MISSION TO LIBERIA

I felt vulnerable and weak. It was an uncomfortable feeling because I generally feel in control and strong. However, in late October I tripped on a hidden vine at the top of a small hill and the next thing I knew, the full weight of my body slammed down onto my left arm and the side of my face. One moment I was standing, and the next moment I lay on the ground in searing pain. “Please don’t be broken,” I whispered. It was.

The x-rays showed not one but two breaks in my upper arm. “I don’t think you’ll need surgery,” the doctor said. Thank you Jesus I thought. However, the doctor told me he couldn’t cast the upper arm, so I would just have to wear a sling and be very careful. “How long will it take to heal?” I asked worried. “I’m going to Liberia West Africa in December to be with my son.” “You won’t be fully healed,” he replied “But you should be able to travel.” I was worried.

Here I had waited six and a half years to do an experience with my son who is in Comunita Cenacolo, and now I was broken and feeling weak. Later that same day my 93 year old friend died. 2015 was ending with quite a bang. I prayed for strength.

Pushing ahead, finishing work projects and securing an airline ticket for my departure I maneuvered through the days with one mobile arm refusing to give in to the despair and throbbing pain that always comes before the healing. At night I could barely sleep and so I cried out to God asking him to help me carry this heavy cross which had certainly cast a glaring light on my own personal poverties.

“What day did you say you are leaving?” my son Johnny asked during a rare phone conversation from Liberia. “December 3rd,” I repeated. “Mom, that’s the exact date I left two years ago, the feast of St. Francis Xavier!” He exclaimed! “Wow, that’s amazing,” I replied in awe, “Especially since St. Francis Xavier Parish is the Catholic parish where you were raised!” God’s guiding hand never ceases to amaze me!

Departure day I arrived at the airport with five suitcases bulging with medical supplies and other donations and two pieces of carry-on luggage one of which contained a very heavy centrifuge that would help diagnose diseases like yellow fever. I knew I couldn’t lift the suitcase into the overhead bin and so I’d have to ask for help which is not my best attribute.

Much to my surprise the airline clerk announced that I had been rerouted and would fly from New Orleans to Washington instead of to New Jersey. “The plane is overbooked,” he said. “Well I’m sorry about that, but you cannot change my ticket,” I stammered. “I am meeting three other people in New Jersey who will be flying with me to Africa.”

Obviously embarrassed, the ticket agent apologized and scrambled to get me back on my original flight. However, when I landed in New Jersey I discovered my ticket to Brussels had been canceled along with my ticket from Brussels to Liberia. Mother Mary…this is going to be a powerful spiritual trip I thought to myself.

The New Jersey airline agent also apologized for the mess up and said the best she could do was to get me back on the plane to Brussels. “But the flight to Liberia is now full, so you may get stuck in Belgium,” she warned. “Just get me to Brussels,” I responded holding my emotions in check.

Last year the Ebola epidemic thwarted my travel plans and now human error was the culprit. My mind wandered to my son who would be so disappointed if I didn’t show up. As you can imagine, I prayed my way across the ocean, surrendering all the obstacles and the mind games to God and knowing full well that I would arrive in Liberia at the anointed time.

Why should my missionary voyage be any different than anyone elses?! St. Francis Xavier faced tremendous obstacles but he never lost his missionary zeal and as a result he performed amazing miracles while inspiring vast numbers of lost souls who were eventually converted to Catholicism.

In Brussels I stood before an unhappy airline agent who could not believe he had to juggle the mess someone else had made. After a lot of head shaking, complaining and phone calls he issued me a new ticket and away I went on the final leg of a long anticipated journey of the soul.

That’s exactly what I experienced during my nearly month long visit; an inward journey up and over the often perilous terrain of my humanity through the sacred space of the soul where the holy spirit illuminates God’s will for our lives.

The spiritual journey like my physical journey to Liberia was at times painfully challenging, scattered with thorns and roadblocks; and exhaustingly unnerving. I kept pushing myself anyway and with an open heart I asked the Lord to place his sovereign hand at my back.

I am pleased to tell you this, through my cooperation and his guidance I arrived at a beautiful, anointed destination that has forever changed my life. Thank you God!

---Stay Tuned ---