Well, after giving thousands of high-fives, eating millions of grains of rice, spending hours preparing lesson plans, and countless hours in prayer, my time in South Sudan is coming to an end. As I have only 3 days left here, I have been reflecting on the time here and would like to share just a few of the thoughts and highlights that have been racing around in my head as I transition to the next part of my life.
1. The people, especially the young people. Being a part of a different culture has presented it's challenges, especially with the different customs, unfamiliaritity, and whole different language thing, but it has also probably been the greatest part of my entire time on mission. While I was still discerning if mission and the SLM program was right for me, I was often asked if I had any preferences where I wanted to go, and my response was always I will go where God calls me and wanted to have a unique experience and experience God in a different way than in America. I definitely got that in South Sudan. The people here are in a very dire and desperate situation. War has been a part of their entire lives, most are struggling to eat one meal a day, disease is everywhere you look, families have been dispersed, broken, and torn apart. They are oppressed by a government that is very corrupt and provides almost no support and there are almost zero jobs. Despite all of this, when I walk around the village, play with the young people at oratory, pray with them at church, I am instantly filled with spirit, hope, and joy, because they are filled with it in abundance and share it with all they encounter with every smile, laugh, high-five, heartfelt prayer, and warm greeting. As I've said before, probably the greatest lesson I've learned here is the importance of living life to the fullest every moment and opportunity, simply because you are alive and we all have joy in us from God, and it needs to be shared with all by a zeal for life and for others.
2. The power of prayer. I remember on orientation we were helping at a soup kitchen and after having lunch and chatting with some of the homeless, we met with Deacon Billy, a fiery old man with a huge heart. When he was talking to our group, he stressed the importance of prayer while on mission. Very bluntly, he almost screamed, "prayer every day and make sure your lives are centered in and around prayer, because if you don't, there is no way in hell you're going to make it." There have been many ups and downs over the last year and when my prayer is coming from my heart, things went well. When I went through the motions, things didn't go as well. Also, it is because of the prayers of everyone else that has helped me to carry crosses this year and given me strength just when I needed it. Thank you.
3. Community life is a beautiful Picasso painting. If EWTN were to make a Real World series, our community would be a great first season. We have people from all walks of life- priests, sisters, brothers, lay missionaries, volunteers, all ages 22-73 and from 10 different countries. We disagree, we get frustrated with each other, we don't understand why, we make mistakes. But in the end, all of us crazy fellows all work for these fantastic young people and for His Kingdom. The entire crew comes together as one, each with their own specific role and personality to get closer to our goal of serving the people and poor the best we possibly can. We come together to do things that can't be done individually and can only be accomplished when we are working together as one and towards the same goal, and it's a messed up masterpiece
I will post more once I return to the States as I want to keep this short, but I wanted to share one last thought. One of the most common ways to describe my time here is as a missionary, or being on mission. However, that won't ever change. My "mission" here has been to help lead the young people here in whatever way I am called, and that doesn't change. We're all called to be missionaries and spread the Good News, regardless of there we live. South Sudan has changed my heart and my life and I can't wait to see what happens in the next chapter.
“I am a little pencil in God's hands. He does the thinking. He does the writing. He does everything and sometimes it is really hard because it is a broken pencil and He has to sharpen it a little more.”
-Mother Teresa
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