Stumbling To Holiness

The most amazing thing about Matamoros is the people. They are so kind and loving. It seemed that the poorer the area was, the more one could see Jesus in the people. They invited us into their homes and smiled and waved at us. They loved talking to us as we stuttered through our limited Spanish skills. The people there visit with their neighbors all the time and treat everyone like family. Even though they live in extremely poor conditions, they have extremely good hygiene. All the children are polite and very, very happy.

The convent we stayed at is beautiful. The sad thing is that there are only two sisters there–I would guess that one of them is in her mid 60’s, and the other is in her early 70’s. Their tireless energy in serving the impoverished never ceases to amaze me. They got the whole convent built through their own willpower. They have a volunteer doctor there 6 days a week and a dentist there once a week. They made a soccer field so that the barefoot kids don’t have to play in the streets or vacant lots and fields full of garbage. They got a small school built and a teacher to teach. They have catechesis several times a week and Mass almost every day.

One of the last days we were there, the sisters threw a fiesta for us. About 80 people from around town came with food, and they taught us how to do some of their dances. I also got to put my two years of Spanish to work here, which was a LOT of fun!! Trying to communicate was a real brain work-out. Often, it was an awful lot like playing a game of “Taboo”, and generated just about as many good-natured laughs. It’s interesting: when you have limited verbal communication, there’s a certain bond you form with people that’s not there otherwise.