DioMass Youth Ministry

Encuentro Juvenil. El Salvador, July 2012. What an amazing group young leaders. The church and the world are in good hands.

One does not realize how much they have until he/she is stripped of it. I take so much for granted on a daily basis because the gifts God has given me are a part of my daily life. The youth from El Salvador that we were blessed to connect with this week have only but tin houses (many times, with trash bags for a roof) to call their own. Poverty and a lack of security is their daily life. However, getting to know all of the beautiful youth made me appreciate that God sometimes gives gifts in non-material form: the Salvadorans are so full of happiness and are so dedicated to their families and communities. I realized this when Ishmael, a 23-year-old man for Los Calix, one of the communities we visited explained his experience of the time he had to flee because a gang was threatening him. While on the migrant trail to the US, he got kidnapped by drug dealers. They told his family that unless they could pay a certain amount, they would kill him. Though the family had nothing to begin with, they somehow got the money together—a true blessing from God—and saved Ishmael’s life.

Back in the US, I live in Westwood, Massachusetts: a respectable town, filled with respectable families with respectable amounts of money (comfortably middle class.) The thing we worry most about is if it is going to rain or whether or not someone has the same color UGG boots as us. We would not be in the place to even imagine what it would be like to live the way the youth we met live, let alone to be threatened by a gang. It probably doesn’t even cross people’s mind, because poverty is not part of our daily life. We are so unaware of the rest of the world.

Though the Youth Encounter is over, its work has not ended. I will continue on with what I have learned in this gorgeous country until every person in every oblivious respectable town notices and appreciates the other seven billion people on this Earth. There are only four million people in the tiny country of El Salvador, half the size of New York City alone. Though it is small, its people have left a large stamp of friendship, love, and loyalty branded into my mind that is too big to be ignored. I owe it to Ishmael and all the other youth in all the other communities to share their story and let them be noticed. Though it is hard to tell at times, we have to remember that God made every person on this planet equal. We are equal.

- Halley Husted

As I was driving to the airport with my mom, I was telling her about how I had no idea what to expect. I never knew that this experience and the people that I met in El Salvador would change my life. I have always been a person who makes a lot of first assumptions. For example, whenever I go to McDonalds or any other fast food chain, I always judge the people that work there. I always just think that these people are not smart enough to get a real job. I never think about what might have happened in their past, or that this is their way of getting higher education to get a better job. While I was in El Salvador, I saw a number of people who are struggling and I automatically came to conclusions about them, but as I got to know them, I realized that they actually knew more than I did. They knew about being a community and doing the work of God each and every day to everyone, even people they had just met. I wish that my town could be like some of the Salvadoran communities, but it isn’t. So I am going to try my hardest to treat everyone as an equal human being and not make any judgments. Lastly, I want to tell these peoples’ stories and let everyone know about the awful things that happen, and are still happening, to youth just like us in El Salvador and all over the world. Whenever I am down, I can just think about how lucky I am to live in a country where I am not in fear for my life.

- Megan Lightcap

This entire experience has been amazing. Not a moment disappointed me and I couldn’t have asked God for a better place to come with my friends, or to meet new friends. Learning about the history of El Salvador has truly made me think of my life in a different way. American youth seem to be oblivious to our privileges, merely because of where we live. The poverty and violence in El Salvador is greater than I could’ve imagined. If I could change the way Americans think, from those who live in my community, to those at my school or church, or even simply those I see on the street, I would. However, first and foremost I need to change my thoughts before I plan to change the world. I want to make a change in my life, perhaps learn not to take all the wonderful things I have for granted, but I also want to use my privileges to fight for the new friends I have made. The moment that inspired me was when our friend Ishmael, said how his life was with the gang violence around him. He told us how he was threatened by a gang and had to flee the country. On his way on the migrant trail, he was kidnapped by drug dealers and kept for ransom. By some miracle, his family was able to pay the ransom and he was let free. He made his way up to Houston until he was deported back to El Salvador. Ishmael had showed bravery that I could never imagine having. If someone could show that much bravery and dedication for a life without violence like Ishmael; I should be able to show my dedication and bravery for standing up for the rights of the beautiful people that I have met from El Salvador.

- Marina Novaes

Hey y’all! Maria here. It’s been a fantastic week. When at the airport awaiting the final leg of Saturday’s flight, I asked myself what I wanted to get out of this experience, what I was intending to feel after all was said and done. I decided that what would be best would be to keep a open mind, free of expectations. And this decision paid off, as it’s now Friday night and my life has been changed for the sbetter. When we visited El Pital on Sunday, our first full day, we attended a church service at the Parish of San Francisco de Asis, and after mass we introduced ourselves, and met the members of their community. One member, a young boy, was playing games of marbles in the church, and a few of us decided to join him. This, though I didn’t realize it at the time, was one of the most moving experiences during my trip, and I learned a very important lesson that I’m going to take home with me: sometimes a few marbles is enough. Many of us want the newest iPhone or shoes, but it’s the things that we have, not the things that we want, that mean the most to us, and I’m going to try and exercise that lesson when I return home. Sometimes a few marbles is enough.

- Maria

Well first off while in El Salvador we’ve visited 3 communities (El Pital, Los Calix, & La Anemana). Each one was really different from the others, but what was consistent was that all of the 3 communities we visited had a really big heart, & they opened their hearts to complete strangers and it was really sweet! The community that really touched me was El Pital. We had visited the community for the Church Service and to walk around the community and see the houses, neighborhood shops and other community buildings. During the sermon the priest had a line that really touched me it was something with smiles in it and it made me have a GREAT BIG smile! While we were walking around the community I had noticed that child was playing with marbles and he was having a ball with them! And watching him have a smile as big as I did made me smile for the longest time. On that note it makes me think that we (YES WE) American children and adults take the American life for granted! There are people all over the globe not having the life we Americans have. In the communities we’ve visited 2 of them were afraid of gangs that live in the community. It was a very peaceful place to them! While during the Youth Encounter we were talking about the Culture of Peace. We as the YLA were asked to write about an “I will” poster and mine was “I will create peace in my community.” To expand on that I would love to create a peaceful environment in my city, church, and in myself! All of these experiences in El Salvador have changed my life…I thought that my community was hard…but in some of these Salvadorian communities the people were afraid to even leave their house and yet they still welcomed us as family. This experience has changed my life completely, and I want to give a special thank you to all the donors that made it possible! Thank you!

- Jordan

I have learned a lot about myself and what it means to be a community while on this trip. I learned that first impressions are seldom true, and that you cant judge people without learning about their stories. I used to be the type of person who would see a Hispanic person in McDonalds and think to myself, “Wow, why cant this person get a better job?” After talking to some of the Salvadorans, I realized that it’s not their fault that they aren’t in college. Most of them are smart enough to get into college and definitely deserve to, they just don’t have the money and their family needs them. I am going to make an effort to not prejudge people, and instead learn their stories so that I can relate to them on a more personal level. I came to this realization after I had a one on one conversation with my new friend Raquel. She talked to me about how she had been one of the smartest people in her school when she was in High School, but could not go on to college because her family did not have the money, and they needed her to stay and help them with their business. Raquel really put things into perspective for me, and helped me to gain a new understanding of the different ways that people live.

~ Adriana

In a place that was ripped apart by a Civil War only twenty years ago and has its share of gang violence with the bruises as proof, it’s both ironic and beautiful that peace can be found here. In fact, our topic for discussion throughout the Youth Encounter was “Cultura de Paz” or “Culture of Peace.” So, during the encounter we investigated this idea of peace and the relationship between peace and violence through workshops, discussions, and skits. Especially by interacting and creating relationships with the Salvadoran youth, each other, and ourselves. In our last activity, only a couple hours before the encounter came to a close, we spoke about our plans towards promoting peace when we got home and how to spread it into our community and beyond. In the midst of the exercise, I realized and shared with the group that in order to be capable of spreading peace with others we must first be at peace with ourselves. A peace of mind. Following this statement, I was asked (by Bishop Tom) how would I go about with creating this peace in myself? I couldn’t come up with the words to answer this question because, in truth, I didn’t know the answer. (Tom later shared with us that a great way to do this is through prayer.) I spent the rest of the day pulling my ideas and beliefs together so I could organize a way for myself to accomplish this goal. It was that very night in our last reflection that that these thoughts strung together in a way that made sense. I settled in just how much I learned about myself during this trip. I came to the conclusion that this mission has in one way become a “self-mission” trip. We came to El Salvador not only for the YLA to learn, grow, and help the Salvadorans. Nor was it solely for the Salvadorans to learn, grow, and help the Americans. This trip has also given all of us the chance to learn about ourselves, grow in so many different ways, and go about by helping ourselves to become the person we strive to be and the person we are. My journey for peace still needs completion. However, our landing in Boston doesn’t mean that this self-mission for peace is over.

- Maggie Randall

A wise person once said the happiest people do not have the best of everything but rather make the best of everything. From this trip to El Salvador, I’ve learned a lot about myself and what a community really is. With the time we spent in the communities of El Pital, Los Calix, and La Anemena, I came to realize that I often take advantage of the many gifts that God has blessed me with. The wonderful groups of youth that we had a chance to interact with this week lived in the poorest conditions yet still found a reason to enjoy almost every moment of the day.

One moment from the trip that really inspired me was when we visited the home of Raquel, a 20-year-old from Los Calix. When we first arrived, we were welcomed in with open arms by every single member of her family. We sat and talked for almost an hour, telling stories, naming the family cows, and learning tongue twisters from the president of the community. Although Raquel lived with five other members in her family, they all managed to fit into a small house made of tin. The amount of happiness and dedication towards one another in that house was overwhelming. As we were leaving, Raquel’s mother told us that she hoped we enjoyed our visit although her house was not too much to show. She said to us “we live humbly, but we live well.” The reason I tell you this is because at that moment I realized that whoever that wise man/woman is, who said that happiness did not depend on materialistic things, was absolutely positively right.

Although we are no longer in the same country as our new friends, I hope to take all the lessons I have learned from this youth encounter and bring it back to my home community of Malden, Massachusetts. I hope to be more aware of the gifts God has blessed me with and to tell the inspiring stories of the wonderful new friends I have made.

- Jess "J MONEY" Lee

On this trip to El Salvador I learned a lot about myself and what I can bring back to the US to help create a "Culture of Peace." I realized how much we take for granted. In the town El Pital during our church service there was a little boy sitting on the side on the ground playing with a single marble. He had the biggest smile on his face and he looked like he was having a grand time rolling the marble around on the ground. The boy had broken shoes, and tattered clothes. But nonetheless he was having a great time.

After mass we took a walk around the town. Looking around, the houses were made of sheet metal, the soccer field was dirt and had rocks and debris, and there was trash all over the ground. I think we as a country take everything we have for granted. We need the newest cloths, the coolest toys, and the most expensive phones. The schools need the most beautiful fields or else the other people talk badly about them, and as teenagers we need Xboxes and Wiis to keep busy when we really don’t. That little boy taught me that we don’t need any of that to have a good time.

- Joe