Learning life lessons from the poor
By Stephanie Kelly, Youth Speak News
I’ve come to realize we can learn some of life’s greatest lessons from the poor.
Last spring, I travelled with six other students to Cuernavaca, Mexico, with Global Connections on an educational immersion trip organized by the Canadian Catholic Campus Ministry. For 12 days I lived the social justice teachings of the Church through hands on experience. I toured some of the poorest parts of the city, volunteered at a compost centre and served breakfasts to underprivileged school children.
Last spring, I travelled with six other students to Cuernavaca, Mexico, with Global Connections on an educational immersion trip organized by the Canadian Catholic Campus Ministry. For 12 days I lived the social justice teachings of the Church through hands on experience. I toured some of the poorest parts of the city, volunteered at a compost centre and served breakfasts to underprivileged school children.
I celebrated my 20th birthday in Mexico. I remember my frustration that day as I sat in the sweltering heat, listening to a young man tell his story of injustice and survival. His name was Juan and he was from an indigenous village in the state of Guerrero. He and his family weave palm baskets for a living. It’s a simple business: if they don’t make enough baskets, they don’t eat.
Juan and I were born just weeks apart. Our mothers would have been pregnant at the same time. It got me thinking: how could we be the same age, but born in such different worlds?
It made me realize that sometimes those with nothing are the richest people in the world. Juan and his family had little money, yet they had something much more valuable. They had faith.
Faith is what you are left with when everything else is stripped away. It is something you hold onto despite the troubles you encounter. The families I met in Mexico had more strength than I have ever seen. In the face of social, political and financial despair, they had an undying faith that was beautiful in its simplicity.
La Estación is the name of the squatter settlement I visited in Cuernavaca. What was once a train station is now home to about 1,000 underprivileged families. Some don’t have water and others don’t have electricity. La Estación is rampant with poverty and violence. I could feel that despite their struggles, these people knew God. As the beatitudes tell us, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
As I watched two little boys play in the dusty streets, I thought about all the opportunities I’ve been given and how I don’t value these enough. These children were so innocent. They have so much potential, but are restricted by their circumstances. I wonder what they want to be when they grow up and what dreams they have. Our parents raise us saying we can do anything in the world. But some children don’t have that luxury.
We are quick to complain when things don’t go our way. We stress over work and school, but never take time to thank God we have that opportunity. As we continue the Advent season, I encourage you to resist the temptation of materialism. Reflect on what you have and take a lesson from the poor. I hope that you find inspiration as I did in the sincerity of their trust, faith and passion for Christ.
(Kelly, 20, is a journalism student at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, N.B.)
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