Date Announcement 

Speaker

Veronica Holland

Location

About the Speaker

 

Veronica Holland has worked for the US Senate and other government agencies, and has traveled the world to places including the Caribbean, Mexico, Hong Kong, and Malaysia.  At the age of 54, she enrolled in Seattle Massage School and worked as a massage therapist for ten years while taking care of her sister who had a stroke.

 

When Veronica was 64, a priest that had participated in the Maryknoll Priest/Brother Associate Program was assigned to her parish.   He sponsored trips back to villages in which he had served in Cambodia and also to Vietnam.  Veronica spent five months on an immersion to Hanoi, working with aspiring nuns and seminarians who needed to learn to speak English.

 

Recently, Veronica has returned from a year of mission work in Bolivia, the second economically poorest country in South America.  She has graciously accepted our invitation to share her experiences.  In Bolivia, she learned Spanish through Maryknoll, and then served for eight months as a volunteer working with orphans and after-school programs, and offering massages for indigenous seniors and patients of the Sisters of Calcutta.

 

Veronica describes Mission as "try[ing] to live as Jesus in community with others in the world, knowing that they will teach me more than I can share."  She also believes that lay people such as herself are called to efforts "that will raise awareness of Christ's active presence in the world."

More About Maryknoll Volunteering

 

Please review the links below for more information about volunteering with Maryknoll:

• 2012 Short-Term Opportunities Brochure
• Maryknoll Bolivia Immersion Program

What is Mission Forum?

Mission Forum features speakers and films that uniquely address the challenges of mission, social justice, and proclaiming the Kingdom today.  Mission Forum is held at the Maryknoll Mission House in Seattle.