Snippets of a letter I sent to my family during preparation for a spring mission trip to Benque, Belize, through Franciscan’s Missionary Outreach Office…

Familia!

My mission team (about 20 college students, equal ratio of guys and gals) had the blessing of receiving a presentation followed by a lively Q-and-A on Benque from two Franciscan students who currently live in Belize around the Benque area.

However, my main take-away I received from the sharing is that while the kids in the classrooms are culturally Catholic, many do not have any sense of what it truly means to be Catholic, or Christian at all. They see faith as an idea that has really no impact in their life. Kids in the area are often dealing with anything from strained family relationships to addictions or abuse. In light of this, they wonder, why should I be concerned about my faith life? What does that have anything to do with anything?

Gemma, one of the students from Belize, described a common perspective shared by many teens in Belize: “The people in Belize do not believe life can be any different. And so they have no hope.” And to me, this makes sense. If our faith was really just another idea or set of to-dos, then why would people in Benque (or even people here in America) care about it? We have bigger problems to attend to… bigger heartaches, bigger challenges, and bigger to-dos than to worry about some kind of religious rule set.

But Gemma said that life changed for her when she realized that faith has everything to do with everything. It’s precisely because Christianity offers a hope that touches every aspect of life that we choose to believe. It is precisely because Christianity offers us an encounter with a Person who makes our lives not only bearable but something of immense worth that we hold fast to it. Christianity gives both our joys and sorrows meaning, and it introduces us to the Person that holds on to us when we cannot hold on. Christianity is full of hope.

“The people in Benque don’t believe that sainthood is possible. Or a reality,” Gemma finished. The promise of sainthood for everyone is perhaps one of the most hope-inspiring promises that there is. See, if sainthood is possible for everyone, then each of our unique triumphs and sufferings are the recipes to make a great saint. And if sainthood is possible for everyone, then no matter how difficult our circumstances, we believe this life on earth is not the end. What is more hopeful than this?

So when you remember my mission, pray for hope for the kids of Belize. Perhaps you can pray for the classrooms where we will be teaching, where a head & heart might learn something new about their dignity as a unique and beloved child of God. Perhaps you can pray for our Masses and adoration nights, where a kid might meet Jesus in the Eucharist for the first time. Perhaps you can pray for our worship, where a kid might hear their story echoed in the lyrics of a song and become inspired to lift a song of praise in the middle of their life circumstances. But most of all, pray for hope for our mission team- for if we believe that our lives are holy and hope-filled right where we are, then surely that will be the most powerful witness to hope.

I love you all a lot!