9/6/26 – Build My Church

September is here, and I have been blessed to spend the past 12 days with my parents and siblings. So, what have I been doing during this time?

I usually wake up around 6:30 a.m. because as soon as the sun comes up, life begins. People head of to work, children go to school, and the day gets started.

I would then go into the kitchen and prepare some fresh fruit – papaya, soursop, golden berries, and blueberries. On some days, I also helped prepare lunch because, in Columbia, lunch is the main meal of the day. I made oven-baked pork ribs, fish with mushroom sauce, and salmon. I even had the opportunity to make some of my favorite childhood desserts: bread pudding, peaches with Marshmallows, and coconut flan.

But more than anything, I have enjoyed the simple moments with my parents- talking, walking, playing dominoes and bingo, and praying together.

It is not easy to watch your parents grow older and sometimes see them become vulnerable ton things they had once done so naturally. We often think that what they need from us is patience, but I believe it is more than that. It is about understanding that they are entering a different stage of life, and that we, as their children, must learn to adjust to the new circumstances that come with it.

Now, as their son, I feel a responsibility to care for them and support them, just as they cared for me when I was a child and needed them the most. This weekend, I will be in Bogota spending some time with my sister before heading back to Yulee on Tuesday night.

Fr. Jhon