJA from Tierra Nueva II, attended a National Delegation Conference in Fargo and was able to make a visit here on her return. Miriam is a nurse in Tierra Nueva II, working in a Government Health Clinic next to the Sister Parish Center. She is secretary for Sister Parish Committee in addition to holding the same position with the Parish Council. She also is active in the Women’s Ministry Program and participates in its training and development program.

SJA’ers planned a pot luck BBQ in order to welcome her back and find a way for as many as possible to greet her. Miriam was surrounded by members of the Sister Parish Committee and their families amongst others. It was a perfect summer night and Lake Harriet provided a great setting to facilitate the event.

Between 40 and 50 people showed up with a dish in hand and something for the grill. Numerous good foods such as humus, pita bread, fresh fruits, pastas, potato dishes and a delicious cold beet salad filled the tables. Some familiar committee faces were Rick Nelson, Tim & Mary Beth Leone-Getten and daughter Sienna, Vicki Hempe, Pat Johnson, Susan Sell along with her daughter and family visiting from Mexico, and Bob & Jean Heberle. Louise Eidsmoe brought a Japanese college exchange student experiencing her first week in our country, who was very excited to be here, feeling completely comfortable with everyone. She tasted ‘picnic’ food for the first time, loving the humus and tabouli!

Entertaining conversations surrounded Miriam. Strong relationships were evident. Many folks were so happy to see her again that she was greeted with huge hugs. During the evening the participants strolled about catching up on news about the families they’ve gotten to know from previous delegations.

Many of the children found the nearby park playground and took advantage of it while their parents visited. At one point you could witness a kid’s marathon race between Marcos and Conner Quinn(below, left) around the pavilion with Sienna’s father/coach timing their laps. The count was in the teens. They were relentless and one can only imagine how exhausted by the time they road home. Tim proclaimed to these little bilinguals in Spanish; “Vaya, Vaya”, which they easily comprehended. Proof that they’ve already acquired early linguistic skills. Many of these children are students at the St. Louis Park Spanish Immersion school. Some of the parents have lived in Peru, Chili, Guatemala, and Mexico.

The Sister Parish hermanamiento shows interest in the development of relationships beyond their homeland boundaries. The dedication this ministry has shown in the past, and no doubt will in the future, provides great opportunities to learn for those of us here as well as for Miriam and her colleagues in TNII. The Sister Parish connection is cultural as well as spiritual. And it provides this connection not only for the adults, but for the early bonds of childhood as well as for our teenage youth.

Miriam was thrilled by the warm reception and it reassured in her an already growing trust in the families she knows here. It was a short visit, but no doubt meaningful to her as well as the Minnesotans. Some time to extend a welcome, some hospitality and feeling of caring!

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Peg LaSota comes from a photography background. She now works in the digital world, computer instruction, and with "videography" and the restoration of family films. She is enthusiastic about capturing family memories and preserving them digitally. Along with that, her time is spent with her family and her love for learning Spanish, piano, recorder.....and of course singing with the choir!