Before I came to Ecuador, I pictured the work of a missionary to be nothing like life back at home. In my head, I thought the missionary is constantly doing these grand works of love, similar to what Jesus did in the Gospels. Although it is true that the lifestyle here is different than back...
One of the eldest sons of a family that we visit at least once a week, M., has grown up with the volunteers of Con-solatio. This spring he became the first in his family to graduate from high school. When he went with one of the volunteers to receive his diploma, the director who gave...
During our last month on mission, at just about every friend we visited, Hermine and I were saying goodbye. It was an intense experience to say goodbye and leave the people that I was close to, but I was also struck by the many friendships that were revealed through this painful experience of leaving...
During the summer, our Divine Mercy Parish runs a children's catechism class. Recently, they asked if I would be willing to make a presentation on St. Therese of Lisieux. Immediately ideas were running through my head - How am I going to present a cloistered nun to children between the ages 6 and 12?...
For a little while, we were receiving donations of sacks of food items that gave us an excuse to leave the house and deliver them to some of our friends who are in need. Judi and I went one day to deliver a sack to Dona N., who lives in one of the poorest houses...
There is so much I wish to say but cannot. I wish to tell them how much this experience has helped me. The smiles that they wear, the love of God they share with me...
I’ve met a woman from Mexico named Rosa. She is 37 years old, has two children, and is suffering from cancer and asthma. She loves to pray the rosary, so one day I asked her, “Would you like to invite our friends to come to your house and we pray the rosary together twice a...
With the lock-down, we at Con-solatio have been joining other volunteers at pop-up food distributions every week throughout Brooklyn. We want to go and serve those in need in these difficult times. Mostly, we want to spend time with them....
Last Sunday, after flying paper airplanes with Xadim and his brothers and praying the rosary on the rooftop, we decided to go visit our neighbors in the apartments across the road, to deliver Easter cards and a bit of joy. We put on our masks (which have become mandatory in the streets), I grabbed the guitar and...
I recently met the lady who is a security guard at the nursing home near our house. I went to visit my friends there, and while I was signing-in at the front door, she asked me, "Who are you?" I said, "I am Maria. I am from Vietnam. I am a missionary."...