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!