Commissioning and Transitions

This weekend Lauren and I were commissioned as Lay Mission-Helpers at the Sunday Mass at Saint John the Evangelist Church in Los Angeles. It was a wonderful Mass and a wonderful ceremony. It was very encouraging to see all the veteran Lay Mission-Helpers and Mission Doctors at the Mass as well as all the friends and family that came to support us at the commissioning.

Lauren and I were two of six Lay Mission-Helpers and four from Mission Doctors to be commissioned along with six children (three each from a Mission Doctor family and a Lay Mission-Helper family). It has been great to be a part of this formation class, and I think there are mixed feelings all around about leaving the Mission House where we have been living for four months. While we are excited to be commissioned and to make the next step toward Africa, it is sad to leave the community that has become a family over the last four months.  It is not simply that we won't see people again. The Powers and the Wulffs from Mission Doctors will be a few hours away from us in Tanzania, so we will see them every month or so, and we will hopefully see everyone again in three years when we all come home.

Our relationships with these people are changing; we are leaving a wonderful community and way of life. It is sad to go. It is sad that we won't see these people that we have come to love, and have them there to support us in our shared journey towards mission, but paraphrasing Enrique Wulff from our formation class: the only way we know that we are moving forward is that we are leaving things behind.

It is sad but good that we are leaving. Our time of formation and community has served its purpose. We will miss the time in formation and the people we lived with, but we leave grateful that we had this time and formed these relationships even if they are changing now.

Thank you to everyone who was part of formation for being a part of our lives and giving us strength and encouragement along the journey.

-Justin

 

Top Ten

Lauren's Top Ten Favorite Things About Living In Southern California:

1. The Weather: I love how I am never very hot or cold, and that I can wear shorts almost every day.

2. The Beach: I love that any time that we have a few extra hours we can drive to the beach. I love feeling the warm sand under my feet and the cool wind on my face as I walk.

3. The Plants: Never in my life have I ever seen such a wide variety of plants. The coolest thing was seeing a little pineapple growing out of the ground.

4. The Hills: How when I walk to the top of a hill I can see the snow covered mountains on one side and the ocean on the other.

5. The San Diego Zoo: It was beautiful walking around and seeing all the different animals. The plants at the Zoo cost more than the animals that are there.  

6. The Mail: I love sending and getting letters. I have never been far away from my family and friends to send or get many letters. Now I get lots of mail.

7. The Distance: I miss my family very much. But the distance makes every phone call, every letter, and every time I get to see them so precious. I can truly see what I have.

8. The Grauman's Chinese Theater hand prints: I am a huge Harry Potter fan. It was cool to see the main characters hand and foot prints in concrete. 

9. The Museums: The Getty Museum has really cool exhibits. The Arts and Craft Museum has fun art nights. Where you can go and create something.

10. The Walks: I like how most days are great for walking, and there are so many different places to see when walking.