All my life, I have seen service done to others in many ways. Whether it was my grandma making soups for sick people, my Godmother going to hospitals and nursing homes to pray for those injured or in their last moments, or my mom giving people rides home. They were small acts of service, but I recognized the great amount of love held within them. Serving others became inculcated in me when I volunteered with my Godmother in the nursing home. Always, sewed into these actions was love.

    In going to Mount St. Mary’s University, I knew I wanted to continue serving in more intentional ways. So, when I was asked if I wanted to travel to Guyana to serve in mission, excitedly and without hesitation I said yes. This was my first truly immersive experience in a country experiencing wide spread poverty. Despite their living conditions, the people’s welcoming embrace and smiling faces would never show the extreme poverty. During my time there, I asked a girl if she ever wanted to come to the Unites States, she answered: “No. I love Guyana.” Gratitude for the little things did not make sense to me until that moment. I learned the meaning of loving life amidst simplicity.

    Later on, I volunteered at one of the Saturday meal ministries with Source of All Hope through a club in our Campus Ministry. I thought the way I was called to serve involved my hands—building decks and demolishing houses for others. However, after listening to the story of a man in military gear during meal ministry, I understood more clearly what ‘dignity of the human person’ meant. His story made me realize how similar I am to the person I see on the street, and how their worth is no less than mine. This experience caused a stirring within me, that led to serving with an organization in Camden, New Jersey, where I saw countless abandoned homes and many people homeless, in addiction, and in poverty. The immersion in Camden confirmed my desire to serve people and to learn their stories. In talking with the founder of a kitchen for the homeless, he mentioned how throughout the years, he had been able to catch ‘a glimpse of the Kingdom of God’ in serving the homeless. That stuck with me. I became adamant in grasping ‘a glimpse of the Kingdom of God’ in any way God wanted to show me.

    By the summer before my Senior year, I knew I wanted to serve in a mission for a year. In prayer, God continuously placed the people on the streets in my heart. I thought of Mother Teresa, thinking she was too radical for me. But in thinking of her, an image of her giving me a gentle, knowing smile would pop in my mind. Many uncertainties would spiral through my mind, but every time the words “I will provide” would subtly emerge. Eventually, I stopped fighting it and gave into trusting God and his plan, deciding to become a Source of All Hope missionary. This brought me peace.

    In every service experience I have participated, God’s artwork of human beings and joy in the simple things would always stand out to me. More and more I’ve realized that I learn more about God when I love other human beings. Listening to others’ stories and being in their lives invites me to experience Jesus’ love. After watching the documentary on Mother Teresa called No Greater Love, I comprehended that I could only see God’s complete canvas of art if I went to Him, primarily in the Eucharist, and asked Him to show me His heart. Jesus’ sacrificial love in the Eucharist is the source of all love. This love I want to share with those I encounter on the streets, the missionaries I serve alongside, and anyone else God places in my life. Together with Mary’s motherly love, I want to share the Source of all hope and the Love of all loves—Jesus.