Grace Lunak

Dear Father Mac,

This trip has been the most amazing experience. When I originally signed up for this mission trip I never knew that I would love it this much. All of the missionaries and chaperones were amazing. We all grew closer as a group and I couldn’t have asked to go with a better group of people. My small group and I became close friends throughout all of our meetings. The small group setting helped us all to express our feelings without being overwhelmed in a bigger group setting. All of the missionaries and I worked well together and we made each shoe distribution run smoothly.

The people we met on the trip were inspiring. Our driver, Raul, had been left by his mother and abused by his father when he was young. However, he got out of the abusive situation and trained to overcome his difficulties. He now owns a cross fit gym and is studying jiu jitsu. He also has a bunkhouse of twenty-two kids and helps young children get out of abusive situation. We were also privileged to meet the one kid he adopted. Sammy is an eleven-year-old boy. A gang got ahold of him and used him to smuggle drugs across the border. He is such a sweet kid and Raul has helped him so much. One of his students at his gym is competing to become the champion in jiu jitsu in Central America. He had a rough past, but Raul helped him overcome it. Raul seems to know everyone and is inspiring as a person. There is nothing that he cannot do. He told us that he couldn’t hate one person, because he loves everyone. He has inspired me to treat everyone kindly and love everyone, because you never know what their internal battles are.

We also visited the Las Mercedes Malnutrition Center. All of kids there had been diagnosed with malnutrition and had been sent their to hopefully make a full recovery. If they were able to recover they would be sent home to their families with help on how to make good nutritious choices, or would be put up for adoption. One of the kids there, Carlos, had been a normally developing boy until he was the age of eight. His father had abused him so harshly that he can no longer walk or talk. He was brought there and only has a twenty-five percent chance of recovering. His story makes me realize how minimal my problems really are. His father took his whole previous life away. He had friends just like any normal kid would have, but it was all taken away. The little toddler that I played with, Saul, was the happiest baby ever. He was always smiling and wanting to play with the toys. I would put my hands out and he would follow me around. Even though he had a bad past, he was still able to smile and be happy. The ladies who worked there were amazing. They were there all day and all night caring for these kids. The kids loved them too. They dedicated their lives to helping these kids and it was so touching to see how much they cared.

This trip has inspired me to become a better person and to help everyone I meet along the way. You do not know what everyone is going through, just by having one conversation with them. I learned a lot about people on this trip and I hope that someday I will be able to go on another one.

Sincerely,

Grace Lunak