Chañaral, Atacama (Chile), 04/19/2023, Sr. Gabriela Vergara.- From 5 to 9 April, a group of 12 young people (8 girls and 4 boys) belonging to the schools where the sisters carry out their mission: Colegio Católico Manuel Montt de Petorca, Colegio Marie Poussepin, Putaendo, Colegio Nuestra Señora de la Presentación, Melipilla and Colegio Parroquial Maria Goretti, Concón, accompanied by 4 sisters, lived the Holy Week Mission experience in the community of El Salado, Chañaral, Atacama region.
The objectives of this initiative, which arises from the Vocational Youth Ministry of the Vice-Province, were to promote a space for missionary formation and the accompaniment of the local Christian community.
The sisters of the local community of Chañaral and the parish priest Mark Mallia, welcomed the group of young missionaries, in a space of sharing, they talked about the reality of the parish with its chapels, the reason for the mission, that allowed the young people to place themselves in the place and know a little of the reality, then, together with Sister Sandra Segovia, they made a tour of the population in the sector that was affected by the flood of 2015 that still lives the consequences of such a great tragedy.
The sisters and the parish priest arranged everything necessary for the mission: accommodation, food, transport. Thus, when we arrived in El Salado, everything was ready in the basic school that welcomed us as the centre of the mission.
In an atmosphere of closeness, youthful joy, dynamism and a lot of enthusiasm for being the first time that they participated in a mission experience, the young people lived each of the moments and celebrations proposed, spaces that allowed them to get to know a new reality, to live the faith from the concrete experience of sharing with the people of the sector and to put at the service of all the gifts that each one has received from the Lord.
Each of the days was marked by prayer and missionary formation in the morning, discovering from the Word: Who do we follow, what does it mean to be a missionary disciple? And then in the afternoon the preparation and celebration together with the Christian community of each of the moments of the Easter Triduum.
Undoubtedly at the time of evaluation, each one gave thanks for the possibility of participation, for the spaces of sharing and growth that this mission gave them.
We continue to entrust to the Lord the lives of these young people who were able to take the risk of living this experience. For us sisters, getting to know them and continuing to accompany them remains our greatest commitment and challenge.
Chañaral: Misión joven en Semana Santa