In the parish of San Andrés Totoltepec, the Holy Week 2022 mission was carried out by the Maranatha Missionary Youth Group, in Mohenera, a small town pertains to the municipality of Chilapa, in the state of Guerrero. The objective of this mission was to live Holy Week and forming the Church with the simple ones. Moreover, we tried to strengthen the Synodality in the communities, as proposed by Pope Francis, giving meaning to the Creed as a testimony of our faith. Indeed, "Synodality" is a new term that expresses the identity of the Church as the People of God on a journey, on pilgrimage towards the Kingdom; it stresses the common dignity of all Christians and affirms their co-responsibility in the evangelizing mission. The choice to go to the state of Guerrero was made in order to diversify our options as well as our apostolic vision. Mohonera has about 2500 inhabitants, their native language is Nahuatl. Its inhabitants are very simple people but with a big heart. It can be said that it is a town or place that God holds dearly. The presence of God can be felt in each one of them. The community was very fraternal because they all treat each other like family. The younger ones treat the older ones like uncles and aunts, even though they are not directly related. That filled me with joy, because you can feel the closeness among them. They all know each other very well. It is important to take note that it is really a large community, but you can feel the unity among them. Also, it is a very participative and cooperative community, always ready to support in everything. Thus, to the missionaries, they opened the doors not only of their houses, but also of their hearts. They were happy in welcoming us in their homes during our house visitations. We had the opportunity to share with them their way of living. Most of them are dedicated in weaving hats, and a very few families are not. In the month of October, almost all of them leave for the green beans harvest and the village is practically abandoned, because everyone helps. The theme during the mission that was implemented was "Synodality". The motto was "All Together". I was surprised by the number of participants of the kids, the youths and the adults, because the hall was full, and the enthusiasm and joy that was experienced for three days were great. On those three Holy Days, that was, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, we reflected on a paragraph of the Creed: "I believe in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church", and we connected it in the Synodality. Truly, the actions of this community are a beautiful example of unity and walking together as a Church. Let us all look back at Mohenera as a symbol of unity, faith and love for our neighbor. I thank God for all that we have experienced in this mission. I am infinitely grateful to Father Joseph Mahamba for sending us to this mission; to Father Antonio Roman Bahena and Father Arturo Cornejo for receiving us and opening the doors of their parish. My gratitude is extended to the community of Mohonera, for receiving us in their homes and for allowing us to work with them. Finally, I thank the Maranatha Missionary Youth Group for their willingness and enthusiasm to carry out this mission. Below, are experiences shared by some companions of the Maranatha Missionary Youth Group. Maru Copado, lay assumptionist. Experiencias de jovenes misioneros I want to share my first experience as a missionary in the community of La Mohonera in Guerrero: The acceptance of the people was evident since we arrived the first day in the chapel. The participation of adults and children, who never failed to come for a single day, was impressive. The lady in the photo is Angela, a native of La Mohonera and an excellent teacher of the Nahuatl language. I am very grateful for all the teachings and knowledge that I learned from them and to see their tears that rolled down when we said goodbye. I hope to be with them again next year. Leonardo Dionicio Pérez My experience in La Mohonera was very nice because the whole community is very united and they transmitted a lot of happiness and love. I treasure the smile of each one of them, and the happiness and affection that the children, youth and adults gave me. Evelyn Barrientos Copado My experience in La Mohonera has been one of the most beautiful experiences in my life. I really enjoyed sharing with the whole community. They gave us the opportunity to get to know them a little, they gave us a little bit of their time, they opened the doors of their home and their love. These are blessings that I will carry in my heart forever. Jocelyn Barrientos Copado My experience as a missionary in the community "La Mohonera", has been one of the best things that have ever happened in my life, to be able to share moments with the people, to learn from them, from their values and to see how they opened the doors of their hearts and their homes. I have no enough words to thank them for the love they gave us since the first day. I can say that I am very satisfied because I am finally beginning to discover a little of God’s purpose for my life, to serve others with love and share a little of the joy that God has affected in me. In addition to my personal growth, thus, I was able to overcame certain challenges that allowed me to get out of my comfort zone and also I was able to overcome my fears. Abigail Corona Reyes My experience in the mission was amazing, I thank God for allowing me to live this first experience in the community of La Mohonera, the people are very warm, united and very participative. I am very grateful for the warm welcome and all the learnings that the community has given us, I take to heart every moment that we shared. Denisse I want to tell you about my first mission experience in a community called Mohenera in the state of Guerrero. In spite the community is very large, all the people know each other and treat each other with a lot of respect. The community welcomed us and treated us as part of their family from the first day we arrived there. In the activities and dynamics that we have prepared for them, the commitment and desire to know more about God was evident from the first day. From them I learned that age does not matter to praise God, whether we are young or adults. For them Holy Week is very important. From Thursday they make their offering for our Lord Jesus Christ until the Feast of the Resurrection, they celebrate it... Sayra Reyes

After her missionary volunteering in the Santiago Apóstol parish of Tlilapan-Veracruz, Veronika Jaster, a young American tells us about her experience serving the Kingdom of God with the Assumptionists and is grateful for this opportunity to serve the youth. I’d like to sincerely thank the Assumptionist community for the opportunity to serve with the Congregation in Mexico and encounter God’s love during my time there. I spent eighteen days at the Assumptionist parish center in Tlilapan, Veracruz. Throughout the volunteer work and the cultural immersion, it was a joy to serve, learn, and share life with all the people I met. With the sun inching over the rolling mountains, drawing curtains of warmth in the still-cool air, each day started with morning prayer and Mass in the chapel, followed by a shared breakfast. In the late afternoon, from Mondays to Fridays, I taught English to locals from the youth group in a parish classroom. We started each lesson with either an informal speaking exercise to warm up, or with a recap of what we had worked on the previous day. With each new topic, we completed exercises and played a speaking game in order to practice the concept in a more engaging way. I appreciate how receptive and eager the students were to participate. While I wasn’t teaching English, I accompanied some of the priests to their ministries in the area. In the few weeks while I was there, I attended a wedding, two quince años, a baptism, a last rites ceremony, a funeral, as well as a celebration of the Feast of the Assumption of Mary. Through all these sacraments and events, it became clear to me that God is at the center of the familial love that thrives in Mexican culture, whether it’s through joy or sorrow. I saw His love’s steadfastness in a woman’s unbroken care for her sick husband, heard its guidance in an uncle’s bittersweet speech to his quinzeañera, smelled its heartbreak in the incense that lifted up the prayers for a departed son, tasted its unity in a wedding cake, and felt its triumphant power through the bursts of fireworks. The gift of new friendships transcended the differences in customs and language, without diminishing the richness of this diversity. It was a joy to find new neighbors to love and with whom to share adventures, from jumping into rivers to climbing mountains, from visiting bustling Orizaba to exploring the small-town culture in Tlilapan, and from learning how to dance cumbia to teaching the Cotton-Eyed Joe. Many thanks again to the Assumptionist community for this volunteer opportunity and for the cultural immersion. I keep their mission in my prayers and hope that my experience inspires others to discover and share through this program, all for the glory of God. Saludos! Veronika Jaster For more information about the Assumptionist Volunteer Program, please contact tomasz.jaster@assumption.us or call (617) 783-0400.

After her missionary volunteering in the Santiago Apóstol parish of Tlilapan-Veracruz, Veronika Jaster, a young American tells us about her experience serving the Kingdom of God with the Assumptionists and is grateful for this opportunity to serve the youth. I’d like to sincerely thank the Assumptionist community for the opportunity to serve with the Congregation in Mexico and encounter God’s love during my time there. I spent eighteen days at the Assumptionist parish center in Tlilapan, Veracruz. Throughout the volunteer work and the cultural immersion, it was a joy to serve, learn, and share life with all the people I met. With the sun inching over the rolling mountains, drawing curtains of warmth in the still-cool air, each day started with morning prayer and Mass in the chapel, followed by a shared breakfast. In the late afternoon, from Mondays to Fridays, I taught English to locals from the youth group in a parish classroom. We started each lesson with either an informal speaking exercise to warm up, or with a recap of what we had worked on the previous day. With each new topic, we completed exercises and played a speaking game in order to practice the concept in a more engaging way. I appreciate how receptive and eager the students were to participate. While I wasn’t teaching English, I accompanied some of the priests to their ministries in the area. In the few weeks while I was there, I attended a wedding, two quince años, a baptism, a last rites ceremony, a funeral, as well as a celebration of the Feast of the Assumption of Mary. Through all these sacraments and events, it became clear to me that God is at the center of the familial love that thrives in Mexican culture, whether it’s through joy or sorrow. I saw His love’s steadfastness in a woman’s unbroken care for her sick husband, heard its guidance in an uncle’s bittersweet speech to his quinzeañera, smelled its heartbreak in the incense that lifted up the prayers for a departed son, tasted its unity in a wedding cake, and felt its triumphant power through the bursts of fireworks. The gift of new friendships transcended the differences in customs and language, without diminishing the richness of this diversity. It was a joy to find new neighbors to love and with whom to share adventures, from jumping into rivers to climbing mountains, from visiting bustling Orizaba to exploring the small-town culture in Tlilapan, and from learning how to dance cumbia to teaching the Cotton-Eyed Joe. Many thanks again to the Assumptionist community for this volunteer opportunity and for the cultural immersion. I keep their mission in my prayers and hope that my experience inspires others to discover and share through this program, all for the glory of God. Saludos! Veronika Jaster For more information about the Assumptionist Volunteer Program, please contact tomasz.jaster@assumption.us or call (617) 783-0400.

The Assumptionist parish of Santiago Apóstol Tlilapan, Veracruz is in code green, for having radically reduced COVID-19 infections. This allowed us to return to the parish of Father Oswaldo García Sánchez last Saturday, May 22, to offer a retreat on the theme of the Holy Spirit to the members of the pastoral ministry of the parish. A year before the pandemic, Maricarmen Martínez Álvarez, Aurora (Bollo) Maltos and I started a training process for the catechists of the Vicariate where the parish belong. It seemed boring to us without those activities. PENTECOST was the new start for us in this pastoral work. With the consent of Fr. Oswaldo we have agreed with the schedule and the topic taken from The KERYGMA of the Charismatic Renewal. We left Mexico City on Friday at 4pm, but along the way there was an accident between two trailer trucks and a car before the tunnels, which lost a lot of our time. We arrived in the parish almost 11 in the evening. But the pleasure of coming back to Tlilapan did not allow us to feel bad about it. A total of 22 participants was a good number to begin the activity. It was a great moment to see familiar faces again, and how pleasing to meet new ones in the midst of this pandemic time. And it was so overwhelming to have an increase in male participants. During the retreat, we make sure to have safety and health measures, thus, restricted us from our usual greetings of hug and embrace among old and new friends. The group was very diverse, with people who have a lot of experience and preparation, and some who have just joined the group. Yet, everybody was very active and participative in sharing their own personal reflections and experiences which was so enriching and was helpful to the whole retreat. The participants expressed their difficulties on the pandemic especially during quarantine period were a lot was infected and some deaths in the area caused by Covid-19. They were very emotional in their prayer and in sharing their experiences, thus, grateful because they really felt the presence of the Holy Spirit throughout the process. Through their testimonies we have acknowledged their deep faith, and empathized with their pain. We thank Father Oswaldo for trusting us and for inviting us to work with him in the Prophetic Ministry of the area since he was appointed by the bishop to spearhead this ministry of the diocese. We expect to work with the catechists of the vicariate before the year ends, we are only waiting for the confirmation of the theme we need to deal with depending on the current needs of the group and with the agreement from the parish priests. This excites us to know the agenda so we can create and prepare the most appropriate content, dynamics and elements of the project. In addition, we were amazed to see the new facilities of the parish. A new function hall for big gatherings that was constructed on the second floor. It was impressively made that is very conducive for retreats. A well-lighted dormitories were also built over the community and dining room, 3 comfort rooms that we used during the retreat respecting proper health restrictions. Good job to the community and its parish priest, the facilities are very useful for their pastoral works. Lastly, we thank the Holy Spirit, the Advocate of the retreat and of our lives, who has shown such great mercy towards us, and at the same time that our pastoral ministry has resumed. We pray that we will recover so soon in our health and economic activities and any necessary means for our country. Greetinsee you soon! Rafael Martinez Guizar, lay Assumptionist