A few weeks ago, the 1st harvest of coffee
at Santa Maria Magdalena’s home was ready to pick. And before I had a chance to
pick the coffee; I was made aware of the fact it was time to harvest it, by
many different people who always walk up and down the small gravel road in
front of the home. Many stopped to ask if I would hire them to pick the coffee,
others wonder if I was leaving it to rot, and perhaps most believed I have no
idea what I am doing when it comes to picking coffee. And to be honest the latter is very true. Short
of realizing that every time I gazed out an open window or walked outside I
could see the huge amount of small bright red fruit hanging on the coffee trees
and could smell the sweet crisp aroma of the coffee in the air, much as if one
walked into a Starbucks, this gringa had no idea how to grow or pick coffee,
but there was one thing in their thinking that was wrong, I knew what I was
going to do with the coffee and that was to give it away!
I had been so excited for this day to come ever since
Jesus allowed us to purchase this land for his mission. I asked my friend
Maritza a single mother if she would help teach me how to pick the coffee, I
also explained that she would be able to sell it and keep the proceeds for her
and her children. It was so sweet to see how excited they all were. More so
their unbelief of why I would just give her all the coffee. She kept saying to
me, “it’s too much, just pay me a day’s wage”. (A day’s wage is 20 soles which
depending on the exchange rate is roughly $6.00 US dollars.)
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| EVERYONE GETTING FITTED FOR A BUCKET |
Though often I fail miserably at loving others like
Christ, I can at least say on this day I may have not missed the mark too bad, and
it felt so, so good. I am even more confident that is why Jesus is building
this home, to give all we have away, everything we have, even our lives for the
sake of the poor and abused unwed mothers and their children. I know in my
heart that this is the only way that this home will grow and succeed in its
mission to bring Unwed mothers and their children to the foot of the cross.
I cannot lie, though the day brought
about a sweetness to it. There was a bit of bitterness that came along with it.
ALL OF MARTIZA CHILDREN WORK HARD
It was a bitter day we harvested the coffee because It
was cold and raining. But it was the only day we had to pick the coffee, if we
waited longer the bright red fruit would fall on the ground and rot. It was
bitter in the fact that I never have seen three children so eager to work in
the rain and mud. It was bitter to see the young children at work because one
could tell that they had spent many other days working in the fields to help
their mother but only to make a small daily wage. There was a bit of bitterness
due to the effort of having to crawl through the coffee trees and escaping
death time and time again as we tried not to fall on the slippery slopes of the
field. There were many bitter moments when one of us would fall with a full
bucket of coffee due to the wet terrain. It was also bitter in the fact that as just as
much coffee we had in our buckets we also had almost as many spiders ranging in
all colors and sizes. Some were fast and others were slow, and well many
prayers were said, that they would not
crawl up, and out of the buckets onto us, some still managed to find their way up our
arms and even into our clothes. The next day Gabriel, Sarah, and I also
experienced the bitterness of picking coffee and that was due to the fact that little,
tiny insects from the coffee plants bored a home into our skin and took up
residence deep within causing us to itch immensely.
It was bittersweet to know that Maritza and her sweet
children were able in one day to make enough to sustain them for a month!
Bitter, for the fact that this is the reality here in Peru for unwed mothers. And
sweet for the fact that Jesus loves them so much that we are here to help them
and to Love on them in this way.
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| MARITZA IS HUMBLE AND SUCH A GOOD FRIEND, AND SHE TEACHES ME SO MUCH! |
I often reflect on how life as a Christian is
challenging and living in the foreign mission field even more so. Many seek a
comfortable life and desire to reap the benefits of their hard work. In fact,
the way the world nowadays reveals this to us makes one believe that we have a
right to obtain material goods and money and that we even have a right to store
these things up for a later date. Though we must remember it’s not at all a sin
to be rich, nor is it a sin to have possessions. In fact, the Catechism states
clearly that man has a right to have private property and goods. However, in
the same breath, it reminds us of the fact that “ownership of any property
makes its holder a steward of Providence with the task of making it fruitful
and communicating its benefits to others, first of all his family.” CCC 2404
And in scripture, we can learn what Jesus said about
this very thing.
The young ruler was told by Jesus to “Go and sell what you own,
and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow
me.” Mark
10:21 Or how about Jesus’s parable of the rich fool who built
bigger barns to store his grain in abundance found in Luke 12:16. We
even have the disciples give witness to the fact that they also had everything
in common that they shared their possessions among one another. Act 4:32
I never once thought that going into missions would be
easy mentally, physically, or financially. So, what propels me? What has kept
me here in a foreign land for almost 6 years? To be honest it’s these exact
types of bitter-sweet moments with the poor unwed mothers here which rekindles
my hope. This renewed hope is extended by my faith in Jesus, His resurrection, His
forgiveness of our sins, and the life to come! Like Saint Paul said in 1
Corinthians 15:18-19, “then those who have fallen asleep in Christ are utterly lost. If
it is for just this life that we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable
of all men.”
Perhaps
our lives are to reflect the title of this blog, Bitter and sweet! We are all
called to live a life for Christ and to not count the cost of doing so which indeed can at times be bitter, but how
sweet is it to be able to be confident in the fact that we one day will be
awarded a place in the kingdom of heaven!
I have been reading a book written by Father
Sean Davidson about the life of Santa Maria Magdalena. And I have been
reflecting on what he wrote, “that the words found in Psalms 73:25 have become
the words of Maria Magdalena”, “Whom
have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing upon earth that I desire besides
you.”
How
impactful these words are! To love only Christ, in the same way, that Maria
Magdalena did is a goal I pray we all are striving for. To live only for Jesus!
That there would never exist a possession, nor any amount of money that would
distract us from fully loving Jesus and his beloved poor!
It is in
my holiest prayers that I pray we all can reflect on these words and what it
means to love like Christ. For us not to
count the cost of following Christ nor the act of giving everything we have, even
our own lives to the poor. I pray that we all can see beyond this at times
very miserable world, full of hatred and unjust situations, and focus our eyes
on the kingdom that awaits those who follow Christ in his mission and who help
others to do the same.
To the Santa Maria Magdalena's new webpage to make your donation/send an email/ or to read about the mission of this incredible home.
We love you all!
Karen and Gabreil Del Castillo
Mission post : Santa Clara, Amazonas, Peru -
Santa Maria Magdalena's Home
WE WERE ALSO BLESSED TO HARVEST COCOA
SNYDER KEEPING HIS BIG BOTHER LAUGHING WITH JOKES
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| ALONDRA AND SNYDER COLLECTING COCOA |
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| WE WERE ALSO ABLE TO GIFT COCOA EARLIER IN THE MONTH |
