Thank you BRAVE little saints in the making!
I flew into Lima, Peru on an early Saturday morning two weeks ago and had no idea what to expect for my first assignment as a new Catholic missionary! I was blessed with the chance to live and volunteer in a home for children with severe medical issues during my first week in Peru. The home is called the Hogar de San Francisco which is located in Chaclacayo. Fifty children currently live at this home away from their families so that they can get the proper medical attention their parents cannot afford. The residents are babies, children and youth with various types of diseases and disabilities but they all have the same basic needs in common. They all need attention, affection and most of all to know how much Jesus loves them! Some cannot eat, talk or walk on their own but they are such fighters.
In the time I was there, I met Jesus in these abandoned, lively, crippled, deformed children. But I also encountered the happy Jesus when the children were playing and hanging out with their friends. Seeing their daily struggles to just perform basic functions such as brushing their teeth or coming down the staircase for meals was quite an inspiring and humbling sight! I tried to assist them however I could but cannot deny feeling overwhelmed and frustrated at times by the pain of their heavy cross and my inability to help lessen their suffering. The Lord made me see that I was not there to fix them but to bring them his love in whatever way I could. At times, I just kept them company and answered questions about my vocation as a missionary and personal faith. And other times, I helped them get things they could not reach or lifted them up so they could use their walker. But my favorite part was taking them to the park, playing with the babies and holding the little hand of a toddler who is just learning how to walk.
One morning as I was coming down the stairs, I noticed little Luzmelita who is six years old sitting in a chair crying. She cannot walk without a walker and cannot speak very well but I understood that she was saying mama and that she was missing her mom that day. She had been dropped off at the Hogar two weeks prior and her mom lives far away and had not come to visit since then. I tried to comfort her but ended up becoming her crying buddy. I prayed for her and asked Mother Mary to comfort her. The next time I saw her she was back to her usual happy self and told me her mom was at work. I was so blessed to be able to share God's love with these children and pray for their healing but I know they taught me so much more about Jesus than what I taught them.
I have a vivid image of them all heading out the door at 10:30am to walk slowly or be wheeled to Sunday mass that started at 11am in a church nearby. The ones in wheel chairs were seated in front of the first pews but they all went no matter how much of an effort it took for them to get there. I could not help but to think how blessed I am to be able to run to mass because my legs work just fine. Yet when was the last time I ran to mass because I was so eager to be with Jesus? I also felt the Lord telling me: "All of my children are crippled in some way but the only difference is that these children's disabilities are visible to the whole world." It made me wonder the ways that I am crippled. Is it my fear or lack of trust and surrender in God's plan for my life?
These children gave me a new perspective on life and taught me the importance of perseverance and having hope. Even in the midst of their great suffering they still found a reason to smile and show kindness. What a huge gift to have met them at the start of my first year as a catholic missionary. No matter how hard things get I will try to remember that there are some brave little saints in the making in Chaclacayo that fight to survive and treasure the life that God has given them!
In the time I was there, I met Jesus in these abandoned, lively, crippled, deformed children. But I also encountered the happy Jesus when the children were playing and hanging out with their friends. Seeing their daily struggles to just perform basic functions such as brushing their teeth or coming down the staircase for meals was quite an inspiring and humbling sight! I tried to assist them however I could but cannot deny feeling overwhelmed and frustrated at times by the pain of their heavy cross and my inability to help lessen their suffering. The Lord made me see that I was not there to fix them but to bring them his love in whatever way I could. At times, I just kept them company and answered questions about my vocation as a missionary and personal faith. And other times, I helped them get things they could not reach or lifted them up so they could use their walker. But my favorite part was taking them to the park, playing with the babies and holding the little hand of a toddler who is just learning how to walk.
One morning as I was coming down the stairs, I noticed little Luzmelita who is six years old sitting in a chair crying. She cannot walk without a walker and cannot speak very well but I understood that she was saying mama and that she was missing her mom that day. She had been dropped off at the Hogar two weeks prior and her mom lives far away and had not come to visit since then. I tried to comfort her but ended up becoming her crying buddy. I prayed for her and asked Mother Mary to comfort her. The next time I saw her she was back to her usual happy self and told me her mom was at work. I was so blessed to be able to share God's love with these children and pray for their healing but I know they taught me so much more about Jesus than what I taught them.
I have a vivid image of them all heading out the door at 10:30am to walk slowly or be wheeled to Sunday mass that started at 11am in a church nearby. The ones in wheel chairs were seated in front of the first pews but they all went no matter how much of an effort it took for them to get there. I could not help but to think how blessed I am to be able to run to mass because my legs work just fine. Yet when was the last time I ran to mass because I was so eager to be with Jesus? I also felt the Lord telling me: "All of my children are crippled in some way but the only difference is that these children's disabilities are visible to the whole world." It made me wonder the ways that I am crippled. Is it my fear or lack of trust and surrender in God's plan for my life?
These children gave me a new perspective on life and taught me the importance of perseverance and having hope. Even in the midst of their great suffering they still found a reason to smile and show kindness. What a huge gift to have met them at the start of my first year as a catholic missionary. No matter how hard things get I will try to remember that there are some brave little saints in the making in Chaclacayo that fight to survive and treasure the life that God has given them!
Comments
Post a Comment