Off to South Sudan

Tonight, I will be leaving to Juba, South Sudan for a year (or so) as a part of the Salesian Lay Missioners (SLMs). During Orientation in New York, I got the chance to meet the 19 other missioners that will be traveling around the globe to places that include Asia, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Florida, and South Sudan. I am so excited and grateful for this opportunity to go on mission and be with the people of South Sudan. Although I do not know what my specific duties are yet, I know that I will be working and teaching at a secondary school, working in the oratory in the evenings, and whatever else they ask of me. But before I leave, I wanted to share a few thoughts that I have:

1. I have chosen to stick with the blog address “We are called to serve.” This is because this call of service is one that each and every one of us is called to. Just because I am going on mission to South Sudan does not mean that I am answering this call more than anyone else. I am just answering God’s call for me, and that call just happens to be in South Sudan. To all those who cannot understand why I am going to South Sudan or think that going there means that my heart is bigger, or that I am willing to answer God’s call more than you, I want to say that it is simply not true. My call is no greater than your call since we are all called by the same God. Choosing how to serve in your own life within your own means, whether that means serving your family or serving the parish, or serving the mentally disabled or the elderly, or teaching kids, or whatever that call for you personally is, is the same call that I have heard. Just because God is calling me to go half way around the world does not make this call any more significant. Just like some of you could never imagine yourselves doing what I will be doing, I cannot imagine doing some of the things that you do to serve either. It is the same call from the same God to do different things, and this call is expressed through our passions. The quote I always like to use by Fredrick Buechner says, “Vocation is where our greatest passion meets the greatest need of the world.” The world is always in need, but it is through our passions that we hear how God is calling us to serve. Just as the ND Vision program challenges high school students, I want to challenge you: “God is calling. How will you answer?”

2. Let me begin by telling the Star Fish Story that some of you may have already heard: A young girl was walking along a beach upon which thousands of starfish had been washed up during a terrible storm. When she came to each starfish, she would pick it up, and throw it back into the ocean. People watched her with amusement.She had been doing this for some time when a man approached her and said, “Little girl, why are you doing this? Look at this beach! You can’t save all these starfish. You can’t begin to make a difference!”The girl seemed crushed, suddenly deflated. But after a few moments, she bent down, picked up another starfish, and hurled it as far as she could into the ocean. Then she looked up at the man and replied, “Well, I made a difference to that one!”

Realistically, one year is too short of a time to do anything or to make any real difference. Even a lifetime may not be enough to make a dent into the poverty that exists in all the places where the SLMs serve. It would be impossible for us to save all the starfish. However, this is not what I (or the SLMs) are called to do. We may be there to teach or to work at the church or lead retreats or work in the orphanages, but our real ministry is that of love and presence. It is our ministry to take every person and to love them. We are called to be present and love everyone who we encounter. God is already present in all the places where we serve; it is our job to express His love to the people we serve. I may only encounter a handful of starfish, but I want to ensure that I have shared God’s love with them. My ministry in South Sudan is to make sure that everyone that I encounter knows that they are loved. 

3. Something that I learned while I was in Indonesia is that there are many different types of wealth. Living in America it is so easy to associate that word “wealth” to money or material possessions. Often when we think of countries that are “poor,” we think of places where people do not have much. Their houses are run down and they don’t have many of the luxuries that we live with. However, with this kind of poverty comes a wealth of joy. It was something that I experienced in Indonesia and am excited to look for in South Sudan. I have found that the people whom we consider to be poor, I consider to be rich with something that I rarely find in America. Although their lives are difficult, I found that they were more joyful and happy than anyone in America. Because there is not much money, that is not their primary concern. Although money is important, the people I encountered in Indonesia valued personal relationship much higher. Even though they had no money, they still gave me all that they had. Although they led difficult lives, they did it with such joy and happiness that is lacking in America. This is what I am looking forward to experiencing again. 

I have been discerning doing something like this for a couple of years now and am so excited that it is finally here. All I ask is for you to keep me in your prayers.