Today, as you may remember, was our outing day. Although it was difficult to say good-bye to our new friends in Nuevo Durango, we also enjoyed the time we had to see another side of Mexico in the ruins of Tulum, the beach and a cenote. We hope to share more of our pictures when we get home tomorrow, but here is a sneak peak:
As of this writing, we have just finished our time of sharing at the end of the mission and you all would have been edified by their words, so we will let them speak for themselves:
• I saw what life can be like outside the privileged life that I lead
• I saw the lack of opportunities that they have.
• This was a new missionary experience
• It raised a lot of existential questions: how can God allow the cross in their lives? Is it worth it to give my life?
• It was hard to see that for many of them breakfast was the only meal of day
• One low was their expectation of receiving. I think that next year when we come back we don’t need to bring so much.
• My high was of being with missionaries, seeing their sensitivity, loving with all heart, work ethic, being the big brother and sister, no complaining, sacrificial, generous
• Since we live in America we know what the opportunities are and they may never know.
• The whole trip was a high for me!
• God gave these opportunities to me for a reason.
• Low of not knowing if I will see these kids again.
• The bonds of the mission last forever, even if you don’t talk with each other again. It’s mostly you that changes on the mission. Mission like this is more like training. It is easy to live our lives on mission when everyone is working for the same reason and goals and hard when you are surrounded by hundreds of people who don’t really care.
• Interesting to hear the progression of each missionaries thoughts…you get it.
• Tomorrow is game on…do I do right thing? Easy to look at haves and have nots. All of us are called to use our gifts.
• Meeting all the missionaries was something else.
• It is a spiritual and uplifting gift to be with young kids and see that you really care. How wonderful you are and a reflection of God’s grace.
• Our work is not done; we are only putting a band-aid.
• This trip was to put our lives and theirs in perspective. It was an invitation to change our lives.
• All our hopes and dreams can’t all be accomplished.
• Seeing how happy the kids were everyday made my own lows less important.
• There’s more to life than just in Pennsylvania.
• I had certain expectations for the trip. I was imagining Nuevo Durango, exaggerating what it was, but the exaggerations were accurate and it was hard to see.
• The time spent with kids made whole trip worthwhile.
• I had no idea that I was as lucky as I am. I have food, a good school; it made me appreciate what I have so much more.
• Their whole town radiated happiness, there was trust and love everywhere that is harder to find in America.
• Even though I couldn’t talk to her, the connection was still there. They have given so much more to me than I could ever give to them.
• Seeing little Diego wearing same clothes four out of five days was hard for me. I am so fortunate to have a fresh pair of clothes everyday.
• I gave my shoes to Samuel and he was very grateful.
• My high was our hour of devotion. Having that time in adoration, I was overcome by God’s love for me and my love for God. I was brought to tears. I wish I could bring that back home and be able to share how blessed I am to be a part of that love of God for me and me for him. Be able to give that high God has given me. I had the opportunity here to give that to the kids.
• Being with kids and making bonds with them even if you can’t communicate that well was a real high for me. We were connecting in a way that is hard to describe. I see God mostly when I see those kids smiles and hear their laughs. There is such a contrast between the joy that they live with despite their poverty which makes their smiles that much more powerful.
• My low was leaving the kids and not knowing where they will be in a couple years. I feel bad leaving them when there is so much more left to do.
• Experiencing a different place was really good for me. It’s hard being uncomfortable all the time, but it was nice. I like to see that we had an impact on the kids.
• When we left, Miguel called me “Mi hermano” (my brother) after only knowing me for a week.
• Adoration. Overwhelmed with his presence. Awesome. Amazing experience.
• I can’t reduce this to one particular high. It was one BIG experience…what an incredible experience it was.
• The next step is to take this experience and let it affect me when I go back home. I thank everyone for being part of it.
• I liked seeing how they always forgave each other and were willing to share the little they had with me. Take home the appreciation that I have.
• I hope I take this home and that it lasts!
• I had the very unique privilege to have this experience from the perspective of the priest. It came to a peak yesterday bringing Jesus around to each of you. As I brought the Eucharist to each one of you I got to look in your eyes and see you interact with Jesus; it was very touching, moving. At one point, I thought to myself, I’m intruding on this conversation between Christ and the person before me, but then I saw this was a gift to see a different aspect of Christ’s image reflected in each of your eyes.
Then, Father went on to recognize in each missionary one specific quality that reflected the image of Christ during the mission week. Even though it took time to describe each person’s gift, we all benefitted from hearing his insights because we too, had the opportunity to see God acting in each other all week.
Please make sure that you ask us about our mission experience because it has made such a huge impact on our lives! We can’t wait to see you tomorrow!
