Guyana Highlights

Post #2 about Guyana.... and only about a week after the first! I wanted to share some specific memories from the trip and highlights.

First, a brief explanation of what we did. Our main goal was to assist with the parish mission of St. Francis Xavier R.C. (Roman Catholic) Church in Charity Guyana. The theme of the mission was "Save your Soul" which I thought was refreshingly bold, because that's actually what we want people to do, but so often we sugarcoat how we say it. Our daily schedule looked a little something like this:
6:30am - Holy Hour
7:30am - Mass
8:30am - Breakfast
9:30am - head out for house visits (go door to door inviting people to the mission)
12pm - Lunch
1pm - Siesta!
2pm - Kids' Activities, Youth Activities, Catechesis, Home Visits
4:30pm - Rosary Walk through the streets
5pm - Main Talk and Kids' Activities
6pm - Fun Event (campfire, pinata, skit, movie)
8pm - Evening Prayer
8:30pm - Supper
9pm - Testimonies, Daily Recap
10:30pm - head to bed

So, now that you have a little of our structure, here are some of my highlights from my time in Guyana:

Turning 24. On our 3rd full day in Charity, I celebrated my 24th birthday! The rest of our group, including some joyful Servidoras and IVE's, sang to me twice, breakfast and supper, and even made me a delicious birthday cake (see picture). While it was a little tough to celebrate this day away from my family, my 24th will be a birthday I will always remember. Word spread because I received more birthday hugs that day than I can remember and even some thoughtful gifts. Perhaps the best was that Fr. Brian offered Mass for me that morning and God gave me the amazing grace of understanding what a gift my life is!

Guyanese tradition of sharing my cake!

House Visits with Rachael. Rachael is a 8-year-old we met at the parish. Her mom helped with cooking and laundry, so Rachael and her 3 siblings spent time with all the missionaries. One day, Rachael came with my group to do house visits. Our first stop was at an elderly man's home. He needed Anointing of the Sick, so we prayed with him and Fr. Brian gave him the sacrament. His 3-year-old granddaughter (Ann Marie) was there and Rachael and I spent some time talking with her. Rachael shared some sweeties (candy) and a Divine Mercy card with a picture of Jesus on it. Later that night, Rachael approached me at the campfire and asked about the little girl we had met! It was so great that she was thinking about her still and I told her to pray for her. Rachael and some of the other kids and youth who came with us on house visits were amazing and it was incredible to begin equipping them at such a young age to share their faith!

Rachael and I on our house visit day

Pinata Nights. We had 2 pinatas while we were there and the 2nd was definitely memorable. All the kids were so excited to fill up on the sweeties. Earlier in the day, Steve and Jeff (2 fellow FOCUS missionaries) had made the pinata and filled it with 7 pounds of candy. While the pinata was being hit, they each brought another bag of candy... to toss out as the kids scrambled for falling sweeties. In fact, as the pinata broke, Fr. Hugo (the priest in Charity) was knocked to the ground by all the kids! That night we distributed 21 pounds of candy.... I hope the parents didn't mind the overly-sugared kids who came home that night. 

Jeff and Steve with their pinata

Fr. Hugo on the ground

Praying in Homes. On several of the house visits, we asked to pray with people. Several times we prayed a decade of the rosary with people who weren't even Catholic! On another day, I was the leader of my group. I tried on every visit to ask if we could pray with them and everyone I asked said yes! It was a simple prayer, but twice the people we visited were praying aloud with me. Some were even Hindu or non-Catholic. I realized that this may have been one of the few or only times when Jesus' name was said in their homes. What a beautiful opportunity to bring His presence right to where the people live! 

our FOCUS Missionary Team

There were many other great experiences throughout our mission trip, and maybe at a later date I'll share some of those. But for now, this about wraps up my Guyana blogging. We just started fall outreach today with the freshmen moving in, so I can't wait to share some graces and stories from fall outreach soon! Thanks for taking the time to read and have a blessed end to the month of August. 

the ladies of our group