One Love, One Heart

DATELINE  Resonating the lyrics of a popular reggae song, young people from St. Michael Parish here acted with “one love, one heart” to serve some of the poorest and most forgotten people on a mission trip to Jamaica.

For one week in late July, the Netcong missionaries traveled to Kingston, Jamaica, the capital of the Caribbean country spending time with orphans, the disabled and those living with HIV. They served people of all ages working alongside the Missionaries of the Poor, a religious order founded and headquartered in Kingston with several apostolate centers.

Father Michael Lee, pastor of St. Michael’s, and Nicole Bias, youth minister at St. Michaels, led the group of 14 teens and young adults to Jamaica. Father Lee is a frequent collaborator with the Missionaries of the Poor, having previously traveled on mission trips with young adults to Haiti, Kenya and Uganda to help the religious order in its work with the poor.

The young people, who are high school and college students, experienced many humbling moments. The conditions were hot and humid with no air conditioners in any buildings, showers were scarce and the location of the Missionaries of the Poor compound was in a dangerous neighborhood. Some of the work involved cleaning bathroom areas, brushing the teeth of the residents and bathing them, serving their meals or simply spending time with them, whether it was playing a guitar or talking to them. They were moved by the welcoming hugs from the residents, which society deemed as “unwanted or “too difficult to care for.” They especially enjoyed spending time with the orphaned and disabled children.

Shane Suralik, one of the young people on the mission trip, was especially moved by the faith of the Jamaican people who lived at the centers run by the Missionaries of the Poor. They lived difficult lives, many with disabilities and all of them poor. “The faith of the residents was unparalleled.” He said. “Every day, they would pray the rosary after lunch and it was amazing to witness. They yelled the rosary as loud as they could. Their faith was so strong that they wanted to proclaim it. Despite how they lived, they were all so joyous and they received that joy through their relationship with God. They clearly demonstrated their faith that was so much stronger than my own. They truly brought me closer to God.”

Rachel Nadeau and Joey Patire recalled spending time with the children at the Bethlehem Center in Kingston. “These children were disabled but they still had a great time playing with us and enjoyed our company,” Nadeau said. “The connection I felt with the residents we assisted was very strong and something I will carry with me for a long time.”

Patire remembers meeting a young boy named Eshanie. “He and I started talking and I quickly realized that his memory and vision was not the best,” Patire said. “He was also physically disabled, unable to feed himself or walk. But he was still full of energy and wanted to play. In my mind, it would be impossible for us to play together since he could not move or leave his bed. To entertain us, he had little tissues and we played with them. We played catch with them and I would also pretend not to know where it went and simply folded them over and over again. The joy that could be seen in his smile was overwhelming. The pure gratitude for having two tissues was insane.”

In addition to Bethlehem House, the group helped at several other apostolate centers run by the Missionaries of the Poor. These included Jacob’s Well, which serves women who are physically and/or mentally disabled; Good Shepherd, a night shelter for those who live on the streets, which now serves men who are elderly, mentally and physically disabled; the Lord’s Place, which serves orphans and malnourished children, the elderly, mentally disabled young women and those terminally ill with AIDS; Beatitudes Home for physically and mentally disabled children and the Holy Innocents Crisis Center for distressed mothers and their babies.

The Netcong team also experienced the celebration of Mass in Jamaica. Father Lee said, “The young people were so moved by how lively the music within the Mass was. It was just welcoming and inviting.”

During the week, they visited an apostolate center in one of the most dangerous areas in Kingston, where St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta stayed with her order, the Missionaries of Charity. “Even though the area in which this building was located is considered dangerous, they keep it open because it is still a holy place. It is the place where Mother Teresa wanted to be, showing her charism of serving the poorest of the poor,” said Father Lee.

For Jacqui Schmitt, this was her fourth mission trip, but by far the most intense trip she has ever experienced. “God was calling me to be apart from my selfishness and give myself up to do his work,” she said. “And this theme continued throughout the week. I stepped outside the comfort of my safe, air-conditioned house. I walked into a hot uncomfortable place with barely functioning water and had rice with chicken for a meal every day. However, I would not trade this experience for the world. I cannot wait to continue with missionary work locally and abroad.”