Here in El Salvador, where I serve as a Maryknoll lay missioner, I am starting a children’s library at the school where I tutor. I’ve been using my free time to sort through books including a generous donation of new ones.
The school day had ended, and after three English lessons, I was feeling unmotivated as I faced piles of books. Then a smiling face walked into the room.
Camila is 6 years old and the granddaughter of one of the women who works at the school. Usually, we draw or toss a ball around, but since we were in the library, I asked if she wanted to read a book. I grabbed a Spanish translation of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Camila is just learning to read, but she stuck with it. About halfway through, her older cousin, a first grader, came in and helped her finish the book. The library isn’t open yet but it’s already having an impact.
Our mental health program at Sacred Heart Hospital, in Moundou, Chad welcomed a young woman, 17, accompanied by her father. He believed an evil spirit had possessed his daughter because of something she had done wrong, bringing shame on the family. She had not been eating or talking in weeks. However, in speaking with the young woman, I learned the story was that her husband had left her for another woman soon after their baby was born.
It was a teaching and learning moment for me to be sensitive to cultural beliefs as I informed the father of his daughter’s need for psychological help. He did not receive it well, and blamed his daughter for her husband’s leaving her because she was not a good wife.
Working with mental health requires changing ways of thinking, which are interconnected with cultural beliefs that run deep. Yet, I feel honored by the responsibility. There is a great need here for public education to dispel the stigma attached to counseling. It seems God has prepared me for this ministry, because I completed a degree in mental health counseling just before setting out for Chad.
Iwas assigned to Chile in 1971, two years before the military coup. One day, following the government overthrow in 1973, an elderly woman approached me and asked me to accompany her during an interrogation. The military in Chile were looking for her son and wanted information on his whereabouts.
As we entered his office, the naval captain in charge looked at me and said, “I know who you are and where you live.” This filled me with fear. During the interrogation, he insinuated that my neighbors were gun-carrying terrorists. My fear turned into anger.
I prayed for guidance and strength and immediately felt a deep peace; I was no longer fearful or angry. I was given the courage to support this woman by offering a listening presence and clarifying the questions being put to her.
As we left the interrogation, I remembered the words of Jesus: “When you go before the court, do not fear. The Spirit will speak through you.”
The goal of the Águilas del Desierto (Eagles of the Desert) in Tucson, Arizona is to offer food and water to migrants in the desert — and to search for the remains of those who have died. While I was in between mission assignments and taking a retreat in Arizona, I joined their efforts. We were asked by the family of a 61-year-old named Thomas to help locate him. They had reason to believe he had perished while attempting to cross the border.
Our group of 20 volunteers began the 15-mile trip into the desert at around 5 a.m. We found clothes and empty water bottles, as well as graves marked with crosses. Francisco, an experienced member of the Águilas team, also pointed out unmarked graves. We stopped to pray in an area where the Águilas had found the remains of a number of people.
Unfortunately, we were not able to find Thomas’ remains. We explored some caves on the hills, but found only clothes and blankets, as well as a little shrine people had left behind. We headed back around 4 p.m.
My heart is full of gratitude to God for these compassionate people who show that all people, including migrants fleeing through the desert, are our sisters and brothers.
Featured image: An elderly Mapuche woman who worked with Maryknoll in Chile is pictured. (Sean Sprague/Chile)
