Belize
Summer Mission

Day 12: For Christ, With Crist, Like Christ

July 1st

We concluded our last day in the Punta Gorda summer mission, and it was a day of fire! After our last formation and small group sharing, we had a potluck lunch with the parishioners, who really wanted to express their gratitude and appreciation. And then we had our last time of home visits, to encourage people to come on our final retreat night. The adult retreat was well attended and powerful! With over 160 belizians present, Fr. Aaron preached about the power of the Holy Spirit to set us free and bring us together into one community, in the Church. One of the faithful parishioners was telling me after the night, “This has been so renewing and transforming for our parish! I have seen many, many people coming to church in these days whom I had never seen here before.” And we also heard it from the people we have been missioning: in these last days, so many have shared with us about experiences of forgiveness and reconciliation, providential encounters and signs of God’s presence, many spiritual healings… and quite a few physical healings, too! The Lord has been generous, as He usually is when starting the mission in a new location.

That same night, we had our final Mass together at midnight, because now we have a whole day of travel back home. We have completed the mission. We left Punta Gorda, but “His mercy endures forever!”

Day 11: He Did All Things Well

June 30th

After embarking on this mission, we are coming to a close in these last few days. We've been holding an Adult Retreat, with each day having topics that cover the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Our first night was very successful and had a great turnout, with half of them returning for tonight’s retreat in addition to newcomers! Tonight focused on the mercy and grace that we received from Jesus Christ. We offered Confession and Veneration of the Cross, which a lot of people connected deeply with. Watching people leave the church after Confession was one of the most fruitful experiences of the trip so far. To watch God’s children experience true joy and forgiveness is something that us missionaries have aspired to see. Tomorrow is our last night in Belize, and we are ready to see the Love of God work in all these souls that we've encountered in these two weeks.

Day 10: Know Thyself

June 29th

We’re coming to the end, and when I tell you that it has been one full of offering up our uncomfortability, I'm not kidding. For the last four days, I have been unable to mission (The Belizean sun is no joke, even with sunscreen) and I've felt put off, wondering why I'm here if I can't mission, and today I found out my ‘Why.’ There are three other girls who haven't been able to mission recently due to various ailments we have all offered up to our Lord, and today we volunteered to help our lovely Ms. Olive, our Belizean Mission Coordinator, with some office work. When we all got into the car, we were thinking it would be some light work, but when Ms. Olive pulled into her own neighborhood, away from St. Peter Claver, we noticed that there was something different about this ‘Office Work.’ It was a house visit! One I didn't realize was happening until we were in the house, speaking with this wonderful woman with the biggest heart, and giving her whatever pamphlets we had on us. When she read the Lord's Word, she was moved, and all of us were moved with her. After inviting her to the adult retreats, even though she isn't of our faith currently, she said she would see us there for hopefully two of the nights, and I felt the Holy Spirit fill my body again after wondering what my purpose here was. Glory to God for today, for giving us all the chance to change lives and invite people into a community of love and hope. 

- Shey Catt

Day 9: Rejoice with Those who Rejoice

June 28th

Some of the most memorable and joyful moments I’ve had so far during the mission occurred when working with the kids at Vacation Bible School. The first day we held VBS, the kids were quiet and generally kept to themselves. But as the program continued, I could see the kids slowly become more comfortable dancing and singing along to our songs, answering questions after our skits, and participating in our games. Seeing the faces of the kids light up when they would proudly state that God is their Father and that He loves them touched my heart deeply and reminded me of a younger version of myself who declared the same statements years ago when I attended my VBS. 

Through the kids at VBS, I was reminded what it is like to love God with a childlike innocence and to rejoice with those that glorify Him. The older I get, the more I am reminded that God desires us to come to Him with the joy and goodness He has placed within us as children of God. So, at VBS, I sang and danced, laughed at the skits, and played games with all the kids because I truly do believe that it is those younger than us who have the deepest affection for our loving God. Even Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Matthew 19:14).

-Meredith Mustin

Day 8: Be Still, Know That I am God

June 27th

Many friends told me that God would greatly bless my YES to spending my 21st birthday serving Him on the summer mission. They were right; God has already revealed His loving providence in more ways than I could ever ask. 

Yet today was special in that I experienced a profound set of “birthday graces.” Despite having the worst night of sleep last night, and despite having cooking duty today (usually meaning no house visits), a rejuvenating rosary and an easy dinner of spaghetti provided the energy and the opportunity to go out into the community. My group has the farthest houses to visit, so we prayed a Hail Mary for a ride so as to maximize our time. Not even a minute later, a taxi cab stopped near us and the driver gave us a ride for free. We had two powerful house visits, and in the second, our prayer with a hardworking mom left both me and the mom in tears with overwhelming gratitude and awareness of Jesus’ presence.

A few days ago in Adoration, I felt the Lord speaking to my troubled heart that had struggled to find peace in the past few weeks: “Your heart will never find rest unless you give it all to me.” Perhaps the greatest birthday present is the ever-growing appreciation of the gift He gives to all His missionaries when they give their all to Him: the peaceful stillness in knowing that Jesus is God and God is Love.

- Logan McClure

Day 7: The Strength of the Lord Urges Us On

June 26th

Having reached the halfway point in the mission, we have already been given so many graces from God! Part of these graces is the amazing people that we have the privilege to encounter here in Belize. 

Today, I went with a dozen other missionaries on our Delta mission to spread the gospel to the people of San Antonio with Father John as my partner. During our first house visit, we encountered a lovely family where I got to share my testimony and along with Father John, was able to spread the love of God. After we finished praying with them, Father John offered to bless their house. After he finished, we were pleasantly surprised with homemade tortillas, beans, and some Belize native jippi jappa’s! It was such a reminder to Father John and I that God is with us at every turn, and especially when spreading His love to those who most need it.

- Ethan Maleman

Day 6: Jesus Heals

June 25th

 As you can see from Ashley’s Healing Mass testimony, the Lord has been working miracles here in PG. Throughout the mission, it has been very apparent that the Lord has been preparing the hearts of all those in Punta Gorda to receive us, as well as working through us in a powerful way on our house visits, and the fruits have been plentiful.

I particularly felt the guiding presence of the Holy Spirit when my group found ourselves at the end of an alley when, just as we were about to turn back, we heard someone yelling at us. We turned and saw that a gentleman was sitting in his doorway, waving us to come over. As we walked up to his run-down, 10x10ft shack, with nothing but a bed and a handful of books on the ground, I got the feeling that the Lord had something special in store. As the visit went on, it became clear that the man we were talking to has not only dealt with serious trauma, but also has some serious mental health problems. He revealed to us that he has schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and that he often hears voices in his head that try to deter him from God. Throughout the visit, we were also able to read scripture, pray with him, and invite him to our adult retreat nights that he seemed very excited, but also a little bit nervous about. We left him with several Christian artifacts including an image of the Sacred Heart and a rosary upon his request. There was serious darkness in that room upon our arrival, but the radiating light of God’s love filled that place so abundantly that it left us all with a lot of hope!

- Will

Day 5: Joy in the Lord is my Strenght

June 24th

Tonight we had the Healing Mass, where we had prayer groups and got to pray over people who needed healing. I decided to be on one of the prayer teams because I wanted to give myself to others before I received the Holy Spirit in the prayers I needed. For some context, I have Celiac Disease and about a year ago, the Lord revealed to me that he wanted to heal me. I've had a lot of visions and prayer moments where God has suggested this would be the trip I would be healed. As I was walking up to receive the prayer, I was so overjoyed and filled with the love of Christ, I immediately started crying. Once I got to my station, I looked up and about half the missionaries started walking up to come pray over me. I have never felt so loved seeing everyone getting up to come pray over me. As I was being prayed over, I couldn't feel my body. It felt like I was floating and there was this energy inside me. As I was standing there crying, with my whole body shaking, I knew this was the moment. I could just feel the power of the Holy Spirit within me, pulsing through my veins. In that moment, not only did I believe I was going to be healed, everyone on this mission also believed and was right there by my side.

- Ashley

Day 4: Pray with Your Heart

June 23rd

I agreed to go on this mission having gone last year, so I knew what I was getting into when the wall of hot, wet air hit me walking out of the airplane. What I did not expect was to experience such joy in the first days of the mission. We have had so many providential blessings right out of the gate, and I can feel the impact of this mission manifesting in each of the house visits and testimonies, but most visibly through the incredible joy of the kids in our Vacation Bible School program. Today was our second of three days doing VBS, and I’m not sure what brought me more energy today; my nap or the innocent jubilance of the children. Their simple joy has been an incredible reminder of how we all ought to cry out to the Lord as humble children. I had previously wondered how playing with kids and talking with them would be a productive means of evangelization, but after seeing how all of the missionaries around me, as well of the families of these children have been so positively inspired in such a short time by a childlike devotion to the Lord has clearly shown the importance of praying from the heart. 

We will continue missioning with childlike fervor, in nomine Christi.

- Seth

Day 3: Give it All to Win it All

June 22nd

Today was the first day of not only missioning, but of the Delta mission, which is when a small amount of our large group gets to go to San Antonio to mission as well. My group and I were able to visit six homes, each with a burning desire to know Christ better. At the first home we visited, the woman seemed hesitant at first until we asked to pray for her, in which she asked if we could pray with her husband. When she opened the door, we saw that her husband was in a wheelchair. They shared that they haven’t experienced a Mass in a year, thus unable to have received the Blessed Sacrament. After coming back to Punta Gorda, the second house we visited struck me the most. We met a mother who unfortunately lost her eldest son about four years ago to a motorcycle crash and had to take his place in supporting her family. I could tell that she wakes up every morning, struggling to continue her fight. We invited her to the upcoming Healing Mass, and we held hands as we prayed that she is reminded that her son continues to love her, even in death.

It was a very spiritually fulfilling day, and I wouldn’t have experienced it if I never said “Yes” to the Lord.

- Alyssa Rose

Day 2: Go, I am Sending You

June 21st

Today was the first day of house visits! Earlier in the day, I had been inspired by Daniel’s story about praying for different foods, so I decided to ask for some mangoes! I did not expect anything to come from my prayers. My group’s first couple of houses weren’t as successful as we had hoped, with some doors not even opening. We eventually got to talking with some families, and they were Catholic! After a while, she asked us if we had tried the Belizean mangoes, and we had not. She came out with a mango for each of us in my group. I was stunned to say the least and shared with them about how I had prayed for this exact moment. When we moved onto the next house, it was another great experience. We were able to talk with them and invite them to the upcoming Healing Mass, and as we were about to leave, the women told another guy in the house to go and get all the mangoes that they had for us!

Day 1 has been even more than I expected, and I am so excited to see where we will go from here! Thank you, Jesus!

- Aletheia

June 20th

Day 1: Holiness over Peace

Our first full day in Belize with the full group was a great success! Last night, the recon team welcomed the main group to Punta Gorda, so now the team is finally together and we are settling into our home for the next two weeks. This morning, Fr. Aaron talked to us about how holiness means being who God created us to be. This concept includes choosing God over the peace and comforts of the world, which sets up the rest of the mission well since we’ll be sleeping on the floor and forgoing many of the comforts that we typically enjoy in the US. This afternoon, we had our first parade through the city center of Punta Gorda, officially announcing our presence in town and spreading flyers with our upcoming events: Vacation Bible School, the Healing Mass, and the Adult Retreat.

The group is still adjusting to the heat and humidity, but the overall morale is high especially after we had the opportunity to scout our mission zones and see many of the people and families in our zones. ¡Vamos!

- Kevin Meyer

PRE MISSION 

June 16th

In the days leading up to our mission to Belize, we are finalizing plans for our ministries for the last time as a group before leaving. We intend to share God’s love through music, media, liturgy, an adult retreat, and interactions with kids. With 60 students from PDX and OSU Corvallis, we are excited to begin our mission as a family in Christ. We are filled with the Holy Spirit in everything that we are doing, and ready to not only live out the Gospel, but to truly understand it.