As expressed in the previous post, God was definitely at work during this mission. He united us as a Church, He allowed us to experience the Body of Christ in a new way, and He introduced new family members without whom we would be incomplete. We lived as a community: we prayed, slept, worked, ate, sang, danced, and cried together, but we each had our own, individual experience.

When Luis first called to invite me on this mission, I was ecstatic: I actually had the opportunity to travel to Cuba, rather than merely fantasizing about it. Immediately, I said 'YES!' then realized I should probably discern it further. You see, this would be a monumental experience for me- I had always dreamed of going to Cuba. Having heard stories from my abuela and other relatives, I knew I wanted to experience Cuba for myself. I didn't think this would be possible at twenty years old. My father was born in Cuba, but left as a young boy, and all of my family left Cuba twenty years ago. Even though our ancestry is Spanish, Cuba had always intrigued me: the culture, the music, the history. To me, it was rich with life and potential (despite hardship), but I yearned to see it for myself.

As I began praying for safe travels to Cuba, God kept reminding me that this was to be a mission trip, a service retreat with the Salesians of Don Boscoe. (Duh!) So, my heart changed as I further researched the Salesian community, the current situation in Cuba, and the goals of our mission. I knew that we would be serving in a couple of parish communities, doing some physical repairs to buildings, and helping out with their youth group from time to time, but I didn't know the true meaning of the mission until the day we left.

In Cuba, everything seems to be laid back, spontaneous, and casual- this was evident within moments of arriving at the Havana Airport. I was under the assumption we would be in Havana for the entire two weeks, but on the fly, we decided to travel 15 hours to Santiago on the opposite side of the island. This was an incredibly opportunity to see the splendor of the countryside, and a good opportunity to get well acquainted with each other! In Santiago, we witnessed the beauty of priests renewing their vows and commitment to the Catholic Church, or making their vows for the first time. This was a momentous occasion and I'm very fortunate to have been there through it.

It has been almost a month since the six of us came from Cuba in august 13th. There is a lot to say and to express about such a blessed and holy mission trip. But on behalf of the entire group, there is one single common thing that you will be able to notice as you read the upcoming posts, GOD truly worked through the six of us in such a way that not only the people down there noticed it, but we as well were able to see and feel the presence of our loving and merciful Father within and among ourselves. 
We as daughters and sons of God the Father, who infinitely loves us like no one else could ever possibility do, let Him to do His divine will through our actions, words, gestures, and thinking. Thank you Lord for giving us such a great opportunity to not only serve the people of your kingdom down in Cuba, but to also grow closer to You and Your Awesome and unique Love. Lord thank you also for those who collaborated and supported us to do this mission, You know that their contributions will always be appreciated especially before Your merciful eyes.  

Within the next few weeks we will be posting some reflections about our personal experiences in Cuba, so stay in tune you all. 

God Bless You all and have a blessed day. 
May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be and remain in you and your beloved ones.
Happy Feast of the Nativity of our Blessed Mother to all of you!!!

 Basically we leave in 4 hours...so we're not sleeping because we are so excited for the adventure that lays ahead. So far we had morning prayer, a trip to the airport, and a stroll down south beach. We are done packing our clothes and the supplies we are taking to the Cuban youth. We hope to give of our own selves to serve the needs of the communities we are staying in. We ask that you pray for the people that we will encounter during the following weeks in Cuba. We entrust our journey to Mary Help of Christians and Saint John Bosco.

From...Rafy, Luis, Rocky, Steph, and Mery (and John who's already there)

Some pics from last year's mission trip

Here are some pictures from last year that we want to share with you all

Enjoy them!!!

Basic trip overview!!!

Here are some details about the trip to Cuba this year. As I mentioned on the previous and first post, there are six young adults going on such trip. They all come from all over the U.S.A., you will have time to find out more about them as they write some posts on this blog.
The idea about the mission trip came out of an amazing experience from last year. Mathew Panozzo and I decided to travel to Cuba and spend three weeks of service at two Salesian communities present in Havana City. Such trip made a huge impact in our personal lives and our commitment to the mission of the Catholic Church.
Because of the need that people in Cuba have, Mathew and I, in accordance with the Salesian congregation, came up with the launching of a service and missionary experience where young people could have the possibility to live it out through a very simple and, at the same time, needy environment.
There is a lot of work to be done such as; assistance to the summer camp, youth center and youth group, fulfillment of the principal and more immediate financial needs especially to those who are most needed, fixing and repairs of the buildings, not only Church, but also houses of poor people, service at an orphanage close to the parish of Saint John Bosco and some other activities and small projects.
In terms of dates, the main group, Mery Olivera, Rocky Chauca, Rafael Vargas, Stephanie Suarez and I, Luis J De Prada, will be leaving on July 29th and coming back on August 13th of the present year. On the other hand the other missionary John Fisher will be going earlier on July 18th and coming back with the rest of the group on August 13th.
We all know very well that hands on deck will be necessary in order to do this work for the kingdom; the current group going to Cuba is more than willing to do so and more. Please pray for all of us as we go out and contribute to the building of the kingdom of God. We also ask you to support us in whatever way possible, we truly appreciated.
Stay in tune for more upcoming posts.
GBU and VIVA DON BOSCO!!!

Welcome online visitors

Hello everybody, welcome to this brand new Salesian blog. The creation of this website came out of a mission trip sponsored by the eastern province of the Salesians of Saint John Bosco in the United States of America. Such mission trip, as the title of the page indicates, was put together to help the needs of the Salesian communities in Cuba.

This current year a group of six young people decided to step up by saying yes to God and be part of this trip. Their names are Jhon Fisher, Mery Olivera, Rocky Chauca, Rafael Vargas, Stephanie Suarez and I, Luis J De Prada.  You will all get to know them as time goes by and they eventually upload some posts to the blog. 

Thank you very much for visiting our blog, stay in tune for more upcoming posts containing more detailed information about the trip.
Once again WELCOME!!!
God bless you all and bye for now.