Greetings from Central America! Thanks for the opportunity to contribute my story. Here, in all sincerity, is my "Confession" fashioned after the model of St. Augustine's great testimony to the work of God in his life, a "confession" in one of its two spiritual meanings, that is, "to praise and glorify God in an exercise in self knowledge and true humility in the atmosphere of grace and reconciliation."

There have been, at least, two providential invitations in my life: the first, my formation at Sion where I lived for 19 years; and the second invitation, to live and work in Central America for 24 years. This latter came about not long after my Mom's death on January 20, 1984. (Some time before that, our family discovered the truth of my mom's ancestry, i.e. that she had been born in Brooklyn, N.Y. of Jewish parents, a secret she had kept from us for many years.) So, in the plan of God, Sion and its mission to the people of God...and that call for me to go to a poor third world country, came together.

In this "confession", these are the highlights as they relate to Sion. Arriving in Nicaragua in 1984, my reconnection with Sion came through Sr. Bertalina, with whom I had lived in community in Moose Jaw Sion. One Sunday at Mass in a Nica Church, I turned around for the greeting of peace, and there she was! This reconnection with Sion was also strengthened through friendship with Sr. Ana Maria Murcia. With her, I was able to become involved in Barrio work. Again, it was through two Sions, Sr.Ana Maria and Sr.Hilda, that in 1986, I legally adopted two orphaned Nicaraguan children, ages 10 and 12. They have been indescribable "regales de Dios" (gifts of God) and still are the warp and woof of my life, now both married and parents.

From 1984-1993, I taught English at the American Nicaraguan International School and became involved in sensitizing many of my students to social justice issues and a project to help the barrio poor. (It darn near got me fired, too, but God saved me from such a fate!) Each Friday, after classes, my students and I went to Rene Cisneros, and El Recreo to tutor poor children in reading and math. It was a life-changing experience for many of the ANS students, the majority of whom lived in the wealthy enclaves of Managua. Without Sion, I would not have had that barrio connection.

Sometime before 1993, I decided to bring Juana (19) and Antonio (17) to Canada to learn English and acquire a job skill. Well, "the best laid plans of mice and men etc." Juana decided to stay in Nicaragua. She was in love. It was impossible to help her to see that, to a very real extent, her future was at stake. So, without her, Antonio and I flew to Saskatoon, where Antonio learned English and where Sr. Beth was so good to us. Then because I could not find work, we moved to Calgary and with Theresa Murphy's help, I subbed in the Catholic Schools while Antonio finished H.S. and worked at Walmart!!

In 2000, Antonio and I drove from Calgary, Alberta to Nicaragua, a journey of faith, for sure. Those are some of the nuts and bolts of the workings of God's providence for us.

In 2002, I was hired by Ave Maria University here in San Marcos, where for three years, I taught English and Communications. Juana's relationship had broken down, and so I offered her work as my secretary, but my job, and hers, too, came to a sudden and dramatic end after a whistle-blower crisis involving U finances. A number of injustices occurred. At the moment, I supplement my Canadian pension with editing for the University. But it is a constant struggle. Still we are fortunate, for example, my small church community in Calgary has just given Antonio a two-year scholarship to study Computer maintenance so that he can become Nica certified. Antonio and Juana (now married) are job searching, an uphill battle, because while there is lots of work, low salaries are the great institutional sin of the society. Minimum wage in most sectors: $100.00 per mo. (Forgot to tell you that Antonio got married a year after our return.)

The question: how does anyone survive, not just physically, but spiritually, under such conditions? A great help for many is the proclamation of the Latino bishops concerning "God's preferential option for the poor" encompassing not only the unjustly deprived of this earth but also those who come to their assistance. It is an incomparable grace to live among people of faith and to witness how they love and look after one another against great odds. Yes, "sin abounds, but grace is present in even more abundance." And I owe Sion many thanks for its emphasis on the importance of a prayer life. Opportunities for God's work are endless e.g. I am in the process of preparing Antonio's son, Marcos (6) for his first confession and communion ...in Spanish!

Notwithstanding Sion's gifts to me, and since this is a "confession," in the Augustinian tradition, I continually ask my Father's pardon for the great sin of my life which was not trusting Him enough when I was at Sion, and where so many things seemed to go so wrong for me. But God, in Jesus, raises us up each day from death to life. I pray to those blessed Sionians (Noreen, Winifred, Gertrudine etc.) who lived lives of such fidelity and dedicated love, and I deeply admire those still at Sion.