WE CAN DO SMALL THINGS WITH GREAT LOVE

I have been to various mission trips with CHARIS. In 2015, I went with them to Bogo city, Cebu for a housebuilding project. In 2017, I went again with CHARIS to Siem Reap in Cambodia to construct a bio-sand filtration system, and then to Bathali province at Nepal for another house reconstruction project. Apart from these trips, I also joined A Call To Share (ACTS), an affiliate of CHARIS, to Vietnam and Manila for educational mission trips.

I thank God for the graces to share this personal social mission with God and to bring love and hope to his people. CHARIS mission trips are well organized with spiritual preparation, detailed administrative and safety briefings. Furthermore, the Catholic Social Teaching book used in our mission trip is useful for group reflection and helps me to do a time-check on my life. Each trip brings me different experiences and I gain more than I give. Through the faces of the people I encountered, I saw their resilience and perseverance and how little they need in their life to survive. Each time I see the smile from a child or an elderly, it is like an encounter with Christ. They have taught me to treasure what I have back home and count my blessings.

Saint Mother Teresa said “Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love. We may not be helping much in each trip, but I hope our presence to be in solidarity with the people will help to lighten the hardships that they are going through in their lives. Besides sharing experiences with likeminded volunteers, the friendship that I have forged with fellow missioners is lifelong and priceless too. I urge those who are pondering, to step forward to ignite the flames for mission and share the gifts you have."