Many missionaries refer to mission with Con-solatio as a “Kindergarten of Love”, and for me, these first few months have definitely been like a kindergarten. I have had to learn about a new culture, a new language, new food, but most importantly I’ve had to learn how to be more like a kid....
My first week of mission was challenging. I was in a new place with a very different culture, everyone here was a stranger, and my Spanish was still a bit rough. I felt overwhelmed and out of place, totally dependent on others for simple things...
Far from home, our missionaries discover their American roots with new eyes as they dive into their country of mission and share life with a culturally diverse team. Thanksgiving is one beautiful tradition that our missionaries enjoy sharing...
My orientation with Con-solatio got me fired up to go on mission. Of course, I had already committed to leaving for Romania this fall: I had begun my fundraising, been learning Romanian, and had a decent sense of the beauty and purpose of this mission...
In a life this filled, sometimes a little chaotic, and almost always “noisy,” I have been reflecting a lot on how my contemplative life and active life here on mission can coexist. The silence I’ve found here is more a stillness of heart than an absence of noise. This stillness comes in the moments when the...
One evening shortly before I left El Salvador, we happened to meet Nina Maria as we were returning to our Colonia. She was standing on the side of the street alone and looked as if she was waiting for someone. I asked her who she was waiting for, and she replied that she wasn’t waiting...
"Te quiero mucho!", Paty said. I had just met this sweet girl of 8 years old and she already told me she loved me. I accepted her hug graciously but I was shocked to say the least. Her tender affection seemed to have stirred something deep within my heart, and the questions I carried with me...
When I first talked with Irene, I learned that she was made to leave her home country for legal reasons and that she cannot return to it. She has not seen her family for over ten years, and since she cannot speak Spanish, she is unable to easily communicate with the other women living at...
As I am drawing near to the end of my mission in El Salvador, I reflect on the moments that were more significant for me. A moment of encounter, a consoling word that was spoken, a kind gesture that created trust with those who were the most marginalized. Some of the populations that are more...
When I was still in the States, I was thinking what am I going to do to make a difference? Then, as time passed and little by little discovering the reality, I understood that we are here, to touch the hearts of many, that they may follow a path that, although with obstacles, leads to...