“Hi. My name is Elizabeth and I am a mission survivor.”
With these words we began our sharing this evening and Zack was quick to reply “and my last mission was one day ago!”
We have lived very full and fulfilling days here and as nearly half the group departs tomorrow afternoon, we shared some of our favorite moments from the mission as well as a word that sums up our mission experience (or for the more verbose, a phrase).
But before we get to that, why don’t we go over a little of our agenda for this day.
Thursday happens to be the day each week that the Missionaries of Charity do a retreat and so normally do not allow volunteers to come to their centers. Thus constrained, we decided to take the morning off and headed up the mountain to see another facet of this beloved country.
Our drive took us through a “nicer” part of town; an area that helped us to see some of the potential of Haiti and once we got to the top, the view was spectacular. We spent several moments looking out over the whole of Port-au-Prince (trying to find the places we have been) and discovering the beauty when you look upon Haiti from a bit of a distance.
We then drove a bit up the road to a bit of land where we were able to set up Mass and celebrate (in the manner in which John Paul II would on his frequent hikes with students in his first few years as a priest).
When we finally return to the Guesthouse, we had just enough time to take a little snack and break before about half the group went again to Joseph’s school to teach another English class to the older kids.
In the evening, we all gathered together for supper. And what has been quite delightful to behold is that as the week has progressed, of our own accord we’ve been joining tables together in order to eat all together, enjoy each others’ company and share our lives and our experiences.
At night, we had a special moment of adoration on the roof of the Guesthouse and a time to reflect on the whole of our experience on this mission.
Which brings us back to the beginning. Our moment of sharing this evening brought out experiences and lessons that each different person had. From the lessons we learned from the sick children to the lessons we learned from our own weaknesses, from the deeply spiritual moment of prayer with the patients at the Home for the Dying, here are the words that each person shared:
• Do all this with love
• Humbling
• Being present with people with peace
• Inspiration
• Empathy
• Spiritual
• Mother
• Hands
• Change
• Called
• Holy Spirit
• Faith
• Jesus is in the poor
• Blessings of joy
• Unsettling
• Patience
• Joy, suffering, praying with people, appreciating my life
We hope that as we return, you will have a moment to listen to our stories—more than just the things that we did, but to really be able to hear how this experience has transformed us in many ways!
We still have some time tomorrow that we will get to spend with “our babies” and so you will get to see one more update. We still ask for your prayers so that we finish this mission well!
