Life at the Casa: My First Week in Formation

I have just experienced my first week of lay missioner training here at the Casa San Salvador. It has been amazing! I have learned about intentional community living, shared house responsibilities, and enjoyed many shared meals. While I have lived near and visited the Casa many times, I am gaining a new perspective of the neighborhood and surrounding area. I am learning to be both less planned and to follow the schedule made for me.

For example I was instructed to take 2-3 hours to explore, without planning where to go or where to end up, and it was amazing. I decided to walk toward the center of DC.  Each time I thought I knew where I was and started making a plan, I was wrong.  I saw a cemetery and thought that it was Mt. Olivet, where my grandparents are buried, and I decided to walk around to the entrance and visit them. Along the way I passed a school and some girls ran to the fence to say hello and ask how my day was going. As I reached the entrance to the cemetery I saw that it was not Mt Olivet. Instead I read the names and prayed for families I knew that had the same surname. At some point I realized I was on T Street. This is the street my grandfather grew up on. I thought I would walk by his house knowing that it was after North Capitol. I must have crossed North Capitol at a point that I was not aware. Maybe it was when a toothless man told me I had a beautiful smile; I replied “so do you,” which made him laugh. I checked the street signs and saw I was crossing 2nd, then 3rd, then 4th. I had walked right past North Capitol street without noticing. I reminded myself to stop planning and just enjoy. Eventually I came upon Howard University and thought it was time to metro home. It was a beautiful experience to let go of control and accept what came to me with joy.

Another unexpected joy is being enrolled in a Scripture class called Scripture with a Cultural Lens. The instructor is engaging and I am learning so much. I am taking the class with a sister program for lay missioner formation in Los Angeles, called Lay Mission Helpers, and will be joining their formation group for a few weeks in October.

After hearing for years about the amazing work that the Father McKenna Center, an outreach center for unhoused men, that operates in the basement of St. Aloysisus Church connected to Gonzaga High School, I have been given the opportunity to volunteer there. What a gift it is to get to check the guys into the center in the morning for breakfast. I enjoyed many conversations and they were very gracious when I had to ask how to spell their names for their name tags. I will be volunteering there 2 times a week for this month.

While life at the Casa seems very distant and different from my life at home, I have been able to remain connected with my siblings on our weekly zoom call and even got a call from my son Joseph who is vacationing in Bosnia, to tell me that he and his wonderful girlfriend Julia got engaged. Now two of my four boys are engaged! I look forward to having daughters-in-law.

I am very excited to see what new things I will learn this week. Thank you, God, for giving me this time in formation and hope for my future to serve you in new ways.

Question for reflection: What new things are you grateful for this season?