One rest day, we got to go on a hiking excursion in the mountains a couple hours away. It was so beautiful, especially since I had been missing the mountains we have in Colorado. We got to a stopping point of the hike where we sat down to eat, and suddenly, coming up out of...
A few weeks ago, I had just finished buying vegetables from a friend of mine at the market. I think I had shared with him some joke I had heard the day before. As I turned to leave, there was a small boy in my path. He had ashy skin and was wearing an oversized...
This past March marked my third year helping to lead a mission trip to the Bronx and spending a day with Con-solatio and their friends. Each time I’ve come to New York, I’ve been struck by my own poverty and weakness—by how little I feel I have to give to those around me. Yet, without...
Our house here in Romania was opened just after communism ended in 1994, which means that our community turned 30 this past year! It’s events like this that really allow us to invite people from all of our different groups of friends to come and celebrate with us. One of the harder realities about our...
Every day, I learn a lot from Laura, Agnieszka, and Taymara, my fellow missionaries. We have moments of laughter, disagreements, and reconciliation. None of us are here for ourselves; we're all searching for a greater love, and that unites us in a distinct and profound way. I'm deeply grateful to have them because I know...
Blanca is one of the few people (excluding kids) who comes to the house almost daily. The first time I met her was on the street. We were on our way back home when Karo and Elo saw her and called out her name. Even though she cannot see very well, the sound of their...
In a life this filled, sometimes a little chaotic, and almost always “noisy,” I have been reflecting a lot on how my contemplative life and active life here on mission can coexist. The silence I’ve found here is more a stillness of heart than an absence of noise. This stillness comes in the moments when the...
Monday evenings, during Uruguayan snack time, we go to one of the poorest places in our neighborhood, “La canchita del rosario,” a place with many tin houses that surround a now fenced soccer field. For several years, this was also a very dangerous place due to drug consumption and violence. Our parish priest built a...
We have a friend- she’s quite unlike anyone I’ve met before. Though we aren't sure of her age, we think she’s around 16. From what we have heard from our neighbors and her, she has had a challenging childhood. We see her wandering around the streets most of the day, talking to herself or one...
Two months ago, I arrived at the airport here in Dakar, Senegal. I had previously heard stories of other missionaries being welcomed with big signs or parties and I had honestly hoped that such would not be the case. Thanks be to God, I was met by a tall French guy and a Ukrainian girl...