Sierra Leone Narrative

My mission to Sierra Leone Africa started when my pastor invited to go. One morning after morning prayer he asked me to stay after the prayer; “Eduardo, I was thinking to invite you to join the missionary group this summer,” my answer was fast “yes” I said with a smile in my face, in this moment a lot things came to my mind. My first motivation was to travel to a new country and to do missionary work was because I just use, to see when my family had a subscription to a magazine from Misioneros de Guadalupe in Mexico, all the work of priest and lay people in Africa. The magazine called “Ad Gentes” has those beautiful pictures from Africa, smiling children holding some fruit or a bowl of rice, green landscapes where I could almost feel the

clean air on my face , the people sitting in churches waiting to hear something new from the missionaries and priests being embraced by children, celebrating Mass and visiting people in their huts, but wat I kept in my memory was the faces of the people. Sierra Leone was more than the pictures, it was a lifetime experience.
The work began to prepare to raise funds to pay for the trip, for which he was only 8 months; a month before I got the call from the parish manager telling "Eduardo, you are going to aAfrica this week and you need to cover even 10% of the flight;” I was very nervous because I did not know where I could get money to cover what I needed; that night the missionaries had a meeting and very nervous, after the meeting, I mentioned my financial problem; all instantly they offered me their support. Everything happened so fast the day to go to Africa is here, I had everything ready, a bag with my personal things and other material for school and some gifts for the children. Upon arrival at the time of check in the lady asked for my visa, which surprised me, and I showed my student visa, she replied "no visa to enter Canada" my immediate response was "not only makes transfer in Canada,” "No matter, you will need to ground the Canadian soil " she answered politely. So at the end I could not board the plane and just touched me to see my fellow missionaries go to take the flight. My mind was full of thoughts, but amid so much uncertainty knew I would go to Sierra Leone. The people of the parish helped me to change my flight, and after three days I was on the plane, nervous, excited and grateful. "Sierra Leone, here I come"
the first reason for trip to Sierra Leone, honestly was to know the place and the people of the country.

This lived experience over there has been very intense, very full of God and a true experience of the Church. what happened to the first off the plane was a peculiar smell, “did I forget to put on deodorant?" I wondered to myself, but only a few minutes were enough to realize that they were the people who smelled so. when I left the airport the mission began. I have had other experiences short of Mission when I was in Mexico, but nothing compare whit Sierra Leone; before to go to Africa, I have felt very close the suffering of the needy, the poor and those who suffer and trough this experience I felt the presence of God, but non at the beginning. I could see the love, joy and sacrifice that lay missionaries and religious communities and their efforts to bring Christ to every corner of the earth. In each of these experiences, the Lord gives light to understand and to love in a different way, God is always ahead. An example of the missionary work and the example to love other was with Henry an 8 year old kid who was attacked by a strange virus, which was eating his bones; Support Missionary Sisters of the Poor Clares was enormous, they took Henry to Spain to heal him and within six months he was back in Sierra Leone, after that through surgery the virus was removed from Henry´s body. Even with difficulty walking, I still remember his smile and his perfect Spanish. "I

am very grateful to the sisters, without them I would not be alive" he said.
The African continent has been characterized as one of the most affected by a variety of conflicts during its historical development. These conflicts where intensified with the end of the First World War, when the colonial system implanted in the continent was decreased and the independence of countries was promoted. This promotion of independence was influenced by the interests of the colonizing countries. The independence of African countries was in dates and different periods since the processes were different, according to the country's decade conditions and the effects that the colonizing country has left and how implanted in each government .The work of the Church in Sierra Leone towards the poorest has been, and is, enormous. A still war-torn country and ended 10 years ago, which has left a trail of half destroyed buildings and what is worse, people who have lived a very cruel war, children, youth and adults mutilated children were abducted for use as soldiers, kids who just have one meal at day, people who died because there is not medication. It was a very hard experience when I arrived to the little village where we did our mission and hear those stories from the people, if I compare what I saw and what I used to see on the magazine´s picture, it was far from reality; at least I my feelings were very different. I could not understand how a place that lived in poverty was through such a bloody civil war that has left visible traces. I well remember a boy named "bomb", was the result of rape during the civil war as a result of that he did not live with his mother, lived with his grandparents because his mother did not accept to be the result of a violation. My first nights in Mangue Bureh (the name of the little village), I could not sleep trying to understand why God allowed people live in those situations and complaining to God without answer.
After my complains to God, I saw his presence over there, firs through the people, they pass trough difficult situations, in spite of that they are always smiling at you, listening at you and giving to you their love, they share with me something that can not be compare with the school supplies, the clothes or the food, they share with me their hope and their joy. I understand that I was focused in material things, people in sierra leone are poor outside, but inside they are very rich, as I mentioned before, they hope that tomorrow will be a better day than today, their joy and other feelings about life. y daily work at home missionaries may not seem like much, in fact it is a small thing that I could ofercer in the mission? Then I realized that what is can always give love, be with the sick, make them laugh, share her laughter, her pain, her life, singing with them, kicking a ball, in my case say play football too! It is willing to everything they ask and give unqualified or at least try. Many of the patients are passing the house, malnourished babies are with their mothers until they caught some weight, but there are also patients who are in the final stages of life. In the end it is they who make you laugh, who share with you their life, they teach you songs, and when they see you appear in the mornings greet you with the best smile as if they will visit the most important person Sierra Leone.
Another way that God show me his presence was because thanks to the missionaries, people in sierra leona have a place to be, to live, to have hope; and most impressive, they have returned their dignity. The work of the missionaries, specially the missionaries of Christ and Clarissian Missionaries sisters, showed me that God is there helping his people through his Church work. when we arrived in Sierra Leone it was just weeks before the ebola virus to expand by Sierra Leone. When I speak of nuns and priests, most people probably think of women and men reading the Bible and preaching; missionaries not only did that, "We are aware that being Christian and preach the word of God is also helping others in their needs" were the words of Mother Elisa, a nun who had 15 years working in Sierra Leone. They are a clear example that the work is not only preach and bring the Bible in hand, it is also helping others in their needs; in particular they risked their lives during the ebola virus, caring and treating infected people besides giving information to prevent infections.
Being in Africa made ​​me experience despair and abandonment to see the needs of people, but God showed me that he was there and that despite the difficulties, he always lived in the people there, God was present always but I could not see him because I focused more in the negative part of my experience which was the most challenging, hard and beautiful Missionary experience.

I could fill pages and pages with stories like this, but what I feel right now is gratitude. Gratitude first the sick and workers of the home and school, by his example and his company have made me see that I have great weaknesses, and being aware of them, I can try to amend them. Thanks to the Poor Clare Missionary Sisters, who are known for hosting even the poorest of the poor, I can not forget the day of the end of Ramadan in which came to buy beads for Muslim patients in the home could celebrate their day big. That respect and interfaith relationship that lived in the house marked me a lot. Every time I see the videos of the missions and close my eyes, I can smell the wet grass in the field, hear children screaming for my path "otopo" which means white man, smell the bread cooked in the village, and Mangue every corner of this in my heart. I will never forget that experience was marked by moments of difficulty that made me doubt even about myself ; Sierra Leone taught me to be a better person and to always give thanks with a smile because as one of the young form Sierra Leone Said, "after strong

rains, the sun shines brighter.