In the past weeks, we have been visiting families and sharing in their lives and faith. Last week, we had the joy of visiting Florencio and Jesus (his wife), who have started a food stand by the river on the breakwaters since Holy Week. They have been working diligently, serving delicious food with kindness and the love of God, always generous and ready to help anyone in need.
Recently, we gifted them a “Proclaimer,” a special device that plays the entire Bible in audio. They listen to it constantly, filling their days with the Word of God. Our meeting took place at their business by the river, with the soothing sound of the waves and the magnificent view of God’s creation around us.
During our time together, we studied a lesson from the book “The Jesus Style.” We reflected on how Jesus urged us to consider ourselves lesser than others—not to belittle ourselves, but to let go of our self-centeredness and embrace sacrificial service to our neighbors. It was a beautiful and blessed time of sharing opinions and anecdotes around this theme.
Sister Armida shared a touching story about how she helped a young man who was being chased and beaten. She fed him and gave him new clothes. Though the young man, who struggles with his mental health, did not stay with her, Armida and her husband Aristeo plan to find him again and at least help him cut his long hair.
While listening to Sister Armida talk about her intense desire to help those in need and seeing how Brother Florencio and his wife always open the doors of their business with such generosity, I felt many emotions. At first, I felt guilty for not doing more for the people around me, but that quickly turned into a sense of challenge, knowing that with God’s help, I can do more. Certainly, not all of us have the same calling, but I believe each of us has many ways we can sacrifice for others. Jesus set the example, and after Him, many of His disciples have shown us how to live this way. Perhaps someone sacrificed their time to counsel us, opened their home to us, or did something even more significant.
These days have been a time of reflection for me, a time to take steps towards serving this community with the gifts God has given me. I encourage you to do the same. Pray to God and ask yourself: Are you sacrificing yourself in service to others for God? Take heart, God does not ask you to do it alone. I encourage you to share how you are or will be serving so we can encourage each other.
We ended our meeting with joyful singing, led by Brother Florencio on the guitar, lifting our voices in praise to God. It was a time filled with the Holy Spirit, strengthening our bonds and renewing our commitment to serve one another in love.
With love and gratitude,