• For our 2007 Progress Report, click here.

• See SHARE’s 25^th Anniversary Poster.

My Story of Accompaniment, Jayne Finn of New Berlin, WI

I think you could pretty much describe me as a rather simple yet fortunate 51 year-old white woman residing in a homey little suburb in the outskirts of Milwaukee. My parents raised me on those good old fashioned values that you should always give a piece of yourself. So, I’ve spent my life trying to be a good person and volunteering in places that were within my comfort zone. I thought I was leading a fairly balanced life.

It is my hope that given this background you will better understand how these past few years have changed my life in ways I could never imagine. Five years ago, I was invited with a friend from another parish to be part of a medical/dental mission in Guatemala that would aid those who lack access to health care. Being able to utilize my dental experience in a different way was exciting to me and being asked was a true honor so I readily agreed. The following three years, I continued to travel to Guatemala for the annual mission trip.

Four mission trips later, I was presented with an opportunity to be part of an outreach experience with my own parish. A neighboring Lutheran Church had blessed our parish with a sister parish in El Salvador as a celebration of our 25 th anniversary. What a gift that was. Our Pastoral Associate Minister, with the advice of the Archdiocese, connected us with the SHARE Foundation in El Salvador. This organization would help to facilitate a relationship and offer us many opportunities to be a part of the future of El Salvador. The plan was to send a core team down to listen and learn about how we could evolve this newly formed relationship. I was lucky enough to be a part of this core team that represented our parish. The SHARE Foundation did a wonderful job of personalizing our trip by helping us connect with our sister parish and providing us with a well rounded view of people’s needs in El Salvador.

Six members of our parish traveled to El Salvador this past spring. We all came from varying backgrounds none of us knowing each other very well. The trip had a profound impact on all of us. I am not sure that you can ever be prepared for the effects that visiting a third world country (I realize that these are probably Jean’s words, but could we ask her to use “developing country” instead?) can have on you. It is impossible for it not to change you in ways you never even knew you needed or wanted to be changed. Between the six of us, every range of emotion was felt at different times and in varying degrees; anger, sadness, despair, joy, love, hope.

At times, the problems felt overwhelming and the challenges too big for me to grasp; pollution, no basic health care, lack of education, poor housing, violent gang crimes, and little to no aid from their own government. I would ask myself, ‘how can little old me do anything about this’. Yet, you could look into these peoples’ eyes and see that they were hopeful and willing to do whatever it would take to improve their quality of life, and there was no denying that they deserve a better life.

In Guatemala, our mission trips felt like just a band-aid for a huge gaping wound. Here in El Salvador I was more hopeful that the SHARE Foundation could help implement change. They have been working for 25 years in this country looking for long term sustainable solutions to problems. They are trying to empower the people to help themselves. That makes a lot of sense to me. It feels exciting to think that our parish might assist in making their world a better and safer place. Plus, we have the opportunity to learn from the Salvadorans a thing or two about faith, courage, and hope.

On a personal note, I now have committed myself to social justice and solidarity, words I had never really used before. I now read the newspaper differently, with a more rounded understanding of how government decisions can have such a profound affect on individuals. I now call myself not only a citizen of the United States but a global citizen as well. I now recognize that although there are other countries including our own where people suffer from injustices, this is one place where I can help implement some change. I now realize that I also need to help improve social justice in my own community. I now have a deeper appreciation of how Christ meant for me to live my life.

Without these experiences in the past few years, I would not have even known that my perceptions of the world needed to evolve. I feel very fortunate to be part of a parish that is willing to branch out to all arenas of community service in the broadest sense. I also consider the SHARE Foundation a blessing to help our church develop its commitment and relationship with the people of El Salvador.

It would be my hope that this short testimonial will challenge you to also step outside of the world that you live in and see it with new eyes. It might be the greatest gift to yourself to open your hearts and minds a bit wider and see where the path leads you.