The Spiritual Works of Mercy
09/January/2007 02:57 PM Filed in: Missionary
Reflections
By Nicole Bratton
In Honduras, God was present to me in a way I had never experienced before. I found Him in the eyes of the little children that ran to greet us from the Mother’s Project. I heard Him in the words of each member of our mission group, as they shared what had inspired them during the days’ expeditions. I saw Him in the example of the long-term missionaries who had found a purpose for living that was much greater than themselves.
In Honduras, God was present to me in a way I had never experienced before. I found Him in the eyes of the little children that ran to greet us from the Mother’s Project. I heard Him in the words of each member of our mission group, as they shared what had inspired them during the days’ expeditions. I saw Him in the example of the long-term missionaries who had found a purpose for living that was much greater than themselves.
I encountered God in
prayer. When we first arrived at the mission house,
one of the long-term missionaries, Yvonne Noggle,
told our group that we would be praying three times a
day for the duration of the trip. At first, many of
us thought she was crazy. But we followed along, and
we learned to pray the Liturgy of the Hours in the
morning and the evening, and the Angelus around noon.
Soon, prayer time became a blessing and a wonderful
time of rejuvenation for the whole group. Prayer
brought such focus to the mission trip. When I
prayed, I was reminded that it was really God I was
serving, and all the little trials of being in the
mission field faded away.
For me, the mission trip became a beautiful combination of individual relationships. Yvonne told me that, “Mission work has made me come out of myself in a way that I never thought I could. It is only through God’s grace that I can do things now that I never imagined doing before.” On the trip, I found that I, too, had to open myself to God in order to allow Him to work through me. I also had to open myself to the other teens and adults our group. We all learned to support each other, and after living together for nine days, we formed an amazing bond. Finally, I had to open myself to the Honduran people. After spending time with these people, I realized that Jesus is indeed close to the poor and to the little children. They have so little in the way of material things, yet they are so happy. The children were overflowing with love.
The mission trip to Honduras changed me. I learned to rely on God for strength and not on myself. I experienced God’s presence in prayer and in the people around me. I also discovered the true essence of service. Christian service is not about getting credit at school or counting service hours. It is about showing a person that they are loved and that they have worth. It is not so much what we do, but how we do it that truly makes a difference in another person’s life. I can hug the poor children or do hours of labor for Mission Honduras, but both are meaningless acts if they are not done from the heart.
For me, the mission trip became a beautiful combination of individual relationships. Yvonne told me that, “Mission work has made me come out of myself in a way that I never thought I could. It is only through God’s grace that I can do things now that I never imagined doing before.” On the trip, I found that I, too, had to open myself to God in order to allow Him to work through me. I also had to open myself to the other teens and adults our group. We all learned to support each other, and after living together for nine days, we formed an amazing bond. Finally, I had to open myself to the Honduran people. After spending time with these people, I realized that Jesus is indeed close to the poor and to the little children. They have so little in the way of material things, yet they are so happy. The children were overflowing with love.
The mission trip to Honduras changed me. I learned to rely on God for strength and not on myself. I experienced God’s presence in prayer and in the people around me. I also discovered the true essence of service. Christian service is not about getting credit at school or counting service hours. It is about showing a person that they are loved and that they have worth. It is not so much what we do, but how we do it that truly makes a difference in another person’s life. I can hug the poor children or do hours of labor for Mission Honduras, but both are meaningless acts if they are not done from the heart.