Something as Simple as Walking Down the Street

By Maria-Regina, going on mission in Senegal

I’m not sure if it is interesting for you to hear about something as simple as walking down the street, but for me, I’ve found it to be one of the most profound experiences of the mission. Often there is a temptation to think about where I am getting to, to think the mission is when I finish walking, at the scheduled place and time, at church or the home of a friend or Mbeobeos (the city dump – more on that soon). But the beauty of this mission is that I find it everywhere – because it is a mission of seeing and being, more than anything else.

I can’t count how many times on the walk to Mass that I have been moved by the simplest things – like the giggling children, or an older lady bent over, vigorously sweeping, or the teenage boys, listening to 90’s music, wrapped in a hug, with their arms around each other’s shoulders, or the white-haired man I greet every day, as he is kneeling on his mat, saying his Muslim prayers.

There is something so beautiful about even the way we greet each other in Woolof. It’s difficult to translate exactly, but instead of the American “Hello, how are you ?”, he asks if there is peace in my heart, and I respond, “Yes, a lot.” Then he asks if my life has been a party lately, and I say, “Yes, praise God.” And he responds, “Thank God for that” and I say “Thank you, God”. It’s so simple, and yet so authentic. I always think God must be in heaven smiling so big at this greeting, and at the kindness and gratitude here towards Him and each other, and the harmony and peace He sees when He looks down and sees the little light of Senegal glimmering in the midst of this crazy world.