A lesson learned (or re-learned) today came from Sr. Luz, an nun in the congregation of the Daughters of the Sacred Heart from Aqua de Dios in Colombia. This religious order was founded specifically for women who had Hansen's disease. Sr. Luz herself has the disease and had been treated for Hansen's off and on for years. Now she is a resident at Damien House. She reminded us all that as spiritual people, we shift our thinking from what we want for our lives to what God wants us to do with our lives. How do we show love to all we meet? Hoe do we remain present to all God wants of us? How do we remember to let God speak through us? I believe it is in being present to the moment. As Fr. Boyle says, "we miss so much 'now' because we are rushing to the 'next.'" This "being present to the moment is a constant mantra on this trip. Fr. Boyle reminds us that God doesn't want anything from us, only for us. So he wants us to experience all that we've been given, to have radical encounters with people who are different from us, and even with people we encounter on a daily basis.
Our day today consisted of a tour of Damien House, unpacking and sorting the donations that were so generously given by St. Matthias parishioners and the families of the young men on the trip, playing dominos with the men, eating lunch and connecting with old friends.
Below are some photos of the boys sorting and packing the donations.
These are the ladies who cook for all the patients and volunteers who work at the Foundation. Today we had beef, rice and lentils, cheese, fried plantains and watermelon.
Here is Carlos.
And Abel who we first met as a high school student and is now a college student and working for an accounting firm.
Nathan and Germania.
The boys packing and sorting again.
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