Authentic Faith

This Spring, 2023, I was blessed with the opportunity to join the Project Mexico organization as a member of their long-term staff. At face value, that might sound like a trivial matter, but in all truthfulness, it’s a miracle, since just a year ago I wasn’t aware Project Mexico existed. 

Last December, while searching for summer internships, I recalled a comment a friend had made about ministry work. Without a name to search for, I searched until I discovered Project Mexico’s website. I promptly filled out an application for a summer-long internship, unrelated to my field of study, on the opposite side of the continent in a foreign country.

Project Mexico asked me to come for the spring break build and then to stay on as an intern for the summer. At last, I found myself boarding a one-way flight to Tijuana, Mexico. God works in mysterious ways, and “in a general sense, the Orthodox Church considers everything which is in and of the Church as sacramental or mystical.” It is all a great mystery that our simple minds will never be able to fully comprehend; thus, man was made to have faith in God.

“What is ‘experience’ in spiritual life, dearest Father?”
“A comb that you acquire when you go bald.”
“So, isn’t it useless?”
“No, because you can then use it to comb the hair
of others!”

”

— Saint Porphyrios’ Testimony of Metropolitan Neophytos Morfou

Genuine faith is not a blind leap in the dark but rather confidence in the goodness and power of God, or the existential everyday trust in the promises and gifts of God. He is “the Way, the Truth and the Life.”

What else do we require?

Personally, I know I have been blessed greatly. The seasons between homebuilding feels very different and beautiful in a peaceful way. I’ve been working with our homebuilding coordinator, interviewing families and learning the life stories of the people we serve. I’ve also been working with the children of St. Innocent Orphanage, who force me to examine my shortcomings and to grow. Most importantly, I’ve been given the opportunity to live and work with people who desire to serve Christ.

“What is ‘experience’ in spiritual life, dearest Father?”

“A comb that you acquire when you go bald.”

“So, isn’t it useless?”

“No, because you can then use it to comb the hair of others!”

--Saint Porphyrios Testimony of Metropolitan Neophytos Morfou

With God’s help, let us walk by faith, in humility and in gratitude. Let us not bury and hide our talents, but “whatever we do, do it all for the glory of God.” Let us expose our darkness to the light of Christian truth, “for whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord.” Amen.

Written by Margarita Mavroeidi - Long-term Missionary Staff

Anticipating the Holy Spirit by Nathan Liu

Blessed Pentecost

Blessed Pentecost! It was a joy to celebrate the feast with a pavilion full of volunteers, boys, and staff. One of my favorite parts of Pentecost is our return to saying the “O Heavenly King” prayer. I love the melody that we chant here at the ranch:

O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, Who art everywhere and fillest all things, Treasury of Blessings and Giver of Life, come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity and save our souls, O Good One.

Project Mexico interns recently asked Father Nicholas Andruchow why we omit “O Heavenly King” from Pascha to Pentecost. He taught us that the omission allows us to walk with the apostles. Just as the Church asks us to participate in the events of Christ’s Passion during Holy Week, she invites us to join the disciples in anticipating the Holy Spirit during this period. From Christ’s Ascension to the coming of the Holy Spirit, the apostles were filled with nervous excitement, not quite knowing what to expect.

I experienced a similar anticipation when preparing to come to Project Mexico. From the time I was accepted as an intern until my arrival, I experienced a sort of nervous excitement. I tried to prepare as much as possible by listening to the “Stories of Hope” podcast and calling my intern friends. They told me I was in for a wonderful and challenging summer.

Arriving at Project Mexico was truly an experience of meeting the Holy Spirit. Like the apostles on the day of Pentecost, I found myself filled with joy. There are so many people here who carry the Spirit in their hearts, especially the niños and the families for whom we build. They inspire me to turn toward our Heavenly King and to implore Him to abide in me.

Have you experienced that anticipation of preparing to come down to Project Mexico? Have you been filled with that nervousness of not knowing what to expect in the homebuilding? Or that excitement of looking forward to encountering Christ in the orphanage? Come down and join us in meeting the Holy Spirit here in Mexico.

There are still spots for this summer!

Family, Faith and Fellowship During a Pandemic by Faeli Heise

“Glory to Thee for the Faithfulness of Friends” 

This phrase above from the Akathist of Thanksgiving has a double meaning, I suppose. 

1. The faithfulness friends have to each other,

2.  And the faith they are full of. 

Glory to God, for I, have experienced both of these; and when the two come together as one phenomenon, it feels like a miracle and it aids us in our theosis. Our love for God and our love for our friends often blend closer as we learn to always see Christ in someone, despite the frailty and disappointment of human nature. 

 My summer on the ranch was where I first realized the reality of spiritual family. Truth be told, the homebuilding season is physically and emotionally demanding. Intensely so. Without spiritual sustenance and the support of deliberate fellowship, I highly doubt it would be sustainable for any of us. “How do you all not get injured so often?” someone asked me after I explained the nature of the work and some of the shenanigans we got up to. 

“Truly? The grace of God.” This is a very tangible example, but when it comes to spiritual strength, the same thing is true. The people I spent the summer became my personal prayer warriors, my most trusted advisors and confidants, and my best friends. We underwent countless experiences--joyful, heart-rending, exasperating, miraculous, worrisome--and came out the other side just about as close as any group of God-loving weirdos can be. I learned of the power of people who pray together and for each other; who hold space for each other in their hearts; who truly demonstrate how “iron sharpens iron” and how others lead us on our path of salvation. This sense of family is a gift I have carried with me for the last year, but I could not have known how it was to multiply!

Fast forward from last summer to March 15th of this year. The beginning of COVID craziness was even crazier for me: my life turned upside down on a dime and I was left in the lurch and a bit stranded. But when God deems us worthy of those experiences, He does not leave us alone, though we may feel as such! He sent me a lifeline: the unwavering, ever-present support of a small handful of people. They have sat with me in my sorrow, shown me small joys, and most importantly they have prayed with me and for me. Because of all of this, they were also all (figuratively) holding giant, neon signs that said “Turn to God! He is asking you to trust Him with this!” 

This lifeline was conceived on March 18th, mere days after I moved for the 8th time in the last year--this time on two days' notice. Schools had sent students home the week before. Churches had just shut down. I was, to put it informally, a wreck. 

My friend Elise (one of PM’s very own 2019/20 summer interns) called me up. After checking in, sharing my sorrow, and helping me find some solace, our conversation went something like this:

“Faeli, my Spiritual Father has suggested that every day for the next few weeks I pray the Akathist to St. John of Shanghai.”

“Oh, wow. That’s a great idea! Have you done it yet today?” She chuckled. 

“Nope. I need to, though!” I looked at the clock. It was 9:30 pm. 

“Let’s do it together. Right now.” 

“Over the phone? That’s...actually a great idea.”

We did it then and there. And then the next day. And then we quickly realized how this could expand and grow. Everyone was grieving the loss of church attendance. But that didn’t mean that we had to lose our fellowship. In very little time, a WhatsApp group was created, our intern friends notified, a Zoom room designated, and our Akathist group chat was born. But it didn’t stop there. 

 We started with just three nights a week: St. John on Thursday (with Elise and sometimes myself still doing it every day) St Xenia on Friday (that was my request) and the Akathist of Thanksgiving on Saturday. (Anyone who’s been down for homebuilding will know how important that one is.) 

 Every other week or so, we decided to add just one more night. Akathist to the Mother of God on Wednesday. Akathist to St. Innocent on Tuesday. Pick-a-new-Akathist night on Monday. Small Compline on Sunday. We even spent Holy Week together: praying through the book of Psalms, keeping Vigil, and taking on the journey to Pascha as our own small church. 

It soon became clear how important this routine and support system was to us all. Finals were hitting hard this last semester: but often anyone who was cramming into the wee hours of the night would still join to listen to us pray while they worked. My spiritual father passed away on Holy Thursday: I was joined on Zoom to pray a service for him the following day. One of us had a scare when his younger brother was injured in a mountain biking accident, hospitalized, and had surgery: that day, we all prayed the Paraklesis to the Theotokos together.

We’ve been separated from Holy Communion, but we have NOT been separated from communion in Christ with each other. We’re being kept from one another geographically, but we are not being kept apart in prayer and spirit. We have humbly (and informally) done what we can to carry on the life of the church during this time, and if you asked any of us “Why?” the answer would probably be “Because I NEED this!” 

In hardship, pain, and confusion, I struggle so deeply to see the redemption that is brought about in the moment. But He has given me the camaraderie of these people at this time, and it has strengthened me in my love for Him and others. I could never have imagined being where I am now--where we are now--for better or for worse. There is a time to mourn it, but then there is the time to be thankful! This gift of Project Mexico, this gift of spiritual family, has strengthened my faith in Him and others. Truly, I would not trade it for anything. Glory to Thee for the faithfulness of friends,

Glory to Thee, O God, from age to age! 

-Faeli Heise