Today, we visited three of the Youth World ministry sites.
Cristo Liberador
I could go home today with a full heart. Revisiting Cristo Liberador was a huge gift for me. To see and be seen by so many familiar faces was awesome. It felt like coming home -- back to some small piece of me that I'd left behind.
We began our visit with introductions and a gospel reading about Jesus healing a paralyzed man (Mark 2:1-12). Madre Lourdes' sermon gave me a brand new perspective. "What did Jesus do first?" she asked. He forgave the man's sins. The man was broken and in need of healing, and yet the first thing Jesus did was not to coddle him or pity him but to forgive him. What happened next is the key: Jesus not only healed him but told him he had work to do: get up, pick up your mat, and walk. Our healing involves both God's work and our own -- our participation in wanting and working for that healing.
Next, we split up into three groups to go on home visits. I met a 16-year-old girl named Joanna, who is able to go to school because of E=H scholarship money. She loves math and science and wonders if maybe someday she could be a doctor or a vet. She has a hope for her future because of the love and support she gets from her church family and the financial assistance of E=H sponsors.
Finally, we delivered about 40 pounds of church vestments from Holy Cross to Cristo Liberador. With Cameron translating, Madre Lourdes asked me, "What do you call it when you need something but you don't ask for it and you get it anyway?" God's grace and His always-perfect timing, I suppose. Madre Lourdes was so grateful for the robes, and I was thrilled to be welcomed back with open arms.
Here's another familiar face: precious Jade. When we were here at the end of July, she was wearing leg braces. Today, she was walking all over the place. What a little doll!
Casa Adalia
Next, we visited the Casa Adalia safehouse for girls who are rescued from human trafficking. Because of privacy and security concerns, we were asked not to take pictures here. This is a new ministry that is working hard to grow, despite a lot of bureaucratic hurdles. We got to see the EsperanzArt workroom where the girls make beautiful jewelry. They'll be bringing some to our hostel later this week so we have an opportunity to support their work with a little shopping. Truly beautiful handiwork by some talented artisans!
Carmen Bajo
Our last stop was Carmen Bajo. This ministry site is a church, a school, and a full-service kitchen. About 80 kids in this community get E=H scholarships, and they come here for lunch every day thanks to some generous sponsors. The ladies of the church served us a delicious three-course lunch with a side of the most amazing view.
We also heard about a new work project here, where teen moms are learning to sew. They're making beautiful purses and scarves with valuable new job skills that can hopefully support their families. When we visited the sewing room, my new friend Celeste shared with the girls that she too had been an unwed teen mom. She told them that God can transform a difficult situation and turn it into one of your greatest blessings. I was so moved to see the common thread in their stories. And then it got better ....
We walked from Carmen Bajo to visit four homes. I met a 12-year-old girl named Soyla, who is also a scholarship recipient. She was the only one home when we got there and welcomed us into her home. She was quiet and shy as she shared her story of struggling to attend school, not only because of a lack of resources but also because of her responsibility to care for her two older sister's children (ages 2, 1, and 9 months). Roberto explained that sometimes the authorities have to get involved and tell the parents that their young children should be in school and not be the caregivers. I wondered why this was the case for Soyla. Where were her parents? Did her mom work? Soyla was standing beside me, and I had my arm around her. She began to cry as she gave us more details: her mom was an alcoholic. Soyla's life has improved thanks to E=H funding her education and Carmen Bajo feeding her both physically and spiritually. I marveled at this young girl who had had to grow up too fast but who was transformed by the love of her church family. I hugged her a little harder and realized that even though our lives seem quite different, our stories have common threads. Whether it's unwed teen moms doing their best to raise their children or children being forced to become responsible "adults" long before their time, we have so much in common when we take the time to share our stories -- to really see one another.
As we were leaving, Soyla's mom and nieces arrived, and we got a chance to hear her story too: a story of a struggle to raise a family, to find meaningful work, to pay the bills. Sound familiar? Yeah. Common threads.
No comments:
Post a Comment