Prep students experience Rostro de Cristo in Ecuador
Fairfield Prep students spent the April vacation week living with and serving the people of Ecuador. The purpose of the Rostro de Cristo retreat is to expose people from North America to the spiritual, physical and emotional realties of the people from Duran and Guayaquil, Ecuador. This is done through building relationships with the people of the neighborhood and from the surrounding communities. Each retreatant is expected to live his/her life as simply as possible while living in the retreat house. While each person takes something away from this experience, it is the sincere hope of the program that the retreatants are able to deepen their faith in God and their commitment to issues of poverty for all people. Attendees included: sophomore Julio Palencia;and juniors Omar Rodrigues; Daniel Colucci; Rahul Tasker; Andre Talavera; Connor Jamison; Matthew Moore; Alexander Dailey; Kevin Cardona; Alejandro Correa; and Alex Marchese. Mr. Elliott Gualtiere and Mr. Tony Canuel were trip moderators. Read Alejandro Correa's reflection below.
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The Ecuador Immersion Trip, by Alejandro Correa '15
On April 11, 2014, my Prep classmates and I embarked on the Immersion trip to Ecuador. We stayed with an organization known as "Rostro De Cristo" which literally translates to "Face of Christ." Our goal was to establish the "seeds that will one day grow," as Bishop Oscar Romero termed it. We weren't there to build houses, but instead to immerse ourselves in the Ecuadorian culture and to find the face of Christ in the wonderful people there. In doing so we established relationships in the community of Monte Sinaí. Each day we visited a new home in the neighborhood to learn about their lives. During our time there we lived simply by minimizing our consumption of food and water. And at night we would reflect and journal about our experiences and encounters.
This trip really was an eye opening experience for all of us. Upon my return, the first thing I did was to thank my parents for everything they are able to provide me with. Despite the poverty that existed there, we found out that the people at Monte Sinaí were humble, loving, happy, hard working, and that they lived together as a community. Many of the habitants there struggled to feed their families which is something the majority of us do not have to worry about. We all saw the face of Christ in these individuals and it was a wonderful experience. They were all satisfied with what little they had which for me showed, that we don't need money to be happy. During the week that we were there we also visited a facility Padre Damian House that treated patients with Hansen's disease. There I met Manuel and he told me something that will probably stick with me for the rest of my life. He said that wealth can die out but love and relationships do not. I strongly recommend that every student at Fairfield Prep attends an immersion trip like this, because it is important to know how most of the world lives. Seeing all of this was shocking at first but it was also a life changing experience. I know that I cannot forget these people as I grow older, because there are many people that need our help.