“To be little lamps of the Gospel that bring a little love and hope, this is the mission of the Christian”, says the Holy Father Francis. This is what a MJVV does, on the missionary front.

In Andamarca, in the department of Junin, a teacher asked for our visit to the village of Huancamayo. She asked us to go and administer the sacraments, to evangelise families and young people. The problem was that we already had activities programmed, and… the distance. You can get to the village of Potreros by car, but then you have to walk for eleven hours, or by motorbike, which takes an hour and a half. The road to get to the village of Huancamayo is very thin, on one side we have a steep hill, while on the other side there is an abyss.

Reference photoIt is worth noting that in our parish of San Antonio de Andamarca, there are 80% of evangelicals who are very attached to and opposed to Catholicism. For this reason we prepare for the mission by praying the prayer to the Holy Trinity, asking for the intercession of our founding father. It has been eight years since anyone went to bring God to this place. But the time came for the mission, and it was M. Luisa and M. Valeria who were destined for it.

We arrived, not by bicycle, not by horse, but by motorbike to the heights of Huancamayo. The people were eager to meet God again and to receive the nourishment of His Word. Indeed, everything was ready, the chapel, the students, the teachers, the parents and a hot soup, which although poor was the best they had for the mothers. We shared lunch with the village authorities. Afterwards M. Luisa, reinforced the work of the teacher Mercedes, with three hours of talk. Surprising, but believe it or not, everyone was there until the end, and without any sign of tiredness, on the contrary, everyone wanted to hear more. Then we performed 25 baptisms of children, young people and adults who had prepared themselves throughout the year. A lady called Teresa, who had walked for three hours from one of the annexes of Huancamayo, was about 45 years old, and she said: “God remembered his people”.

Time was running out, it was getting late. There is no electricity in the village, but we were still there blessing, receiving the affection and gratitude of those who live in a geographically unfavourable area with few resources. Undoubtedly, we were for them those lamps, bearers of the Gospel, bringing to the faithful the love of God to a people full of hope and hunger for God.

M. Valeria MJVV