The Apostolate of Brooklyn

In all of the Heart's Homes the missonaries go on apostolates. The apostolates are when we go into the houses, nursing homes, homeless shelters or wherever we happen to encounter the people of the neighborhood. Here in New York we focus on meeting the lonely and abandoned. While I was here for my training period, I went into two nursing homes and met a few of the people of the local projects. Even though it's been over a month I still remember many of the people's names. In just two days I've been able to see many of the people that I had known before.
Yesterday I went on an apostolate to the Bishop Mugavero Catholic nursing home. I accompanied three other missionaries named Ben, Marie Mai, and Sr. Mariana, who is a nun that is a permanent member of Heart's Home. In the nursing home, Ben and I went together to visit various people. Before long I saw the familiar face of a lady named Mary. She insisted that we quickly organize a group to pray the rosary. Usually those who want to pray the rosary gather in the dining room, but yesterday the dining room was occupied with people playing bingo. Nevertheless, we rounded up a small group of people to pray the rosary. Afterwards, I continued with visitations. Ben and I were able to become friends with a man named Ishmael. He had served in the army for 28 years. Now he is retired and has suffered from two strokes. Through therapy he has recovered well and is expected to be able to go home as soon as next week. I enjoyed speaking with him about his time in the army and his visits to other countries.
After we left Ishamel, we went to visit a friend of Ben named Carlos. Carlos spent some time living in Canada and enjoyed speaking French with the Heart's Home missionaries. All of the missionaries who are stationed here in the United States are from France. I just happen to be a visiting American.
During our conversation with Carlos, a woman named Anna approached me. She had been nearby the whole time speaking with another lady, however, her speech is greatly impaired. We've concluded that she speaks Spanish, but it's nearly impossible to understand her. She approached me and took my hand. She kissed my hand, she kisses everybody's hands, and we went for a walk. I kept her company as best as I could while speaking to her in Spanish. I could not understand her words for the life of me though. I've seen several people in the nursing homes, who can understand language perfectly well, yet are not able to speak themselves. It saddens me very much to see the look in their eyes. Sometimes their frustration with not being to speak is evident, and at times they cry without being able to explain why.
I remember the first time that I went to visit a nursing home as a volunteer back while I was in college. Being around people who cannot speak, hear well, or sometimes even take care of themselves disturbed me. Old age can be quite scary when infirmity sets in. About two years passed before I ever went to another nursing home. The second time wasn't so bad as I was with a group of people having a Bible study. Even still when I walked through the halls of the nursing home that second time I was still a little shaken.
Now as a Heart's Home missionary I'm not bothered so much. I've seen much worse during my time here in New York than I ever saw during college. I had never met people who were completely demented until I went to the Bishop Mugavero nursing home. These people neither speak nor understand you. It seems as if many of them are in their own world. We don't often visit them as it doesn't seem beneficial to them for us to do so. Yesterday I met a woman named Luz I believe. She had to have both of her legs cut off because of gangrene. While I was listening to her speak, I looked her over. She was an old lady in a strecther bed with no legs, who I had to try hard to understand. Just a few years earlier and I might have run away. But now by the grace of God, I've learned to see the human dignity in every person. Furthermore, it's quite interesting to hear the stories of how the people in the homes have spent and continue to spend their lives. Being able to see the unsightly image of the person on the outside and yet the instrinsic value and beauty of the person on the inside creates quite a strange mixture of feelings. It's hard to put feelings into words, but I'm honored and grateful to God for being able to spend a little bit of time with these people and to share in one another's life.
I've already written quite a bit so I'll just summarize today's apostolate. Today with Marie Mai I visited another nursing home. I went to this home once before during my training. I was able to see my friends Catherine and Gwendolyn again. We spoke to Catherine about Marie Mai's imminent return to France and about a lady who would soon have a baby. It was nearly dinner time in the nursing home when I spoke to Gwendolyn. I told her about my past failures in my attempts to cook. She found it quite funny. She suggested that Marie Mai teach me to cook. Afterwards, Marie Mai and I left the nursing home. I tried to help Marie Mai make the dinner tonight. I helped her make an omelet. It turned out pretty good.
Well I realize that I characteristically make my messages too long. I was quite eager tonight to be able to report on the current status of my mission. Right now while I'm in New York I have relatively easy access to a computer. I should be able to read any e-mails or comments within a day or two while I'm here. I'm not yet sure when I'll be able to make new posts yet. I'll try to find a day on which I can write consistenty, so you can know when there will be updates.
I wish all of my sponsors a good weekend.