Heide's Story


This past summer, I was a missionary for the Catholic Urban Project (CUP), located in Ypsilanti, MI. The point was simply to serve the poor in several different ways (Michigan has a very high percentage of people living under the American poverty line.) We helped coordinate and run a free kids camp, did home fix-ups for low income families, volunteered weekly at non-profits, and did a prayer ministry in sketchy neighborhoods. 


When we missionaries weren't working, we got to hang out with Fr. B, the Catholic priest who founded CUP. He is man with an enormous love for the isolated, impoverished people in the world, and often would talk about his passion for mission work in India. He frequently supported local young adults to go on misson trips to India, where they would typically work with the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata (Calcutta). This was a big deal. Working in India is not for the faint of heart - India has one of the most depressing societies in the world; literally and metaphorically, the rich build overpasses to hide the thousands of people living in the slums, because they live side by side.

Reading to 5 - 6 year olds at CUP's kid's camp
As I listened to him throughout the summer, I was entranced... but my heart churned with dread. I was worried that I, too, might be called to do mission work in India. CUP wasn't as hard as I thought it would be and I knew I could do more... But India? Seriously??


The previous semester, I'd taken a university class on India and done a research presentation about the serious problem with human trafficking and prostitution. Prostitution (and the human trafficking it leads to) is an accepted way of life. Besides studying it formally, I had seen the documentary "Born Into Brothels," as well as the fictional, yet culturally-accurate "Slumdog Millionaire," both of which represent seedy parts of Indian life. The underbelly of India terrified me.
Greg and Jayden from CUP's kid's camp


...So, in the sweltering Michigan heat, I simmered all summer on the thought of India, stewing about what could happen and whether or not India was where I needed to go...

One afternoon, while driving CUP's donated beat-up Honda we'd named Polyperp (After Sts. Polycap and Perpetua), thinking about India and my fears, my mind brought up a great historical and spiritual figure: Mary, Jesus' mother. 

Mary, as some of you know, did something extraordinary: she said yes to God, under the most terrifying and shameful of circumstances (Luke 1:38). Her "yes" changed history. And as I bumped along the dirty streets of Michigan, riding the potholes and sweating from the heat, knew: Now it was my turn to say "yes."


So I'm going to India, folks. 

EPILOGUE: Now Elaina and I are getting ready to go. Personally, I know India is going to stretch me to my limit. I can't wait, I'm not as scared (most of the time), and I need your prayer. Pray for the people we'll be serving, the Missionaries of Charity who we'll be working with, and that we will physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually be able to process the experience while serving. If you want to help in a financial way as well, click on the "Donate" tab at the top of the page for more options. 

Thanks for reading. Pax. 

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