The last few days have been a real whirlwind. We were all up early on Friday for 7am Mass with the Sisters at their house. 5 of the men stayed with the Sisters to work, while the rest of us rode in the van with Gabriel to the Missionary Brothers and split up again, half to work with the men who live with the brothers, half to do a little street evangelization at San Marcos, the brothers’ neighborhood church.
The men at the brothers’ home did some races and activities with the residents,all set up by a man who has been volunteering there for almost 20 years. He had a lot of wisdom to share with us about his experiences. Then we just spent time with the residents and enjoyed the beautiful weather. All of us except Chris Grow, who spent the entire morning peeling and dicing carrots in the kitchen. We helped the residents eat their lunch, and after cleaning up we got to enjoy a lunch of our own with the staff.
The men at San Marcos spent some time in prayer, then played with some of the kids who came through the square outside the Church, sang songs, and taught them a little about the faith. They learned that Andrew Rauenbeuhler can play guitar, which was a surprise to everybody except Andrew.
The men at the Sisters’ house spent the morning doing chores, including some painting.
After some time in prayer in the afternoon we all went out on home visits with the Sisters in one of the neighborhoods near their home. We stopped briefly at one of several chapels attached to the parish. It was a great experience of the incredible hospitality of so many of the people here.
On Saturday about half of the men went with the Sisters to a huge march organized by the Archdiocese from downtown to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It was quite a trip by bus, metro, and bus again to get there, but it was well worth it. We marched right behind the Archdiocese’s seminarians along with sisters from many orders, then celebrated Mass in the Basilica with thousands and thousands of people.
The other half of our group went to see the National Museum of Anthropology, and learned all about the history of Mexico, including Tenochtitlan, the city before it was Mexico City.
Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to learn and encounter Christ in His people here in Mexico City.
-Jake Epstein