At the end of July we returned from yet another lovely grace filled Love is the Mission Trip to Playa de Oro, where we went to serve and give of ourselves and the gifts that the Lord has given us. After each trip we ask for some of our participants to share about their experience. Below are those.
“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” 1 Peter 4:10
As I sit here reflecting on my time with the Love is the Mission group, I feel that this quote perfectly describes the past week we spent serving at Playa de Oro. As I left the village for the last time and said goodbye to the precious children, I couldn’t help but feel such an overwhelming sense of gratitude, appreciation and love for this community of people I had just met for the first time just days earlier.
As that quote says above, we went there to use our gifts to help others while spreading the word of God. This was one of our driving forces with this mission, to serve the families with our service, gifts and love.
As I reflect more on the quote and my time at the Playa de Oro, I can confidently say that the open arms, love, kindness and gratitude the children gave me was the greatest gift I could ever ask for. This past week I was served in more ways that I can describe from the interactions I had with the kids.
Throughout these past few years, I have had many struggles and one of those being my faith. I personally had never considered going on a mission trip, but an opportunity presented itself and I felt that it was a sign from God. With lots of prayer and consideration, this felt like the perfect opportunity to help me grow in my faith and as a person. Looking back on the months leading up to this trip, I was extremely nervous. Traveling to a new country with many unknowns at a young age and not knowing anyone was definitely scary, but I felt pulled by something higher than myself to go on this mission.
Thinking back on traveling to a country with a group of 16 people I had just met, I could have never imagined the bond that could be created. But we experienced so much together and I will be forever grateful for everyone, their kindness, laughs and memories.
As we traveled to the village the nerves were building. I wasn’t sure what the kids would think of me. But I quickly realized, the children would forever leave an imprint on my heart and forever change my life. I will always remember as we entered the village, honking our bus horn, we were welcomed with so many children with open arms and smiles. As soon as we got off the bus, hugs were given all around. It didn’t matter that they had never met us, we were instantly loved and adored.
The joy in these kids' hearts is something I will never forget. Even though we did not speak the same language, we found a way to communicate and bond.
It is evident the amount of work that has gone into this mission and the success and relationships they have built along the way.
As I am leaving this trip, I have a new found perspective on life and have come back a changed person. I am so extremely grateful for this opportunity and the many doors it has opened for me. The Playa de Oro community and the children will forever hold a very special place in my heart.
Maddy
Love is the mission:
Priests often talk about their calling from God especially in their sermons. I really do not feel that I have known or remember that I was called by God in the past, but I do remember sitting in Mass and reading the bulletin about the next love is the mission trip earlier this year and feeling that I definitely knew I had to and wanted to go.
I was finally in a better work environment where I was able to take this time off and felt that I could have the time, ability and passion to mission to others. I love my career in the medical field, but experienced severe burnout with the covid epidemic.
Now that I have more time to practice self-care that includes my spiritual health, I knew that I was able to share my life mission of caring for people through a mission trip that included medical assistance. I talked to my husband right after mass and he supported me as he always does.
It was a rewarding experience in many ways. I was able to enjoy daily mass that deepened my faith and I hope to continue that in same way now that I am home. I especially appreciated connecting with and learning from Father Dan during the trip and feel blessed that he was part of the mission.
I always joke that my patience is a work in progress. When you surround yourself with like-minded people with the attributes you strive for, you learn and thrive. I enjoyed getting to know my fellow missioners and always learn something from every person I meet including the villagers young and old. We all had unique attributes and worked together to create positive things and experiences for the village in different ways.
It was rewarding to be the person to do that as well as watching other missioners do that and feel their joy and satisfaction in helping others. That being said, because I left the ground running and returned to the ground running the fast-paced American style, it is also very tiring so I feel I am just getting back to feeling like I am caught up. Thank you for making me feel included in the mission, Heather
My experience in Playa De Oro was like nothing I’ve ever done before. I went in with an open mind and heart and boy was I blown away with the kindness and gratitude I received. . While I was able to share God’s love with the kids and the village and help them, I gained so much more in return. The residents were so welcoming. I instantly felt connected and comfortable - and loved all the hugs!
I am so thankful for the opportunity to witness the beauty God created while doing what I can to help. Watching the kids get excited over socks with grips on the bottom at Sky Zone and watching them laugh and have fun in puddles after the rain are some of the simple things we take for granted that made me smile so much during my week in Guatemala.
I will definitely be returning in the future and look forward to seeing the children’s faces when the bus pulls into the village again! If God is calling you to experience the love the village has to offer, and to share yours with the people, I highly encourage making the trip to Playa De Oro. The people will change your life.
Miranda and Adam
This Love is the Mission Guatemala Trip has taught me more than I could’ve ever expected going in to it. But I can for certain say that all of the fundraising and the challenges that came with it for prep was outweighed tremendously by the overwhelming positivity.
Going down the first day I could sense the excitement that we all had. And stepping into the village was one joy I will never forget.
I’ll never forget the joy of the kids that have so little running about and being reckless. The way they live in such tranquility makes you reflect in a way not possible if it weren’t for this time away.
It brings in to your perspective values of yourself and how to improve as a person, whether it be from taking things for granted, seeing joy in little things, or just learning how to love, I can assure that anybody who goes on this journey will no doubt come out a infinitely better and more well rounded person.
Realizing that this mission trip was not only the most fun I’ve had in years but also the educational aspect makes your heart fill with hope. This trip shows how important it is to love on every level, how to make others feel joy and how to achieve it yourself.
To put it simply the trip to Guatemala was certainly a blessing for my faith, love, and heart. I can surely say that going is sure to be recommend for the out-right joys that come with the journey. Surely something I hope to embark on again in the future, Aedan
My Love is the Mission trip to Guatemala was not only an opportunity to help others but it also helped me to understand what I was lacking and how to improve my life. I learned to slow down and love the person in front of me. I usually don't give my full attention to people.
This mission trip showed me the reward that comes with having a real connection with people. The people of Guatemala have a lot more struggles than I do but they have better connections with people, and I believe this is why they radiate joy. While working with the children I saw the excitement they received when you had the patience to help them one on one and gave them your full attention.
I learned that true wealth isn’t in material possessions but with the connections that we have with others. From this trip moving forward I will try to be less preoccupied with my own schedule and ambitions while I’m with others and love the person in front of me, Mike
Love is the mission and as you can see the gifts and graces that we go to give, we get back double, even triple fold in return! In Him who first loved us, Rhonda 1 John 4:19
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