
A Beauty Worth Sharing
Tatiana shares the experience of the CL Summer Vacation in with other members of the Puerto Rico community.This has been a very special year for our community in Puerto Rico. One of the most beautiful graces we received was having our vacation as a community for the first time in many years. This beauty is worth sharing with others.
We started the vacation by visiting Jayuya, the hometown of our friend Natalia, right at the center of the island. It was impressive to see the care with which the people of this town preserved aspects of our history that were unknown to many of us. At the same time, during our conversations, we were reminded of each one’s history in finding the Movement. Some of us had met at more or less the same time in CLU and later reconnected as adults. It was so interesting to realize how time has passed and how we have grown. After lunch we arrived at the cabins where we would be staying. That night we had dinner and played games.
The next day we went hiking in Toro Negro State Forest and were accompanied by some friends who couldn’t stay for the whole weekend. It was truly a miracle that despite the weather reports, it never rained. The silence during the first section of the hike was impressive. It felt like no one wanted to break it, not even the children who were with us. As we walked, the thought that came to mind was that these people are truly Christ’s flesh that I can touch and how following the others I am able to reach places that I would never be able to by myself. A friend that was meeting us for the first time brought a drone and took some incredible videos of the forest from the sky, giving us an additional perspective of the great beauty that surrounded us.
After the descent from the mountain, we rested for a while before going to Mass. That night we listened to a testimony from Lorenzo, who came from Boston to be with us. This was a crucial moment in our vacation. It is truly something from another world listening to someone describe incredibly deep experiences with such simplicity and say, “it’s not possible to understand pain without sacrifice.” This testimony was so striking that during the assembly the next morning almost everyone mentioned how it had helped them understand (or desire to understand) some experience of suffering that had already occurred in their life.
It was also incredibly beautiful to see everyone pitch in so that this gesture could happen, with all the work it entailed: Natalia, who served as our guide in town; the kitchen committee (Camil, Daniel, Arelys) that had to endure the heat while the rest of us relaxed and included Sebastian, who would rise up early to help his mom wash strawberries; Fabrizio with his guitar for the songs; Nathalie (who was at her first CL vacations) and Marienid, who accepted the invitation to help in the games and went the extra mile; Wadi who organized everything related to the hike and reminded us of the importance of walking together; and everyone else who contributed to the weekend. Even those that didn’t have a specific task found ways to help and contribute. Aimée, who did most of the organizing of the event and was attentive to every detail, told us everything can help one to “experience what it means to give all of life to Christ.”
I will end with what Giuseppe said at the assembly, “we are interested now in seeing the history that the Lord wishes to carry out among us from this point on.”
Tatiana, Puerto Rico