Photo above: Me working at the boy’s orphanage
Wow. I am always surprised at what and how much I can accomplish when I have a deadline to meet. I’ve been awake since 4am working on this and I finished just before 9, which includes editing and peer editing on skype haha. Not too shabby if I do say so myself. I wrote the article below to be published in the BC Catholic newspaper. Ashley was distraught when she found out that she had to write in third person, but found it quite refreshing to be removed from her thoughts by the end of it. Anyways, I think this post is quite fitting especially in light of the daily readings this week. Where is God calling you?
“Mission is for everyone”, said Beverly Trach, a Scarboro lay-missionary since 2003. “As Catholics we all need to identify ourselves as being missionary”. Scarboro Foreign Missions is inviting all those 21 years and older who have a desire to serve and build up the Kingdom of God to apply for their one year lay missionary program. Applications are due February 13 and more information on the program can be found at www.scarboromissions.ca.
Ashley Aperocho, a recent grad from the University of British Columbia, is currently a Scarboro lay missionary serving in Guyana on the one year program. In her last year of university, she was bombarded by the many things that she could do afterwards. “At one point I think I had seven different options for post grad.” Despite the many options, Aperocho knew that she wanted to give a year of her life to God. “I remember having three sets of applications open on my computer: an application to join the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecelia, an application to join staff for Catholic Christian Outreach, and the application for Scarboro Mission’s one year mission. All were great options, but for some reason I would find myself always drawn back to the Scarboro Missions website.” Aperocho was a member of St. Mark’s parish in Vancouver during her time at UBC. When asked about her experience thus far, the 22-year-old replied, “There is something indispensable about being able to learn about your faith from those in a different culture or stage of life. Mission so far has taught me so much about myself and has given me little insights to another aspect of the human condition… which I feel adds to my overall understanding of the body of Christ and of who God is.”
However, it is never too late to join. “Mission is not just for young people – it’s for those that are older too.” Said Beverly Trach, a 52-year-old Scarboro Missioner who served in Brazil and Guyana. “They have skills and abilities. They know who they are, so they do not need to find themselves, and they have so much to give. It’s a perfect match, really.” It was when she was living in the Greater Vancouver Area that Trach felt called to mission. “I felt like I could do more… I wasn’t using my gifts and abilities to build up the Kingdom of God.” Trach attributes her joining mission to the encouragement of those at St. Francis de Sales Parish in Burnaby when she was an active member from ’94 to ’02. Prior to her time at St. Francis de Sales, she was also a member of Immaculate Conception in Delta for five years where she served as the youth coordinator for a year. “I had a strong sense of the universal church… that church went beyond the walls of a parish. That the church was worldwide and I wanted to learn from others who God is to them.” When Trach heard about mission she said, “I felt like I had an opportunity to learn so much from the people I’d be ministering to and that I had so much to offer them as well.”
Mission is for all of us; men, women, young adults, single people, married couples, those who are semi-retired, or those just looking for a change. Each demographic brings a certain set of skills and gifts in helping build the kingdom. Some will be missionary in their own backyards, others will support it financially or through their prayers, but some will need to go and experience a foreign mission. To leave behind life as they know it for the sake of the Gospel. How is God calling you to serve?
chasingtheinvisiblesun 