When I was younger, I used to love Dr. Seuss's The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins. I don't remember the outcome of the story or the point of it, but I remember wondering, how could he possibly wear 500 different hats? Where does he even keep them all? I definitely don't have 500 different "hats" in my life, but as a missionary I find myself wearing hats that I never thought I would. Here are some of the different hats that I will wear from time to time, some of which I never saw coming till they were plopped on top of my head.
1. Mathematician / Engineer: When our handyman Joe found out that I majored in math, he started to bring to me some projects around the house that required more math than he was comfortable with. Most of them are more engineering-type problems, and I have not been trained as an engineer. I help him when I can, and tell him I can't when I can't. Even still, he calls me his "little engineer".
2. Grant Researcher: I've always been intrigued by the idea of grant writing, and now I'm getting an inside look at it by helping one of our leaders with research to include in the proposal he is writing. I spent two days in the office last week just doing research on chronic homelessness and other organizations in the area. If you think you're done with research when you graduate college, don't become a missionary. (I secretly enjoyed it though. It's much more fun doing research without having to write the paper.)
3. Teacher: I had not planned on teaching this year, since I gave up an offer to teach in order to become a missionary. Granted, teaching a class on philial and agape love to adults trying to get back on their feet at the Samaritan House looks very different from teaching math to junior high students, but it is teaching nonetheless. I love the opportunity to teach these people, though, because so many of them have never been introduced to the idea that love is not just a feeling. So many of them are at the Samaritan House because they are hungry for more in their lives.
4. Technological Advisor: From sending a text message and turning on the computer to updating the website and scanning documents, I am continually helping people with technology. I now spend two hours a week helping a resident at the Mullen Home print labels for library books, and at the Gabriel House, our director schedules meetings with the website designer at a time when I will be there. I don't mind teaching people about technology -- I'll be the first to admit that it is frustrating when you don't understand it!
5. Street Missionary: Ok, I definitely saw this one coming. I mean, that's a huge part of CIC. But with my position, I only expected to do street ministry once a month. A while ago, though, as I was walking from the bus stop to the Gabriel House, I decided to be adventurous and take a different path for those few blocks. That's when I found Brenda on the corner begging for spare change. I talked with her for a little, gave her some of the lunch I had packed, and came back to sit with her after my day's work. Whether or not I see her again, I was able to bring Christ to her and to encounter Christ through her in that moment.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Monday, October 22, 2012
What I've learned...
So this list format that I've used for my last few posts has been working pretty well for me. I think I'm going to try to stretch it a little farther this week as I present to you some things that I've learned from my experiences here. Clearly, I already knew some of these things factually before, but now I know them experientially as well.
-There is less oxygen in Denver than in the Great Plains. There is less oxygen in the mountains than in Denver. There is a direct correlation between the level of oxygen and my ability to breathe when I work out.
-Yogurt is good for a long time past the printed date.
-The way we should treat the homeless person, the addicted person, or the poor person is... like a person.
-Sometimes the best thing God can do for us is to remind us of our littleness.
-Mountains are big. And beautiful.
-Kicking a soccer ball requires much more technique than you'd think. Unless you already know how to kick a soccer ball, then I'm sure you know just how much technique goes into it.
-Sometimes it's not a bad idea to follow the high-altitude directions for baking.
-"We are called to greatness, not to comfort." -Pope Benedict XVI
-A self-defense class can make you sore for days.
-Learning prayers in Spanish isn't that hard if you just memorize a couple lines at a time.
-Truth and charity are inseparable concepts- you cannot have one without the other. (See Caritas in Veritate by Pope Benedict.)
-Carving rounded letters on a pumpkin with a 5-inch long knife is no easy feat.
-Playing basketball with people is a great community builder. (I definitely already knew this one, but some of my teammates got to learn it.) :)
-Sometimes people's needs are more than we can meet, but there is always something we can do for them. Blessed Chiara Badano, a young woman who was in the hospital with cancer for the last part of her life, said, "I have nothing left, but I have my heart, and with that I can always love." Even if we can do nothing else for people, we can always love them. And pray, of course.
-The only way we can really accomplish anything is if we let God accomplish it through us.
-Skype doesn't work 3-way.
Also, here's the article about the Gabriel House that was recently in the Spanish Archdiocesan newspaper. Sorry if you're not bilingual.
-There is less oxygen in Denver than in the Great Plains. There is less oxygen in the mountains than in Denver. There is a direct correlation between the level of oxygen and my ability to breathe when I work out.
-Yogurt is good for a long time past the printed date.
-The way we should treat the homeless person, the addicted person, or the poor person is... like a person.
-Sometimes the best thing God can do for us is to remind us of our littleness.
-Mountains are big. And beautiful.
-Kicking a soccer ball requires much more technique than you'd think. Unless you already know how to kick a soccer ball, then I'm sure you know just how much technique goes into it.
-Sometimes it's not a bad idea to follow the high-altitude directions for baking.
-"We are called to greatness, not to comfort." -Pope Benedict XVI
-A self-defense class can make you sore for days.
-Learning prayers in Spanish isn't that hard if you just memorize a couple lines at a time.
-Truth and charity are inseparable concepts- you cannot have one without the other. (See Caritas in Veritate by Pope Benedict.)
-Carving rounded letters on a pumpkin with a 5-inch long knife is no easy feat.
-Playing basketball with people is a great community builder. (I definitely already knew this one, but some of my teammates got to learn it.) :)
-Sometimes people's needs are more than we can meet, but there is always something we can do for them. Blessed Chiara Badano, a young woman who was in the hospital with cancer for the last part of her life, said, "I have nothing left, but I have my heart, and with that I can always love." Even if we can do nothing else for people, we can always love them. And pray, of course.
-The only way we can really accomplish anything is if we let God accomplish it through us.
-Skype doesn't work 3-way.
Also, here's the article about the Gabriel House that was recently in the Spanish Archdiocesan newspaper. Sorry if you're not bilingual.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Catchphrases of a Missionary
Since I've now been out here for over 2 months, I'd like to share with you some of the things that may be said and done as a missionary that may never happen in the real world...
-"What are we going to do with this huge donation of cocktail sauce?"
-Humming the Tantum Ergo in the office.
-"How and when would we have watched that commercial you're talking about?"
-"I guess some guy from the Vatican is coming over for breakfast this morning."
-"Did somebody try to break in or was that just the radiator?"
-Genuflecting before entering a doorway because we're used to genuflecting before walking by our chapel doorway.
-"We could get curtains that match the papal flag!"
-"Wow, there's a lot of crucifixes on that wall."
-Turning a file cabinet into a desk because there weren't enough desks for everyone who's in the office on some Mondays.
-"Someone used me to make a drug deal today."
-"I feel so guilty about sleeping in till 9 on my weekend off."
-Cleaning the kitchen multiple times a day and yet it's still never clean.
-"Can we send you home with some bread loaves and pastries?" (to a volunteer)
-"No, I'm not a cop. And no, I'm not wearing a wire, that's just my scapular."
We have a lovely newsletter that was recently put together by an awesome alumni, and as soon as it's on the website, I'll send you a link to it. Also, I was pictured in the Archdioceasan Spanish newspaper, and as soon as I figure out which machine I can scan that in on, I'll share that with you as well. :)
-"What are we going to do with this huge donation of cocktail sauce?"
-Humming the Tantum Ergo in the office.
-"How and when would we have watched that commercial you're talking about?"
-"I guess some guy from the Vatican is coming over for breakfast this morning."
-"Did somebody try to break in or was that just the radiator?"
-Genuflecting before entering a doorway because we're used to genuflecting before walking by our chapel doorway.
-"We could get curtains that match the papal flag!"
-"Wow, there's a lot of crucifixes on that wall."
-Turning a file cabinet into a desk because there weren't enough desks for everyone who's in the office on some Mondays.
-"Someone used me to make a drug deal today."
-"I feel so guilty about sleeping in till 9 on my weekend off."
-Cleaning the kitchen multiple times a day and yet it's still never clean.
-"Can we send you home with some bread loaves and pastries?" (to a volunteer)
-"No, I'm not a cop. And no, I'm not wearing a wire, that's just my scapular."
We have a lovely newsletter that was recently put together by an awesome alumni, and as soon as it's on the website, I'll send you a link to it. Also, I was pictured in the Archdioceasan Spanish newspaper, and as soon as I figure out which machine I can scan that in on, I'll share that with you as well. :)
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