Throughout life we all have to discover who we are, where we come from and where we are going. Most of us follow predictable, typical and comfortable paths. Not so in the case of Fernando Gutierrez, a true seeker of the divine will. Many of those who know him say that he is the most providentialist person they have ever met. Today, October 12, this lay missionary undertakes a new journey, this time from Cantabria to Bethlehem. He tells about it in @peregrinoabelen
Who is Fernando Gutiérrez?
What a question. I'll answer by telling you where I come from and where I'm going. I grew up in Madrid in a Catholic family. I studied in the Passionists and the Jesuits. At the age of 17 I consciously moved away from God. Drugs began to be part of my life and my dealings with girls were a disaster. I was even expelled from the university... My life was guided by pleasure and fun.
And what made you change your life?
Getting to know the Melilla fence and the lives of people fleeing Africa in search of a better life in Europe. After studying journalism I lived in that city and eventually ended up telling the stories of those on the other side of our border. Later I went to cover the Gaza conflict that broke out in 2014. I had always wanted to be a war journalist and, although I was still not reconciled with God, from my African experience I kept asking God what He wanted to tell me with all the suffering I saw around me.
What was the next step?
I went to confession and went to Calcutta, because I had always been attracted to Mother Teresa's dedication, which I had learned about through the media. In my 30s I spent a year with the Missionaries of Charity in India and was truly reborn for the Lord.
What did you learn in India?
To trust in God and seek his will. My sacramental and prayer life grew thanks to the contact I had with the most needy. I learned to live from God, although obviously it is something I have to rediscover every day. I am not a model of anything, that much is clear to me.
In India, Our Lady also put in my heart the desire to take care of the little children, those who no one takes care of and who are Mary's children.
And that is why you founded the Mission of the Sons of Mary?
Well yes, that was the end result. But before that I entered the seminary of the Missionaries of Charity priests and spent four very happy years in Rome and Kenya, until the time came when I saw that God's will for me was to found Mary's Children Mission in Nairobi. I consecrated myself as a lay missionary and started a residence with 15 beds to care for pregnant teenage girls and give them training to enable them to take care of themselves and their children. I also spend a lot of time evangelizing children.
And what do they live on? How is it financed?
In the family of the Missionaries of Charity I learned to live by providence and this spirit has been with me ever since. To tell you the truth, we live from day to day and without asking, but the Lord is always great with us and sends us whatever we need. Many people who have heard about us send us donations.
In the two years of the mission, I have never been alone. There have always been volunteers who have accompanied me and, upon returning to their home countries, have become ambassadors of the project.
Well, as I see that you don't ask, I'm going to put a link to donation website in case any reader feels called upon to help...
(Laughter). Thank you very much.
And now you have decided to go to Bethlehem, for what reason?
The mission in Kenya is going quite well and I feel I should not get attached to it. God has sent another person who has consecrated himself and can take it forward. Since I was not sure what to do, I decided to go and live in Bethlehem for a while to discern God's will. It was there that the most important child in history was born and I feel that God is calling me to be there to see what is the next step he wants for my life.
And where does it come from to walk to Bethlehem from Santo Toribio?
Well, for years I have been friends with Carlota Valenzuela, who made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem on foot two years ago. Now she organizes pilgrimages for groups to Santo Toribio de Liébana. This summer I went on one of them and I felt that God was asking me to walk from the cross to Bethlehem, because in the Christian walk there is no life without a cross.
Well, it is clear that your logic is not of this world... What do you expect to find on this trip?
Many things, really, because it will be many months. Above all, I am open to God's gifts. I have put my trust in him, although that does not mean that I am not afraid of the uncertainty. After all, it is a long trip, I am going without money and asking for lodging to whoever wants to give it to me.
