My BYM Experience
When Father Willie asked me to write this reflection on the BYM trip, I was thrilled to be chosen the one to write it. But, when the moment came and I was sitting at my desk ready to start typing, I realized I didn't know where to start. That’s when the question that really set the mood for the entire trip came to mind: “Why am I here?” It felt as if Father Willie would ask us and remind us to reflect on that question at every single homily.
That question took me back to the 19th of January, the day the first 60 registered students would get into BYM. It was around 10 in the morning and my friends started texting me with the great news. I called my mom, hoping to hear I would be going, but unfortunately, I heard the opposite. She told me the registration closed before she could even try to sign me up. I was enraged because I had been dying to go on this trip for most of my time at Belen.
But, as always, if God wants you somewhere, He will put you there no matter what. I immediately sent an email to Father Willie. I didn’t blame my parents, I didn’t come up with an excuse, I simply wrote in the email: “If it’s God’s will, please place me, at the very least, on the waitlist. It was one month before God answered my prayers.
Fast forward to the 27th of June 27. We landed in Santiago and took a bus to the small town of Janey. With open arms, the people of Janey welcomed us at the school where we would be staying. We celebrated Mass and then had an amazing dinner. That night, surprisingly, was the best sleep I had all trip. I was unaware of the workload that was ahead for me. If you ask my parents, they may say I’m lazy. Truthfully, I liked to take it easy until Janey.
We woke up at the crack of dawn and got ready to go and work the fields. We were split into groups. It was the first time I would hear the words “pico y pala.” We trenched for what felt like an eternity, even though only a couple of hours and a lot of sweat had passed. The work was exhausting, but at the end of every day, when we finished working, Brother Hunter would say, “If you want to walk back with me and do a rosary, you are all welcome to do so.” Suddenly, the exhaustion would be lifted thinking how many people around the world need our prayers.
We would walk back to the camp and shower. Then, we would usually just sit around and have conversations until it was time for the day’s Mass. Most of the conversations were about what we were going to do when we got back home and how we “just wanted to go back home.” The one thing that gave all of us strength to keep pushing ourselves was the inspiration that Father Willie would put into our hearts after every homily.
We went to help the people of Janey, but it was the people of Janey who helped us. We learned gratitude through our sweat and hard work, through our moments of dread and desperation. We understood the blessings we have in our lives and how fortunate we are. Too often, we get caught up in this fake world and put everything before God.
Well, that one week we spent working together, all 60 of us really reflected hard on our lives. We pondered the reason why we were there and didn’t take it for granted. This is why we were able to build a 9-mile aqueduct. We dug more trenches and laid more pipe than any other grade has ever done. But who’s competing? The joy we felt when we turned the water on was something I had never felt before. I felt accomplished, I felt God's love overflowing in my body. I finally knew why I was there.
Registration for the annual Belen Youth Missions to the Dominican Republic will open to members of the class of 2027 in January 2026. Click here to see pictures from this year’s BYM.
BELEN JESUIT PREPARATORY SCHOOL
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: communications@belenjesuit.org
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: communications@belenjesuit.org
Belen Jesuit Preparatory School was founded in 1854 in Havana, Cuba, by Queen Isabel II of Spain. The task of educating students was assigned to the priests and brothers of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), whose teaching tradition is synonymous with academic excellence and spiritual discipline. In 1961, the new political regime of Cuba confiscated the school's property and expelled the Jesuit faculty. The School was re-established in Miami the same year, and over the next decade, continued to grow. Today, Belen Jesuit is situated on a 34-acre site in western Dade County, just minutes away from downtown Miami.