Enrique and Carolina on Mission

So…, we want to be missionaries

2012-03-06T08:58:00.000-08:00

Love, trust,passion, commitment, serenity, humility, adventure spirit and leaving behindour usual support system or “comfort zone” are some of the unalienablecomponents of wanting to be or become a missionary.

“A touch ofrefreshing sense of the idea of God…” starts opening the doors into the worldof “trying to understand” our roles as missionaries.”

We personallybelieve that not “now” or “even after” coming back from Africa we will beable to understand our roles as missionaries… this is beyond our limitedprocess of thinking… this is about the love of Jesus Christ as human-Godmanifested through us in dimensions outside our capabilities of understanding…

We aretalking about being missionaries not humanitarians. Our mission in Tanzaniaare not about doing a job in Africa for the needy… it is aboutunderstanding, feeling and experiencing the incarnation of the love of God inour intents to create “a communion” with others... it is about being positivecontributors in the already developing community of love…it is about beingthe love of God in action through us…

“Ourreasoning” of God’s plans is progressively left behind… day by day.

If God is notour source of love, live and action working with the Ndanda’s community, thenwe will be just a pair of individuals trying to survive few years in Tanzaniawithout any true meaning…

By decreasingthe pride of our own intellect and the selfishness of our own desires we arebecoming aware that going to mission is not about what we want but what Godwants.

We think thatthe most important relationship as community is based on the symbiosis betweenthe Divine Trinity of God participating in our human experiences and ourhumanity participating in God’s Divine Trinity…

Doctoring ismore about “experiencing” …experiencing people, experiencing pain, experiencinghealing, experiencing patients who do not want to be healed, experiencinghealth, experiencing life, experiencing the death of our patients and lovedones, experiencing God working through us…

“Experiencing…”is the first step of giving, loving and doing...

We are quiteconvinced that our doctoring and teaching as missionaries have to be “a prettyexciting spiritual awareness…”

As teacherand medical doctor, if we do not immerse ourselves in Tanzania’s culture andexperience God through mutual love by sharing their relationships with theirown environment on daily basis… we will not be teaching or doctoring, we willbe just communicating already acquired knowledge and dispensing medical issuesrespectively.

Carolina andI have the strange sensation that “our learning in Tanzania” will be much moreabundant, rich and plentiful than any type of teaching and/or doctoring we mayprovide. It is looking like this upcoming mission or ministry in Africa will bemainly for us and not for them.

It isastonishing feeling and experiencing the influence of the Holy Spirit duringthese days, showing us that it is not our call going to mission… its Godcalling us.

Asmissionaries we are invited almost literally to step into the homes of people. We need to be aware of their unique complex system of values.Bewilderment from both sides will be inevitable.

Thishospitality is a “two-way street”, which involves authenticity, a complexmixture of sensitivities and sensibilities, respect and acceptance of eachother idiosyncrasy, and the expected potpourri of joy, happiness, love, grace,passion, humor, etc., etc…

The firststep to honor their hospitality and demonstrate our commitment with them is forus to learn Kiswahili.

Every day the“how” is becoming less and less important than the “what”…!

In theprocess of doctoring people of different cultures and different languages theawareness of their needs implies compassion for the person or persons involved.

Think for aminute in this quotation of Charles Mayes: “Make sure the thing you’re livingfor is worth dying for…”

Learning from each other…

2012-02-21T12:48:00.000-08:00

The first 15 days at the Mission House have been quite special and emotional. As part of the designed program, there was an exercise, where each of us had the opportunity to share with the group “the story of our lives”, at least the one still living in our emotional and cognitive memories…

Each person designed his own poster to illustrate the most important moments of their lives. The presentations varied from 50 minutes up to one hour and a half.

A turmoil of multiple expected and unexpected confronting or conflicting emotions mixed with a potpourri of feelings of joy, sadness, grief, happiness, laughs with overlapping tears, etc., etc… invaded the mind and hearts of the speaker with the corresponding “chain reaction” throughout the rest of the group…, leaving behind an atmosphere of love, humanity, identification, learning, admiration, understanding…

“A quantum change” suddenly happened in our minds, hearts and souls. From being a group of potential missionaries motivated by a “common goal” and sharing our lives in a house as a community… we moved forward to become a well-integrated “us”…

The hand of God already initiated ITS orchestral majestic guidance in our group…

We had the great opportunity to meet “the veteran’s missionaries” and shared with them and with many other people from Lay Mission Helper and Mission Doctors Association a high quality time during a “welcoming lunch and ceremony”. Their eyes reflected the love and wisdom experienced in their ministries, as well as, their dedication and commitments with the above mentioned organizations. A spirit of confraternity and togetherness reigned throughout the entire encounter.

After planning for many years how to celebrate Carolina’s 50th Birthday on February 7, we finished overlooking it. Not only we skipped it, but also we had to be in complete silence due to “a week silent retreat”, which began on February 5. I admire Carolina’s courage, commitment and passion in this process of re-inventing herself.

During the above period of solitude the feelings of being the beloved children of God invaded our minds and hearts.

Love the life you live... If not, live the life you would love.

At The Mission House…

2012-01-30T13:24:00.000-08:00

Thank you so much for being in touch with us through this blog…

The “re-inventing process” already began. The atmosphere of humanity, spirituality and welcoming at the Mission House is amazing. A sensation of inner peace is already spreading through our minds and hearts telling us that we are on the right path. The unique and quite special wisdom, intelligence and emotional maturity demonstrated by our son Ricardo through the unavoidable ordeal of reducing our lives to two suitcases have been the engine that propelled us to Los Angeles with a sense of security.

The Mission House is our home and everyone here is our world. No doubts in our minds…: “We are citizens of the World.” The stage of mind of being in the presence of God constantly generates in us an emotional synchronism of joy and happiness.

These months of “critical thinking” ahead of us will help us to deal with our own inner fears. We are looking forward to learn to see ourselves in our own eyes.

Our goal during the next several months is to prepare ourselves to experience the feelings of being in a place “where love in action” will be the cornerstone of our motivations, the keystone of our work ethic, the call forth our passion and the main reason to work as missionaries.

We think we are aware that the value of our time in Tanzania will vary based on our motivations…, but it will be our inspiration the one which determines the value of our lives…

“Doing is not enough… if we neglect being…”

On the Road to Tanzania

2012-01-17T11:15:00.000-08:00

Dear friends, thank you very much for being with us in this new journey of our lives…

We are in the “roller-coaster” but quite excited process of emotional, material and familiar detachments prior to moving to the Mission House in Los Angeles, for the intensive preparation program of several months prior leaving to Ndanda, Tanzania. No regrets, just the inevitable tears, as part of our soul’s communication with the people we love and love us. We are not really leaving anyone behind; we are taking all of you with us. Working in mission lands is not about us, it is about everyone who has ever been around us.

We cannot describe in words the amazing amount of positive feelings and emotions impregnated with a unique and very special sensation of happiness and personal satisfactions which are invading us in these moments. We truly believe this is the end of the beginning of our lives in this world.

This spiritual happiness is taking control of our minds and hearts with an extraordinary and marvelous wisdom, helping us and guiding us step by step in the preliminary logistics involved in this preparatory period.

Thanks to the wisdom, mind’s clarity and effective work of Elise Frederick, execute director of Mission Doctors Association, we may say: “We are now on the road to Tanzania, Africa…”