Reflections 10 days on

It would be remiss of me not to mention our last visit to Fe y Alegria and the Canto Grande area our last day in Peru, Wednesday, July 7. It was a brief visit to say good-bye and see the final product of the brothers' and our efforts to rebuild the house for Henry and his family. I was thinking that we might be able to actually paint the front wall during our brief foray, but it was not to be. Instead, we ascended the 135 steps to see the final project. Henry, the father of the family (the son's name was also "Henry"), came out to greet us and welcomed us in. We were pleased with how the outside had been finished, especially as we were concerned about the gap between the bottom of the wall and the ground. That gap had been filled by stones, the walls attached and the roof mostly secured. I say "mostly" because the owners requested an addition not in the original plans and the carpenter still had to finish two extra walls. But what astonished us most was the newly poured concrete floor which made the house seem pristine and solid. It was also oddly more spacious than I would have imagined it could be. There were still some issues to resolve, particularly the "floating" doorframes, but it was edifying to see a house so much brighter, cleaner, and liveable than the one we had taken down just a few days before. It gave us all the feeling that, while we didn't change the world through our service, we sure did affect the world of this one family.

So, ten days on, how are we feeling about our work? Tonight we gather for some reflection and sharing, and planning of how to communicate what we have been through. The images will fade but what will our commitment to "Christ present and appealing in the poor" look like in the future?

Some possible answers?
A life of service as a lay, religious or even clerical missionary with the poor here or abroad.
Service at home in projects, large and small, to keep the commitment alive.
Donations of time, money, or other materials.
An appreciation, even a treasuring of all that we have.
The simple work of talking about the experience and, in sharing, bringing others to a deeper awareness.
A more sustained commitment to work that helps save the ecology of the earth, global warming, recycling, etc.
Educating ourselves and/or others further about the imbalances in distribution of the world's resources.
Create art, film, photography projects to reach these ends.

Who knows what else...

All I know is that I was often embarrassed to experience how much I have and how little so many folks in the world have.