Seeds of Solace
A little while ago we welcomed Chandramma, the mother of our friend Saravananna, for a one-week stay in the Garden of Mercy, a village of homes where we welcome people who need refuge to live with us....
Testimony
New Context, Same Mission
After returning from mission in Chile - from the visits, the commotion, the noise, the bustle and vibrance of the neighborhood - I am home. I have returned to be once again with my family, girlfriend, and friends, back in the same places doing (almost) the same things...
We Are One Family
It was a big gift to spend one week outside the bustle of life in Arafat, in a place where time moves along at the pace of a donkey, not the pace of a motorcycle. I was touched again by how close to the land everyone lives, how much life follows the weather. They are...
Especially in the Small Things
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...
Transformed by a Gaze
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...
Jesus Remains: The Mission Goes On
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...
Two Small Coins
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...
Love Continues to Grow – Even at a Distance
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...
Virtual Come and See
May 30, 2020
Due to the current situation, Con-solatio decided to host a series of “Come and See” encounters this month over Skype, and I was blessed with the opportunity to join them!...
See Me For Who I Am!
Thien leads me down our soi and we are followed by a rowdy bunch of kids who are eager to accompany us to where we’re going, even if they walk past our destination every day on their own. Reaching the end of our soi, we cross the wide drainage canal by a wooden plank and continue around...