Another post

From left: Francesca, Allison (missionary class antes),
Cassie, Christopher (cherished 1 man show), Cat,
Zulena, Ysmary (director at the Finca), Emily, Me,
Kassidy (missionary class antes).
*Allison, Kassidy, Zulena, and Ysmary came to
help with the retreat.

God needs these hands to do His work...to help His people. These are similar to the words Vincente said to Zulena during their first meeting before starting Finca del Nino. During our missionary retreat a few weeks ago in a beautiful convent near Antigua, Zulena told us the inspiring story of the start of the beautiful mission which we are now so blessed to be a part of. She began by explaining how she (a native Guatemalan from Antigua) and Vincente (an American volunteer from NJ) met and how
Vincente felt called to start a children's home in a tiny, rural, war-stricken part of Guatemala. Only later did God slowly call Zulena to be a missionary as well and eventually take over the mission in Honduras after Vincente's tragic plane crash during their first year in Honduras. It is easy for me to relate to her feelings of doubt about whether this was just Vincente's call, or if God was also calling her. Growing up in such wonderful communities of faith - my family, Community of Christ the Redeemer, NET, SPO, Benedictine, and now Finca del Nino, it is easy to sometimes overlook the reality that Jesus is calling ME, not just those strong people surrounding me.

However, recently, the most amazing part of being in Antigua is revealing God's gracious hand very specifically in my own life. "The most amazing part" being getting to know my fellow missionaries and fellow tourists. Yeah, I'm a tourist I guess. In an incredibly God-orchestrated moment, I was running with two women up to the famous Cierre de la Cruz in the North of Antigua, a Methodist priest and a Methodist bishop both of whom I met at school. When I got to the top of the stairs at the large cross, I ran right into a new friend - Nicole. It just so happened that during her first week in Antigua (the week prior to our meeting), Nicole had begun to take be drawn to the Lord and exploring faith. Not knowing this, but just chatting with her, I found out that she had run up there as well, and we quickly planned to meet up the next day to run. Besides our shared love of running, she is also studying nursing, and our birthdays are one day apart. The second time we ran together, I told her the whole, long story about Zulena and Vincente's story of love and call to mission. At the time, I was thinking, "Does she even care about this? Is this interesting to her?" I did not even really know if she was a fan of missionaries or of God or anything that I was telling her about. Turns out, she's a fan. A big fan. And she wants to be an even bigger one. Later, she told me that hearing that story was another one of the many signs God has been showing her the importance of faith. I have never experienced someone coming to truths about God like she is and shares with me in our conversations while running. Now, we spend a lot of time together and the other Finca missionaries call her "
friend" as well. Jesus is certainly using her to strengthen my faith, and I believe He is using our example to encourage her as well. It is so incredible to be part of this mutual discovery!

See Sonia - in my lap.

Wearing traditional clothes
for Independence Day (9/15).

I continue to grow in Spanish speaking and my relationships with my incredible host family and my wonderful teacher, Sonia. Speaking Spanish continues to try my patience as I need to think about
almost every word, every conjugation and tense so hard right now. I kind
of expected to have a *click* moment by now which would result in perfect fluency. Apparently, it does not work like that...at least for me. However, I can definitely see progress in my speaking and definitely in understanding, which is reassuring. The kid in the green in the picture to the right is not serving at the Finca - as you may have feared. He is just a great pal studying at our school. I got to play basketball with him on my birthday which was a riot!

Volunteering at Obras Especiales has been a great opportunity to spend time with children found on the streets with Cerebral Palsy and other severe brain disorders. These disorders leave them bed/wheelchair bound. They also cannot speak. However, they can communicate in other ways - especially through play. Many of them smile/laugh most of the time I've spent with them. They make little jokes. For example, one little girl scoots toward the side of her crib and "hits" her head on it. Afterwards, she dies of laughter while I play along, "Pobrecita, tu cabeza es muy preciosa; cuidado!" Although it is pretty exhausting, I enjoy it and am filled with life after my time there. I have learned a bit about patience and creativity in even my short time there. These kids have taught me something essential about being human: being human has nothing to do with accomplishing tasks. It is about being and receiving. I want to learn to "be" and to receive - to receive God's love as these kids received me, so joyfully.

Yes, this is for sure from google images
(I still do not have a phone to take pics),
but let me assure you, what I saw was
even more beautiful than this!!

In other news, I had the most beautiful nature experience of my entire life hiking up Volcan Acatenango. Talk about receiving God's love! This trip was a real gift for me. We hiked up to 3,600 meters above sea level and camped in tents with a perfect view of Volcan Fuego (a very nearby volcano). Fuego went absolutely crazy while we were up there - spouting fire like a champ. It was similar to fireworks - but oh so much better. The fire spurted out of the volcano in huge bursts and then fell in sparkling diamonds cascading down the side of the volcano.

I have had an incredibly full time here in Antigua - it is crazy there are less than two weeks left! I'm very excited to settle in my home in Honduras, however. Please pray for the transition for all of us as we leave for Honduras on September 29th at 2am :)