PARAGUAY, Testimonies about the Family Missions, at Mbocayaty •
For me, to talk about the missions is to talk about allowing oneself to be surprised by God’s Providence, thinking about his immense generosity, that generosity that is given to: the people of the mission town, to the missionaries, the life and mission families, the children, the priests and the consecrated, who accompany us, those who come from a distance, but above all those brave ones who are challenged to give their fiat to abandon themselves and their comfort zones going to a place they do not know sleeping on the floor, to bathing however you can, eating food that is not from your home, going to sleep late and rising early and sometimes being cold. Then I meditate on God’s generosity with those mad people who abandon themselves just like Jesus asks us in the Gospel, that generosity that sets hearts on fire, that exchanges weariness for joy with all that generosity palpable, how can I not go out to announce his Word? How can I not want to share our joy in the resurrected Christ with the townspeople? How can I not shout to everyone that the MTA is the best ally who takes us with Jesus to God the Father? He is the one who allows us to give ourselves, to give peace, to give joy, to give the fire of love for the Eucharist through the Holy Spirit.
The missions are for the brave
It happened to me, and I am sure that it continues to happen to many who go on mission for the first time not having any idea of what they are going to do, what or whom they will encounter, whether they will like it or not, if they will get along well with others, among other things, that happens later, but upon returning from the missions, there is something that was very clear to me: the missions are not for everyone, the missions are for the BRAVE.
This year it was noted that the missions were missions that did not require that, because they were very close to the Pope’s coming and our hearts were on fire, but our bodies were tired and still nothing stopped us, we could go to our beloved Mbocayalty to share the beautiful words, the incredible learning and the unforgettable experience that Pope Francis gave us. We went without fear to serve like he always encourages us to do. Moreover from all of this, we could experience 18 July, in the best way, renewing our covenant of love with our beloved Queen, making a true commitment as children, brothers/sisters, friends, disciples and missionaries. Since that day, with everything that we experienced accompanied by the people and at the school where we stayed, in the encounter with youths, in the catechesis, the gigantic birthday, and in spiritual moments, we can say that we were sent on mission not only in the town of Mbocayaty, but instead, in our day to day. Since that moment, WE UNDERSTOOD THE MISSION, and we were sent by the Spirit with Most Holy Mary to be missionaries every day of the year.
Missionaries every day of the year
I want to thank all the brave missionaries from ten towns who accepted the challenge of abandoning themselves to go encounter others, to all the uncles who are an example for us, and all the priests, who accompanied us giving their all so that this mission could also be based on Christ, by offering the Eucharistic daily.
And today I challenge all those who participated in the missions that we put on the t-shirt and take the commitment that everything that was experienced during those incredible days of missions can be present always, demonstrating through our attitudes and proudly saying that we are missionaries every day of the year. May we be commitment, fire, desire, hope, light, and may we be REFLECTIONS OF CHRIST!
Source: Tuparenda Magazine, Paraguay
