When Louise Locke joined Maryknoll Lay Missioners, her vocation to accompany the elderly with care and compassion had been a lifelong passion. She could not have known that it would lead her to serve in new ways. While in Bolivia, a chance encounter with a woman dedicated to uplifting vulnerable mothers and children challenged her assumptions. And then came Jenifer—a 5-year-old whose unconditional love completely disarmed her.

At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended like fire—igniting hearts, breaking barriers, and sending ordinary people into the world to be agents of love and transformation. Today, that same Spirit is alive in the work of Maryknoll Lay Missioners, where missioners walk with the poor and marginalized across the globe, bringing presence, compassion, and hope. 

One of those missioners is Louise Locke, who has served in Bolivia for the past three years, accompanying seniors with deep care and devotion. Recently, while Louise was visiting a local family experiencing domestic violence, a five-year-old girl named Jenifer ran up and hugged her without holding anything back. 

“In that moment,” Louise shared, “Jenifer stole my heart.” 

What passed between them was something deeper than words: the healing power of human connection. Jenifer’s simple gesture was an expression of trust, and Louise’s presence offered her what every child needs—safety, affection, and love. The experience was a turning point for Louise, who is now exploring ministering to women and their children who are living in violent situations. It’s a new purpose Louise never saw coming. 

This is what mission looks like: moments of sacred encounter, moments that take giver and receiver—if you can even distinguish one from the other—down new paths together, toward a better future. 

But sustaining this work is increasingly becoming more difficult. 

Around the world, U.S. federal funding for aid programs has been slashed, leaving already vulnerable communities even more at risk. In Kenya, Sister Emily—a Catholic nun and nurse and the supervisor of our missioner Megan Hamilton—had to lay off 51 staff and shutter three community-based health centers after USAID funding ended. Over 1,700 HIV patients, most of them women and children, are now without consistent care. 

Kathy Flatoff, another missioner in Kenya, can no longer obtain Hydroxyurea for her sickle cell patients through traditional aid channels. She’s paying twice as much for the life-saving medicine from other sources. 

In South Sudan, Gabe Hurrish watched the only local primary school close when its meal program—funded by USAID—was cut. Food insecurity is increased, education for those children is impacted, putting them at greater risk of recruitment into violence. 

These are not abstract policy changes. These are real lives, real families, and real missioners trying to fill the void. 

This Pentecost, we ask you to join us in carrying the Spirit of compassion into the world. Your donation empowers missioners like Louise, Megan, Kathy, Gabe, and others to continue standing with the poor, the marginalized, and the forgotten. You can be part of the fire that brings light to places overshadowed by hardship. 

The Spirit is moving—through ordinary people, in extraordinary ways. Will you join us?

In hope and shared purpose,

Elvira Ramírez
Executive Director

P.S. Your support this Pentecost helps us continue vital ministries of healing, education, and accompaniment. Thank you for keeping the flame of love alive in our world!