Medellín Mission and Discernment Experience | August 10, 2026
By JC Montenegro, PhD, Delegate for Mission Animation
(Medellín, Colombia) – Our fifth day in Medellín began in a way none of us expected. Early this morning, we experienced an earthquake that was felt throughout the area. We are grateful to share that everyone in our group is safe and doing well. We are also deeply grateful to everyone who reached out, checked on us, and kept us in prayer. Thank you for your concern and continued prayers for our volunteers, the young people we are serving, and the Salesian communities accompanying us.
The earthquake changed our plans for the morning, but in many ways, it invited us to live the theme of our day in a very concrete way: Serving Like Mary.
Our group traveled to El Sufragio, a Salesian school in Medellín. Because of concerns following the earthquake, students were being dismissed and picked up by their families. Instead of following our original program, our volunteers adapted to what the community needed at that moment.
While the children waited for their parents, our volunteers accompanied them through icebreakers, games, conversations, and even magic tricks. Brother José Jiménez, SDB, director of the school, expressed his gratitude for the volunteers’ presence and their ability to help the children remain calm during an uncertain morning. Once the students had departed, we celebrated Mass with the teachers and then spent time with them through activities designed to encourage conversation, communication, and community building. The Salesian community concluded our visit by welcoming us to their table to enjoy traditional Colombian food together.
In the afternoon, Luis Chacón led our formation on Mary and her place in Salesian spirituality. Together, we reflected on the values we see in Mary and how deeply they are connected with the Salesian charism. We returned to Don Bosco’s Dream at Nine and considered the essential role Mary played in his vocation and mission.
The volunteers were invited to consider Mary not simply as an important figure in the Salesian story, but as a model for their own lives. Her openness to God, courage, humility, service, and trust offer a powerful example for anyone asking the question at the heart of vocational discernment: What is God asking of me?
Later, we visited CAPRE, a specialized Salesian program accompanying minors who were recruited or affected by armed groups during Colombia’s conflict and are now working toward reintegration into society. Many of these young people have experienced realities of violence and conflict that no young person should have to endure.
Yet our encounter was marked not simply by their past, but by their welcome, joy, and hope. The young people received our volunteers with open arms. Through activities, conversations, and a tour of their home, they discovered one another’s interests, similarities, and differences. At dinner, volunteers and young people shared the same tables, continuing conversations and simply enjoying being together.
That evening, during our debriefing, many volunteers reflected on how deeply the visit had affected them. The encounter challenged them to look at their own lives differently, to be grateful for what they have, and to consider what they can do to improve their lives and serve others.
Rather than leaving only with sadness about the difficulties these young people have faced, our volunteers encountered resilience and hope. Their reflection became a challenge: if these young people can continue moving forward after everything they have experienced, we too can choose to grow, change, and use our lives for something greater.
Fr. Mike Gergen, SDB, concluded our day with the Salesian Good Night, returning once again to Mary as a model for the values we are trying to live throughout this mission.
Today did not unfold according to our plans. From an earthquake that changed our morning to encounters that challenged us to see life differently, we were reminded that service requires availability. Mary teaches us precisely this kind of openness: to listen, to trust, and to respond when God places an unexpected need before us.
As our volunteers continue discerning God’s call, today reminded us that sometimes discernment begins simply by being able to say, like Mary, yes to the person and the need that God places in front of us.
Please continue to keep our volunteers, the young people we encounter, and the Salesian communities of Medellín in your prayers. We are safe, grateful, and especially thankful for all those who have reached out to check on us and accompany this mission from afar.
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