The Face of Jesus

Integrating life and mission

Rosary: The Sorrowful Mysteries
While saying the Missionary Rosary tonight after I read this reflection, I realized how I had experienced this just today.
 
Martha- I spent hours marking students’ projects and contacting Human Resource managers at various hotels requesting they take some of our students for their fast approaching four-month catering attachments (apprenticeships). We have 72 students to place and I want to serve them well by exposing them to an environment that is foreign and unknown. Here they must stretch themselves, be out of their comfort zones in hopes that they will struggle and persevere into becoming anew.
 
Mary- My sponsored student Abdalla (many of you know him via my previous writings) was asked to come see me this afternoon. His one room home that houses four recently had the addition of a pregnant mother and her infant daughter. She is the one who pays the rent and has become quite demanding of Abdalla. He is concerned that when he begins his attachment in December, she won’t understand why he will not be available to meet her demands and eventually may not have a place to stay. I asked him a few days ago to consider taking an attachment at a game lodge located several hours up country. There he would be provided accommodation and food. Having the opportunity to learn in one of these luxury hotels is also a chance in a lifetime. Being sent to one of these luxury safari lodges would be one of the best attachment placements.
 
Today the director of a local hotel agreed to take three of our students for attachment. The hotel has not accepted our students since 2017, when a former student pilfered. The assistant director at MTI requested for me to send 3 of our most disciplined students and his first selection was Abdalla. I called for Abdalla and instead of telling him what Bro. Joseph requested of him, I decided to ask if he had thought about being sent to a game lodge as I had previously asked him to consider. I wanted to only listen to what he had to say. His response to me was “yes I had thought about it and believe that I should just take the place I will be assigned as the other students do…God will place me where He wants”. Then I told him that Bro. Joseph requested him to go this local hotel because of his discipline and what had happened in 2017. He replied, “then let me go there so that I can help regain the Marianist name back”.  He brings to me prideful tears.
 
I was brought to a couple young female students to learn of one’s circumstances. I know them both, unbelievably sweet, hardworking, and religious girls. The one who has a small child being cared for by her grandmother has been waking at 3:00am to fulfill her duties as a house girl to a family, then attended school all day. She was raped by a man where she was working, so she left and is no longer able to pay for her school fees. She paid by herself all but $30. She was taken in by this other student who lives by herself. Her school fees have been waived and Bro. Joseph supplied them with food. Again, I just listened and felt blessed to have witnessed both the stories of Abdalla and the young ladies.
 
I am honored and thankful that God is allowing me to journey along with these remarkable young people. I have always struggled trying to understand how to see the Face of Jesus, but now I can say that He is showing me himself and how to act in three students.
Hosanna and All Glory to the Highest!