The Power of Prayer

Every Sunday I go to a nearby village with several other Missioners. They help with different catechesis groups for the kids, preparation for First Communion, etc. I meet with a group of mothers from the same village to do faith formation as well. Sometimes I am really not sure who is the missionary. Yes, I come with a theme prepared for the day to teach them the basics about our Catholic faith, but they teach me so much more about life in the process. Their simple faith and trust in God for even the most basic things is astonishing. I think we mutually learn from each other.

That was the case last Sunday when I asked one of the mother's how her week went. She started to tell me how her grown son works as a guard for a Pepsi truck in the North. That's a pretty dangerous job and in a pretty dangerous place. Every morning at 5am before he goes to work, she prays for him, asking that God will protect him from harm throughout the day. One particular morning she prayed as usual and then proceeded in her normal daily routine. But in the middle of the day she felt an overwhelming need to kneel and pray intensely for her son. She didn't know why, but knelt to pray. Later she learned that at the exact same time, six armed robbers had attacked the truck that her son was guarding. He threw himself on the ground to protect himself and a stray bullet caught his leg, though it missed shattering the bone. He was brought to the hospital and is recovering marvelously. The mother attributed his survival and the fact that the bullet didn't hit his bone to the power of prayer.

What have we been up to?

I just want to write a quick update on what has been going on the last couple of weeks. I updated the pictures a few days ago. We sent our last summer team home a couple weeks ago. All three teams that came for the summer were great. I think they all had a wonderful time and learned a lot. However, I think three missions is enough and I was glad for a little peace. The new long-termers have arrived now and will be going to Antigua soon. (I can't believe I was there a year ago!) Last weekend we went on a community retreat and it was good to get away for a couple days. Next week we will be leading the same confirmation retreat four times in different corners of one of the very rural parishes right along the El Salvador border. Please keep us in your prayers.

One Year

Well, I thought I would update the blog today since I have been here a year. Wow, a whole year! So much has happened, but it has been an incredible blessing to be here. I was thinking about all that God has allowed me to experience and do this year and it seems simultaneously like a blink of an eye and like several lifetimes. Most of my preconceived ideas about what it means to be a young adult serving in a foreign country were quickly squashed and I learned to simply love people and serve God in the small ways (this is a work-in-progress still).  It has been a year of growing, serving, changing, questioning, loving, hiking, writing, talking, translating, smiling, crying, laughing, hugging, dancing, praying, picture-taking, teaching, learning, searching, finding, cooking, cleaning, stretching, caring, gluing, cutting, organizing, listening, sharing, reading, helping, missioning…….

World Youth Day

Well, Pope Francis has certainly been challenging the youth, as he has been challenging pretty much everyone else since he became Pope. Unfortunately with the upcoming mission we can't watch any of the footage on the internet, but I read his message to the youth of Argentina this morning.Yikes. In honor of World Youth Day, I thought I would post some highlights from that.

I would like to say something. What do I expect as a consequence of the Youth Day? I expect a mess. There will be one. There will be a mess here in Rio? There will be! But I want a mess in the dioceses! I want people to go out! I want the Church to go out to the street! I want us to defend ourselves against everything that is worldliness, that is installation, that is comfortableness, that is clericalism, that is being shut-in in ourselves. The parishes, the schools, the institutions, exist to go out!

Messes aren't comfortable, nor do we like being uncomfortable, but if I have learned anything here, it's that if I am totally comfy and taking it easy, I'm not following Christ.

And faith in Jesus Christ isn’t a joke, it’s something very serious, it’s a scandal. That God came to make Himself one of us is a scandal! And that He died on the Cross is a scandal, the scandal of the Cross. The Cross continues to be a scandal, but the Cross is the only sure way, Jesus is the only sure way, Jesus’ Incarnation! Please, don’t liquefy faith in Jesus Christ! There is orange milk shake, apple milk shake, banana milkshake, but please, don’t take liquefied faith! The faith is whole, it’s not to be liquefied. It is faith in Jesus. It is faith in the Son of God made man, who loved me and died for me.

So much for domesticating our faith, which is so easy to do, especially in the States, because it is easier and more comfortable. Like CS Lewis says, Christ was either a lunatic, a liar, or the Son of God. Notice that nice teacher isn't on that list.

Have a blessed week and I pray that as the world see more of what Pope Francis has said we are all uncomfortable and challenged.

Do you believe in miracles?

You always hear about the miracles that Jesus worked in the Bible. Every once in a while you hear of something incredible that happened to someone who knows someone who knows someone. It is easy to say we believe in miracles, but I don't know if I ever really believed what I said. I think God is trying to teach me that He still works powerfully in the lives of those who have faith because these last couple weeks I have been hearing story after story after story.

It started with my mothers group that I lead on Sundays. I have been meeting with them for almost five months, but they are finally opening up to me. As I listen to their life stories I am amazed. They have nearly no access to medical care and have told me many of their family histories when someone was seriously ill and then somehow recovered. One mother was suicidal because her husband left her. She was also pregnant at the time. But she picked up a Bible and started to read. That was a year ago and she probably participates in the group more than any other. She is totally different now. I count that as a miracle.

This lesson in miracles continued on this last mission to La Union. On several house visits the woman told me about ways that God had worked in their lives. The first told me about how she had serious heart troubles and was in the hospital. She could hear everything, but couldn't open her eyes or move. The doctors thought she was dead because her vital signs stopped and her husband has crying over her. She could feel his tears on her cheeks. She prayed to God and then opened her eyes to comfort her husband. And that was just one woman. There were several others.

Whether you call these miracles or simply God working in people's lives, it is humbling to hear. Maybe the reason we find it hard to believe in miracles is because we don't trust in God. We are self-sufficient. We can go to the doctor. We know where our next meal is coming from. When something goes wrong there is a safety net. The people here have none of that. They know their absolute and total dependence on God. It is something profound that we can learn from them.

Why Me?

Sorry this post has been a while in coming; we’ve been busy. But now that the team has left for the States I can finally write an update.

We had the first mountain mission of the summer last week. I went to two villages: Plan Grande and Quebradas. They were both very beautiful towns high up in the mountains in the heart of coffee territory. The title of this post refers to a question I asked myself continuously throughout the week, not in a negative way, but with awe and gratitude.

It is incredible to think that God has me of all people in a foreign country, in a place few ever see, working among such incredible people as a missionary. Every time I gave a talk or had a conversation I wondered why God chose me. I have done things I never thought I would do here. Wasn’t there someone better to work alongside the Hondurans? It is a mystery why God chose me, a mystery I doubt I will ever know the answer to. But that’s ok because I chose to live it and embrace it. I am so grateful for this.

Summer is Here!

Well, summer has started. Our first team is down here right now and we finished orientation for the Hondurans that will be with us this summer. It is a little surreal that we have teams again. I feel like we just did this in March. But I am excited. It is sometimes a personal challenge with the teams because you get to know them well, but then they leave. And when you are first getting to know them, you know that they will soon be leaving. It would be much easier simply to give my orientation talks and complete whatever other responsibilities I have without really getting to know the groups. But part of our job as the North Americans on mission is to accompany them and help walk with them through this experience. I remember how important that was for me when I first came down, that someone listened to my questions, concerns, frustrations, and excitements and taught me about the life here and what it means to be a missionary. It is essential for them too and so even though it is a challenge, it is worth it. It is also a blessing because I am reminded of why I am here. (I don’t know how many times I have told my story, but it’s a lot.) I am also reminded of why we are here. It really is a blessing. Please pray for us next week while we are on mountain mission!