What I Learned From This Trip

The things that I learned as a seminarian and as a person on this trip:

I learned how important Mary is to the Catholic culture there.  I was familiar with Our Lady of Guadalupe and the great devotion that the Church in Mexico has for her, but I was unfamiliar with Our Lady of the Yucatan.  There is a great devotion to her - the parish I attended for daily Mass was called Our Lady of the Yucatan and in their Cathedral they have a great statue of her right in front of the sanctuary.  They also had a statue of Our Lady of Sorrows along with Our Lady of Guadalupe.  I knew Mary was important, but not that important.

I learned that I remember more Spanish than I thought.  Having taken 5 years in high school 12 years ago, I knew some would come back but not how much.  I was able to have conversations with some people who knew no English and understand many conversations between two fluent Spanish speakers.  Knowing that I need to learn Italian for school next year, it gave me some confidence that I can do it.

I learned just how lucky we are in this country.  When I saw a checklist for people that included questions like "Does their home have a bathroom," I was shocked.  I can't imagine not having a bathroom in my house.  And yet this is a way of life for some people, and somehow they find meaning and happiness.  How often am I thankful for having a bathroom in my house?  This trip has taught me to be thankful for the little things.  Like drinking tap water and flushing toilet paper.

I learned that prayer is universal and bonding, no matter its source.  When I asked the group if they wanted to say Morning Prayer with me on Thursday and Friday, I expected one or two people to be interested.  But nearly all of the group members joined in, and not everyone was Catholic.  I want to thank my group for being so open minded and allowing me to share this part of my life with them.  It easily could have become "The Catholics in the group are over there saying their Catholic prayer" but everyone embraced it, seemed genuinely moved by it, and it really strengthened the group's solidarity.

I learned how important individual acknowledgement is.  It's one thing to greet a group of people, or thanking a group of people, but greeting them individually means so much more.  Thanks to Tricia and Ron for showing me this at the nursing home.

But most importantly, I learned just how important taking advantage of opportunities to go on service trips are.  It was remarkable.  Thanks to all who helped make it possible either by planning, funding, or coordinating.  As cliche as it sounds, it has changed my life for the better.

Dan Carr