How Two Years in the Mission Field Changed My Life by Presbytera Faeli Karcher
A Personal Journey of Faith, Calling, and Transformation at Project Mexico
I sat cross legged on the cold, somewhat dusty, concrete floor of the pavilion. Tiny burrs were sticking to my clothing. Fr Nicholas Andruchow was speaking to the group of us gathered there for prayer after a long day of homebuilding. “I’m going to say something that might shock you,” he stuck out his pinky and it felt like he was pointing right at me, “every Orthodox Christian should spend two years—at least—in the mission field.”
At age sixteen, two years felt like half a lifetime. How could he say that so confidently? “Crazy, I know,” he chuckled, “but it’s true. This action is what cements our faith. Think about the concrete you’ve worked with this week. It’s the hardest part of your week, but it’s essential for the house. Your faith is the same, it needs that cement. Two years! Try it out, sometime.”
Little did I know that I would do just that, and that my feet would walk the smooth concrete of that pavilion floor on countless occasions. God opened a door that I stumbled blindly through, and during the peak and slow decline of the 2020 pandemic, I worked with the boys at St Innocent orphanage. Later on, I helped coordinate the 2023 homebuilding summer. Without intending to fulfil Padre Nicholas’ suggestion (though it came to feel more like a prophecy on my life) I experienced the “cementing” of my faith that he described.
My spiritual life and the deep, inward working parts of my faith now rest on a clear foundation: one that was formed from an odd yet sacred mixture of Mexican dust, fresh figs still warm from the sun, earwigs in my bed, salty tears, Spanish slang, the muddiest Pascha I’ve ever experienced, and many (likely failed) attempts at sincere prayer.
These years were not only my spiritual foundation, but the necessary precursor for the following open doors in my life. If it weren’t for my time at Project Mexico, I likely never would have attended Hellenic College Holy Cross. If I hadn’t attended HCHC when I did, I probably wouldn’t have met my husband. If I hadn’t met my husband, we wouldn’t have gotten married, he wouldn’t have become a priest, and our sweet 6 month old daughter wouldn’t be soundly asleep by my side as I write this.
I will echo those “shocking” words of Fr. Nicholas now. Every Orthodox Christian (that means you!) should spend at least two years in the mission field. For me, this happened when I least expected it, and God used it in countless ways to bless my life and further equip me to serve His Holy Church.
If you find yourself unable to pack your bags and walk out the door at this moment, there are other ways that you can serve the Lord our God until he calls you forth. Please give to Project Mexico and Saint Innocent Orphanage to support those who are doing the work of the Lord: caring for the most vulnerable among us and proclaiming the good news of Christ to the farthest, dustiest, and certainly most beautiful corners of the Earth.