This summer, three young adults from the Diocese attended the Encuentro y Misión Program, a two-week intensive journey that offers theological education joined with a missionary immersion experience.
The program is designed for young Hispanic Catholics and was offered through Catholic Extension in conjunction with the Mexican American Catholic College (MACC). The missionaries spent a week in San Antonio, Texas, studying and visiting the U.S. Mexico border, then traveled to Kalamazoo, Michigan to minister to migrant farm worker families for a week.
Below, two of the three young adults from our Diocese who attended Encuentro y Misión share about their experience in the program.
Emily Rosas
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
My name is Emily Rosas and I currently work in the Office of Hispanic Affairs for the Diocese of San Bernardino. I live in Cathedral City and I’m a member of St. Louis Parish, where I have served many years as a member of the youth ministry core team.
What drew you to the Encuentro y Misión Program?
My Office Director, Petra Alexander, introduced me to this program. She explained how this program worked towards educating Hispanic millennials like myself ... in our culture, Catholic Social Teaching and how to address other social problems. I was drawn to the opportunity because I saw a chance for learning and growth not only within my ministry but within myself. This program was the beginning of my journey as a missionary disciple. It allowed me to make connections with other young leaders across the country and take on new ways of growing in ministry.
How was the experience, and what did you take away from it?
During this experience I had the opportunity to visit the Mexican American Catholic College in San Antonio, Texas, where I had a week of immersion and learning. We discussed the outcomes of the V Encuentro process, racial and political issues, climate change, and how as the Catholic youth of our church, we are called to be aware of these issues and commit to acts of service to help our hurting communities. Additionally, we were able to not only learn, but also to see for ourselves the impact that political issues like immigration have on our Hispanic community.
While in San Antonio I had many impactful moments, including our walk at the wall in the Rio Grande Valley. It was a moment of realization and true awakening for me on how truly blessed I was. I had a realization of the privilege of being able to wake up every morning not fearing the possibility of being separated from my family because of my immigration status, not having to worry about how I was going to have to help pay for school because I have the opportunity for aid and financial assistance. The privilege of walking next to a wall that so many people dream of crossing in search for a better life and not feeling an ounce of fear, because I knew I was safe. Knowing that I was born into a life and family unlike many others. That is privilege I had never once really recognized until that moment. It was truly something I will never forget.
During our time in Michigan, I experienced a week filled of constant planning, sleepless nights, faith sharing and lots of laughter. I met people who are just as passionate, if not more, about their faith and serving others through their ministry and God-given talents. I met families who opened their doors to us because they saw something special in the work we were doing. The sense of community I experienced and the open arms and giving is something that brings so much joy to my heart. Serving a community that wasn’t our own and being so welcomed sparked a fire in my being and made me realize that once again how acts of service can go so far and impact so many people. Imagine what life could be if we brought this mentality back to our community and served our people with kindness and open arms. How different it could be! If we only opened up to what God was calling us for and listened, we could do so much good.
Do you have any final thoughts?
This experience was just the beginning for me. Missionary experiences like these are something I pray God continues to have planned for me. Helping the communities in most need, learning their stories, creating connections and building relationships with other leaders working towards the same goal is something I strive to continue to be a part of. It is my hope that I can continue my work of missionary discipleship and be part of the growth and development of our future church leaders.
Jose Macias
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
My name is Jose Macias and I work as Head Start preschool co-teacher for a public school district in Southern California. Additionally, I work in young adult ministry at my parish, St. Anthony in San Jacinto.
What drew you to the Encuentro y Misión Program?
During a multi-vicariate meeting in February 2020 with youth & young adult ministers from other parishes, Edgardo [Juarez, the Director of the Office of Ministry With Young Catholics] shared this resource as an opportunity for those that want to experience missionary work in person. In our young adult gatherings in my parish and at the Diocese from young adult specialization courses, we had discussed the importance of how to start creating missionaries from meeting and accompanying them in the beginning. At the time when he announced that opportunity, in my mind I was contemplating on the fact that it was a sign to experience it since going to a 2:42 conference in San Diego and listening to these powerful experiences of missionary work from other young adults.
How was the experience, and what did you take away from it?
A few hours into arriving at the first parish of many where we were asked to provide a program for the children to youth, I noticed the excitement the children felt being around other adults from all over the U.S. showing them a fun time filled with games and spiritual nourishment. The team that I was a part of during this time worked really well with one another in preparing each program for its proper audience. All the children, youth and young adults were just happy to be themselves, have someone accompany them in their passions, listen to their struggles and know that we were with them in spirit even after our time in Michigan.
What I took from this is that accompaniment speaks volumes when it comes to meeting people of the faith where they are at and drawing them deeper into the wonders of being a Catholic and knowing that this experience is for everyone as long as they are willing to get their hands dirty and willing to be flexible when resources are limited.
Do you have any final thoughts?
I would not trade this weeklong experience of meeting others and doing this work as a team for anything. My hope is that more opportunities for missionary work like this become available in the future for all participants involved so we could all revisit and do the same work but around other places in the U.S. where there is a need.