Friday, November 23, 2012

Thanksgiving

Hello all! Happy Thanksgiving. We actually did celebrate it here and it was quite a feast. We invited a couple Honduran families that we know. It was really beautiful to see everyone celebrate together. We went around the table and everyone shared things they are thankful for. Something that struck me was that, in addition to giving thanks for all the obvious blessings (family, life, health, etc), several people gave thanks for the difficulties in life, because they were able to grow from them. I have never heard people name that on the list of thankfulness. But it is true. St. Paul says "in all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5: 18) Life isn't always easy. Being here isn't always easy. But I give thanks to God for those challenges. I have grown so much closer to Him and consequently, have grown so much as a human being.

Friday, November 9, 2012

Do Everything for His Glory

As inevitably happens in life, there are times when everyone else seems to be busy, but we have nothing to do. I think what choice we make in that moment is really important. We can chose to fill our time with the distractions of TV, Facebook, or whatnot. These things are not in and of themselves bad, but they really can distract a person from their faith and from life in general (You realize this when you suddenly no longer have access.) OR, you can find little ways of serving God by serving those closest to you. Sometimes that means doing the dishes or sweeping. Is that fun? No. But St. Therese was all about small things with great love. That way, the little action is transformed into a prayer.

I think that especially the Americans come here hoping to serve God in an "exciting" way. But the reality is that we do have to wash dishes because we use them to eat. We do have to sweep, even though it is a loosing battle against the dust. That is just part of life, but it is also serving God and neighbor if we do it with love. It is a difficult lesson to learn, especially when it happens somewhat frequently within a week. I am learning that there is more than one way we are missionaries building the Kingdom of God. Yes, there are talks and groups and retreats, there are one-on-one conversations, there is time to lift our ministries and neighbors up in prayer, there is time for us to be strengthened in our own faith to be able to serve better...but we are just as much missionaries in the ordinary day-to-day stuff. There is a song that says, "do everything you do for the glory of the One who made you." I am not there yet, but I want God to be able to work through me in everything throughout the day for His glory. I pray that we can all grow closer to this goal each day.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Weekly Update

Well, another week has come and gone. It was mostly normal. I had my regular tutoring schedule. I am starting to get to know the kids better. (And they are starting to remember my weird American name.) The kids are really fun to work with. They make me smile, even on days when I don't really want to tutor. I have also been going with the director of the scholarship program to visit the families of the kids and to check up on them. All of our kids come from great poverty and most come from very broken families. But in general, they are so much more joyful and loving than the kids I know in the States. There is a family that comes to daily Mass frequently and the kids ALWAYS hug every single person in the chapel and wish them peace. Saturday mornings, all of the kids from the scholarship program help with community service. Usually, we visit the house of an elderly person to help clean and to just visit them. I think this week we will be helping the Friars sort and package food for their distribution program. The kids are usually great about helping out, with a couple exceptions.

I think there were two highlights in my week. Last Friday I went with the Missionaries of Charity to help with a faith formation group in one of their aldeas. It was beautiful, and though fairly close to Comayagua, totally remote. And there is certainly mission work to be done there. When the Missionaries of Charity arrived four years ago, the people had absolutely no formation or faith of any sort. There is still a long way to go, but the people are growing and seemed grateful for our presence. Hopefully I will be able to go most Fridays.

Also, yesterday we went to visit the clinic run by the Friars. There is a medical mission here right now doing surgeries and they wanted us to come pray and talk with the families. We prayed a rosary and then talked and prayed with several families as they waited for their loved ones. It was definitely out of my comfort zone, but absolutely beautiful to see!  Stuff like that would just not work in the States, but the people here are so open and grateful, sometimes practically sharing their whole life stories and faith journeys with us.

Well, that about sums up my week. I hope everyone back in the States had a great one too!