{"id":3251,"date":"2024-06-03T23:35:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-03T23:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/?p=3251"},"modified":"2025-12-31T15:35:47","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T15:35:47","slug":"trial-by-fire-in-the-amazon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/trial-by-fire-in-the-amazon\/","title":{"rendered":"Trial by Fire in the Amazon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Few places on earth are as challenging as the Amazon rainforest. Yet that is precisely where four Maryknoll seminarians are training to become missionary priests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The young men are spending two years in Bolivia as part of their Overseas Training Program \u2014 an essential part of formation for Maryknoll priest and brother candidates<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe first requirement of OTP is that they really experience a missioner\u2019s life,\u201d says Maryknoll Father Alejandro Marina<\/a>, the local program coordinator. \u201cWhat it is like living in another culture, another language, and whether they will feel comfortable.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leonard Kabaka, 27, says that every month they accompany Father Alejandro to the Amazon<\/a>. \u201cWe carry our mission activities to different villages in the forests,\u201d he explains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another candidate, Lawrence Mutiso, 30, adds that the experience is \u201cthe core\u201d of his mission learning in Bolivia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The missioners assist in the Isiboro S\u00e9cure National Park and Indigenous Territory<\/a> (known by its Spanish acronym TIPNIS). Maryknoll was invited to serve there by Father Enrique Bustamante Ram\u00edrez of the Archdiocese of Cochabamba, who oversees pastoral care in this rugged tract of over 4,700 square miles. Roughly six dozen small communities are spread throughout the territory. Most of the 14,000 inhabitants are Catholic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe main challenge is access,\u201d says Kabaka, of Kisii, Kenya. Some communities can be reached only by boat \u2014 depending on water levels. Once, to get to the next village, he recalls, they had to push, rather than row, their canoe. \u201cIt took three hours,\u201d the seminarian says. \u201cBut that\u2019s what mission is all about. Bringing the Good News and sharing it with the people.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although on paper TIPNIS is doubly protected as a national park and as Indigenous-held land, the reality is different. Climate change and socioeconomic upheaval are exacerbating already existing poverty. Illegal logging and land theft by outsiders are increasingly common.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Left
Left to Right: Maryknoll Seminarian Barrack Odeka brings experience in agriculture to Maryknoll\u2019s work of helping with reforestation projects in Cochabamba and in the Amazon. At a Communion service led by the seminarians in Santisima Trinidad parish in TIPNIS, Kabaka greets parishioners; Mutiso distributes Communion. (Adam Mitchell\/Bolivia) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople are migrating to the Amazon to farm,\u201d Mutiso says. \u201cAnd the more they migrate, the more they cut down trees<\/a>.\u201d Deforestation<\/a> is both cause and effect of wildfires that rage out of control<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Julia Molina is secretary of the parish of Sant\u00edsima Trinidad (Most Holy Trinity) in a town of the same name. \u201cGod gave us nature. We have to care for it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She weeps as she lists the \u201cdisasters\u201d facing her Moje\u00f1o-Trinitario community: stripped forests, high temperatures \u201cthat don\u2019t let us sleep,\u201d drought, dry riverbeds and the loss of fishing<\/a> and irrigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Church gives me strength,\u201d Molina says through tears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pastoral care is crucial. \u201cWithout someone to enrich you with the Word, the Body and Blood of Christ, you start losing faith,\u201d says Mutiso, of Machakos, Kenya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He and Kabaka usually stay on for another week after Father Marina and the other two seminarians return to their responsibilities in the city of Cochabamba.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHere at the Maryknoll center<\/a> (in Cochabamba), we have staff,\u201d Father Marina says. \u201cThere, they have to care for the house and cook. It\u2019s a whole training of how to organize your life in mission.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Father Marina notes that the community had some children and youth of age for First Communion and Confirmation. \u201cKabaka and Lawrence offered to prepare the program,\u201d he says. \u201cIf they go to a parish that is already set up, the pastor or director says, \u2018do this.\u2019 But in TIPNIS they had to think about the program \u2014 and how to give it. They had to modify what they prepared to adapt to the concrete people in front of them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result of their effort, last October, 20 children received their First Communion and 15 young adults were confirmed, he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Maryknoll
Maryknoll Seminarian Yohana Maswizilo and a catechist prepare a dynamic for the First Communion class at Santa Ana of Cala Cala parish in Cochabamba. (Deirdre Cornell\/Bolivia)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Upon arriving in Cochabamba, each candidate begins OTP with a homestay with a local host family, followed by six months of language study at the Maryknoll center. Afterward they are given the opportunity to serve in a wide range of ministries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yohana Maswizilo, 34, was eager to begin serving. \u201cI thought to wait would not help me,\u201d he says, \u201cbecause I need to learn more about the culture of the people, and mission.\u201d The seminarian, from Buhangija in Shinyanga Region, Tanzania, has found a spiritual home in Santa Ana of Cala Cala. In this parish \u2014 founded by Maryknoll \u2014 he assists on the altar and helps with religious education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year, Maswizilo accompanied the First Communion class for children. \u201cI decided to start with that age because of the language,\u201d he says, \u201cbut also to experience how the classes are being done.\u201d This year, he will move up to older groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Santa Ana, Maswizilo also discovered a new ministry: Alcoholics Anonymous. He says about the group members, who meet there regularly, \u201cI am learning from them to be compassionate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trying out new ministries is part and parcel of the formation program, says Father Marina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOTP is open for you to express the gifts that you have, the talents you have been given by God,\u201d says Barrack Odeka, 32, from Sindo in Homa Bay, Kenya. \u201cYou present yourself, put yourself there, and allow God to do his work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Young
Young parishioners in Sant\u00edsima Trinidad follow the Sunday readings. Like most of the Amazon region, this community in TIPNIS lacks a priest in residence. (Adam Mitchell\/Bolivia)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Odeka says that for him care of creation started from home. \u201cWhere I come from, we are surrounded by mountains and the lake,\u201d says the seminarian. \u201cMost people who are not employed do farming and fishing.\u201d In Cochabamba and TIPNIS, he grows trees for reforestation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the young trees will take 10 years to mature. At first the villagers in the Amazon were not enthusiastic about tending these saplings in the nursery, Father Marina says. \u201cI asked them, \u2018What is happening? If you don\u2019t care for them, they won\u2019t grow,\u2019\u201d he recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey told me, \u2018Father, we understand the need to grow these trees. But we also need to make money. We need cacao trees, too, so we can sell the cacao. Because if we have only these trees, what will happen is that we will need money \u2026 and then we will cut them to sell!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The solution, Odeka learned, is to grow both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides the trips to TIPNIS, Odeka goes to El Abra prison in Cochabamba on Thursdays for a Communion service attended by about 40 inmates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are strong Catholics there who really need Holy Communion,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accompanied by seasoned Maryknollers, local communities and each other, the seminarians are being trained for missionary priesthood in a trial by fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hardest thing to witness, they say, is what most motivates them. All four young men have been profoundly moved by the pastoral needs of the local church and its scarcity of ordained ministers \u2014 especially in the Amazon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There, Maswizilo says, \u201cI was able to recognize the hunger of the people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adam Mitchell contributed reporting to this article.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Featured image: In a remote Indigenous community of the Amazon, Maryknoll Seminarians Lawrence Mutiso and Leonard Kabaka (left, right) take Communion to the homebound. (Adam Mitchell\/Bolivia)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Four seminarians in Maryknoll\u2019s overseas training program face arduous challenges in Bolivia, including TIPNIS, a remote area of the Amazon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":3252,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","_eb_data_table":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25,39],"tags":[241,225,54,240,238,219,239,242,243,244,245,246,247,215,248],"class_list":["post-3251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-stories","category-summer-2024","tag-amazon","tag-cochabamba-bolivia","tag-deirdre-cornell","tag-father-enrique-bustamante","tag-maryknoll-father-alejandro-marina","tag-maryknoll-magazine-summer-2024","tag-maryknoll-seminarian-barrack-odeka","tag-maryknoll-seminarian-lawrence-mutiso","tag-maryknoll-seminarian-leonard-kabaka","tag-maryknoll-seminarian-yohana-maswizilo","tag-otp","tag-overseas-training-program-otp","tag-santa-ana-of-cala-cala","tag-summer-2024","tag-tipnis"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTrial by Fire in the Amazon - Maryknoll Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trial by Fire in the Amazon - Maryknoll Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Four seminarians in Maryknoll\u2019s overseas training program face arduous challenges in Bolivia, including TIPNIS, a remote area of the Amazon.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/trial-by-fire-in-the-amazon\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Maryknoll Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-06-03T23:35:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-31T15:35:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/24-29-updated-feature.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"795\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"447\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Deirdre Cornell\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Deirdre Cornell\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/trial-by-fire-in-the-amazon\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/trial-by-fire-in-the-amazon\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Deirdre Cornell\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/dacb6409efc70e404a4297ae77a32147\"},\"headline\":\"Trial by Fire in the Amazon\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-03T23:35:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-31T15:35:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/trial-by-fire-in-the-amazon\/\"},\"wordCount\":1247,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/trial-by-fire-in-the-amazon\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/24-29-updated-feature.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Amazon\",\"Cochabamba Bolivia\",\"Deirdre Cornell\",\"Father Enrique Bustamante\",\"Maryknoll Father Alejandro Marina\",\"Maryknoll Magazine Summer 2024\",\"Maryknoll Seminarian Barrack Odeka\",\"Maryknoll Seminarian Lawrence Mutiso\",\"Maryknoll Seminarian Leonard Kabaka\",\"Maryknoll Seminarian Yohana Maswizilo\",\"OTP\",\"Overseas Training Program (OTP)\",\"Santa Ana of Cala Cala\",\"Summer 2024\",\"TIPNIS\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Featured Stories\",\"Summer 2024\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/trial-by-fire-in-the-amazon\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/trial-by-fire-in-the-amazon\/\",\"name\":\"Trial by Fire in the Amazon - Maryknoll Magazine\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/trial-by-fire-in-the-amazon\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/trial-by-fire-in-the-amazon\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/24-29-updated-feature.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-03T23:35:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-31T15:35:47+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/trial-by-fire-in-the-amazon\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/trial-by-fire-in-the-amazon\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/trial-by-fire-in-the-amazon\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/24-29-updated-feature.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/24-29-updated-feature.webp\",\"width\":795,\"height\":447,\"caption\":\"In a remote Indigenous community of the Amazon, Maryknoll Seminarians Lawrence Mutiso and Leonard Kabaka (left, right) take Communion to the homebound. (Adam Mitchell\/Bolivia)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/trial-by-fire-in-the-amazon\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Trial by Fire in the Amazon\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/\",\"name\":\"Maryknoll Magazine\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Maryknoll Magazine\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/cropped-MKFB_Logo_Transparet1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/cropped-MKFB_Logo_Transparet1.png\",\"width\":333,\"height\":68,\"caption\":\"Maryknoll Magazine\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/dacb6409efc70e404a4297ae77a32147\",\"name\":\"Deirdre Cornell\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/deirdrecornell_avatar-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/deirdrecornell_avatar-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Deirdre Cornell\"},\"description\":\"Deirdre Cornell served as a Maryknoll lay missioner in Mexico. She is author of three Orbis Books, including Jesus Was a Migrant and American Madonna: Crossing Borders with the Virgin Mary, and currently works on the staff of Maryknoll Magazine.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/author\/deirdrecornell\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Trial by Fire in the Amazon - Maryknoll Magazine","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Trial by Fire in the Amazon - Maryknoll Magazine","og_description":"Four seminarians in Maryknoll\u2019s overseas training program face arduous challenges in Bolivia, including TIPNIS, a remote area of the Amazon.","og_url":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/trial-by-fire-in-the-amazon\/","og_site_name":"Maryknoll Magazine","article_published_time":"2024-06-03T23:35:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-12-31T15:35:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":795,"height":447,"url":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/24-29-updated-feature.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Deirdre Cornell","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Deirdre Cornell","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/trial-by-fire-in-the-amazon\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/trial-by-fire-in-the-amazon\/"},"author":{"name":"Deirdre Cornell","@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/dacb6409efc70e404a4297ae77a32147"},"headline":"Trial by Fire in the Amazon","datePublished":"2024-06-03T23:35:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-31T15:35:47+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/trial-by-fire-in-the-amazon\/"},"wordCount":1247,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/trial-by-fire-in-the-amazon\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/24-29-updated-feature.webp","keywords":["Amazon","Cochabamba Bolivia","Deirdre Cornell","Father Enrique Bustamante","Maryknoll Father Alejandro Marina","Maryknoll Magazine Summer 2024","Maryknoll Seminarian Barrack Odeka","Maryknoll Seminarian Lawrence Mutiso","Maryknoll Seminarian Leonard Kabaka","Maryknoll Seminarian Yohana Maswizilo","OTP","Overseas Training Program (OTP)","Santa Ana of Cala Cala","Summer 2024","TIPNIS"],"articleSection":["Featured Stories","Summer 2024"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/trial-by-fire-in-the-amazon\/","url":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/trial-by-fire-in-the-amazon\/","name":"Trial by Fire in the Amazon - Maryknoll Magazine","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/trial-by-fire-in-the-amazon\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/trial-by-fire-in-the-amazon\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/24-29-updated-feature.webp","datePublished":"2024-06-03T23:35:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-31T15:35:47+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/trial-by-fire-in-the-amazon\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/trial-by-fire-in-the-amazon\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/trial-by-fire-in-the-amazon\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/24-29-updated-feature.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/24-29-updated-feature.webp","width":795,"height":447,"caption":"In a remote Indigenous community of the Amazon, Maryknoll Seminarians Lawrence Mutiso and Leonard Kabaka (left, right) take Communion to the homebound. (Adam Mitchell\/Bolivia)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/trial-by-fire-in-the-amazon\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Trial by Fire in the Amazon"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/","name":"Maryknoll Magazine","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#organization","name":"Maryknoll Magazine","url":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/cropped-MKFB_Logo_Transparet1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/cropped-MKFB_Logo_Transparet1.png","width":333,"height":68,"caption":"Maryknoll Magazine"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/dacb6409efc70e404a4297ae77a32147","name":"Deirdre Cornell","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/deirdrecornell_avatar-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/deirdrecornell_avatar-96x96.jpg","caption":"Deirdre Cornell"},"description":"Deirdre Cornell served as a Maryknoll lay missioner in Mexico. She is author of three Orbis Books, including Jesus Was a Migrant and American Madonna: Crossing Borders with the Virgin Mary, and currently works on the staff of Maryknoll Magazine.","url":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/author\/deirdrecornell\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3251"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5683,"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3251\/revisions\/5683"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}