I went to Bayadeyah with the intention of giving, helping and making the most of every moment of those two weeks. However, on my return, I realised that I ended up receiving far more than I could ever have imagined.
During my first few days in Bayadeyah, I was particularly attentive to everything around me. I observed, tried to understand, wanted to do so many things and not miss a thing. But little by little I learnt that having an experience like this also meant letting go of control, stopping expecting things to happen a certain way, and learning to enjoy what was happening in each moment. And it was precisely when I stopped having expectations that I began to truly live the experience.
In Bayadeyah, I discovered that brotherhood doesn’t always require grand gestures. Sometimes it’s found in the smile of a child who sees you arrive and wants to play with you, in hands offering you a mango, in a family making juice for someone they’ve only just met, or in young people doing everything they can to make you feel at home. There, I realised that wealth can also be measured by the ability to give of oneself to others without expecting anything in return.
Over these two weeks, I have been able to experience in a very special way the three pillars that gave meaning to our experience: faith, service and community. I have come to understand that faith is not just something you believe in, but also something you live out, and that it is made present in the way we welcome, care for and love others. Service has taught me to be available, to give without expecting anything in return, and also to recognise that I don’t always have to arrive with answers or with great things to offer. And community has shown me the strength of feeling part of something, even when you arrive in a completely new place and meet people who, until a few days ago, were strangers.
And it was there that I saw Jesus. I saw him in the children’s excitement, in their smiles, in their eagerness to play, to learn and to share with me even though they barely knew me. I saw him in the families who offered us everything they had.
