Well, I guess it’s about time that I reflected a
little on my most recent mission trip to Patzún, Guatemala.
This being the third time I have visited the country,
nothing was too shocking or completely unexpected from a travel standpoint.
But, from the missionary standpoint, there’s (hopefully) always something new,
shocking and unexpected. (And, yes, I did experience this.)
While I was down there, my primary job was to
celebrate Mass and to be the sacramental minister when those moments arose.
However, I did assist in the physical side of the mission work, and spent a
little time playing with the children in the orphanage and at the school.
The “big job” for the week was painting. The group I
was with –from Saint Bernard Parish in Mount Lebanon – ended up painting walls in
both locations: For the school, it was part of the outside wall which protected
the property; for the orphanage, it was the inside of the medical clinic. When
the sisters asked us to paint, I had to laugh since I had painted the same wall
at the school two years ago. (Although, I must admit, it did need some
freshening up.) And while the task may have seemed insignificant in some ways,
that little bit of help was an enormous act of charity on our part.
You see, some people, when going on mission trips, think
that they need to completely change the world for the people that they serve.
Not so. Mission work – and especially Christian mission work – is basic
evangelization: Bringing Jesus Christ and His Gospel to the people one
encounters. Yes, there is the physical labor, and that is important, but it’s not the only definition of what
constitutes a mission trip. When people become frustrated because “there’s
nothing to do” or that they “seem to be doing so little”, they forget that the
primary mission of the mission trip is to be among the people that they are
serving, and so to bring the joy of the Gospel to those people (whether they be
Christians already or not).
It always fascinates me to watch people’s expressions
and emotions as they move through the passing of time on a mission trip. The
new, shocking and unexpected grasp them in different ways. But it does the same
to me, as well. Here are the top experiences in the three categories from this
recent visit to Patzún:
New: The people – I guess that the people of this mission trip
(the missionaries, the sisters, and the students) were, in some ways, all new
to me. It was a new and different group that I travelled with, with people I
did not know. There were new sisters at both locations who I had the
opportunity to meet (while reconnecting with some familiar faces), which is
always a fun time. There were new students at the school and the orphanage that
were not there previously. To me, this was and is a blessing, for it reminds me
that the work is never really finished. (But I should note that there were some
familiar faces in the town, people I remember from not just two years ago, but
from my first trip to Patzún in 2006. In some ways they seemed timeless, although
almost a decade has passed.)
Shocking: The number of “firsts” on this trip – Although this was my
third visit to Patzún, there were a number of “firsts” that I had never
experienced there. Among these were: seeing a horse being ridden through town; seeing
fireworks in the town; first trip to Antigua and climbing the Hill of the Cross
(along with a horse and buggy ride); stopping along the side of the road so
that Sister could obtain some chickens; seeing a funeral procession (two
actually) along a stretch of busy highway; seeing the young students at the
school put on an end-of-year show, which got their parents (and grandparents
[and us!]) involved, too; the first time I was asked to counsel a student at
the school; and experiencing (seeing) death (see below). This is just a small
list of things that come to mind as “firsts” on this particular mission trip.
Unexpected: Experiencing (seeing) death – On our way back to Patzún from
Antigua, we passed the scene of an
accident. There was a young man lying face down on the road. Though I’m not
exactly sure of what happened, I’ve been guessing that it had to deal with a
motorcycle.( A lot of people ride motorcycles in Guatemala, and some of them
ride too fast with no helmet. With the roads in this particular area steep due
to the mountains, and seeing how they curve a lot, I’m assuming that the young
man lost control somehow.) Seeing this made the ride back a little more somber
and introspective. We, of course, prayed for the deceased (and his family and
friends). The van was essentially silent for the rest of the night. Though I
deal with death on a regular basis, even I was a little uneasy seeing this
image. It was completely unexpected; it was completely shocking. But it gave us
the opportunity to see the (possible) normality of what riding those roads mean
– even if it was under the grimmest of circumstances.
Despite all this, there was one great opportunity to
connect with the saints. And while I would generally be talking about the
celebration of the Mass, this chance came when we spent time at the tomb of
Santo Hermano Pedro (Saint Peter of Saint Joseph Betancur), a
Seventeenth-Century saint who is considered the “Saint Francis of Assisi of the
Americas” for the work he did for the poor, including founding hospitals,
schools and an oratory. His was of life attracted followers, and the women
eventually became a religious order. He was beatified in 1980 and canonized in 2002,
both by Saint John Paul II. (You can read more about him here.) I hope to find
his writings in English eventually. (They were in Spanish at the book store.) I’m
always excited when I have the chance to learn about a new saint – and this was
no exception.
I really did enjoy my time in Patzún. I do miss the
sisters, the children, and the people of that town. I hope to return again
soon, and to continue the mission.
Enjoy the journey . . .
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