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Goodbyes and Hope

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Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in an immediate context of history, therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore, we are saved by love. -     Reinhold Niebuhr, 1952 Our current little missionary community :) (Anna, Ally, Olivia, Me, Emily) As I was reading “The Road to Character” by David Brooks, I came across this quote, and it resonated with me and something of my experience lately. If I replace “lifetime” with my lifetime at the Finca and my “immediate context” with this time at the Finca, I can recognize all the ways that I need to let hope, faith and love save me. An incident recently challenged my ability to hope. Reina and Pedro, beloved blood brother and sister (to each other, not to me ;) have lived at the Finca for over 10 years. They are kids who can talk for hours. Pe
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Be weak.

It has been almost a month since I came back to Honduras for year TWO. I was home in the USA from mid-December until mid-January for my sister’s beautiful wedding. It was unconventional for me to take my vacation for this next year so early (normally missionaries take their month in the states in the summertime), but it was worth it to celebrate such a joyous occasion with family and friends! My time at home was such a beautiful time to reconnect with the people who have known me the longest. Although I continue to get more and more comfortable in Honduras and grow to love people here more and more, it is important and rejuvenating to be home in the States. Since being back, I have been incredibly affirmed in my decision to stay a second year. It has been a month of palpable grace and consolation. During one of my first weekends back, we talked as a new missionary community about our vision for this next year. We are 6 single women and a family with two daughters – ages 5 and 7. On
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New Missionaries and Life Update

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It has been a wonderful month beginning with the arrival of four girls and a family of four. After their language school in Antigua on October 5 th they came to the Finca wide-eyed, excited, spirit-filled and ready to learn! From 7 (L to R: Laura, Emily Cook, Selena, Me, Kassidy, Emily Wilson, Melanie not pictured) To 15! (L to R: Selena, Me, Kassidy, Olivia, Eric, Dayelle, Chiara (7yo), Anna, Adelina (5yo), Nicole, Ally, Laura, Emily Wilson, Emily Cook) I am especially grateful to have some fantastic help and companionship in the clinic with Dayelle, the new nurse. Managing things on my own was do-able this past year, but it is so welcome to have another person coming up with good ideas as well as another person mopping the floor 😉  Some highlights of our time in the clinic so far have been:   Killing a tarantula   Organizing all of the neighbor’s health records by birth date instead of last name…(my conversations with patients used to go something like th
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Sencillez

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Out of the four pillars of the Finca – Spirituality, Community, Simplicity and Service – simplicity is the pillar that I thought would be easiest for me at the Finca. The meaning of simplicity seemed straightforward: Simplicity = not having lots of fancy things and not doing extravagant things Cheque. I don’t wear a lot of makeup, don’t have a lot of clothes, and don’t really like spending money. Using cold water for showers and washing my clothes won’t be a big deal. I will probably like it! These were my thoughts upon arrival to the Finca. However, reflecting on simplicity and my nine months at the Finca, I realize that my original mentality does not even scratch the surface of what simplicity means. I do not pretend to have the perfect answer now, but I desire to share some of what I have learned in my time here in Honduras, a country so utterly different than my home in the United States. I think simplicity has less to do with how much we have and more to do with
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Another Beautiful Home

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It has been a wonderful several months as I look back on my time in Honduras so far. About a month ago my parents, Theresa, and Luke came to visit! It was such an incredible gift to have them. I was deeply grateful that despite the language barrier, they were more or less able to experience my life at the Finca, even getting glimpses of the kids’ personalities, and definitely getting to know my missionary community. We spent some time together at the Finca and then a few days at a resort nearby. The time together with family is priceless. I look back fondly on the time we got to sit outside looking up at the star filled sky and listening to the waves of the Northern sea. Myself, former summer missionary Javi, Doctor Julio and summer missionary Marshall Actually, we have had numerous visitors to the Finca recently! During the summer, 4 shorter-term missionaries come for 10 weeks to cover for us while we go on vacations and to experience our life. It has been amazing and fruitf
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It Feels Like Lent

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Greetings and salutations dear supporters, friends, family, and random visitors to this blog post! I report to you from a semi-stifling hot clinic on a Friday afternoon. I want to share a cool little experience I had that was so consistent with the Lord’s work in my life. This week was particularly challenging. It was the week after a group of dentists (from Minnesota!) came to clean all of our kids teeth, fill some cavities and a big surprise – a nurse came too who helped me organize the clinic a bit more! They were fantastic and it was actually a welcome job to be their personal helper for the week. It was a new change of pace and I enjoyed their company in the clinic with me as I toted the kids to and fro and translated for them, especially with the younger ones who don’t like big needles – odd, no? It was an exhausting week though, and I think I came into Monday very tired. Unfortunately, Monday was a hectic clinic day. Since we had the dentists, we cancelled clinic the week b
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'Twas the night before mission

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It is the night before I set out for the Finca for round two. There are quite a few thoughts buzzing around my head. I've gone back to the initial call during my time at home. What was God speaking to me? And  what was He inviting me into? Quite simply, He called me to trust Him. Could I go to an unknown place and begin a new job and speak a new language in order to spread the love of Jesus Christ? Turns out, absolutely not! I cannot. I guess that's the main thing I've learned so far. I reach the end of my capacity pretty quick. However, over my time at home, I have had all the time in the world to think and to pray. I have been so focused on my own incapacity at the Finca, letting it weigh me down. God's very simple message to me over this break with family is that life is so much simpler than I want to make it. God loves me. He delights in me. It's that simple. It seems silly to write it down like this. But it's not silly; it's incredibly importan
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