One of our friends here that has really impacted me is Manuel at the Garden of Peace–the community we visit where the Missionaries of Charity are. Manuel is handicapped and unable to walk, talk or feed himself....
A large part of the culture that I have grown to love in Costa Rica is that the friendships of the people are very deep and their doors are always open to friends and family no matter the time. Here in Costa Rica, we show up to visit and our friends are in their PJ's and...
R is a very close neighbor of ours who works selling a typical Honduran food called baleadas on the side of the street. A few days ago, R really portrayed the importance of family when a friend came to our gate to tell us that R’s kids were at her sale stand crying. When we...
In the big living room of the nursing home that we visit, a woman walked past me, taking small, unsteady steps. I thought she needed a little support, so I offered my hand so that she could safely walk to one of the chairs and sit down. Sigrid gently took my hand with a smile...
Every week, for the past 28 years, our volunteers have visited this village near Deva called Mintia. There, we often visit Elena, a mother of four boys. She had her first boy at age 13 or 14, and she is now in her early twenties. Her boys are Nicholas, Christopher, Lucas, and Michael. These boys...
I met Beatrice, a 44 year old woman, in the soup kitchen that we help with several times a week in the mornings. She was a very small, fragile looking woman. At first, she kept her distance from us, but slowly this physical distance became a familiarity and then a friendship. Beatrice had had lung...
We had the joy of welcoming a beautiful and diverse group of 8 young people for our 2023 Summer Orientation - the biggest group in many years! Each orientee brought a different flavor, having heard Christ’s call from across the States, Central America, and the Caribbean! It was a grace for each of us to...
This past month, we wrapped up my last round of summer camps. These days, despite the chaos, stress, and lack of sleep involved in organizing and running camps for two sets of twenty children from the slums of Chennai, the neighborhoods of Chengalpett, and our surrounding villages, are some of the most joyful days of...
Normally, I dread events like galas and fundraisers. But I have come to expect a pleasant surprise upon meeting up with the Con-solatio crew under any circumstances. There is always great dignity, purpose and grace in the air when we meet, and somehow this opens up possibilities I did not see. During the evening stories were...
Our partnered mission center in Dakar recently celebrated their thirtieth anniversary. A sneak peek into Senegalese joy in words and images:...