For me, the highlight of mission was meeting the girls at the Missionaries of Charity home.
Me (left) with the girls ❤
We drove 1 hour from Managua, the capital where we were staying, to Grenada, a quaint, old town, where the Missionaries of Charity run a home for girls. That first day, we decorated their rooms while they were at school with posters saying, “We love you,” “God loves you,” “Jesus, I trust in you,” “You are beautiful,” and similar phrases. When the girls returned from school, we got to meet them, eat lunch with them, help them with their homework, and then play games with them.
One girl who originally was very reluctant to do her English homework brightened up when I offered to help her. Another girl with large, sad eyes was struggling through Catechism. I sat down to help her, and she slowly began to enjoy her tedious studies. She even began to smile! Over the next couple of days, I really saw her come out of her shell.
During the games time, there was one game where the girls had to take a few M&M’s. After they took a bunch, we told them they were for explaining one fact about them to their small group. One 12-year-old girl in my group with a vibrant, larger-than-life personality had taken a humongous pile. When her turn to list facts came, she cried, “Oh no! How will I list them all?” But she was soaking up all the attention she could get, and drew out each one so she could stay in the spotlight a few moments longer. Oh, she was such a gem.
The second day we were heading to the Missionaries of Charity home, we had to stop at a few stores. There were more girls than we anticipated, and we did not have enough gifts for each of them. Of course, it was 8am, and the mall doesn’t open until 10am. But we stopped in the shopping plaza, hoping that maybe something would be open. The place was empty, and all the stores were closed. Well, all but one. It was the one we needed to purchase supplies to make more crowns for the added girls. The shopowners told us, “We don’t open until 9:30, but the door is open so you can buy what you need.” Wow. But, we still needed gift boxes and mirrors at a different store. Right as one of our missionaries walked up to the store, the owner was unlocking the door (that store doesn’t normally open until 10am either!). Double wow. God really blessed us.
At the Missionaries of Charity home, when the girls returned from school at lunchtime, we ate with them, and helped with homework (they were far more excited about showing us their work now).
Then, we held a mini-retreat for them. Our team of missionaries gathered the girls into the chapel, and a sister exposed the Blessed Sacrament in the monstrance. Several of our missionaries led the girls in praise songs, times of quiet prayer and journaling, and talks on the love of our Heavenly Father. One of the guys in our group read the Father’s Love Letter.
A princess with a crown and rose
Another of our missionaries read the story of the woman with a hemmorhage who touched Jesus’ cloak and was healed. With this story in mind, we then called each girl up individually to kneel before the Lord. The humeral veil was draped from the monstrance to the kneeler, so each girl could touch, as it were, the cloak of Jesus. Then, we would crown each girl, hand her a rose, and tell her that she was a princess, that she belonged to Him, that she was beautiful, wanted, and loved. So many of these girls had never heard these truths before.
The little girls were super excited to be called princesses, and many of the older girls were in tears. Finally, we gave each girl a gift box, holding a mirror. When they peered in, we told them, “Look! You’re the gift!” They giggled, but when the ceremony ended, many of these sweet girls came up to us telling us that this mini-retreat had touched their hearts. They were so grateful, and we were grateful that God had blessed this time with them.
An additional small blessing was the fact that we somehow had leftover boxes, roses, and crowns. Sitting in the back through it all were the paid volunteers who help the sisters care for the girls. Hearing the talks of the Father’s love and watching the transformations take place in the girls left them in tears too! We brought the extra gifts, roses, and crowns to them. It was such a blessing to be able to have them share in the truths that every woman longs to hear: that she is beautiful and loved.
During our last day with the girls, we took them to a leadership camp. The girls got to do meditations on confidence, using words, teamwork, and goal-setting. At lunch, they were so excited to be served by real waiters, and to eat fancy dishes. Throughout the day, our team and the camp workers led the girls in teambuilding activities like swinging their whole team on a rope from one platform to another, rock climbing, and more.
It was incredible to watch these girls go from untrusting to interdependent, from a cluster of individuals to a close-knit team of friends. Before leaving, we sang some songs with them, and left them each a parting gift of candy, rosaries, 33 Days to Morning Glory, and photos of each girl. As the day drew to a close, their counselors told us, “This is what our home needed, but we did not know how to provide it for them.”
But we didn’t do it. It was all God. Only God could make our pre-made plans fit so perfectly.
I do miss these girls. They were so precious, so beautiful. One girl in particular stole my heart. She loved to repeat my name over and over. It was the sweetest thing. They each stole my heart. But that is how it should be. It means I cannot forget. It means I can’t help but pray for them. And that in itself is a gift.
Flood The World 