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Young Adults (and parishioners) from St. John the Evangelist in St. John, IN went on a Mission Trip to Mexico City where they worked with the ministry of Hope of the Poor. Hope of the Poor reaches out and serves some of the most forgotten, neglected, lonely and abandoned people in downtown Mexico City and in the city dumps. We encountered people living in the depths of poverty - some in conditions that seem unimaginable. 

We served clean water, healthy warm food, and enjoyed dancing and games with many different people who are lonely or abandoned in Mexico. We went to an orphanage filled with adults who were mentally and physically less-abled. We went to a women’s shelter where many elderly women and women who were left on the streets could be safe, but are still very alone. We painted their nails, put lotion on their skin, danced a lot, and prayed with many of them. We encountered a love in the Mexican culture and people that is overwhelming. We encountered many people on the streets where we gave them food and new clothing, and in return they gave us something. Something we all need - love. While their situation is difficult, Jesus was present in each person we met. The overwhelming number of people in need calls to mind Jesus’ commandment to love your neighbor as yourself. So many young adults were impacted by the way they view the world and the call to share God's love to everyone we encounter and serve. They went on a mission and came back with a mission - to love and serve others as they did in Mexico! Below are some of their testimonies and reflections. 

"100% everyone needs to go on this trip. You will feel love in a different way. Like something I never experienced before. I will scream from the rooftops that everyone should be open to going next year." - Brenna Boyle (29 years old)

"It was a glimpse of heaven" - Maddi Gortner (24 years old) 

“I prayed the rosary with my wife when I got home, my prayer life has really changed now!” - Lorenzo Vega (27 years old) 

“I definitely grew as a person. I saw a change in myself that I thought I would never experience or see. A big part of that was when we went to the women's shelter. As I entered, I felt this feeling of just breaking down in tears right then and there. Also, I felt a certain regret of 'why be there, when you could be at home doing a million other things.' But as the day went on and I was translating for Fr. Declan and getting in a conversation with some of the women myself, I realized why I was there, and I could feel something change about me. As I said goodbye and translated for Claudia and the lady she was speaking with, I realized that we were their only hope. I remember clearly that she said that we don’t know how much we have helped these women, you don’t know how much you’ve helped me. You have given us a sense of new life. A hope of living and a hope that one day we will see you all again. As she said that, I reflected on the passage I had read that morning about Jesus and the woman with the hemorrhage. I put myself in that situation and realized that we were Christ for these women. They were clinging on to us for life, for hope, and for healing of the things that had suffered in the past. Also, sometimes we can get caught up in telling other people we were helping the poor, or helping the less fortunate, that sometimes we don’t realize how much more the poor and less fortunate have helped us. And as I reflected on those two things, I felt a change, and a sense of gratitude for the Lord bringing me on this mission trip. And even now, I still feel that sense of gratitude.” - Sebastian DeLuna (18 years old)