Reflections of a Missionary
My name is Sister Celice Marie. I am a Missionary dedicated to Chile. My missionary life began on January 5th, 2012 and I came back on May 14, 2013. When I was asked if I would go to Chile, I was amazed. I never imagined that in my lifetime, I would become a missionary. However, from that day on, I was going to experience many life altering changes.
In your life, have you ever had this fiery passion for something and it just kept getting stronger as time went on? This is how I feel about being a missionary in Chile and for our other missions. When I was asked to do a reflection on my life as a missionary, so many thoughts flooded my mind and I did not know where to begin. In America, we are so spoiled and take so many things for granted. We have no clue what people in other countries go through. Neither do we get to know their cultures. The question that I get asked most is, “What attracts you to Chile and why would you want to go back there?”
During my time in Chile, I truly felt a sense of belonging. The one word that comes to my mind when I think of this is oneness. When you are in Chile, it’s not just a beautiful country. You can feel the spirit there. I feel oneness between my Chilean people and God. Oneness is shown since everyone is treated like family even the poor. In the Hispanic culture, family and extended family are very important. Everyone is called aunt, uncle, mom or sister. Here in America, everyone is always keeping this fast pace, but in Chile, the pace is different. Sometimes, as Americans look for happiness in the wrong places. We always seem to need more in our lives. The culture in Chile expresses that the people who have less are the most happy even with the little they do have. These people are just grateful for what they have, and the little they do have, they would give you. When I am in Chile, I feel like I am home—part of the Chilean family. A peace flows right through me.
My dear readers, I want to share with you some of the events I experienced. My hope is that after you read this, you will have an insight into what people experience in other countries. A question I often receive is, “What do they eat?” When I was in Chile, for breakfast and supper we had a piece of bread with cheese or butter. To drink we had coffee, tea, or room temperature water. The main meal is lunch and it is comprised of salad, soup, the main entree, and then desert.
Here is a snapshot of some of my experiences: During my time in Chile, I went camping during my first week. There was one day when we had no water at all. Then in the early morning, it was cold and we ran into the lake to take a “shower”. On another day, we got rained out of our camping site so we had to go somewhere else to sleep. When we arrived, there were only cold showers and no shower doors. I have experienced, with my Chilean people, two earthquake tremors. You never know when they are going to hit. In Chile, there is a custom they have that when you go shopping and are ready to pay; you also give a tip to the bagger. This is because they are kids who are volunteers and they are trying to pay for their education. I also worked for five months at our elderly Sisters home and everything over there is done by hand. When you transfer a sister, it is done by lifting them to wherever they are needed. For example, you would lift them to the bed from their chair.
I spent 8 months in Puerto Montt, Chile. This was a life-changing experience for me. Every first Friday of the month, we would have Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, followed by Holy Mass. Then we would go out into the streets to feed the poor. We would meet the poor people on the streets, in parks, empty boats turned upside down, and in their small houses. After we fed the poor on the streets, we went to feed the families who were with their loved ones in the hospital because they do not get fed there. We would do this again in November on every Saturday and we would go to the hospital and feed them. At Christmas time, we would make care packages of necessary items. This included clothing, food, and toys. To see their expressions of joy and gratitude was like the 4th of July for me. When I talk about them being family to us, it is sincere. They share with us how their families are doing, how they themselves are doing, or what they need from us. Then, we would help them as much as we could. I also went for one week of Mission experience with our kids in Pastoral Care. During this mission experience, we divided ourselves into four different groups and we would get dropped off in different locations. We would then walk from house to house knocking on doors unannounced, where we would pray and talk with them. Sometimes, they would even feed us. The houses were either far apart, up on a hill, or close together. One house had us going under barb wire to get to the front door. Once we got back to our camping grounds around 3 pm, we participated in activities with the kids from town. Later on, the people that we met in town came and had Mass with us.
The reason I would like so much to go back to Chile, is because my life has changed because of being there. I feel like I am making a difference there and spreading the Gospel of God’s love to them. Jesus tells us to go make disciples of all nations. Once you come back from something like this, your life changes. It makes you look at what you have and ask yourself, “What could I really give up?” I am willing to give up my life for my Chilean people. Also, I am willing to help make a future and inspire the hope for our Sisters that Mother Pauline’s Charism will stay alive. I tell people that it is not that I don’t love my home community in America, but there is something satisfying for me in Chile that I cannot explain. I am grateful for the rewarding feeling I experience in Chile. I feel like I need to follow this calling and I hope that after my Final Vows, I can return to it. When I talk to my friends in Chile, they always ask me when I am coming back. The young people I worked with ask if I am going to be back with them in Puerto Montt, Chile. I tell them just to pray and trust in Jesus. In my life right now, I compare myself to the rich young man from Matthew 19. Jesus told him to sell everything he had and follow him. This is what I am willing to do. I know we are all called to be Missionaries. My question to you is how much of a Missionary can you be in your life? Where are you in life and do you feel that God wants you to be there?
Sr. Celice Marie
