Mission to Jamaica

NETCONG  When AnneMarie Bias, office manager at St. Michael Parish here, was asked about traveling to Jamaica on a mission trip with her parish, she first said, “No way.” She thought about the time she would need to take off from work, her many responsibilities with her family and her fear of flying.

She was not alone in having reservations about the trip for a group of 10 adults from St. Michael Parish here — working professionals including a nurse, a deacon and his wife, and some who were grandparents. But they all put aside those demands on their time and fears of traveling to journey together for one week earlier this month to Kingston, Jamaica to serve with the Missionaries of the Poor.

“I was really nervous about going but I’m so happy I went,” said Bias. “My children, Nicole and William, went on previous mission trips with the parish and they really convinced me to go. They said it was life-changing for them and it really was.”

Father Michael Lee, pastor of St. Michael’s, again led a parish group to Jamaica and it was the stories of the youth and young adults he took on previous mission trips that convinced this “more senior and mature” group to travel on a mission trip. In the country’s capital, they spent time with orphans, the disabled and those living with HIV. They served people from newborn infants to a person who was 101 working alongside the Missionaries of the Poor, a religious order, founded and headquartered in Kingston.

Deborah Regalo, faith formation director said, “This was a very eye-opening and humbling experience. At first, it was difficult for me to set aside my American fix it attitudes. I had to get past the idea that every problem I saw there had a practical solution. By watching and listening to the religious brothers and sisters who care for this group of people, I came to understand my role was to serve the residents in the present moment.”

Even in the midst of January, Jamaica was still hot and humid with no air conditioners in any buildings. Showers were also scarce, and the few available lacked hot water. In addition, the location of the Mission­aries of the Poor complex was in a dangerous neighborhood. Most of the work involved interacting directly with the residents — rubbing lotion on hands and feet, dressing the children, serving meals or simply spending time with them. Many of the residents are deemed as “unwanted” or “too difficult to care for,” but even among such sadness, there was beauty seen by the group.

“The Brothers and Sisters from the Missionaries of the Poor are true examples of how we are supposed to be. The love and respect they have for the people of Jamaica is amazing,” said Bias. “The children and adults in the centers have no toys, no phones, no families, no air conditioning, no windows, no hot water but they have the love of God in their hearts. I will think of them often and I am thankful that I had the chance to be on that mission trip.”

The Missionaries of the Poor run several apostolate centers in Kingston. These include Bethlehem House, which serves disabled children; 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 and 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.

Every evening, the Netcong parishioners shared their reflections on the day’s work. Father Lee said, “It was very profound to hear this group of adults each evening when we had our faith sharing. There was this sense of self knowledge and self-awareness.”

Also traveling with the group was Valerie Nichols, who volunteers her time as pilgrimage coordinator at the parish. “The motto of the Missionaries of the Poor is ‘Joyful service with Christ on the cross.’ These brothers and sisters are true angels on earth as they minister to the neediest of God’s children,” she told The Beacon. “Most of their residents have some sort of physical and/or developmental disability, yet happiness radiates from their smiles. We came to help and serve but soon discovered that working there did more for us than we could have done for the residents.”

Father Lee is already planning the parish’s next mission trip back to Africa to help the Missionaries of the Poor to see progress being made on a clinic the parish is helping to build there.

“This trip was a blessing to me,” Regalo said. “People ask me if the trip was ‘good’ and I find it hard to respond. I think the biggest change made was in me — I feel more grateful, more hopeful and in many ways, more convinced that God’s kingdom is really present on earth in small but significant ways. And I really see what Jesus meant when he said that the least among us have a great ability to teach that lesson.”