Blessings to you my brothers
and sisters:
The
call to serve as full-time missionaries has been an experience that has kept us
most of the time on our toes and the other half on our knees praying. Begging for
the needs of others, our own needs, for wisdom, for strength, for miracles, for
new friendships, for help in fighting off creatures and insects, and the learning
of local customs, and language. It has been raw; it has been intense, and it
has been full of many glory stories and moments of thanksgiving. Nevertheless, we
should be careful not to glamorize full-time mission life, it is far from a vacation
to a remote location that can be shared on social media simply for a few “likes”.
Rather I would say it is quite the opposite.
In fact, there is a sense of being forgotten or unremembered that comes with the call to full-time foreign missions. I do not share this with you, for you to have pity on us or to say that we have been totally forgotten about. However, there is a truth about missions that perhaps is not foreseen prior to selling everything and saying goodbye. We are out of sight and out of the minds and prayers of many because of the nature of the vocation.
There is
no denying that we have left what we have known since birth to serve Jesus's
poor in a foreign land. We will always be foreigners in the mission field no
matter how much we learn the language and customs or how many years we have
served in our post. We will always have family in the States, graduations,
birthdays, celebrations, and holidays missed due to our call. For us the world
we left is engraved in our hearts the way we left it so many years ago; yet months,
years, and time just keep their normal pace, and the memories that we had engraved
into our hearts and minds have slowly become very distant to the reality.
With
that said I have been reflecting on the fact that I once struggled with the meaning
of living in solidarity with the poor, after all, it is a term often loosely
used today by many, so the real meaning and significance of the word can be distorted
at best, and maybe even used for propaganda. However, over the last six years,
Jesus has really shown me the true meaning and important significance of the phrase
to live in solidarity with the poor. Perhaps this call means something different
to those of you reading this, and that’s okay. But for me, in this season of life, Jesus has
revealed to me that to really live in solidarity with the poor, we must be united.
Perhaps JP II said it best when he calls all missionaries to, “immerse themselves
in the culture to whom they are sent.” REDEMPTORIS MISSIO § 53.
That means we must recognize and understand the life and culture of the poor in order to immerse ourselves in the culture. Indeed, there is a harshness to the reality of the life and culture of the poor. Sure the 1st things that come to mind for many is the injustice, lack of material goods, housing, and Gospel poverty. However, being forgotten and unremembered is so real among the poor. The culture of the poor is forgotten, they are often than not unremembered. Alone with no one to share with them the hardship, injustice, and unforgiving realities of living in their ruthless environments, they go without knowing the love that Jesus has for them because there is a lack of the Church, lack of priests, sacraments, preaching of the Gospel and laity willing to join the mission.
Let's be honest the poor in whatever country are really out of sight and out of mind until a special collection is taken up on a rare Sunday, or the Church as a whole brings them to mind once a year on the, World Day of the Poor, or when summer rolls around and the youth go on a mission trip. Do not get me wrong these are all great things, but the question arises is this unity? is it solidarity? Maybe it is for a short moment in time, maybe perhaps there are the few that hold the poor in their hearts and in their prayers for more than a short moment.
Which brings me to reflect on the fact that as I have immersed in the culture and have
been living among the poor full-time for the past six years, I have become starkly
aware of the fact there is nowhere to deviate my eyes, nor road to cross or
activity to occupy my time that allows me to avoided or that can remove the fact I live among the poorest of
the poor.
Solidarity
is unity, solidarity is sharing goods and materials, education and knowledge,
sufferings, and joys, it is the act of living, the act of praying, and making sacrifices
for one another. Once you think you have
given everything you have, you are asked to give even more. Sacrificing until
it hurts and then offering even more just as Jesus did for us as he died on the
cross.
Pope Francis has urged us to “become poor like the poor we serve”. So, as I reflect on the last six years here living in solidarity with the poor, I firmly can say we live together in unity in the abyss of the unremembered and forgotten. For Gabriel and I this has been our hardest struggle over the last six years. However, we are so thankful that in our daily prayers, we are always reminded by a whisper from the Holy Spirit that we are not forgotten or unremembered and we confidently take this same message to the poor we live among. With the intercession of all the missionaries who have gone before us, it is in solidarity with the poor that we serve, and it is our lives we give to those we live among in the hope that we will be worthy enough to enter one day in Heaven. But the only way to heaven is the cross and we cannot do this without becoming poor like the poor we serve often than not who are forgotten and unremembered.
And
for all of our mission partners who have become poor like the poor that we together
have served over these last six years; we honor you and thank you for your
missionary hearts and all the sacrifices you have made. The mission here would
not be possible without you and your YES. Together we have labored in the
fields so that the poor can confidently know that they are not forgotten and
far from being unremembered. Because of you, we have been able to live in
Solidarity with them and bring them Jesus.
Together let's encourage others
to remember the call to live in solidarity with the poor that can truly only be
achieved by becoming poor themselves.
The call to missions is not glamorous but indeed it is glorious, and together I am confident that we one day will hear “Well done Good and Faithful Servant”
Matthew
25:23
And all this to say; Let us agree, as did the Apostle Paul, to always remember the poor!
Galatians 2:10
Check out the pictures below to see what's been going on here?
*Disclaimer*😏
I am terrible at taken pictures, I rarely have my phone with me and my camera on my phone, well it has seen better days! With that said I pray you will enjoy the pictures and I hope it gives you a glimpse into the life here.
Long-term mothers - Small homes
We had enough funds to get started but not to complete the 1st of 3 small homes at the back of the property for the long-term mothers who will be joining us. This house is already spoken for. However, we do not have the funds to complete it. We are roughly $3000.00 short.
School anniversary
We helped Jasmine our neighbor and friend construct a lantern for the parade that the school had for their anniversary. It is the Inca man below in the picture. She won the entire contest, and she is so shy, but she was grinning ear to ear.
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| This picture does not do the lanterns justice. I am amazed how they all have candles in them yet not one catches on fire! 🔥 |
Priest retreat
Thanks to everyone who donated to the retreat for the priests here. It was a blessing for them to have a time of retreat, rest, and formation. If it wasn't for you, they would have just had formation all in one day and returned to serving.
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| Gift bags with little candies and a drinks |
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| Father Robert, He is super excited as you can tell |
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| Gabriel as always helping, oh and he wishes he could have stayed with the priest at the retreat. He looks up to so many of them. |
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| Bishops and Father Burgas celebrated their anniversary of their ordination the week of the retreat. So of course, we had to celebrate them with a cake! |
A time for rest and fun!
It always blesses us to take people to our secret swimming hole!
This time we took Martiza and her children.
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| The smile on Martiza's face and watching her play with her children was priceless! |
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Wedding time!No not the sacrament of marriage but it is a huge step in the right direction one may say.Praise God Manuel and Liz have been a huge part of Santa Maria Magdlene's home, and it is an honor that I was asked to be their witness for their civil marriage.They have lived together for 15 years and have two children. Please continue to pray for them as they are now asking questions about the Catholic Church and the sacrament of marriage.Often in missions, we have to take a lot of baby steps and then wait and pray. It is an incredible experience to watch it all unfold. |
Birthdays!
It is easy to recognize a community living in solidarity with one another when it seems that all we do is celebrate birthdays! 😂😂
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| Jose's Birthday two weeks late! His Grandmother who raised him since he was 2 died on his birthday this year. Please pray for her soul and for Jose's loss and healing! |
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| David's 4th birthday |
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My 49th birthday FuneralJose was raised by his Grandmother! She passed away on his birthday this year. She was loved by many. It was incredible to see all the people who stopped everything they were doing to celebrate her life. |
Adoration Night!
Thursdays are adoration night, and it is safe to say the attendance level is growing. What a blessing and of course after we share what we heard the Lord speaking to us, have some coffee and cookies and play games!
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| Following the old truck up to the house which is full of people which are coming for adoration. |
English and altar serving classes!
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| Gabriel every Friday teaching these two! |
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| Altar serving classes about an hour away from Santa Maria Magdalena's home |
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Gabriel teaching the children about the altar and showing them the "stone panels that might hold a hidden treasure: a relic of saints and martyr." But no one at the Church or the Priest can confirm if it really does. Visa timeTo live in Peru full-time, we must obtain a religious visa. Not hard, but not easy and they must be renewed every year.Since we have been here 6 years; The migrations office has advised/suggested to us that we need to obtain a religious visa that allows us to stay longer without having to renew each year.So, Gabriel and I had to make a trip to Chiclayo Peru to have Interpol take my fingerprints, one of many steps to obtain our new visas. |
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Web Site: delcastillo.familymissionscompany.com
God has greatly blessed y’all and I am so proud of you hearing his call and following where many of us do not go. I love y’all
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