In this story, there are two of us, two twin sisters. My name is Mother Maria Teresia and I am the oldest. We were born together and together we wanted to give ourselves to God. The story of my vocation is a mystery of love and mercy on the part of God for me, who loves me even in the midst of my weaknesses. As the saints say, I can also say with truth that there is not, nor was there anything in me capable of attracting his divine gaze, but imperfections galore, but God calls those he wants and how he wants.

I am from Cerro de Pasco, and I did not live the story of how I entered the Convent alone.  To whom God in his great mercy wanted that they also be similar in this way, in the life of Consecration to Him. We met the SISTERS when I was 9 years old. When I learned about their mission, I liked it. From that moment on, the idea of “one day becoming a Sister” awakened in me. As time went by, this idea matured.

Unfortunately the MJVVM Mothers do not accept elementary school girls, so we had to wait. When I was 14 years old, we went to Caravelí. This one month experience helped me a lot to get to know them better.

What pleased me the most and what I still like and admire is their joy, their sacrifice and generosity to go to these remote, abandoned and poor places.

My name is Mother Leonela, the younger of the two. As the Gospel says: “Jesus called those he wanted”, and I would add “as he wanted”, so God called me. I met the Mothers when I was 9 years old. They came to Cerro de Pasco, looking for young girls for a vocational meeting. They had summoned the girls to the parish house at a certain time. And something curious happened, instead of the young girls the Mothers were expecting, two little girls appeared, who wanted to meet them. One of them was me. As there were no young people to show the videos of the Congregation, the Mothers showed them to us, and there appeared the obvious seed of vocation, which at that time was still hidden in me. Unfortunately I could not go to the convent because of my age, only when I was in the 4th grade of secondary school could I be accepted, and that was 5 years away.

That idea was still in me. When I reached the age of 14, I went to visit the convent. The Mothers and sisters were very kind, and I admired their joy. When I said goodbye to the Mothers, because I had to return home, I made a promise to return to stay the following year. Not all of them believed me, perhaps because of my height, and because I was a little thin and a little immature to make such a decision.

That last year was difficult; in my mind I was thinking about going to the Convent. On the other hand, the discouraging opposition of some relatives and friends. In spite of this, I was able to overcome several obstacles triumphantly, with the grace of God. And I entered the convent of the MJVVV on January 6, 2015.

Of course, the trials do not end when I enter the convent. I would rather say that others begin, but we are no longer alone. Christ is with us, to go from trial to trial, from victory to victory. We only have to be courageous to believe and act according to the will of God. This effort is continuous, from day to day, and we are not afraid, for our eyes are fixed on Christ.

Mother Teresia y Mother Leonela MJVV, Perú