News & Notes: April 6, 2010

April 6, 2010

Dear Parents,

God’s peace!

I pray that your Easter was blessed with deep joy!

This past week I found myself in Reynosa, Mexico working among some 200+ Catholic High School area students, parents and faculty members from St. Louis, MO. This was my fifth mission trip to the Reynosa colonia and it was, indeed, an experience that was heart wrenching and heart uplifting at the same time. I have never seen so much poverty. As we walked along the garbage strewn streets, we witnessed makeshift dwellings that house families who have little. We built for a family of six: a young mother and father with two sons and two daughters. Our days started with prayer and breakfast at 6:30AM and we were on our way to the colonia by 8:00 AM. The structures we built were only 12×18 ft dwellings, but they would provide shelter from the rains, wind and hot sun.

As we came to know the people for whom we built, we also grew close to those with whom we built. Community was formed among all those who were a part of this mission experience. On the last day each of the fourteen groups gathered with their families…prayed a blessing over them and their new homes…and shared with them what it meant to be a part of their family. There was no shortage of tears.

Although there are many experiences and stories to share, I thought I would reflect on our Good Friday experience of praying the Stations of the Cross in the colonia. We began on a dusty street in the colonia where the temperature reached 96 degrees. Some 100 people walked behind a cross we made from an old tree branch dragged from a garbage heap. One of the dads lovingly fashioned the limb into a cross that was carried by one student at a time through the colonia. We announced the name of the station in English and Spanish and then began the long hot walk down the dusty road. At each station we stood in silence…students, parents, faculty and people who lived in the colonia. As we walked slowly behind the cross people from the colonia joined our group: mothers with their infants, children, old people. As old cars and donkey drawn carts headed toward us we moved to the side of the road, but instead of passing us, the cars and carts pulled to the side and waited in reverence for the cross and each of us to pass. It became apparent to each of us that these people experienced the death and resurrection of Christ in a very real way each and every day. They were surrounded by the greatest of needs and yet they possessed an incredible resiliency and deep joy. This was a paradox that always surprises me… I found myself often wondering how they could find life in the midst of so much filth, but as the days passed, it was easy to recognize that what was most important to them was not material possessions, but rather relationships that they built with each other…and now with us.

I have much to learn about truly living life, but the people of the colonia are incredibly patient teachers. Their concerns were centered on providing the very basics for their children: food, clothing, shelter. Food was often scarce, shelter makeshift, and clothing always handed down…but they shared generously with anyone in need even though they had so little themselves.

Upon returning from these trips people often applaud our efforts to help these people. Our efforts are not the ones to be recognized; however, for it is so much a gift to return to this sacred place and be a part of the people of this colonia. What we give is so little compared to what we receive. We have been truly graced to recognize the face of God in the faces of those who live in the midst of such devastating poverty every day.

Thanks to each of you who supported our efforts through prayer and through your generous donations to the Reynosa house building project during Lent last year. Because of you, two more families know the benefit of a place they can truly call home. In addition to the St. Rita School donations, other schools raised funds to build twelve additional homes last week.

God is good…and so are each of you. May the risen Christ bless you and your families.

In prayer,

Sr. Maureen