I am not one who likes to see the darkness of our world. I am one of those who always claims to see her glass as half full and so should you. I am aware of the darkness, the loss, the discomfort, the struggles, the sadness, the suffering. I just don't want to have to look at it. I will write you a check or donate a box of food for the hungry, but don't ask me to get into the trenches with you and "touch" any of it.
I don't know what has been going on in this heart of mine, but something has been stirring the pot and making me look at where I might be being called.
My husband Ron, volunteers with Good Samaritans. They are a local group who take drives and hikes into the desert near the border of Arizona and Mexico. They aren't there to encourage or help immigrants to come across the border into Arizona illegally. They are there to offer Humanitarian aid to those who have traveled hundreds of miles from their homes, their families, their countries. They aren't just Mexican. Many are from Central and South America too. He and others bring water and first aid to these immigrant sojourners. They offer to help them wash their bloody feet from days of walking. They offer them a clean pair of socks. They offer them a small snack. They call the Border Patrol if they want to go back home.
Our church has an Outreach Ministry. I recently joined the ministry because of this little voice that keeps calling my name. The ministry does occasional "field trips" to places that they minister to. Places like, Casa Maria Soup Kitchen http://www.casamariatucson.org/. Think Dorothy Day http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/february-8-2013/the-life-of-dorothy-day/14669/ We were going to see the inner workings of this place. I had been there a couple of times with Ron to deliver food, but didn't really look at anything beyond the person who took it from my hands. This time, I did. Brian Flagg, the founder and director for over 30 years is a unique and interesting man. If you didn't know, you might mistake him for one of the hundreds of homeless that are ministered to there everyday. He gets a room to sleep in, his food and $10 a week. How many directors of companies do you know that make $10 a week? Jimmy, a US citizen who came here as a teen with his parents from Arequipa, Peru, showed us around. He has a Masters Degree from Cornell University and is married with two children and something tells me he could make a whole lot more money doing just about anything, anywhere else. There are several buildings in this Barrio neighborhood. One houses the soup kitchen where 600 are served a meal daily and 200 families are given a small plastic bag with food. This is also where you will find a Porta-Potty. On the covered patio, you will find people gathering on Mondays at 10 am for Mass said by various priests from across the city. We were able to attend this and it was life changing. Music in Spanish, the readings in English and Spanish with a priest who gave the homily in English with a translator for those not understanding English. Surrounded by my brothers and sisters in Christ, I was in awe of the generosity of so many and the humility of so many. The Gospel was the one about Mary going to Elizabeth's and Elizabeth feeling John the Baptist leap in her Womb when Mary entered the room. On the way down to the soup kitchen, we were talking about outreach and how sometimes it is hard to go to the uncomfortable places we feel we might be being called to. I mentioned that possibly this was not much different than Elizabeth and Mary. They were both being called to do things they might not have been comfortable with. Though Elizabeth had always wanted a child, she was now an older woman. Mary was a single woman who had not been with a man and had been told by an angel she was pregnant with the Son of God. Whoa Nellie! That's a lot to swallow. Having this reading said at Mass, in a soup kitchen after I had shared how difficult this kind of ministry is for me, sure made me pause and search the corners of my heart for where and what I might be being called to do.
Across the street from the kitchen were two other buildings. This was where other employees who make $10 a week had a room to sleep. There were rooms filled with non-perishable foods, clothing, etc. for those who might need it. There was a shower for the employees and the homeless to use.
And so, next week the field trip is to Sr. Jose's Shelter, where homeless women in Tucson are given a place for respite. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sr-Jose-Womens-Shelter/206265992846314 I continue to feel that leap in the womb of my heart and I continue to pause, ponder and pray about this. I don't know if I will truly find a way into one of these places or whether I will still just write that check and deliver food. I honestly don't know what that leap in the womb of my heart means. It could just be to better understand or to somehow be able to share this need with others. Or, it could mean that it is time to get out of my comfort zone and into the trenches of society where things are not always as we see them from the outside.
"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in".
