One year after its launch in Bolivia, the “Encontrar Alegría MAG+S Sentido Sur” initiative—created and supported by the Daughters of Jesus since 2018— has arrived in the Dominican Republic. This summer, a group of eight young people, accompanied by Esther Sanz, a Daughter of Jesus, and Fonfo Alonso Lasheras, SJ, took part in the Sentido Sur – Mag+s – Daughters of Jesus “Encontrar Alegría” experience in the Dominican Republic. For several weeks, they shared in daily life and mission in different parts of the country: they volunteered at the Padre Dubert camp in BAO, lived alongside the rural community of Jicomé, and, through the ILAC Mission Foundation, joined the townspeople in simple tasks—digging ditches for an aqueduct, painting houses and the chapel, visiting families, and playing with the children—as well as meeting with the communities of the Daughters of Jesus and the Jesuit novices in Santo Domingo and Santiago.
At ” Finding Joy – Bolivia 2025″ (EA25), other young people discovered God in everyday life and in simple things, and we asked them where they find joy and how they share it. This year, in a different land and with different faces, that same question echoes once again.
The experience, lived “with others,” was for them a space of service, faith, and community that opened their eyes to a deep joy, born of encounter and welcome. Here we share some of their testimonies, which reflect how God makes himself present in the simple things, in shared life, and in every face they encounter.
Jesús Huertas
“Of all my experiences in the Dominican Republic, two things stand out. First, the community we’ve been building over the past month. It has been a gift to share life and discover true friends in the Lord—a community that feels called to serve, that prays, that shares deeply, and that grows together in mission. On the other hand, I’d like to highlight the warm welcome we received from everyone we met.”
The generosity with which they have welcomed us has helped me understand that a life shared with others is more valuable than many of the things we can do. This time has been a lesson in presence for me: learning to simply be, to avoid the focus on results that so often takes hold of us, and to discover that presence is also a gift.
How have I found God in this experience? The Sentido Sur experience has been a constant encounter with God: in the faces and stories we’ve encountered, in the beauty of nature, and, above all, in the discovery of Christ’s presence in every encounter. It has also been a time of overflowing gratitude, as we’ve realized that we’ve done nothing to deserve receiving so much, and have thus discovered that it is God who comes out to meet us when we think it is we who are going to meet Him.”
Marina Atienza
“Ever since I’ve been back in Spain, I’ve been thinking about posting some photos on Instagram that sum up our time in the Dominican Republic, but even though I have more than 1,000 photos, I still feel like they can’t even begin to convey one percent of what God has given us during this time.”
A phrase that has really resonated with me throughout this month is this passage by Pedro Casaldáliga: “At the end of the road, they will ask me: ‘Have you lived? Have you loved?’ And I, without saying a word, will open my heart, filled with names.” Jesus has been in each of those names—in the man who, though he had no food himself, gave each of us coffee; in the family that took us in when the storm was raging; in the hands that lovingly prepared our meals each day; in the elderly who, with nothing in their pockets, prayed and continue to pray that our deepest longings may be fulfilled. etc.
And I remember, in particular, those moments when we got on the bus after saying goodbye to everyone, and I could only shed a few tears of joy—because I felt so fulfilled in Him, because He reminded me that Jesus isn’t found in the material, routine life I tend to live without questioning myself too much, but rather in loving and serving to the point that leaves you so fulfilled it makes you realize you were empty until then.…”
Pilu Menor
“The Dominican Republic has been a very different experience from what I expected. I went with the intention of serving, and I’m returning with the feeling that I’ve received much more than I was able to give. I’ve met people who, despite their own struggles, face them with a joy and faith that have taught me more than I ever imagined. And I’ve taken away one key insight: there’s a big difference between giving everything and giving almost everything, because true love means holding nothing back.”
“I have felt God’s presence in many everyday things—in the people I’ve met, in conversations, in laughter, and even in moments of weariness. I’ve come to understand that God is very much present in the simple things and that, in the end, serving also means allowing oneself to be taught by everything one experiences.”
Andrés de las Heras
“Live today with faith and let yourself be surprised; for God’s plans are perfect.”
The Sentido Sur experience has given me a community of friends in the Lord who are eager to encounter Him and eager to support others’ journeys and share experiences, always with the common goal of enriching our neighbors’ encounter with Him.
Likewise, the Dominican people have helped me see God in their hospitality. Truly, fulfillment is not proportional to who has the most, but to who needs the least.
Ultimately, the Sentido Sur experience invites me to lift my gaze and embrace the most disadvantaged realities through service in everyday life and the consistency of living with gratitude for the headaches that, for many, are dreams that are difficult to achieve.”
Ines Ferrer
“Throughout this experience, I have been able to see God in my encounters with others and in the warm welcome we received at every place we visited. I have shared in His love through everyday things, in a presence that reveals itself in simplicity, and in the importance of being still and allowing Him to find me. The Dominican Republic, its people, and its culture have taught me a different way of living out my faith and welcoming others. I take with me the lesson of learning to simply be—without having to do much—simply accompanying others and learning from their way of life.”
Isa Carvallo
I’ll stick with the three pillars of Sentido Sur: Service, Faith, and Community. It is these three things together that have made my experience so rewarding and a place where I can encounter God. Three pillars that I am now unable to understand separately. Before I signed up for this experience, prayer and community seemed like secondary concerns to me. The only thing that mattered to me was service: what I was going to do, how, and with whom. Now I realize that without faith and community, that service would have fallen flat.
Times of prayer and spiritual guidance have helped me greatly to stay focused on what’s important and to free myself from thoughts, feelings, or emotions that distract me and keep me from connecting with others. The community has been an indispensable source of support that has enlightened me on many occasions, as well as giving me eyes to see and ears to hear things that I don’t notice on my own.”
Have you ever felt that sharing your life
fulfilled you more than any plan ever could?
