By Leigh Calfee
(SNR) - Nine students and five chaperones from North American Martyrs Church in Lincoln completed a mission trip to Gallup, N.M. this summer, where they assisted the Missionaries of Charity with ministering to Gallup’s homeless population.
Father Thomas Walsh of the Diocese of Lincoln serves with the Missionaries of Charity in the midst of a three-year mission in Gallup.
Like many who visit and work with the Missionaries of Charity in Gallup, the lessons learned by the group from North American Martyrs will stay with them for a lifetime.
Justine Ocampo had never been on a mission trip before signing up to go to Gallup. She had friends who had done missionary work, so when she saw the sign-up sheet at church, she was one of the first people to volunteer for the trip.
Deacon Carson Kain, who arranged the outreach opportunity, gathered the cell phones of all participants at the beginning of the trip. Ocampo thought it would be difficult to be without her phone. She said, “At first I was a little skeptical, but looking back, I couldn’t be more grateful to have had our phones taken away.”
The two-day drive to Gallup gave participants the opportunity to talk and get to know each other. In the end, Ocampo said, they ended up like a little family.
When the team arrived in Gallup, they were immediately put to work by the sisters who run a shelter and soup kitchen for the poorest of the poor. The boys stayed at the homeless shelter in a space for volunteers, and the girls stayed at the women’s shelter.
Mass, waking people at the shelter, making breakfast for the homeless, and clean-up were all part of their daily routine. The team also did laundry, cleaned at the shelter, and prepared the grounds and buildings for a summer camp the Missionaries of Charity had scheduled for later in the summer.
Serving meals at the soup kitchen gave participants the opportunity to witness the joy with which the sisters serve.
“We all realized how strongly rooted in Christ they are,” Ocampo said. “When they work, they work for the Lord, rather than themselves. That’s how they are able to get all the hard jobs done.”
Emily Bosquet also participated in the Gallup trip. Like Ocampo, she will long remember how beautifully the sisters live out their faith daily.
“It was great seeing the sisters’ joy, even when dealing with people who don’t respect them. They were stern with people trying to bring in weapons or alcohol, but they were also very loving,” Bosquet said.
The team from North American Martyrs learned many lasting lessons from the Missionaries of Charity. Ocampo said, “One of the last things I learned, that has now changed my life, is that the best work is done in silence.”
The team noted how much the sisters do behind the scenes, with no expectation of appreciation. Witnessing this taught them they don’t need accolades from the world because the Lord sees their good deeds and love, even if no one else notices.
Patrick Gress, a parishioner at St. Benedict in Nebraska City, joined a team of students and chaperones from Lourdes Central Catholic School for a trip to Gallup several years ago. Like participants from North American Martyrs, Gress washed clothes and helped make two meals a day for the homeless. He was also tasked with searching people for weapons.
Gress was struck by the alcoholism and broken families in Gallup. But he was also touched by the simple faith of the sisters who serve the broken. Gress remembers one sister remarking on the homeless: “Their job is to drink, and our job is to take care of them.”
Serving with the Missionaries of Charity in Gallup means lots of hard work caring for the homeless. It also means serving side by side with sisters dedicated to the mission of their founder, St. Teresa of Calcutta. For the team from North American Martyrs, for Patrick Gress, and for others who have the privilege of seeing the Missionaries of Charity care for the least of these, the lessons learned last a lifetime.
