Misiones in Quilacahuín, Chile might have possibly been the coolest thing I’ve done since I’ve arrived in Chile. I have to admit that I was quite nervous about the experience. I had heard from past ChACErs that I would barely be sleeping, would be eating the culinary delights of high schoolers who had never stepped foot in a kitchen before, would be deprived of any sense of seniority and leadership, would not hear a word of English, and would not shower for about 10 days. On the whole, all of that was true, but all of those factors ended up being wonderful, transformative, and completely part of the beauty of misiones. A contar un poco . . . .
We departed in 2 large coach buses late on Monday evening, January 3rd, drove through the night, and arrived Tuesday morning at around 11 AM. Despite being sleepy and groggy from the bus ride, we celebrated a beautiful mass in the main Cathedral of Quilacahuín with the local bishop, the St. George priests participating in Misiones, and a guest appearance by Father Scully, director of ACE, who happened to be close by in Chile. Then the 5 groups of roughly 12 students, alumni, and random gringos like myself departed to our various sights in the outlying area. After spending most of Tuesday organizing ourselves, we commenced with our daily schedule.
And our daily schedule went something like this . . .
7:30 AM—Kaitlyn wakes up on 1/3 of an inflatable air mattress to music blaring. This could be anything from cumbia to the old classic, “You and Me Baby We Do it Like Mammals,” a gem from her childhood she had forgotten about, to The Little Mermaid’s “Under the Sea” in Spanish. She is exhausted, but forces herself out of bed while the rest of the high school students around her also fight against their overwhelming tiredness.
7:45 AM—The group joins in the chapel for morning prayer
8:00 AM—The group eats breakfast: coffee, bread, and jam
8:30/ 9 AM—The group sets out misioning. More on this to come.
1:30/2—The group eats a scrumptious lunch of pasta with tuna, pasta with mayo, pasta with ketchup, pasta with bagged red sauce, or just plain pasta.
4:00—Los niños arrive for “Colonias.” More on this to come.
7:00—Liturgia
8:00—Activity with adults
9/10:00 PM—Another scrumptious dinner of . . . . pasta
11:00 PM—Dynamica
1 AM if lucky—Kaitlyn falls asleep exhausted while the high schoolers around her are still chipper and full of energy.
Missioning
As you can see, we kept quite a demanding schedule. Every morning we set out “missioning” in small groups of 3 or 4 people. We were in very rural Chile in a small community where it might take 20 minutes to walk to your nearest neighbor’s house. While missioning, we sought out new houses each day, knocked on the people’s doors, and told them that we were missionaries from St. George’s College in Santiago. We then told the people that we were hosting activities for kids every afternoon, a mass or liturgy every evening, and an activity for adults every evening. We invited them to participate in our activities and then asked them if we could come into their houses and spend a little time with them. Some people embraced us with open arms, while others were more hesitant at first. Overall, I was absolutely astounded by the generosity of the local people. The majority had very humble homes and worked extremely long hours, yet they dropped what they were doing, invited us inside, and went out of their way to offer us something to eat or drink. I was invited to eat lunch with the people on three separate occasions. One family immediately began preparing the nice meat they had planned on eating themselves and ate soup while they served us a nice meat lunch. At another house, we arrived around 11 AM. The sisters living at this house invited us in, allowed us to help them cook lunch, fed us lunch, and then insisted on driving us back to where we were staying, sending us with leftovers. The final group that I ate lunch with was an adorable group of 3 siblings and one of the siblings’ husband. They were all at least over 70 and were jubilant to have young company around. They begged us to come back and eat lunch with them another day and were simply glowing the whole time we were with them.
Talking with the people was really interesting. Everyone that we visited was so proud to be from Osorno. They shared with us how they really enjoyed the slower pace of their lifestyle, how they knew everyone who lived within 30 miles, and how they loved living on the food that often times they themselves had grown. Being with these people reminded me of the fact that there are so many different parts of the world where people are living lives so distinct from mine, yet so rich. The humility and generosity of the people that I met expanded my own personal definition of what it means to be welcoming and generous. I know in the States if someone were to come knock on my door like we did, I would probably either not answer the door or turn them away. How has our world turned into a place in which acting in such a way is often necessary for one’s personal safety? How is it that these rural Chileans, though not as “educated” and “worldly” as we are, seem to have the right ideas about generosity and relationships while we have gone so far astray? Some great questions to ponder.
Colonias
Colonias is the word that we used to describe our daily activities with the local kids. Each day around 4 some of the local kids would come hang out with us. Our very first day we only had 3 kids come, but by the end of the week, we had built up a solid little group. We would color with them, play soccer and other sports, and have a ronda every day. In the ronda, we would get in a big circle and sing songs with lyrics such as, “King Kong King Kong que grande eres tu. King Kong King Kong que grande eres tu. Yo soy grande, tu también, ven conmigo y diviértete!” This translates to, “King Kong King Kong how big are you. King Kong King Kong how big are you. I am big and so are you, come with me and have fun!” During this particular portion of the day, I particularly bonded with three adorable girls aged 10, 11 and 13. They were sisters and their grandparents ran the school where we were sleeping and holding our activities. The first time they met me they said, “You’re from the United States! Do you know anyone famous?” I instantly earned celebrity status with them for being a gringa and we bonded quickly. I relived my glorious middle school days with them, teaching them such games as “MASH” in Spanish. The girls became so attached to me that they would sit by me every day during mass and would stay to hang out with me well after the rest of the kids had left. They were simply adorable.
Liturgies
After colonias, the kids’ parents would come and join us for a mass or liturgy. We would sit on benches, sing beautiful songs, and receive the Eucharist. We only had two actual masses because of the lack of priests in the area. One thing that I loved about these liturgies is the Chilean tradition of the acción de gracias at the end of a mass or liturgy. As part of this tradition, the community offers up thanks to God for different things. I love this because I think often we only pray to God for help and forget to offer gratitude for what we already have. Every time we had a liturgy, I thought about how the manner in which we were praying was much like what it must have been among the earliest communities of Christians: local people, all of whom knew each other, walking far distances to pray together, and socializing before and after. I felt so blessed to have been so welcomed to share this experience with the local community. I also conquered my fear of speaking in Spanish in front of large groups during the liturgies. I often offered a petition or an acción de gracias, and I even read one of the readings one day!
Activities with Adults
After the mass or liturgy, we usually helped facilitate some kind of conversation with the local adults. For example, one day we talked about current problems in our world and how we could work to combat them. Another day, everyone in the group shared a bit of his or her life story. Another time, we said a rosary together. I loved this part of the day because I was able to participate in some really meaningful conversations and really find out about the people, their lives, and their struggles. It was also another great opportunity to practice Spanish!
Dynamicas
For the high schoolers on misiones, the evening social time was just as important as missioning. Every night, our group leaders would organize a different “dynamica” that served to help us have fun and get to know each other on a deeper level. Usually these wouldn’t start until at least 10 PM, often later. I was usually exhausted by this point of the day, but I always participated. In one of the more intense dynamicas we had, everyone in the group shared a really awful experience that he or she had had, as well as something beautiful that had happened to him/ her in his/ her life. This was truly eye opening for me. It really drove home to me that although the students at St. George’s are on a completely different socio-economic playing field than my past students, they also have many obstacles in their lives and crave attention and care just as much as my past students. Some group members shared problems of alcoholism in their families, others infidelity of their parents, others depression. It was really cool to be together, exposing the skeletons in our closets. I was completely impressed by the way all of the students handled themselves. They took the act of getting to know each other and opening up so seriously. Further, they were genuinely interested in getting to know me and were more than willing to help me when I didn’t fully understand something.
Some other dynamicas included a fun charades type game, completing an obstacle course blind-folded while the two leaders helped lead us through it, and having a bon fire with S’Mores. In one activity, half of the group was blindfolded. The group leaders would read off a characteristic, such as “most hardworking.” The half of the group that was not blindfolded would then go and hug the person/ people whom they though most represented that particular characteristic. It was an awesome way to offer affirmation to one another. This activity, like the one I have just mentioned, made me aware of how warm and unguarded Chilean people are.
On our last night, we voted for 30 different prizes among our group. I was elected by my fellow missioners “Most Service-Oriented” and “Best New Artist.” By “Best New Artist” they meant that I was the “best” of all of the people who were on misiones for the first time. I felt very proud that the students had noticed the work and heart I had put into everything I did that week.
What you learn when you’re not talking
It’s worth noting that every single relationship I formed and interaction that I had during misiones was in my second language. So far, it was the longest amount of consecutive days I have spent only speaking in Spanish. Let me tell you, it was quite humbling. Though I am at the point in my language where there is very little that I do not understand, I still struggle conversationally. I can handle myself just fine in conversations with 2-4 people. However, large groups are still very difficult. In English it can often be difficult to get a word in when you are conversing in a large group. In Spanish it is even more difficult! This struggle left me with a good deal of silent time throughout the 10 days. I found there were times where I had thoughts and ideas I wanted to contribute, but just couldn’t enter into the conversation quickly enough. Further, much of the students’ humor was based on cultural ideas and icons to which I had not been exposed previously.
Having my power of speech limited was a gift in the sense that it helped me appreciate those around me in a different way. I had so much more time to observe the people I was with and to really pick up on the different gifts that every individual brings to a group dynamic. Further, I grew to appreciate the simplicity of pure companionship and to just enjoy the presence of others more than I have in the past.
It was particularly interesting to have my power of speech limited because I spent the week with mainly high school students six to eight years younger than me. I am used to being in a position of authority among kids, but my lack of language skills robbed me of that authority. I was forced to accept humbly the instructions and ideas of the high school students. I was also forced to rely on them more than they could rely on me. Their desire to include me despite my language skills never ceased to amaze me throughout the week. One example of this is that one day at lunch everyone was singing a bunch of Spanish songs from their childhood. Clearly, I had never heard these songs and couldn’t participate. After one song, one of the students said, “Wait, let’s sing something in English so that K (that’s what they called me) can sing.” Immediately, the whole group began singing an English song, and I jumped right in there and belted it out with them. I was very touched by this gesture. I wish I could articulate more clearly why it is that this lack of language was such a beautiful gift, but I feel as if even in English, the words to express the insights I received without the full capacity of language evade me.
In conclusion . . .
The mission trip was an incredible experience and I could probably write a book about it, but I will stop here. I hope I didn’t ramble on for too long and I hope I somewhat captured the depth of my experience for you all.
