Missionaries of Charity, Day 3

On the third day of our Odyssey Excursions, we visited the Missionaries of Charity house in Minneapolis. Accompanied by Mr. Steve Willems, the boys had a chance to visit with one of the Missionaries, see their chapel, and help take care of the home of the sisters and many women and their babies.

Sister had us jump right into cleaning the house: from mopping to cleaning ALL the windows, we all got sweaty and used our elbow grease to perform the chores that would make the home more beautiful for its residents. The women that stay at the home are either pregnant or have just given birth. Many of them are either homeless or left their home because of difficult circumstances. It was such a gift to meet each of them and see their newborn babies and pray for the ones that had not had their babies yet.

Following our time cleaning, sister shared with us the map of all of the Missionaries of Charity sisters around the world. Many of them had been martyred and some had been martyred very recently by ISIS. Sister shared with me the hardship of leaving behind her family, that she visits her family in India once every 10 years, and every time she visits them, someone has usually passed away who was very dear to her. 

Sister shared with us also the struggle of the women who are residents in the home. Many of them are young moms, a few of them teenagers. They can barely take care of themselves let alone new babies. The women are asked to follow certain rules and protocols in the home and Sister shared about how one of her hardest jobs is telling a woman she needs to help herself and find somewhere else to live so that they can give a bed to another women and baby in need. 

This time in the home allowed for us to discuss the difference in lifestyles between the residents and ourselves. I think it was eye opening for the boys to recognize that people can have such difficult lives only 25 minutes from their own homes in the suburbs. We talked about Mother Teresa and her mission and how we can emulate her maxims in our own lives. Not only did the entire day inspire gratitude, but I heard them say that they want to go back to help the Missionaries again!
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