God's Mercy in Ingrula

Last week I was able to go with the community on mission to a remote village called Ingrula. The people were very simple and extremely sincere in their faith. We were able to celebrate the feast day of the community (Annunciation) with them. They had a huge nearly all-night vigil where they sang and prayed. They got Mass, which, for a mountain village, is rare. We visited several families in the village. This involved A LOT of hiking as the village is built on two side of a steep ravine and the houses are spread apart. From the top of the village to the bottom there is probably a 1000-foot difference. And then you have to hike up to other side!

For me, it was a beautiful week. It helped remind me of how blessed I am to be here. The generosity of the people astounded me. At nearly every house they gave us eggs because they wanted us to have them to take back and share. It was incredible. I could see God in so many places: nature, the people, the adorable great-grandmother that kept asking us if we knew her grandchildren in the United States, the children, my team members that stepped out of their comfort zones to serve during the week...the list goes on and on.

The biggest lesson for me, though, was how God is merciful and answers our prayers even about the little things. We had hiked over two hours to reach another village for the day. It was time to return to Ingrula, but we were WAY behind schedule. We also had to climb up and over a huge mountain. Usually, I like being outside and hiking, but after doing so much already, I do not honestly know if I would have made it. I said a little prayer for help and God sent me a bus. We were able to take the 3:00 bus to the turn-off for our village. From there, it was still an hour hike, but downhill.

At the end of the week we were supposed to hike to the main turn-off for our village to be picked up there in the car. What had taken us an hour to hike down the day before now had to be climbed, with backpacks, guitars, sleeping bags and the suitcase full of random supplies. To make matters worse, the first mile or so was literally straight up the mountain with not even switchbacks to helps you out. I said another little prayer that we would not have to climb. As we were preparing to load a mule with at least some of our things, we heard the most wonderful sound...our car had come to pick us up.

These things, at the time, seemed so small. Why should I ask God for that? But He answered. He pays attention to the little details and uses them to show His mercy and love.

The Challenges of Honduras

When things go wrong in Honduras, they really go wrong. There are no safely nets here like we have in the States for people who are in crisis. Imagine, a family does not have enough food. There are no food banks here. A family lost their home. There are no shelters, only relatives. There is a situation of child neglect. There is kind of a powerless version of CPS, but they can’t make the decision to actually take the child away. A student needs extra help. There are no special education services. There is a seriously depressed person. The number of hoops to jump through to get them help takes two months. There is a medical emergency. The public hospital leaves them unconscious and does not attend to them for four hours. Add to that the fact that there has been no cell phone service for nearly a month because the government wants to curb the number of prisoners making calls (a great goal, but not great implementation). It has been a week of relying on God in prayer. We believe He can do all things and we say that so much, especially on mission. It is when things happen that you actually learn to believe it. He can do all things. In this we place our hope.

Suyapa and Other Fun

Well, last week was my first week with the new schedule. It was a good week, though this change will take some getting used to. Here are some highlights of the week.

• I did a self-evaluation thing with my students since we were starting a new term. When asked to describe her behavior, one girl wrote, "adorable." Another student said that the hardest thing about school was getting up in the morning.
• As a school we went to the Basilica of Our Lady of Suyapa in Tegucigalpa. It was beautiful to be there with the kids. I am thankful for the public schooling that I received, but it is also beautiful to be able to do things like this.
• This weekend I was a little stressed because I have some work to do with all my new classes, but we lost power. It was like God was saying: slow down and smell the roses. I have a feeling it will take me a lot longer to learn this one. I tend to rush rush rush when I know I have things to do

On a deeper note, being on this side of my second Christmas is a little bit of an eye-opener. I've been doing a lot of reflecting. I came with the desire to love the people of Honduras and to help. Simply put, but difficultly lived. Sometimes I succeeded and sometimes I let impatience or other things get in the way. But through it all, I can see how God has been working, in my heart, in the community, and in the lives of others we serve. All I  can do is look to heaven and say thank you and ask for the grace to continue and to deepen this path that I am on in these last couple of months.

New Challenges

Sometimes God changes our plans. That happened to me last week. One of the teacher's at the school didn't return after Christmas so the school asked me to stay for the afternoons too. Formerly, I was only there half-day. While I liked having other ministries and things in the afternoon, what else could I say but yes? Then I learned that I would be teaching four new classes starting Monday: seventh and eighth grade grammar and literature. Middle school is a little out of my element, but I have to trust that God is putting me right where He wants me to serve, even if that was not my idea of what the rest of the school year would be. It's going to take a lot of patience and trust. But after the initial shock of so many unexpected changes wore off, I found myself excited for these new challenges and opportunities. I have no idea what I am getting myself into. I know I need God's help. But this should be good.

A Late Update (Merry Christmas and Happy New Year)

Well, we are over half way through January so I should finally say I hope you had a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

For me it was a blessing to visit my family for Christmas. I'm not going to lie; it was a bit of culture shock at first returning to the States after a year. But it was good to spend time with my family.

Right now I am back in Honduras. I started school again last Monday. I really missed my students and they claimed that they miss me (though I doubt that now since we worked hard this week). It is good to be back with the community and to see everyone again.

Also, thank you to everyone who donated to the mission.

Photo Update

I hope your Advent is going well. Everything is great here. The mission last week went really well. Now I just have one more week until Christmas break. (Trust me, my students think they are already on break.) Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I finally posted more pictures. You can click the link above.

Advent Reflections

Happy Advent! It’s been a really busy week. It was the week of formation for Honduran youth, it is mission-prep week (even though I’m not going I still have my kid’s projects to create), and I had school. God has had to give me the strength to make it this week because it has been like living two days within the span of one day. I’m not complaining, though. I really enjoy school and I have enjoyed being present for part of the formation week and getting to know the youth. They should have a wonderful mission next week. They are hungry for God and hungry to bring Him to others.

Part of my job to prepare for the mission was to write the Advent reflections that will be copied and sent with each team. It got me thinking, what does Advent really mean? Sure we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ, we welcome Him into our hearts now, and we prepare for His coming in the future. But what is the deeper meaning? I think the words awe and longing sum that up for me this year. The longing we all have for God and for His love and the awe of one who realizes how much God loves us and that the creator of the universe became man and dwelt among us. Most the time I find myself simply brushing past that truth. I’ve heard it since I was little. But in the moments when I stop to think…wow.

Then today in school we celebrated Mass. (On a side note, they celebrated in English since it is a bilingual school and I have forgotten the responses in English!) In his homily, Father brought up an interesting point that I had never thought of before. We get gifts for friends, family, everyone. But we are celebrating the birthday of Jesus. What does He get? Father suggested asking Him what He wants (or better yet, just like with our own families, asking His mom what He wants.) Faith? Trust? A closer relationship with us? I just had never thought of it like that before.

I hope that this Advent we can all grow closer to God and look beyond the wrappings and the trappings. God bless.