A Glimpse Into What’s Coming

By Laura G. Volunteer in Brazil

Earlier this month I was in Brooklyn for my two-ish week orientation. Before heading to NY, I was busy visiting family I knew I wouldn’t see in a long while, and working on things for fundraising and my visa. I was making so many tangible strides toward leaving for the mission that I felt ready to take off and get started. 

Orientation was an eye opener for me- I needed it to focus on God’s great love and the true motive behind Con-solatio .

I saw how the volunteers in Brooklyn, though a bit stretched thin from Holy Week and my orientation, lived in the present and focused on what was right in front of them. They taught me how to show a friend love, even when there are a million other things they could be focusing on. They took time out of one of the busiest weeks in the liturgical year to give me talks and meet with me one-on-one. I felt loved even though I could offer them nothing in return.

One day a group of us visited the nursing home. Nhi and I stayed together, and she took me to meet a few of her friends there. The last man we saw was alone in a room that consisted of only a bed and a small desk with a chair. Nhi was not phased by these conditions, but I had never seen anything like it. I didn’t know it was possible to live so secluded, even if he was in a nursing home with hundreds of other people. When I saw him, I thought that he would be quiet, like the room he was in, but he was quite the opposite. He shared many stories, and told us of his great love of our Mother, Mary. While with him and Nhi, I realized that I didn’t want to be anywhere else. It was a glimpse into what I hope I will feel time and again on mission in Brazil.

I learned so much at orientation, but even if I forget it all, I will always remember the feeling of love and presence in the home on Olive Street.