Being Occupied in Merida

My name is Lexie Mastro and this is one of many reflections on my Merida, Mexico experience. In case you don't know me, I am the curly headed girl that wears glasses in the front row. You see me; the one witht he Gannon Soccer sweat pants on. But I suppose that is where this whole story started anyhow...

I came to Gannon just four years ago on a soccer scholarship. I thought that would define me: soccer. athletics. college athlete. And then I decided that I wanted to do more. I started to join different clubs on campus and take leadership positions, and before you knew it, I found myself in the doorway of the Center for Social Concerns. 

Last year as a junior physician assistant major, I went on a domestic ABST to NYC and did some Hurricane Sandy relief. This year I was fortunate enough to go on an international ABST to Merida, Mexico. Which is why you are reading this reflection; to hear about my experience. I want to tell you everything and describe the bright smiles on every single girl's face at Nueva Vida, however, my words cannot do them justice. My words cannot do this trip justice. So, I looked for some words of others to inspire myself and added in a few notes. 

If anything in this post interests you and you want to chat with me more, here is my email: mastro001@knights.gannon.edu. 

“Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” 
― Martin Luther King Jr.

One thing we discussed as a group with the Mission of Friendship was the dialogue around service. Tricia, the Director of the Mission and Friendship (who is an amazing human being), facilitated a discussion one beautiful morning about what it means to serve. Are you going in to help others? Are you there to fix them? Or are you there to serve?

The answer my friends: SERVE! 

It is wonderful to fix a broken table, or to help someone who dropped a pile of papers pick them up, however, when you are going to be a guest in another community and culture, you are there to serve. This is one experience that stuck out to me during my time abroad. I will now and forever be very intentional in serving others as their equal who can learn just as much as I can give. We are all human beings in this world, so we should start acting like it.

“You are what you do, not what you say you'll do.” 
― C.G. Jung

Actions speak louder than words. This is so true in every sense. If you know me on campus, I am a do-er. I am normally at an event, running between engagements, or heading off to a class or lab. It is important to be active and speak with what you do. Personally, another thing I took away from the trip was from a spanish homily that I heard in Merida with the group. When Tricia translated the message, essentially the Priest had said to be occupied in the moment right now, not preoccupied in what was down the road in the future.

One of the most important aspects of this trip was living in the moment and just being present. We all turned our phones off for a full week, had limited or no contact to the internet (other than this blog), and just enjoyed our service and the company of not only each other, but also the community there in Merida. To list to a 76 year old woman who speaks spanish so fast you catch every tenth word, but still laugh at the joke because of the smile that spreads across her small, wrinkled cheek is beautiful. To be able to scrub a wall with bleach is a privilege. To paint an english classroom is a privilege. To interact with bright, young girls in theatre and soccer is a privilege. To be present in that moment and look back on how your heart felt that day because you lived that joy out is a blessing.

To be in the moment in your actions and enjoy being occupied in what is going on around you is something this trip has really made apparent to me. Because of my time in Merida, I now set aside daily reflective time for whatever I need that night. Although I am one of those people that used to claim I was too busy, to take 10 minutes every night for yourself and be present and take action does a world of good in the end. Be occupied. Enjoy right now.

“The Simple Path
Silence is Prayer
Prayer is Faith
Faith is Love
Love is Service
The Fruit of Service is Peace” 
― Mother Teresa

This last quote is very special for two reasons:

1. We got to meet a woman who studied under Mother Teresa at the assisted living home we visited in Merida: La Reina da Paz. We were able to play lotteria (picture bingo) with the geriatric and special needs community. As someone who used to spend a great deal of time in nursing homes here in Erie, PA, I found this experience making me think about my own relatives that have come and gone from these settings. 

The sister who studied under Mother Teresa worked at the facility and then even gave us a little tour of the chapel and told us a bit about the facility. It was a blessing to be in the same room with someone who serves others as a career.

2. It is a poem. Even though I am a P.A. major, I have an english minor and have enjoyed all my ENGL credits. What I have taken away most from being a creative writer is my personal development from poetry in particular. After a long stressful day in the lab, or after meetings, or after anything really, to sit down and be able to write a poem and feel proud to share it with others is empowering. It is my personal outlet to keep me sane in an insane world. Mother Teresa will always be an inspiring woman, and being able to look back at even the shortest of her poems gives me hope in so many different ways. I feel jazzed about poetry. I feel jazzed about being spiritual and faithful. I feel jazzed about being able to serve. 

This trip was amazing and I could go on for a while, however, I think I will end here with a poem I wrote for my poetry fiction workshop class. It is a first draft that has revisions still to be made, however, it is a good start. I think that is a good way to classify this trip. It was a good first look at Merida, however, there is still a lot that can be done there. I plan on going back someday to work with the Mission again or even doing some healthcare providing! Only time will tell what opportunities blossom out of this trip. 

Thank you for reading. Stay tuned for more about our Merida adventure.

God Bless, 

Maestra Lexie

Occupied, Not Preoccupied

Is a mindset for the current life,

Not wondering about the what if.

Being occupied in life makes you

Appreciate the present. For example:

Be occupied playing with children,

Even if they don’t speak the same

Language; soccer is the same

In all countries. Be occupied

Listening to a story about the

Mayan Calendar, just to understand

A culture a little bit better.

Be occupied swimming underground,

Even if bats are flying overhead

Because they only eat insects,

Not human flesh. Be occupied

In greeting another person, not

Flying past them in the hallway

At a hundred miles per hour. Hug

That person, give that person

A kiss on the cheek, even a stranger.

Be occupied and listen to whom

Is speaking; the to do list in your

Mind could wait until tomorrow.

Be occupied and enjoy the moments

You are in right now, not waiting for

The ones that haven’t happened.

Be occupied not preoccupied,

Is a way of life for some people,

And if you haven’t tried it yet,

You just might want to give it a shot.

Be occupied in the present, because

No one can predict the future.