Knights in the USA: Day 4 - Found in Translation

Monday, June 13^th we woke up to have breakfast, but by the time 11:45am rolled around we were on our way to have noon Mass at Our Lady’s Center in Ellicott City. Here I was faced with an interesting question, “Mr. are all the priests in Baltimore Africans?” I laughed, but from what they observed in the two days they had been to Mass in the States it did seem to be true. Up until that point they had never thought of the United States as mission territory. After Mass we went for a round of Bowling at Brunswick Zone. For the first few times, one group had the kiddie bumpers up and so they thought bowling was one of the easiest things they had ever done, once I asked the attendant to put them down, they were quickly humbled. Each spent time gaming in the arcade and naively fishing for prizes with a mechanical claw. We left for an appointment that we had at the Franciscan Friary of St. Anthony’s to have an interview with ChristLife for a podcast about my experience as a missionary and their experience with me as a teacher. It was fun to be able to hear them answer questions about their experience thus far and also very humbling to hear how they think of me. After our interview, we spent some time praying and reflecting on the grounds of the beautiful Franciscan Monastery. Reminiscent of the beauty and simplicity of Assisi, the Franciscan Friary was a beautiful place of peace for the boys as they journaled in the chapel. From there we went to a friend of my dad’s who had spent some time as a Jesuit volunteer in Orange Walk in Belize who had married a lady from Mexico. The house was very large and beautiful, complete with a basketball court, tennis court, pool, indoor racketball court, hot tub, and lap pool. The boys loved the house and the facilities, but what they loved even more was being able to speak Spanish with his wife and his wife’s friends. You could see a light in their eyes as they began to speak in Spanish, it was a feeling of home and of being comfortable with their surroundings. I think it was helpful in letting them discover their identity of who they are and where they come from. A lot of times people do not appreciate what they have until it is gone or until they miss it. It is in those moments you discover and find out who you really are. They were finding out who they really were. They are Belizeans. It was great for them to also meet kids around their own age. David and Louis had formed a friendship, while Jose, Emil, and Johann enjoyed teasing Rosie about Justin Bieber. After jumping and splashing in the pool, pegging each other with racketballs, and playing tennis, we enjoyed smores from the fire pit – their first ever taste of this American delectable treat. We ended the night with Liturgy of the Hours.