HAITI —
“Blessed are the Merciful, they will receive Mercy!”
The group spend our last day at the Home of the Dying. It was a beautiful day because we were all much more at home, spending time with those we befriended on our earlier visit. It was a day where things hit much deeper in the heart, many heard the stories of some of the patients we were serving, Father gave the sacrament of anointing to some who were in grave danger of death, we spent time with families visiting for the afternoon. It is hard to describe the mix of love, joy, suffering and shock that can all come together as you visit with new friends who’s challenges can be so much greater than you imagined.
Here are a few of the reflections that missionaries shared tonight:
- It impressed me that one of the women spent over an hour copying all the english/Creole phrases in our prayer book so she could learn english.
- Best moment was drawing with one of the women in the home for the dying. We would switch off, I would draw something, she would draw something… it was special to be able to share our talents with each other.
- So many of us had fun drawing with the children and young women. They would sign it the picture and want us to sign it too!
- The most joyful moment for me was giving some little girls piggy back rides! It was something I loved as a kid, and it was great to see it is universal! The hardest moment was realizing that the phrase “skin and bones” can be real, some of these people really are….
It was special to be present at the anointing of the sick to help Father, I had never seen that sacrament before.- I was so impressed with one of the sisters who hurt her shoulder 3 months ago, she never complains and hasn’t put it up in a sling because there is so much to do.
- What impressed me was to see the men playing tic-tac-toe and see how many of them struggled even to make a circles or and ‘x’, they haven’t held a pencil in years…
- The sisters had stations of the cross today for the patients and the local community. I went and they were amazing, it was packed: patients, families, people from the community, all coming together to pray.
- I spent time with a woman who has been there all the time with her 14 year old daughter who is dying, she never left her side. What an incredible mother, I want to be like that.
- What impressed me the most was watching another missionary pray the Rosary with one of the women who had just received the anointing of the sick and was very, very sick. She was in so much pain and was concerned that the missionary had a place to sit on her bed, moving despite her intense pain to make a place.
- As a priest it was so powerful to give the anointing of the sick, to spend time with each person and lay my hands on them, and to to know how God was working through that sacrament for them, bringing God’s love because that is what will endure.
- The hardest part was to say goodbye!
MEXICO —
Our mission trip in Ahuazotepec came to an end with a grand finale! On Thursday, Fr. Michael, along with Fr. Inocencio, blessed the new Church and afterwards the towns-people offered the missionaries a big feast in Thanksgiving. The day was crowned with the Baptism of Isnel Esmeralda, a girl from Las Puentes.
Friday, the missionaries drove back to Mexico City, they visited the pyramids in Teotohuacán and the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
