Hello! My name is Melissa Camarena and I am 23 years old. I am from Downey, California and am currently doing volunteer work in Ciudad Juarez. I live in a community with 4 Salesian priests and 8 other volunteers from the US, Spain, other parts of Mexico, and Argentina.

My morning usually starts at 8 a.m. with morning prayer called “laudes”. In the morning prayer format, each volunteer takes a turn leading prayer or reading the Liturgy of the Word.

After that, each volunteer is sent off to his or her designated oratory to do any work that is needed. This ranges from trying to expand current projects, to organizing urban camps where we play and work through many activities with children.

The evening is my favorite time! This is the time where we go to the “brigada de alegria”. We go out into the neighborhoods, waving flags and calling kids out to play.

I’ve just started my journey here in Juarez, but I feel the next 10 months will be filled with new experiences and opportunities to grow.