Brendan Duffy
The 2012 mission trip to St. Lucia was one of the best experiences of my life. It was one of the holiest, yet also one of the most fun events of my life:
On the night of our arrival day, I was so tired and cranky that I felt like all I wanted was to be back home, but once we started getting into the swing of things, I knew that God was calling me to be there, and I was having the time of my life. And by the end of the trip, I did not want to leave. From the more serious events such as feeding the poor, celebrating mass, giving and receiving testimonies about how Christ came into our lives, to the more light-hearted matters such as playing games at night, singing and dancing, and throwing balls at each other; the entire week was a gigantic step outside of our mundane lives and into a life where God was always the cornerstone.
My biggest blessing of the trip was bonding with my fellow missionaries. I got the opportunity know them in a way that I had not before. And when people who are seeking God come together, they find Him more quickly, more often, and feel His presence more intensely. Finding God in St. Lucia changed me greatly. I know that I am not the same person now as I was before the trip. There were even moments when I don’t think I was the same person as I was a minute or two earlier, and the change was always for the better. I can say with confidence that the trip has brought me closer to God and further away from fear and insecurity.
I left a little bit of my heart behind in St. Lucia, but I am taking back with me the memories of all the wonderful experiences I had down there. I will not allow the love and the joy I discovered in St. Lucia to stay within the confines of that tiny island.