So much less, but so much more

One of the questions that I am often asked upon learning that I have been to or am going to Guatemala is “aren’t you scared”. Although, I understand that fear comes from the unknown, from what we do not understand, I am really perplexed by this question. First of all, I am not one to live in fear. Faith over fear everyday!

Another questions that is asked is “why do we raise funds for a village full of people? In this weekends' Gospel we hear Jesus say, “if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.” We as Catholic Christians are called to live and love differently. A quote from John Bunyan, says “you have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.

We can learn so much from our young people. Read below from Reagan Brown a Junior at O’Gorman High School on her recent journey to a place of unknown for her, to a place where she went to give freely of herself, without expecting repayment.

I’m not quite sure how to start this, nor am I sure how to put an amazing week-long experience into words, but here we go :) Guatemala was incredible. My experience on the mission trip was surreal and yet it was also surprisingly normal. It became normal to wake up to a beautiful sunrise over the mountains by the lake and to begin everyday with morning prayer and Mass. It became normal to be welcomed with hugs from kids I’d never met, to have my hair braided multiple times throughout the day, to listen and speak in Spanish. It also became normal to ride a bus down dirt roads, to always smell burning trash, to see countless stray dogs everywhere and to get covered in dust and dirt. It became normal to drink water from a jug and to rinse my toothbrush with my water bottle and not the sink. But when I say it was normal, I do not mean that it lost any of its beauty. It was incredibly beautiful and I loved every minute of it. And I think that the fact that those things can become normal, shows how little we need to live and be happy. It demonstrates that beauty and happiness can be found in simplicity. The people we met there are SO happy. They don’t act like anything is missing in their lives, they are just so content and living their lives. I experienced so much less stress now after coming back, because I have begun to stop worrying about the things that don’t matter, and it has put more importance on the things that do matter, like my family and schoolwork (and you can bet I am paying more attention in my Spanish classes :)

When someone you love, a friend or family member, needs something or asks for help, we don’t view it as service. It just happens naturally. It is simply doing what we can for someone we care about. And if you ever meet the people in Guatemala you will understand why St Michael keeps going back and back. Sure, their lives look different than ours, but they become your friends and family as soon as you meet them. I often catch myself glancing at the clock during school and wondering what they are doing in Guatemala, if they are okay. I miss them in the same way that I miss friends and family that live far away.

And of course, I can’t give justice to this experience if I don’t mention what God did in me throughout this trip. Shortly before I left, I went through something pretty difficult and I began to question if I really knew God and who he truly was. So before I left, I asked him to use this trip to show me. And above all, I learned that He is peace. He is found in the simplicity and the quietness. He is found in the joy and love shared between people. He is never boring. He is found in the way that these kids completely abandon themselves into your arms and trust you.

I don’t think you need to go on some crazy faraway mission trip to learn everything I have just written. But if I can encourage you to do anything, it would be to remember that for now you are God’s hands and feet on this earth. You can be his voice and heart and eyes. He wants to work in and through you, trust him. There was fear in the unknown and in taking the leap to go on this trip, but the rewards were far beyond anything I could have envisioned. Reagan Brown

Help us, compassionate God, to take to heart the teaching of Jesus that love without limit may be our rule of life. Pour out your love upon us, that with good and generous hearts we may learn your way of compassion.

Reagan with the flowers she received from the children when we were leaving,