Sower…

In these 4 years I have been accompanied by the image of sowing and I feel that the spirituality of a sower has been nourished in me….

As soon as I arrived at this mission in Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas in Ecuador, I joined as a volunteer in the Prison Ministry, whose assigned area is with the women in prison, baptized as “Seeds of Freedom”. So, almost without realizing it, I became the ground for sowing and a sower altogether, since it was the first time in my missionary journey to approach this reality. The inexperience in recognizing the type of soil delayed the sowing, but at the same time it prepared me in a silent way to take many seeds and spread them generously. Now I have the clarity to understand that whoever sows becomes patient and detached from the results.

At the same time with the neighbors of the place we started to cultivate to create our vegetable garden, with great enthusiasm we arranged the spaces and little by little we expanded our activity to the recovery of a community area full of debris and garbage. We planted many flowers, medicinal plants, trees, butterflies, birds and insects embellished this place with their presence.

We were many, people who were “sowing” in the Prison Ministry Volunteers and in the vegetable garden… and at the same time all of them sowed in me continued inquiries, questions, challenges, joys and hope.

Thank you, Lord, for the Sisters of the Community who encouraged, supported and got involved… My heart leaves this mission full of gratitude and concrete faces, yours is in this list and I embrace every moment lived with love.

Sister Mariana Oñate Bayas

Ecuador