This past week, four fellow ex-volunteers and I were blessed to attend the SEEK 2025 conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. Together, we represented Con-solatio at a booth amidst over 40 other organizations, sharing our mission with more than 20,000 college students. It was an incredible way to share our mission and invite others to...
Home. Just the word conjures up an ache in my heart. I lived in one home my entire childhood and it was a blessed place. I was homesick in varying degrees during my entire mission in Honduras, so I was grieved to find, when I finally returned home, that my homesickness immediately switched to being...
After working for many years in a professional field in NYC, I spent over a year in the Ukraine doing work for a humanitarian NGO. Having returned from a conflicted country, I was feeling out of place and having difficulty adjusting back to our affluent society....
On Friday, October 25, Gabriel M. (alum who served in Argentina) and Diana C. celebrated their wedding in San Antonio, TX. This joyous occasion was special for many reasons. It allowed us to witness the couple’s heartfelt “yes” to one another, support them on their journey, pray for and with them, and give thanks to...
Late this September, I had a full week of testimonials in the beautiful, green state of Michigan. As I prepared the talks and organized when, how, and where I would go, a friend reminded me that while outreach technically means sharing with the hope of inspiring someone to follow God's call on mission, in the...
At the close of our Saturday dinner, which was also the evening our newest member, Liliana, arrived with her friend to join us, something special happened. As Liliana’s friend prepared to leave, he stood, paused, and quietly looked around at each of us in our beautiful Brooklyn home. With a heart clearly moved, he said,...
This past month, I had the joy of spending five days at SEEK24, a conference by FOCUS for over 20,000 college students. In the area dubbed “Mission Way,” we sponsored a booth to share about the mission of Con-solatio for potential young volunteers. Our 10×10 booth became like a little Con-solatio house for the week,...
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....
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...
If you have ever visited us in Brooklyn, you may have met our friend Willy. And if you have met him, you certainly would remember him: a big man with a big heart, and quite a big share in the cross. Abandoned at birth, he was adopted by a Cherokee woman who had seven children...