December makes about 5 months since I have left home, how crazy is that?
Amy and Gerry, I am sorry I missed your wedding but... I sent you a little bit of Mexico to be with you on your special day.
I have had a lot of oppertunities to experience new things as well.
I took part of the Movimiento Juvenil Salesiano (MJS) in Chihuahuah, Mexico. That weekend was a really great one because I got to meet a lot of the young people from all around the Salesian Province of Mexico. It was a huge gathering of young people, formation and spiritual experiences that I will remember the feeling for a very long time.
I also got the chance to visit Nogales, Mexico. We had a weekend to get to know all of the other volunteers that are part of this Inspectoria.I made new friends that are also spending the year serving the Salesians of Mexico.
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| Salesian Volunteers |
We are now 6 volunteers. Abit more than a month ago, Daniella from Guadalajara came to join the group of volunteers. She is 16 years old and we are hoping that she can spend the rest of our year with us. She has become likethe little sister I needed in the house to make me feel like Brunas right here with me. A little someone to defend and care for you know? Callateeeee hermana, ya no es navidad. Also, Albert from Colombia will be with us for about 2 months.
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| Mi hermanas La Brigada De La Alegria has been so much fun. This is my main job, and the program for the volunteers of Juarez. Every afternoon, we walk around the streets making so much noise and inviting all the children to come tot he oratory and play with us. We then go away from the oratory to a park or little distric area (we call it el barrio) and invite the kids that either go to school later or live too far to come tot he oratory to play. We have seen and keep meeting so many new children. So far, the most kids we had were about 90 en el barrio. We also have La Brigada Juvenil. This is where we invite all of the young people from the three oratories and we have a Brigada that we always do but en el barrio. So about 40 young people come to help us out and have fun with all these children. We have had 2 so far and they were both such a great success and a lot of fun. Seeing the teens and youbng people of the oratory playing and singing with all of these children is a real joy. If there is one thing that I can say that I have learnt and am proud to share with you is I've figured out the feeling of why Don Bosco had so much love for these kids. I have met some children that are the ¨worst.¨ The ones that steal, the ones that start and finish so many fights, the ones that swear so much that you can't even find the non swear words in their sentences or the ones that are young and have their own children. I have met all of these childrens and every single day, these are the children that I work with and have grown to know. This job comes with a lot of patience, without it - we would be back in our homes really fast. But these ¨problematic¨kids, these are the ones that need the most love. Despite all the bad that you can see and feel, you need to put that aside and give them all the affection and care that you have in you. To every single one of them, not just the favorites or the good kids. There is a reason for their actions and their personality and the truth is they live different lives from our own. Depending on their backround,. family, education or even just the environment they hang around in. I have figured out that the more lvoe you give to them, the more they come back and you start seeing little changes. Even just the fact that these kids continue coming to the oratory or to our activity when they hear us coming down the street - that right there is a change for the better.   So love, love the way Don Bosco did to the most abandoned, lonely, messed up and troublesome kids (and teach the good kids to love them too). They need it the most, and if you are not the one who is going to give it to them - who says there is anyone else in their journey that will? |
