JustFaith Ministries in partnership with Maryknoll Lay Missioners (MKLM) invites graduates to experience a spiritual journey into compassion and an immersion into the lives, culture, faith and history of the people we serve. This is an extraordinary invitation to you to witness mission experiences to respond to basic needs and help to create a more just and compassionate world.Current Immersion Programs:
CAMBODIA
The focus of the trip is meeting and making friends with Cambodians and learning about their culture, faith, and history. Cambodia is a Theravada Buddhist country with a 5% minority of mostly Cham Muslim people, as well as a small Christian minority. The experience will showcase the ministries of Maryknoll Lay Missioners in Cambodia.
In the country, the participants will grow in understanding of the Cambodian people through encounters and conversations with a variety of people and visits to historical sites. Maryknoll Lay Missioners who have lived and worked in Cambodia for over 20 years will be our hosts and they will accompany you to visit MKLM projects working on caring for children and adults with HIV/AIDS, education for the deaf, resettlement of displaced persons, anti-human trafficking initiatives, literacy programs for children and youth, building positive gender relationships, and higher education. You will visit the Toul Sleng Genocidal Museum and the Choeung Eik Killing Field Memorial. Learn about the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. Discover the temples at Angkor Wat, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the great archeological sites of the world. Enjoy Liturgy, Wednesday evening meals and a complimentary sunset boat ride on the Mekong River with members of the Cambodia Mission Team.
EL SALVADOR
Your time in El Salvador will be focused on meeting and making friends with Salvadorans. You will be introduced to political and social realities. You will learn about their culture, faith and history. By accompanying the Maryknoll lay missioners (MKLM) in their daily ministries, you will gain unique insights into the contemporary struggles and the solidarity of the people in El Salvador.
Maryknoll Lay Missioners who have lived and worked in El Salvador for over 25 years and they invite you to visit MKLM’s ministries enhancing the dignity of Salvadorans thru the work with the Nahuat community, the nutrition Soy program, the caring for orphans and the HIV work. Visit the Maryknoll martyr's site, the tomb of Mons. Romero in the Cathedral; Divina Providencia Hospital, Mons. Romero’s home; and the chapel where he was assassinated; the UCA (Jesuit Central American University) and Romero Center. Sit down with common Salvadoran people to share about their lives, their faith, and their hopes and challenges and participate in their local liturgical celebrations. Participate in events where traditional food, music and dances will be presented and experience the beauty of the beach at Costa del Sol.
KENYA
The focus of the trip is meeting and making friends with Kenyans and learning about their culture, faith, and history. Maryknoll Lay Missioners will be our hosts; they will share and celebrate with us the unique gifts of African culture: a spirit of generosity, hospitality, and hope, an emphasis on human relationships, and a pervasive and strong spirituality. The Kenyan people face conditions of extreme poverty, health crises, including malaria, TB, and HIV/AIDS, lack of access to education, rampant corruption, violence, rapid population growth, and chaotic urbanization.
We will witness the commitment of MKLM missioners as they attempt respond to these challenges both by addressing their root causes and by addressing the basic needs of the people who are impacted by them. You will visit MKLM projects including a diocesan health initiative, a street children's project, a clinic and maternity center, two secondary schools, an initiative focused on the needs of AIDS orphans, and a child rescue ministry in a slum. Visits with Kenyans to share the daily routines of their lives - eating and celebrating with them, and seeing life through their eyes. Participation in local liturgical celebrations, experiencing the joy and hope of the faithful of Kenya faithful as uniquely expressed in song, dance and jubilation. Learning about the ancient trading cultures of the Kenyan coast by visiting Fort Jesus and the Old Town of Mombasa. Experiencing wildlife in its natural environment on a safari in the Masai Mara and visiting a market in a small village to support the work of local artisans.
