Fr. Clarence Beckley had many stories about his mission experiences. Clarence was from Iowa and had a keen interest in farming and gardening. I knew Clarence for a long time. We were in the seminary together. Later we worked together in the Philippines. Clarence was then assigned to Brazil. Clarence loved to teach children about anything but especially catechism. One day when he was teaching catechism he received this answer to his question. “From the Father’s garden.” That is the conclusion to Clarence’s story.
I had asked Clarence, who was on his way back to Brazil, why he had so much luggage and why it was so heavy. Clarence informed me that the suitcases were full of pencils, ballpoint, pens, coloring books, and the like. Children, he explained, are forever asking for these things because they are expensive in the area where he worked in Brazil. Do you think Clarence simply gave them to the children? Not a chance! When a child arrived at the door of the priest’s house asking for a pencil or whatever, it was a teaching moment for Clarence. He would ask what the child was willing to do to earn one. There would be some negotiation. Then the young person would find employment cutting grass, or looking for empty tin cans. The next one who came along would be asked to pound holes in the tin cans. Then there was the chore of getting dirt to fill the cans or planting seeds in the cans or tending the garden in the backyard of the priest’s house. There was also watering to be done and so forth.
Food could be grown in backyards. But most often, the people did not take advantage of the little land they did have. They wouldn’t plant a garden, because the neighbor’s pig would get into it. They wouldn’t keep chickens because someone will steal them and so on. The priest’s garden was somewhat secure. So, Clarence figured he could begin to give children a sense of the gardening possibilities that were there. In the process, the children received pens, pencils, coloring books, etc.
Clarence’s purpose was to teach the children that the earth is abundant. It produces a rich harvest. It is rewarding to those who work at it. Underneath it all, he hoped the children would learn that it is God who provides everything.
That is what Clarence thought he was teaching them. He would ask them about the source of all good things, including food. The expected reply was that it comes from God, who is the creator and sustainer of all things. God has blessed earth with abundance. So, when he asked this particular time where does food come from. The youngster replied, “From the Father’s garden.”
Being on the receiving end of learning moments is nothing new to missionaries. Experiences go from the lighthearted to the intense moments of discovering God acting deeply in the lives of people in ways he or she could not have expected.
The gift missionaries bring to their mission is their personal faith, their experience of God and their way of living the gospel values. They received and developed these gifts in their home communities.
Mission life is full of surprises and joys not the least of which is discovering God working wonders in people with very different backgrounds. In the end, the missionary returns home and offers his or her enriched experiences of God to the people at home. Both communities gain.
The children in Brazil who received coloring books may produce better art with their pens and pencils and even learn to garden. But I suspect what they remembered is a missionary from Iowa who was really interested in them and gave them a practical skill and love for their faith.
Columban Fr. Brendan O’Sullivan lives and works in the U.S.