(Thursday, January 3) From Jenn MacDonald:
We are amazingly busy. We’ve gone to 2-3 Masses per day in different communities, some adoration and door to door in those small places tucked away in the mountains.
God is blessing us that we can SEE some of the results of our work.
The Costa Ricans who live on the edge of the indigenous reserve were sooooo appreciative and encouraged by our presents, our assistance in building the Padre Pio Chapel and the items for the chapel we brought. I was moved by their testimony that they’ve had this dream of a chapel for a decade and it is finally being realized through our efforts in combination with their own. Many are as eager to assist in evangelizing the Cabecars as we are.
We hiked a tiny way into the reserve and it was rigorous! We went to the itty-bitty one-room chapel (it sat ~20) in the reserve and it was BEAUTIFUL in it’s rustic simplicity — and sad at the same time that it took them 20 years to get the structure they have and $1,000 would double the chapel, put a real roof on it and allow them to have statues instead of pictures hanging up.
Emma was as desperate to meet and assist the Cabecars as Fr. David was, so they hiked up a hill and met a Catholic Cabecar family. They had a dirt floor, no doors, and the chickens ran in and out of the house freely. The family was soooo excited for their visit and the rosaries handed out. The joy at the tiny gifts we’re bringing is humbling. Bringing the friars has been the highlight of the decade if not the century (HONESTLY) for many of these people.
We honestly ARE HELPING tons. The amount of evangelization to be done is shocking and the people are starving for it. Colleen wrote a Spanish phrase for me to say to the people to invite them to Mass in one tiny town. Katie K. handed out a holy card while I butchered the phrase and Br. Lawrence smiled and attempted to talk to them in Spanish as best he could. The reception people gave us was so warm and appreciative. One little town we went to Mass one day and passed out holy cards, (the brothers passed out miraculous medals and Apostles’ Creed cards) and the next day we visited house to house. I was impressed how many of those cards were now decorating the peoples’ walls. They were a treasure.
Anna, Michael and Br. Lawrence had to be dragged away from the children at the orphanage. They loved the children and the children LOVED them. Language was no barrier.
The pace is EXHAUSTING but sooo worth it when we consider the tremendous gift, even our presence, is to each community. By the end of our journey we’ll have encouraged 13 communities in their faith, some of them multiple times.
Padre Andrienne told us that he spent 3 hours in the confessional after we had come through a community. After hearing people who had been away from the sacrament a long time, he started asking people what brought them. They said that seeing the Franciscans walking barefoot and giving so generously out of their poverty made them consider what they were really doing with their lives.
Your gift in sending us so we could bring the Brothers, plus all the ministries we’re assisting with, is changing peoples’ lives. Thank you for your continued prayers. We’re sending several missionaries home to you tomorrow. The rest will love you in our prayers as we continue the work for a few days longer.