The Real Pearl of Great Price

This was my third trip to Bánica and I was hoping that it would be just as fulfilling. There is always that fear that I build this up to much in my imagination. This year’s trip again, exceeded my expectations.

This year we had a group of 6 which turned into a very intimate setting where we got to know each other at a much deeper level. Sharing our history, hopes and fears I feel a very close bond to each person.

Spending a week with people you really don’t know that well can be a challenge. However, everyone worked incredibly hard and was selfless at all times. At the end of the week I was inspired by the others which is a testament to what we were doing, why we were doing it and how it was to be done.

CBC and Michelle Haworth, in particular, have a recipe for prayer and works that everyone should experience.

While we did help put cement floors in a couple of homes to the great gratitude of the owners and work on a church, the most amazing element is the connection to the people.

Sitting with the deaf and mute boy for mass with his ear to ear smile that I was there with him; the two girls who took my hands to lead me through town for the St Anthony procession; the ladies who at the sign of peace embraced and kissed me with more passion than all but my wife; the peoples' incredible intimacy with each other and us missionaries, with a passion that could only come from the Holy Spirit.

The CBC mission trips are about prayer, love and connection. The good works are only a part of it. When you strip away the all data, video, audio and over scheduled lives, a new and deep connection can form with Christ and our fellow man. My interest in the people I shared my time with and our shared love of Christ is the real pearl of great price to me.

by Andy, CBC Missionary to Bánica, June 2019