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Happening ... in the Local Church
  Left:
Kristina RamosRight: The Ramos family: Joe, Betty, Kristina, Andrew and Jennifer (Photos provided) |
By Caroline B. Mooney
The
Catholic Moment
FRANKFORT — “I envision the next 27 months of my life to be challenging, simple and beautiful.”
That is Kristina Ramos’ expectation as she begins volunteer work at Farm of the Child, an orphanage near Trujillo, Honduras. The 23-year-old Frankfort native and parishioner of St. Mary Church heard of it while in college and started there Oct. 1.
“God planted a seed in me when I saw a DVD about the Farm after a daily Mass,” she said. “I remember smiling with a friend of mine and we both said we really wanted to go there. Little did I know that four years later I would be part of the Farm’s mission.”
Principles of the Farm of the Child are service, simple living and spirituality. Volunteers live in Christian community and share their lives and the Gospel with the poor and the marginalized. Volunteer houseparents live in six family-style homes that each accommodate six to eight children. Orphans, from age 1 to 16, are grouped by age and developmental stage. The Farm compound has an elementary and middle school as well as a medical clinic.
About 15 single volunteers live in the same house, sharing bedrooms, with cold mountain water showers. Their diet consists of beans, rice, some vegetables, and some meat each week.
Ramos is a graduate of St. Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Ind., with a major in sociology and a minor in Spanish. She brings a great love of work with children to the Farm, several years of speaking Spanish, experience working with different cultures, and, “as much as I am capable of, a heart ready to serve and learn,” she said.
“My faith has played a large part in my decision to go,” Ramos said. “Looking at this opportunity rationally, realistically — it’s crazy. Why would anyone go to a Third World country, leave family and friends, and a healthy diet to go someplace where she will be taking cold showers and have few opportunities to travel or be in communication with the outside world? Many people seemed to challenge me with the same question. However, with the eyes of faith, the cold showers, distance from loved ones, challenging diet and the less secure health environment are all transformed into a sacrifice that is made with love. It was a hard thing for me to say yes to. I knew that coming to the Farm I would suffer. I also knew that others would suffer. However, I know, just like Jesus’ suffering, there will be little resurrections throughout the time that I am there. I trust that Jesus will use this time in the way he wants it, in the way he wants to use me.”
“We were very pleased that she wanted to do something to help God and serve others,” said Betty Ramos, Kristina’s mother. “I’m a little leery about where it is and the length of her involvement. But, she will be able to come home for a couple weeks in the spring or summer. It’s good for the children’s stability to have volunteers there for long periods.
“I tried to explain to Kristina that sometimes she will have to try to put her feelings aside and not get too emotionally involved,” Betty said. “But she loves children, and they all just radiate to her.
“They use a wood stove to cook and sometimes there isn’t any water,” she said. “Kristina’s not a person who needs a lot, though, so she will adapt. Our communication will be by e-mail and Skype whenever she gets into town — we don’t know when that will be. That’s not a very good feeling, but it’s when your faith has to be the strongest.”
In June, the Ramos family vacationed together, and Kristina had a week to say her goodbyes before leaving for Guatemala in late September. The volunteers began their training there with immersion into the Spanish language and culture. Their first day at the Farm was Oct. 1, when they were greeted with gifts from the children.
Joe Ramos, Kristina’s father, expressed concern that his daughter is living in a country that is politically unstable. “I am also concerned about hurricanes and earthquakes,” he said. “You want your children to be safe, but she is happy. She is very committed and this is what she really wants to do — it’s not a whim.”
“Kristina is a very exceptional young Catholic woman,” said Father David Rasner, pastor of St. Francis Xavier Church, Attica, and St. Joseph Church, Covington. A Frankfort native, he and Joe Ramos have been friends since childhood.
“I am very proud of her,” Father Rasner said. “I think her family will be very blessed by God for their generosity in sharing their daughter with God’s needy. God’s grace is always there — the question is, is there generosity to respond? Will people use the grace to build the Kingdom or will selfishness hold them back? It’s not surprising that Kristina would do this — she has always been a very devout and generous young woman.”
“In most of my jobs, extracurricular activities and volunteering, I have used Spanish,” Kristina said. “I studied abroad in Spain and was involved with community outreach programs in a Latino neighborhood. One summer I helped run a camp on Chicago’s southeast side with the Claretians, where I lived in community and worked in a Latino neighborhood.”
Before leaving for Honduras, Ramos said she tried to get her fill of the opportunities and little luxuries available in the United States.
“I spent time with friends and family, cleaned out my closet, enjoyed my favorite foods, and made connections with my new community members,” she said. “I also dedicated some of my time to raising funds for my time at the Farm.”
Normally, new Farm volunteers are accepted by April, but Ramos did not fill out the application until June and received an invitation to be a volunteer in July. Volunteers receive room and board, but must pay for other necessities.
“I was unable to spread word about my journey as much as I would have liked,” she said.
“I did some fund raising within my circle of family, friends, coworkers and at St. Mary’s. I am truly grateful for the support that I have already received from the community.”
Ramos said her main job will likely be as a teacher or a social worker.
While at the orphanage, Ramos said she hopes “to become a deeper woman of faith, one who can put aside the things of the world. I want to be able to really sacrifice for others and really live my life depending on Jesus. I also hope to gain a greater vision of the world. Living in the United States, it’s easy to close your eyes to the rest of the world.”
To learn more
For more information on Farm of the Child, see the Web site at farmofthechild.org. Donations can be made through the site, and funds sent in Kristina’s name will help support her while at the Farm.