Why I Said Yes

By Agnes S., on mission in El Salvador

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, and taking in loads of new information each day. In the midst of this, God blessed me with many beautiful moments as well. There was one visit in particular that reminded me why I am here, why I decided to join Con-solatio.

When we plan our week and the people we want to visit during the week, birthdays often help guide our decisions. We have a book with the birthdays of the friends in our community so that when a birthday comes around, we can stop by their house with a birthday cake or invite them over for a meal; something simple to let them know we are thinking of them and that they are important to us. During my first week here, there were a lot of birthdays, one of which was a lady in our neighborhood we will call Niña Alina. A couple of my teammates and I paid her a visit in the afternoon, bringing a cake I had made (the first of many birthday cakes I have made here). When we arrived at her house with the cake, singing happy birthday, she got a little choked up and you could tell she was really touched. We spent an hour or so there, talking and eating birthday cake, and when we got up to leave, she thanked us many times, telling us she did not have the words to express her gratitude. It was a really simple visit, but it was touching for me to see how much a simple gesture showing we care can mean to our friends. It reminded me why I decided to say yes to this mission. Because I wanted to bring joy to others by loving them and showing that love through simple actions.