ECUADOR, Walter Jara Arroba. “Building a Holy Ecuador with Christ and Mary,” was the motto that accompanied the sixth university missions organized by the Schoenstatt Youth from Guayaquil. Five invited families and more than eighty youth, some who participate in Schoenstatt, participated in these missions. They had a special feel this time, since it would be the third and final year that the youth would mission at the Ahuano Parish in the Amazon province of Napo. After this year, the Blessed Mother will guide these missionary youth to seek a new destination.
Schoenstatt University Mission in Ahuano, Amazonic Province of Napo, Ecuador
The University Missions are an apostolic activity that emerged in the year 2005 from the desire of a group of youth to evangelize communities far from Guayaquil that needed renewal or that needed an experience of being closer and being favorites of Christ and Mary. This is a trend we continue to carry out now, and that thanks to the work, effort, and profound sense of prayer, it has been carried out for the sixth time.
The preparations for the missions were carried out during the month of January by several commissions led by Schoenstatt University Youth comprised of both young men and women. There were months of much stress, dedication, and prayer united in Christ with the same ideal: “Building a Holy Ecuador.” The goal seemed impossible, and time seemed to pass very rapidly. Many logistic and financial obstacles arose; however, the Blessed Mother knows how to guide our steps and to point to the goal: visiting Ahuano with her Son for the third and final time.
Missionary Path
Our travels began on Wednesday on April 13th, the day that the Advance group traveled, whose main job was to prepare the place, where the missionaries’ group would stay for eight days. The work included: preparing the logistics and the storeroom of materials that would be needed during the entire mission, setting up temporary bathrooms for showers, and clearing the halls, where the missionaries would sleep. It was hard work; however, the ideal of service was greater than the weariness they experienced during those days.
It was 4:50 a.m. on Saturday, April 16th, when the two buses that would take us to Ahuano arrived. They were supposed to arrive twenty minutes earlier at 4:30 AM. While they were waiting, many youth began to ask themselves, “Where are the buses? Where is Wacho?” and others lamented asking “Are we going to Ahuano or not?” However this was one more surprise we were prepared for so that we could make more effort, contributions to the capital of grace, and above all increase our faith. Once the baggage was stowed, we gathered around the Shrine and implored God and the Blessed Mother to bless our trip and our week of mission. Once we received the God’s blessing, we began a very difficult trip that lasted almost twelve hours: crossing the Andes’ range and a bit of adventure being transported on a barge across the wide Napo River to reach Ahuano.
Welcome and the beginning of the Missions
During the mission’s eight days, different activities were organized each day that began by arising at 4:30 AM and ended with night prayer at 11:30 PM. The time became more demanding as the days passed but in a supernatural way. God would do things to strengthen this group of missionaries more and more.
Those who were in charge of the organization of the missions were not surprised by the weariness and effort that these missions implied. With surprise they would ask several of the youth “Why do you dare to keep coming if you are so tired?” They happily and joyfully responded, “Because the missions are the greatest,” while others simply said, “Because I make many friends,” and finally another group said “Because to go on a mission is priceless and there is nothing better.” This was the joy that this group of youth wanted to transmit to the new missionaries, the citizens of Ahuano, and the neighboring areas.
The first day with the twelve hours of travel included getting settled adequately at “the Mission” boarding school, the school, the chapel, and the main areas that Father Jose (pastor of Ahuano) directs that will become our home during the mission’s eight days. After a well-deserved rest, the missions began on Palm Sunday with the procession and parish Mass, followed by the formal welcome, the meetings, where the missionaries were divided into seven communities that would become our small family. We gathered and each group agreed on their community name, and the areas that each community would work were assigned. Three pictures of the Pilgrim MTA were sent to each community, and there was a ceremony to present a cross and t-shirt to the missionaries. After the presentation of the crosses, our mission leaders, Carlos Chia and Andrea Vintimilla, joyfully told all the youth: “Now you are officially missionaries,” a phrase that filled everyone’s heart. To make the moment solemn, we jubilantly sang the song “Missionaries”, which became our hymn during the passing days.
We built a holy Ecuador
The awaited day arrived: Holy Monday at 9:00 AM, Covenant Day, April 18th, each community gathered and departed for their first mission experience. The areas they would visit had names scaring the first timers as in: “Anaconda Island”, “Mosquito,” etc. Each person took their cross and missionary manual as their sword and shield, and the Pilgrim MTA as the star of the road. It was as if the Blessed Mother interiorly said to these missionaries: “I am the great Missionary, I will work miracles.” So we departed on the road with confidence on the first day of evangelization to these communities.
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday: the main activity of the morning was to make door-to-door visits to the residents of the assigned areas in each community. In every visit, we shared our lives, we prayed with the Blessed Mother, and we prayed for their petitions, always announcing the Good News of Christ. In the afternoon, the recreational activities were prepared that were informative and helped the children, youth and adults socially. This year for the first time, we included a special Covenant workshop, which was open to everyone, who after previous mission years, wanted to seal the Covenant of Love with Mary. Everything ended with Mass, dinner, a community gathering and night prayer.
To build a Holy Ecuador, we had missionary training every morning and a missionary impulse of sending forth in which we were to recall and reflect an important value taught during the course of the workshop, one for each day: honesty, solidarity and love of country. These values were encouraged every day of the mission and were meditated upon from Morning Prayer until Night Prayer.
On Thursday morning, the missionaries enjoyed a retreat with the main objective of more profoundly deepening the three days of mission experiences and establishing concrete points of how to build a Holy Ecuador in our daily life. It was a retreat that created a renewal of spirit in all the missionaries as we entered the Easter Triduum.
Pata-Pata and Correo de Brujas (Joseph Engling List and Mail from the Witches)
It is worthwhile especially to mention the Pata-Pata and the Correo de Brujas, (the assignments of tasks to be carried out) activities that have been classics during the Guayaquil missions. The Pata-Pata includes different services such as cleaning the bathrooms, rooms, chapel, and the parish church, gathering trash, and serving in the dining room, preparing the night prayer. Undoubtedly it was the most hated activity among the missionaries, especially those who had to clean the bathroom, but it helped them to offer more to the capital of grace.
But at night after supper, we shared and it was the most awaited time: the correo de brujas (witches mail). This was when comments and anecdotes were shared by each missionary and/or by the community that were written during the day and placed in a small mailbox and read after supper. These anecdotes were crazy, funny or something they were not understood. But at the end, each one was enjoyed and made us laugh. In order that no offensive comments were read, the leaders of this activity lead by Anita Mackiff, reviewed them. She was so strict that on the last day of reading the mail, all the youth shouted: “no censoring” or “eliminate this filter.”
Celebrating the Stations of the Cross and the Victory of Our Lord
All these activities that were carried out were only preparation for the most important time of the week: Easter Triduum. Just like in previous years, the people responded satisfactorily to what we wanted: a completely full church from the confessional to Holy Communion, others knelt adoring our Lord in Gethsemane during the Passion, the presentation of the Cross, or the Stations of the Cross. The line of the faithful that accompanied us was unending along this road that concluded with the Baptism of several children and youth during the Easter Vigil. The Blessed Mother was very well accompanied during the days of the passion of her Son, and many “beloved disciples” greeted her at the foot of the cross, and convinced Her to stay in Ahuano at the wayside shrine that they are building spiritually and materially. In summary, it was a great blessing to see the church full of joy and life.
Farewell and gratitude
Then on Sunday, April 24th, was the last day of the missions. With a heart filled with joy and with much nostalgia, the farewell began in the place that welcomed us during Holy Week for three consecutive years. In the morning, we celebrated Mass where expressions of appreciation were made, but it also took on the tone of farewell. It was a very special Mass, since we were celebrating the resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and in addition, a group of seventeen people, five residents of Ahuano, eleven missionaries and our pastor, Father Jose Yanangomez sealed their Covenant of Love. It was the first time that a group of youth sealed their Covenant with Mary during the Mission. This was offered as the foundation for the wayside shrine that was erected close to the parish church.
After Mass, several people from Ahuano expressed their formal gratitude to the missionaries and in return the missionaries, presented a picture of the Blessed Mother for the wayside shrine as a symbol of the Mary’s victory. In this way, we wanted to leave a testimony that during the years of 2009 to 2011, a group of missionaries, by the hand of Mary, came from the Schoenstatt Shrine, and other guests were at this place evangelizing and taking Christ to each one of the residents of Ahuano.
Unfortunately everything that begins has to end. And so it was that we had to begin our return trip. I am sure that many will keep the giving of self and sacrifices that were experienced during these years of missions in Ahuano in their hearts, as well as the faces of the people that they visited and with whom they shared the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Undoubtedly, it could be that we will not step on Ahuanese land again, however every time we celebrate the Eucharist, Christ will unite us through Communion, and so we will visit Ahuano from our hearts and recall this beautiful land that awakened the desire of “Building a Holy Ecuador.”
