June 8: The adventures in the Mayan Jungle began. 47 missionaries, age 13 to women and men of 55, all young at heart and ready to serve in the Mayan Communities. The project? To build three houses, 10 bathrooms, and many shelves and tables.
They were led by Fr. Michael Mitchell, LC, Paola Trevino, Maritza Silva and Becca Olek, consecrated women of Regnum Christi, and Br. Dustin George, LC.
We were just one hour away from one of the most touristy places in Cancun – Playa del Carmen – and yet there there’s weak electricity and no running water, and the communities speak a very broken and limited Spanish…the basic necessities are missing.
Along with the construction projects we also tended to the spiritual needs of the community. The missionaries led a summer camp for 60 children, which included English, summer school for math and geography, arts and crafts and sports.
“We build a house; you build a family”
At the end of the first week of a 3-week Mission in Cancun, we finished the first of 3 houses (the walls and roof). One of the missionaries, when saying his goodbyes to the future owner of the house, Mr. Guzman, told him: “We built you a house; now it is up to you to build a home”.
That was a pretty strong statement if you ask me. But it made me think. We can’t lose sight of what we are all about. We as Mission Youth Missionaries; we as the baptized; we as Catholics; we as human beings. We are not about building for the sake of building, working for the fun of it. We are about making someone happy, lifting up their dignity, building something for their future, teaching by example; we are all about being witnesses of Christ’s love for them. We are all about being part of the difference.
For the past two months I’ve gone between missions in Haiti and the Mayan Jungle in Mexico. Aside from being tiring, it can be very daunting and depressing to see so much suffering, abandonment, misery… one question may arise: If God is Almighty why doesn’t He do something about it? Mother Teresa of Calcutta answered that question: “He – God — did do something about it: He created you!”
Yes, He created you and me. And in Mission Youth we are making a difference; we are being part of the solution! In Mexico we built 3 houses; in Haiti we built benches, tables, a brick wall… but God was also building “something” inside each one of the 215 missionaries of the summer missions. We also need to lay the foundations, put up walls, put concrete, paint, nails… Christ is building our inner house: foundations of faith, hope and love; walls of friendship, prayer and service; cement to “hold up” the walls with the sacraments; paint and nails with works of mercy and details of hidden charity.
Mission Youth was very busy (and still is until August 10th) this summer. We are trying to “build” strong young men and women. Strong spiritually and humanly speaking by giving them a deep strong experience of Christ through serving others.
