By: Sr. Virgie Mozo, SSC

New Mission
Sr. Catherine Hurley and I arrived in Loncoche in March of last year to open a new mission in this Southern part of Chile. Locoche is a Mapuche word that means, “head of the people.” There are large industries in this area: Lonco Leche, a dairy milk plant, supplying milk for the north and south of Chile; Fourcade, an expert furniture factory and Tecno Frio, a raspberry and asparagus farming and food processing industry.

To Build B.C. C.’s
Our purpose in coming here is to help build and form Basic Christian Communities. We took up residence in the Ultra Estacion, the poorest area of the parish, and began by visiting the homes to get to know the people, the place, the culture and by trying to adjust to the pace of life here.

Deprived of Love
Our first effort was to form the Infancia Misionera (Holy Childhood) among children. The children range in age from 3 to 13, so you can imagine how different their temperaments are. Coming from alcoholic families or from homes where the fathers are out of work, most of these children have been deprived of their parents’ love. It was winter time when we formed this group which meets every Sunday afternoon. The purpose of the group is the human and spiritual development of the children. We try to help them become aware of God’s love for them and their love for one another, to share their gifts and talents to be more confident and self-assured. The meetings include singing, praying, writing and playing.

First Trip
Last October 24th we went to Friere, a neighboring parish, for the celebration of World Mission Sunday. More than 20 parishes participated. We hired a bus and Lonco Leche donated 108 liters of Chocolate milk. There were “Ohs” and “Ahs” when the children saw the boxes. The trip was a big event for them, since some of them had never been out of Loncoche before. Nature Cooperated. The day was beautiful. The sun was so bright that all things were full of songs and praise, joining the hymns of the children as they sang the way.

San Columbano!
We arrived just in time for the introduction of the different groups. About 700 children were gathered in the large gymnasium. We presented our group with our banner, San Columbano – Ultra – Estacion. We chose St. Columban because he was a great missionary of his time. Perhaps through his intercession these young children will be inspired to become missionaries, if not outside Chile, at least within their own communities.

Let the Children Come
After the presentations, we marched from the gymnasium to the church for the Eucharistic celebration. The church was full of children. The words of Jesus came back to me: “Let the little children come to Me, and to not stop them; for it is to such as these that the Kingdom of heaven belong.” That is Jesus’ invitation to us all.

Learning to Share
After Mass we had lunch. The children learned how to share in their own way. It was touching to see their gestures towards one another. A little girl approached me and gave a piece of bread. I thank her and smiled. She waited until I had eaten the bread. I gave her a big hug in return.

Cardboard Doves
The children’s celebration ended with a mission blessing by Bishop Sixto Parzinger. The children were holding small cardboard doves with their names and parishes written on them. It was a sign of Unity, friendship, a prayer for peace and especially for the children in our troubled world. Then they exchanged their doves with the children of other parishes so that they could pray for whoever‘s was written on them.

Bless Them
Bless the Children, for in this world they have their own choice, their own voice and their own place.