So as my
last post was about the boys, this time I’ll take a moment to appreciate the
girls.
Madelina
One day, I
was absent-mindedly chatting briefly with our cook about the football team and her
daughter, who plays. Then she said to me
out of the blue, “Madelina prays for you every night.” I stopped rushing around and looked up at
her, her eyes beaming with love for her daughter and for me. “Every night in her prayers I hear ‘Sister
Cait’ right away. Every night.” I was blown away, completely unprepared to
hear that, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. The knowledge that Madelina cares enough about
me to ask God every night to bless me is enough to bring me to tears. And when I try to mentally reflect on it, I
find myself uncharacteristically vacuous.
I have no words. There are no
further thoughts. There is just a
swelling of appreciation for that little Godsend and for the Blessing that is
my life. Sometimes I find myself utterly
overwhelmed by the love I receive here.
And to think, all of it is merely a drop in the ocean of love that God
has for me. Amazing.
Flowra & Grace
There is a
pair of sisters here about 4 and 6 years old who perfectly embody the spirit of
joy. I say joy instead of happiness
because it comes from deep within them and is in no way dependent upon the
outside world. It is a quality they
possess, not an emotion they feel. Each
day, I hear their distinctive raspy and squeaky voices calling out my name, or
the song of their mixed laughter carried by the wind. They are always together, hand-
in-hand, and
always radiantly smiling. They ask me to
spin them in circles again and again (I’m always afraid they’re eventually
going to puke… okay, I’m afraid I’m
going to puke). They pinch me and run
away or hug me and refuse to let go, all those adorable little-girl things. But what sets them apart is their harmony
with each other and with the world. When
I look at them, I see inner peace and outer bliss. I often think of Jesus telling us that unless
we become like children, we will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Because when I look at them, I see the Kingdom right in front of me. They are living in it. I get a very deep message from them
about the quality of life being much more important than the length of it.
Mariam S.
A genuinely sweet girl, Mariam is teased and bullied mercilessly. Sadly, it is not rare for her to come to my office crying. Despite my tendency to sometimes only want to see the good here, her tears are a reminder that some things are the same everywhere, and that adolescence is hard. It breaks my heart that I can’t do more for her. It's frustrating and sad to realize that adults, even in positions of power, are sometimes powerless.
Mariam G.
One sassy
girl has a unique way of pointing at the Salesians and calling our names when
we displease her or when she has something to say (both of which happen
often). She’s an oh so typical teenager. We mimic her, and she
pretends to get fed up and walk away or chases us. But it’s clear how much she likes the
fact that we notice her quirk. Please
read: she loves that we see her. It’s a lesson to me in working with kids: pay
attention the little things, they’re important.
Silla
Silla is a
bright young star rising in her own right.
She does well in P6 and shows a courageous determination in
school. She went to Fr. JP with tears in
her eyes when school fees were due, and begged him to allow her to study on charity. Her father, she explained, paid the full
amount for all of her brothers, but refused to give her a dime (one example of
the vast difference in societal value placed on a girl v. a boy). She wants desperately to get an education. She
also plays on the football team, a fantastic defender who improves daily due to
her focused training. She demonstrated
such commitment, willingness, humility, and natural leadership that she was the
obvious choice for captain. She wants to
enjoy her life. She also joined the
Daughters of Mary last month, and always tries to consider what Mary would
tell her to do. She wants to be a good
and holy woman. She also visits me every
time I’m sick, even for a day. She’s
deeply and demonstratively caring. She
is an absolute rock star, and I am
privileged to have a special closeness with her. If she were growing up in America, I’d peg
her as the future president. Here in
South Sudan, I just pray that she gets the opportunities she deserves to have a
good life.
The Daughters of Mary
The
Daughters of Mary is the female church group for the youth (under 18) who dance
at mass on Sundays. They don stunning uniforms, tie bright scarves around their heads, and animate the mass
with their bodies. They spent a ton of time preparing for the Feast of Mary Help of
Christians. They worked with Grace day
in and day out for months learning
special dances, attending catechism classes, and coming to daily mass at 6:45am. Their commitment was incredible!
There were also many new girls joining the group, ranging from 7-16
years old, and it is amazing how a group that diverse could be so unified by
love. I felt so privileged to observe
them all during their preparation time. Some of my
favorite things:
- their tenderness: the veteran members gently and patiently
teaching the new girls
- their joyful enthusiasm: laughing and cheering while they
learned new ways to praise God
- their unity: sitting together at every mass and often together
throughout the school day
- their faith: happily showing up at daily mass because they love
Jesus and Mary; singing one of their favorite
songs that simply goes “my name is [name], and I love Mary
(yeeeah), and I’ll love Mary (yeeeah) for the rest of my
life.”
On the Feast
Day, the new members made their public Promise to the group (attached at the
bottom of this post if you’re interested).
Then their parents, the veteran members, Grace, and the priest blessed
each one of them in an emotional ceremony.
From my view as photographer, I watched the faces of these mentors as
they blessed the young girls. Some
beamed with pride, some smiled knowingly, and some wept with a mix of emotions
running through them. It struck me hard:
these people understand and appreciate the value and intensity of the fact that
the girls just promised to follow Our Mother and give their lives to her, and
most of all, that the girls all meant it from the bottom of their hearts. It all hit me like a tidal wave, and suddenly
I could almost see the Holy Spirit
whipping around the room, filling it completely. Simply put, it was one of the coolest moments
I’ve had yet.
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| Loving friends |
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| The whole crew |
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| Dancing at mass |
Concluding Thought
I am proud of the girls as my students, I am proud of them as soccer players, as helpful members of their families, etc., but I am most proud of them as good Christians. They inspire me every day, teaching me lesson after lesson after lesson about recognizing Christ, following Mary, what love means, how faith should be, and what it looks like to possess purity of soul. I love them with every ounce of my being, and I am honored to be a witness to their lives.
The Daughters of Mary Promise
Lord
Jesus, I thank you for calling me to be closer to you and closer to your Mother
Mary. Through her, I can come to you easily. I believe that you are the Son of God and the
Son of Mary. I believe that Mary is the
Mother of God, conceived without sin, so she can help me to become holy. I believe that Mary is the Mother of the
Church, Mother of all Christians, and my Mother also. Lord Jesus, I believe that you are present in
the Holy Eucharist, in the Church, in the Word of God, and in each one of us.
So I will come every day for the Holy Mass to receive your Body in the Holy
Eucharist after making a good confession. Make me like your Mother. Help me to be obedient
to your Will, to be kind, to be humble, and to be ready to love others as she
did first. Jesus, you are my Savior and
my friend. Bless my commitment as a Daughter of Mary. I am willing to follow
you, I am willing to listen to you, I am willing to serve you all my life.
Mary, my Mother, be my guide to grow in holiness, day by day, hour by hour,
until I take my last breath. Mary, Help of Christians, pray for me. Amen.
