Still truck'n and the truck'n is good.

Man, I haven't blogged in far too long. Busy, as seminary life always is. Lots been going on. Thinking about writing about it feels overwhelming. So I'm going to try doing a little at a time.

First the big news. I'm now officially a candidate of the Diocese of Idaho. Being a candidate is the next big step after postulancy and the one before ordination to the diaconate. Official date of my candidacy is Oct. 26th. I could be ordained to the diaconate this summer. Then after at least 6 months I could be ordained to the priesthood. Things are getting close and it's like --- wow!

Some of you may have known I took the GOEs (General Ordination Exams) this January. GOEs are like board exams. During the GOEs you write on 7 questions over 4 days, covering Theology, Ethics, Scripture, Church History, Liturgy, Pastoral Care, Contemporary issues. Some of the questions are closed book, some have limited resources, some are open resources, which includes the internet.

We all took these exams on the internet, in our homes or apartments so it's on the honor system. We'd login and at the exact starting time of the exam period the question would be posted. Then we'd 3 1/2 hours to answer the question. We needed to write 3 single spaced pages, 12 pt. type for each answer. It was an ordeal! I did not think I did well because I did not get to 3 pages on some of the questions.

However, I passed.

The readers I had, thanks be to God, valued content over answer length and typos. I'm relieved and sooo glad I can put that behind me.

On another note, here are pictures of my Quito family. Click on the picture for a larger image.


This is me, Miguel and Fernando. Fernando is the papa.


This Marianna,la mama, me and Miguel.