This year’s Con-Solatio Christmas party wasn’t the first I’d attended, and I certainly hope it won’t be the last. The afternoon began in an ample basement filled with festive adornments. Sofas, lounge chairs, and other seats surrounded a cute makeshift stage; there would be a talent show....
We have one friend named Marta who is from Paraguay. Both her husband and son have passed away, and her only other daughter doesn't speak to her very much. She lives alone with her dog Luna, and hardly leaves her house. Her home is very simple and doesn't have much lighting. I remember the first...
We needed bread for breakfast one day, so I let the others know that I was heading the little sale stand down the street to buy some bread, where Ramona works. It was hard for me to gain any sort of trust from Ramona to really form a friendship, but little by little, we have...
Arriving for Thanksgiving dinner at Con-solatio in Brooklyn one felt welcomed even before reaching the front door. Father Paul was there, reaching out and greeting us as we arrived. Once inside, the young mission volunteers extended another warm welcome. We smelled food cooking in the kitchen, saw the warm glow of the rooms, and heard...
One day in the last two weeks of my mission, I knew it was going to be super full—this was my second to last chance visiting one of the neighborhoods in Deva, “Pe deal Sus,” a neighborhood behind a grocery store on a hill, with a beautiful view. Yet, ironically, it is totally unseen by...
I met Rick on my second or third day of the mission. He has both a mental and physical handicap but that does not stop him from sharing his light with others! He has one of the most beautiful smiles I have ever seen....
When I was assigned Uruguay, they told me that it is a very secular country, and that the people are not religious. In our neighborhood, one of the most difficult ones in Montevideo, I have found that people are in fact, in some way, religious. Many people are open to praying with us, they join...
Day and night they come, the little children of Honduras. They come calling our names, “Maria, Maria!” “Noellia Noellia!” “Zophia Zophia!” “Naomi, Naomi!” They come to be met, met with something new, something different than the life they are so accustomed to. A life of broken families, a life of violence committed against their bodies,...
On October 21, we had the great joy of celebrating our 20th anniversary of Con-solatio. These twenty years have been a grace—an amazing grace! Countless encounters, generous support, and deep friendships have blossomed—all these have been given to us beyond our efforts or our desire to serve. Many friends and some Alumni missionaries joined us that...
