Can you be poor in possessions yet rich in spirit? A mission trip to Guadalupe, Mexico, a suburb of Monterrey, allowed 15 students to answer this question.

Students traveled with Brother Carlos Parrilla, campus minister, and Spanish teacher Pachy Bell. The purpose of the mission was immersion in Holy Cross life and Mexican culture. Students spent time with the elderly, children and youth groups of the parish.

Few Mexicans the group came in contact with spoke English. Though all participants except one, senior Erica Nunez, have studied Spanish, even advanced students had difficulties communicating.

For Nunez, the experience was educational and surprising.

"I anticipated having to spend the whole week unable to communicate with anyone we met," she said. "But I was able to understand a lot of what was said to me, because many words are similar to French and English."

Junior Susan Lloyd has taken Spanish for three years.

"It was frustrating at first, because I could barely understand what anyone was saying," she said. "But by the end, I could almost converse with people."

The first activity was accompanying Eucharistic ministers to the homes of sick or elderly parishioners who cannot attend Mass. Lloyd gained a new understanding of the Eucharist.

"Going to administer the Eucharist made me appreciate the sacrament more," she said. "Some of the people we saw could not even sit up, yet they had beautiful little altars and candles in their rooms. I could see in their tears and smiles how much they appreciated receiving the Host."

Senior John Blischak had a similar reaction. He visited a young man who could not sleep because he had sores all over his body.

"We saw firsthand the people who struggle with their faith in God because of their illnesses," he said.

Students attended Mass almost every day, twice on Sunday. Virtually all the Mexicans they came in contact with were members of the Holy Cross parish. Several missionaries, like junior Laurel Marshall, noted that faith was an integral part of Mexican life.

"Americans tend to keep God in church on Sunday, but in Mexico, that spirit was everywhere," she said. "People invited us into their homes on the slightest whim. Even people on the street seemed open to us, although we must have looked like bumbling foreigners."

The eight boys and Parrilla stayed with Father Pete Logsdon, a Holy Cross priest from Cleveland. The girls stayed with Sister Joan across town. Marshall enjoyed living with "Hermana Juanita."

"I never felt any sort of holier-than-thou vibe coming from her," she said. "Putting up with seven teenage girls who eat crazy amounts of toast for a week can't be easy for anyone, but she was gracious about it."

Senior Mac Woods had a similar experience with Logsdon.

"I expected him to be strict and businesslike," he said. "Instead he was laid-back and spent his free time watching sports like any other guy."

The group also spent time with Rosalinda Sanchez Garcia, the lead social worker of the parish. Woods was touched by her work.

"She loves and cares unconditionally and almost single-handedly makes sure every person in the parish is provided for," he said. "She learned all our names almost immediately, then continued to be interested in us. At the end, she gave us each a personalized note. I know she shows this kind of attention to every person she comes in contact with."

Mexicans greet all people with a handshake, a hug and a kiss on the cheek. At virtually every house, there were still elaborate Christmas decorations and also large crucifixes as permanent fixtures. Both impoverished and better-off families had shrines to the Virgin of Guadalupe.

Students experienced an unusual tradition when they visited a family party one night. Blischak summarized the cultural difference.

"We went to a birthday party where the first thing we did was recite the rosary," he said. "You just won't find that in America."

One afternoon, the group had a surprise assignment. They were to clean the house of Doña Romualda, a parishioner. She was old and frail, but for senior Kayla Maher, she had a child's enthusiasm.

"She was 90 going on 91 and had so much life in her," Maher said. "She made me realize that people can always be young at heart."

According to Blischak, she exemplified the pride of the Mexican people.

"We went to her house to clean, but she already had her daughter clean the house so we would feel welcome," he said. "She wanted us to come into her house as guests, not as volunteers."

Students jumped rope, juggled, picked oranges and sang in her backyard while Romualda clapped. They celebrated her upcoming birthday with cake and songs.

The Congregation of Holy Cross has two priorities--education in the faith and a preferential option for the poor. Brother Ken Haders, school president, thinks the mission to Monterrey carried out both of these priorities.

"The trip provides a chance for students to share their faith with their hosts," he said. "Students also grow in their awareness and sensitivity related to the poor."

One event gave students a deeper understanding of poverty and its effects. They visited a neighborhood called Las Sabanitas. The neighborhood was secluded on the farthest edge of the parish. The entrance was a trash-littered field leading to a long cinder block wall, covered with graffiti and with holes smashed in it for doors. "Houses" were makeshift shacks made of scrap metal, cinder blocks and pieces of wood. Senior Tom Metzger described the neighborhood.

"Paved roads, doors, garbage collection and security are things we take for granted," he said. "Watching a horse rummage around burning, rotting garbage for food is nothing I've ever seen [in America], but that's where they live. When we were playing soccer with one boy, he didn't think twice about having to step around poop in the road, or fish the ball out of garbage or kick a totally flat, dusty ball."

Many students felt guilty and expected to be depressed in such an environment. Instead, they discovered that Mexicans may know something about happiness Americans do not.

"I feel more mature, like I have a better appreciation for happiness and what is really important," Marshall said. "They know that it's not material things that matter, but family, friends and faith."

The students not only went to Las Sabanitas to see how the poor live but also to invite the kids to a party.

"We talked with a couple little girls, and just our presence made them excited," Blischak said. "We often search for happiness in an expensive car or nice vacation, but there is joy far greater in the slums of Mexico than in the luxuries we have here."

Maher was surprised by what she saw.

"Once we started talking to the kids, it was amazing to see that even they were content with what little they had," she said. "The people have almost nothing, but they don't ask for anything more."

Though leaving Mexico was emotional for the students, most think the experience will be continued.

Woods would like to return and stay with a family there.

"Almost everyone we got close to there offered us a place to stay if we ever go back," he said. "I want to spend my life doing the type of work I did when I went to Monterrey."

Marshall also knows she will return.

"The experience opened my mind to a whole new side of the world," she said. "Experiencing other cultures is something everyone should do, and what better way to do so than in friendship and faith?"