30/09/2018
Drunk with enthusiasm, that’s how we arrived on the first day. 194 young people heading to India. A country that grabs your attention, that breaks your expectations. MADNESS in capital letters and in every language. That’s where we headed, eager for everything and not knowing what to expect.
Drunk on impacts, impacts of all kinds. Heat, poverty, misery, bad smells, noise, chaos, hellish traffic, bargaining, humpbacked cows, rabid dogs and rats, live and dead rats, trash, lots and lots of trash, piles and piles of it.
Drunk on serving. Giving, giving and giving more. Devoting ourselves to the poorest in Calcutta, to the dying on the street, to the scrawny children, to the disabled, to the deaf-mute and blind, to the elderly, to the mentally ill, to the indigenous settlements, to the families who live happily without having anything, nothing for us, for them that was having everything.
Drunk on learning. Because yes, our initial goal was to give, to give ourselves 100%. But more than that, or at least speaking for myself, we have learned and received what we never would have expected. Because they have nothing and have everything. And well many don’t have You, or at least they don’t know they have You. But we have learned to see You in all of them and also to let You be seen in us. Because you go full sail, completely still.
Drunk on heat, and my goodness what heat. Sweat was already part of us. Dizziness, fainting… Where is the air conditioning?!
Drunk on rain. Blessed monsoon, that poured down on us every day soaking us to the bone and flooding the streets, and thanks to the crocks you could feel the warm black water with trash and floating rats.
Drunk on tiredness. Sleeping on the floor or on the good bed, packed like sardines in a can, on the train surrounded by Indians or sitting on the bouncing bus. Every day you slept less and worse, but it didn’t matter. We were there to lift up the person next to us. The number of hours slept didn’t matter, You gave us the energy boost we needed.
Drunk on kilometers and kilometers. 33 hours by train, 12 hours by bus, 40 minutes walking to the volunteer work, hours walking through the desert surrounded by stars or climbing and climbing stairs until there were no more to climb. The more hours, the farther, the better, because that means we were taking You farther and farther.
Drunk on hunger. And sorry kitchen team, you really did an incredible job and I can only thank you from the heart. But I hope I’m not the only person who was hungry all the time, and repeated whenever possible. Maybe that was a sign that we didn’t stop. But I must say I already miss the rice with vegetables and the driest croissant in the desert, and you have also made me enjoy a good steak more now.
Drunk on sharing. Sharing experiences, life stories. Sharing testimonies and ideas about some topics in the gatherings. Sharing what we learned. Sharing your water and your food. Sharing a lifestyle. Sharing love. Sharing the greatest thing we have, our best friend, Jesus.
Drunk on discomfort. Diarrhea with serum even for breakfast, cuts all over the body, burns, even some emergency surgeries. Incredible medical team, honestly I would have already given them the MIR and everything.
Drunk on unity. 194 people made one. 194 voices shouting in unison. 194 people in a chain carrying suitcases. 194 people with makuto on their backs through the desert. 194 people packed in 4 buses. 194 people dining as a family. 194 people dancing to give You glory Jesus. 194 brothers I take with me. 194 strangers that You have made become my family. All for all and none lost.
Drunk on being Saints of drinks. That alcohol has not stopped us from enjoying like little children. Necessarily joyful. That yes, thanks to the beers that tasted like glory and made us true saints of drinks. United, drinking in Your name, to Your health.
Drunk on You, Jesus, my best friend. I don’t know what I have done to deserve You. Nothing, obviously nothing. But there You are, here You are. I have let You in me, You are in me. You and I, are one. We all longed for the moment of Mass and better if it was among dunes, in a train car, on top of a mountain or at the Taj Mahal itself. And not to mention the Holy Hours. It’s not magic, it’s You, Jesus. Speechless.
Drunk on Mary, Your Mother, my Mother. The Queen of Hakuna. How she takes care of us, how she is with us, attentive to everything, worried, caring, because we are her children. Blessed are You, Blessed be Your purity mom.
Drunk on gratitude. I don’t even know where to start thanking. Simply thank you all, from the heart, thank You personally and thank You too Jesus. Without any of you nothing would have been possible. And thank You for everything I have, for everything I lack and for everything that will come. Thank You for the life I have and thank You because I can help. Thank You because You give an example of life through me.
Drunk on revolution. Because we are going to change the world, better, we are going to conquer it! You have conquered our hearts Jesus and with You it is possible. HAKUNA REVOLUTION
Drunk on love. I have fallen in love with You, my poor crazy one. You are the king of my life, the love of my life. I love You more than my life. I have discovered what love is, all the love I have to give and how beautiful it is to let yourself be loved. Hakuna is love and it has not only shown me what it is, it has let me be part of it. And as our motto says, my life motto: LET US LOVE EACH OTHER MORE
And may the hangover last forever.
