José Luis Laporta is 18 years old and, as he himself explains, has made “a total pause” in his life to collaborate for a year “with the Church in evangelization through the charism of Regnum Christi”. He is currently an auxiliary in the ECYD at Everest School Monteclaro Nathan Wayne, LC. Nathan Wayne, LC. His relationship with Regnum Christi goes back a long way, he studied in a Regnum Christi school from a very young age, in the Highlands International School Mexico, In her family, her mother was also a collaborator: «She always told me her stories and I said to myself ‘someday I want to live it’”. She has this course ahead of her and, with the imprint of the good she has lived and done, on her return to Mexico she will study Business Analytics. José Luis tells of his experience and invites young people his age to be collaborators: “If God has given you these concerns, trust that it was for a reason.
What is the mission of a collaborator, and yours specifically in the Everest ECYD?
What I do is to collaborate with the Church in evangelization through the charism of Regnum Christi. And now that I am here I could summarize it as making the children know Christ more and more every day. In what I have been doing I can tell you that it has been a very strong process personally, because when I talk to them about Christ in my daily life, when I have to give a talk to the kids, do dynamics, give accompaniment, etc... you fall more in love with Him as you try to transmit Him.
What has surprised you the most during this time?
First of all, to discover how human the priests are. Living with them you get to know them as people, and I am really grateful to my community, the Cerro del Coto community, for their openness and fatherhood with me.
Then, I would not know how to define it, but it is when, talking with a child, trust grows and they manage to open up with me about their life... and at that moment when I tell them something, a piece of advice, a phrase or a quote, and how their eyes open in surprise, as if they had finally found the answer. Those moments have filled me with joy and are what have made my year even more worthwhile.
How did you feel the call to this mission within Regnum Christi? Does Christ call in person?
It all starts since I was little, my mother was a collaborator and she always told me her stories and I would say to myself “someday I want to live it”. The key moment was in 2017 when I went to study at Dublin Oak I lived with 6 collaborators, who were like my older brothers and sisters, and I learned a lot from them. When I returned I became responsible for ECYD, so my relationship with the collaborators was much closer and each year I was marked by something: their joy, their knowledge, their enthusiasm... And at that moment I knew that God had called me to give a year of my life.
José Luis, how is your prayer life at the moment? Is it more intense than when you lived at home?
It is much more intense. It has become more personal, since no matter where I am, I have a chapel or a place to pray, and I have learned to pray better and have realized that prayer is essential for our daily life and to know Christ.
How did your environment receive the news: family, friends...?
They have taken it quite well, my family was very happy. My friends were sad to see me go, of course, but they were happy for me.
What do you expect to happen in your personal life during this year as a collaborator?
I know it may sound a bit romantic, but talking to God so much gives you a lot of light and clarity. This year through prayer I have been able to name many things that I wanted to work on in myself. During this year I hope to grow a lot personally thanks to this, and that at the end of my year I will continue in contact with God to continue growing in my relationship with Him, with others, and with myself.
José Luis, why do you think the presence of collaborators in the Regnum Christi family is important? What would you say to a boy of your age who is thinking about it?
The fact of being a teenager who has put a total pause in his life to give a year to God is a gigantic testimony with the people... it is the fact of being a collaborator and that what you do influences and impacts the children, apart from the fact that you can do a lot of good in their lives and in the apostolate.
To someone who is thinking of becoming a collaborator, I would tell them not to be afraid, it is an incredible experience. Of course it is scary to leave your whole life behind for a year, friends, family, studies... but the reward has been much greater. It is something you should try, and if God has given you these concerns, trust that it has been for a reason.
