Working Forward by Alejandro Zendejas

“Do not follow your heart, the heart is deceiving so follow Christ. Do not live your own truth, live Christ’s truth because He is the truth. Do not love how you think you should love, love like Christ loves.” -Unknown

I have been blessed with opportunities that have influenced me to continue on the path of the Orthodox Life. Since graduating from Hellenic College Holy Cross, I often felt that God was calling me to return to St. Innocent Orphanage and fulfill a purpose here. With two post-college moves and job-searching, I was able to ignore this feeling and continue life as normal. It was easy for me to avoid something I knew would be difficult and uncomfortable at times, even if I knew it was the right thing.

 
The act of putting God’s will before your own is not an easy feat. It took me a year to finally come to terms with that calling. Life in America was comfortable but life in Mexico is fulfilling. There is still mystery in my purpose and I haven’t quite discovered why God called me to come back, but I do know that living and serving here keeps me accountable for continuing my journey in the Orthodox way and striving to set an example and  be a resource for the boys. My hope is that more of the boys will succeed in utilizing the opportunities given to them through St. Innocent’s to become men who are strong in their faith, firm in their beliefs, and secure in their future.

You can support Alejandro’s mission work by donating at the button below.

A Journey of Miles by Faeli Heiss

“And the world cannot be discovered by a journey of miles, no matter how long, but only by a spiritual journey, a journey of one inch, very arduous and humbling and joyful, by which we arrive at the ground at our feet and learn to be at home.”

-Wendell Berry

The quote above by Wendell Berry nicely summarizes my nearly two years at Project Mexico.

Before I joined the ministry, I had undeniably taken “a journey of miles,” where I felt as if God had been guiding me away from my plans and asking me to wait as His plans unfolded. This spurred me on my “journey of miles” all over the country for a period of almost two years, searching for somewhere that felt like home, searching for peace, searching for an increased sense of God’s presence. It wasn’t until the pandemic hit and I was invited back to Project Mexico that I began to understand that I needed to turn inward in my journey.

The year before I was a Homebuilding intern but my return in summer 2020 impacted me very differently. I grew much closer to the boys at the orphanage and began to feel an internal shift. Whatever had been propelling me during that “journey of miles” faded into the background. There was no single moment of revelation when I knew that I wanted to stay and work at the orphanage. I had no conspicuous thought of “this is where God wants me to be.” Simply, He opened the door and I walked through it. Or instead, stumbled backward into it, would be a more accurate evocation.

In the time I’ve spent with the ministry, I have learned many things. The majority of those lessons have arisen from various challenges that ranged from diverting to taxing in nature

and every single one of those lessons feels significant. Perhaps the most significant of those lessons is I have learned that I do not need to desperately search for that perfect place where I have a perfect purpose. I do not need to go that journey of miles.

Instead, I take the inward journey towards Christ. It is there that I meet Him. I meet Him in every aspect of my life, my beautiful and wild daily life, rich with blessings. I meet Him in the hearts of our boys. I meet Him in the hearts of my co-workers and community. I meet Him in the dust and the downpour, in the depths of human suffering and the abundance of joy.

Mother Maria of Paris said “ 'Love one another,' so long as it is love to the end and without exceptions. And then the whole of life is illumined, which is otherwise an abomination and a burden.” The Love I discovered in my time at Project Mexico illumined my life in a way never before known to me. It is the force that brings me to the ground at my feet. To learn what it means to be present on that ground with Christ in each moment is a journey that I will be on for the rest of my life. A journey I am thankful to have started.

For more from Faeli please check out our Stories of Hope Podcast!

Strength by Gabriel Fahling

 From June 2021-August 2022 Gabriel will be serving as an intern with FOCUS through the St. Innocent Service Works program. Gabriel will be working with FOCUS Orange County to help distribute food to those in need in the Orange County area in southern California.

For the better part of my life, I believed that service meant helping those who are less fortunate than yourself. As time has passed, I’ve come to understand how service can look many different ways and be many different things. This summer I am interning for St. Innocent Service Works because I want to dive deeper into following Christ’s call to serve others, to learn how to humble myself to be least among my brothers and sisters. 

In autumn of 2020, I was an intern for Neighborhood Resilience Project, a non-profit in the Hill District of Pittsburgh that offers community support and free resources such as food and clothing. My fellow interns and I spent two and a half months moving and breaking down boxes, putting together lunch bags, sorting clothes, cleaning, and working the front desk, among many other things.

Most of the work was not glamorous and the days were often quite long. You had to be ready to serve someone at almost any time, as it would happen frequently that there was help needed with something at practically any time of the day. Most days we were running around making sure all the essential tasks were completed and everyone was served. Arriving home from work both meal preparation duty and house cleaning were also ways in which we ministered to each other.

It was exhausting. There were other challenges I encountered during my experience in Pittsburgh, however,  I learned a very important lesson in regards to service: no matter what you are doing, you can make any simple act one of love and service. Even when we are not tangibly doing something for someone else—such as the time we take for ourselves to wind down—all of our life we can offer to God. 

From my time at Neighborhood Resilience Project and my time as an intern at Project Mexico, I have been inspired to pursue service to others and to God. This summer, through God’s providence I am in Orange County, California helping distribute food and household items to those in need. It has been a surreal and somewhat intimidating feeling; not knowing what each day will look like but only knowing that I am here to give myself over to God’s will, and to do the best that I can to serve those in need and my fellow interns. It is something I feel very ill-prepared for, but my comfort lies in knowing that Christ gives strength to those who lean on Him. (Philippians 4:13)

To support Gabriel and the work we’re doing in the US and Mexico, please use this link: https://sisw.managedmissions.com/MyTrip/GabrielFahling1