“Rabbi, where do you live? Jesus said to them, ‘Come and see’”

Ana, is a woman and mother of three girls and a boy. She lives with her family in a house made of mats, sand floor and plastic and cardboard roof. She did not go to school and works earning ten soles a day. She exchanges the dinner she receives at work for a ticket home or saves it for her daughters. Rolín, her partner and father of her children, works as a mechanic in the capital earning 100 soles a week, money that he tries to send to support his family’s expenses. Ana does not have an identity card, her right to identity and citizenship was not respected. She does not officially exist in her country, despite having lived there for 31 years. However, Ana, like many women and men who sustain Peru, has a great impetus to learn to read and write, and seeks daily to improve her living conditions so that her family can be reunited. It is because of families like those of Ana, Vilma, Gisela, Angel… that betting on the Kingdom of God has validity and meaning today. They are the privileged ones of Jesus’ project.

“They went and saw where he lived and stayed with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.” I sought in this month to deepen my vocational experience by going deeper into community life, missions and trying to trust what God had in store for me at this time. It also involved letting the Ruah blow and letting God take control of my reflections and actions, despite my resistance. And because the Father is good, He has given me more than I expected. Living this experience allowed me to identify, a little more, the center of my vocation, which is gaining meaning in the life of my younger brothers and sisters; as well as to recognize that my desire for God is prior to my own founding experiences. “Before I formed you in your mother’s womb, I already knew you; before you were born, I consecrated you…” I also recognized that we all have an idea about what religious life is like, often guided by our stereotypes and limited knowledge of experience, and especially because we forget that God embraces our diversity and a fortiori our freedom.

“Every day they gathered at the temple with enthusiasm, broke bread in their homes and shared their meals with joy and with great simplicity of heart.” The last few years, in some ways, I have learned from the community experience. The National Union of Catholic Students, with my community “All types of Bloods”, meant the bet to accompany, to let myself be accompanied and to risk trust in a group of people with whom we still share a part of our life, the Eucharist and a series of reflections and commitments from our Christian and citizen journey.

In Breña, today I live with two companions, with whom we coincide in the process of independence, the organization of the home and our civic commitments to build a less unequal country. These experiences have provided me with some elements for opening up to new community dynamics. In this sense, living together in the community of Huacho has been very pleasant. Susana, Hilda, Peto and Chanceline made my stay very welcoming and meaningful. Although at the beginning I was shy, little by little I integrated into the daily activities and shared with each one of them. Their charism and experience of living in Jesus are a living testimony of commitment and an example for my own search. “Lord, you gave me five talents, but here are five more that I earned with them”. I developed the mission with the Youth Ministry of Lima, then in the Santa Rosa school and in the Sol y Mar de Huacho housing association.

On May 5, we shared with the youth ministry of Lima a workshop that allowed them to strengthen their civic commitment by deepening the link they have with their faith. We accompanied it with three testimonies of friends who have an active participation in the construction of the Kingdom, even though their commitments come from different inspirations. Then, at the Santa Rosa school, we had to support the preparation of the fourth- and fifth-year high school students for the Forum Panel “Young people of Peace, transformers of their reality”. The workshops were aimed at getting them to recognize the problems of the national and local environment; then, to propose possible solutions to these complex contexts through a dynamic simulation of elections. Finally, they were to identify the existence of important initiatives promoted by citizens to improve realities from different fronts; and how the school, with its social projection and other activities, is joining these efforts. After both experiences, the question arose in my mind: how to make the commitment transcend into a way of life and not remain just a good experience at school? I suppose that there are several factors involved in this, but I will continue to look into this further.

“…when they did it to one of the youngest of my brothers and sisters, they did it to me.” Sol y Mar is a housing association that lacks basic services, and most families live in poverty. In the area there is a multigrade primary school that brings together more than fifty children of various ages. The link between the congregation and the school has been formed little by little and today there are two projects that see the light of day. The girls in the 5th year of secondary school from Santa Rosa school give English workshops every Saturday for the students of Sol y Mar; and on Mondays and Tuesdays, volunteers from the Faculty of Education of the National University José Faustino Sanchez Carrión give reading and writing reinforcement sessions. I had the opportunity to accompany the previous process and the first date of both voluntary actions, witnessing the commitment that is being created in each of the participants and the dedication with which they prepare the materials for the children.

“There is no authentic option for the poor, if there is no friendship with the poor.” In addition, we made home visits to the families of the students participating in the reinforcement program. These visits allowed us to meet, listen to their stories and learn about their contexts. I discovered lives marked by pain and injustice, but also filled with a great capacity for resilience and being protagonists of change in their families. For me, these encounters were the most significant part of the whole experience. God has revealed himself in history, and particularly in mine, in the lives of my humblest brothers and sisters, and to recognize this is to affirm that they are his favorites, they are the chosen ones for the good news. “I am bread, I am peace, I am more…” My heart remains completely grateful to the good Father, to the community of Huacho and to all the Sisters of the Province Ramon Zubieta and Les who kept me present in their intentions. In a special way with Susana V., who is accompanying my steps in this very human discernment, guided by the Spirit that is revealed in her words; thank you for always welcoming my concerns with openness and make this process be traveled from freedom and love.

After much reflection and prayer, I understand that trying to understand everything today is not possible, the mystery of God’s call is revealed in the human but comes from the divine. This revelation of God in my life is good news and a sign of hope that grows in the midst of so much human pain. During this time, I want to continue deepening my Dominican spirituality and strengthen the identity of the congregation, in a way that will allow me to strengthen my commitments, clarify my concerns and continue to know this option of life. I am going slowly but surely.

Experience collected by Milagros