Lessons from a Mission Trip

By Anne D. – College Student

This past March marked my third year helping to lead a mission trip to the Bronx and spending a day with Con-solatio and their friends. Each time I’ve come to New York, I’ve been struck by my own poverty and weakness—by how little I feel I have to give to those around me. Yet, without fail, every Con-solatio missionary I’ve met has reminded me that this very place of poverty is actually where I am most open and receptive, and where the Lord’s grace can bear the most fruit.

During this trip, I spent time with several of Con-solatio’s friends at a nursing home in New York. I was deeply moved by the joy and peace I witnessed in the midst of suffering and loneliness. Whether it was singing karaoke at a birthday party for 50 residents, listening to Kent’s life stories as we flipped through his past street photography, or hearing the experiences of other residents, my heart was touched by the gift of simply receiving it all.

In facing my own littleness and emptiness, I was given a profound lesson in what it means to imitate Mary—both at the foot of the Cross and after the Resurrection—radically open to receiving both the suffering and the joy of those around me.