Home for Christmas?

I apologize - this post is long overdue! I have been home in Minnesota for 3 weeks after being unexpectedly evacuated from Honduras due to political turmoil. Let me explain...

We traveled from the northern coast, Trujillo, to Comayagua

and then flew out of Tegucigalpa

The 12 missionaries of the Finca and I went on a retreat in Comayagua, Honduras on November 28th - right after the presidential election. We have been aware of this election during our time in Honduras - seeing signs with the faces of the incumbent president Juan Orlando Hernández and his rival Salvador Nasralla all around the small town of Trujillo. An important note on Orlando - during his presidency, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (his specially chosen pals) changed the law to allow a second presidential four-year-term. Before this change, no president was allowed to be president longer than 4 years. This change was a low and sketchy move if you ask me. There are quite a few shady things in the way of elections - dead people "vote" for the lucky party who finds their name; mysterious "power-outages" supposedly occurred in this and in the previous election and when power returned, Orlando gained a commanding lead; and all sorts of strange mishaps occurred in this election where many votes went "missing."

Reunited with Kate Gapp -
current MC and previous NET
missionary (with me)!

Anyways, we arrived to the Missioners of Christ (MC) headquarters in Comayagua and were welcomed with open arms. The missionaries there were generous enough to share their large retreat center connected with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal - the C.F.R.'s. The MC's were leading a missionary training for Honduran youth who were hoping to go to the mountains and preach the gospel to the people up in those rural areas. It was very inspiring to see these teenagers' excitement to be on mission over the few days they were there. Unfortunately, most of the youth returned to their homes, and they cancelled the missions because of the unrest slowly building. The first sign of trouble was a "toque de queda" or curfew placed by the Honduran government from 6pm to 6am to limit violence from protests and riots. For us, this meant that we were "stuck" on retreat for a few more days because we were many hours from our home in Trujillo, and there were already roadblocks on many of the major highways.

Do not be fooled by the basketball hoop!
This is a concrete futbol court ;)

A little praise and worship on the roof
 with the laundry!

Within the sturdy cinderblock walls of the huge retreat center, however, we were extremely safe. We did not only have physical protection, but the place was extremely grace-filled. It was a gift to be integrated into the Missionaries of Christ's life of prayer and sacraments. We took the time to reflect on our missionary call at the Finca, grow as a community, and intercede for peace in Honduras. I think most of us felt our littleness there in that big fortress. On the one hand, we were like little kids hiding away from the danger looming outside those walls. On the other, it was a powerful gift to have united missionary groups tapping into the Source of all power through our prayers. During holy hour in the evening, we could hear people making a lot of noise in their houses - fireworks and the unified voices of protesters, energized with the call for justice. I came to realize the power of intercession in a new way. I was overcome with the powerful confidence that Jesus is Lord - of my own heart, of the Finca community and the kids back in Trujillo, of the people of Honduras, of the president, of any corruption or violence...on and on for infinity He continues to be the Lord! 

The Missioners' beautiful chapel

In the midst of all the hectic political turmoil there, Jesus continued to be concerned about my own heart. I am a completely spoiled little girl! We got to hear a reflection from one of the friars, and he explained the daily Ignatian examen prayer in a way I had never heard before. He said that every day can be seen through the lens of a testimony of how the Lord has worked. You can look back at your day and answer three questions, "Where was I?" "What did God do?" and "Where am I now?" However, the novel part of this for me was that where God comes in is not necessarily (or not only) at the easy moments of our day - when we encountered a beautiful sunset and our heart was lifted to the heavens, or when we had a great conversation and felt really great about ourselves. Rather, He is there in the most difficult point of our day. He is there calling to us as we are being stretched, feeling inadequate and humbled, when things are not turning out as we planned. A point in the day when I felt most misunderstood or forgotten - could this be Christ reaching out to me allowing my heart to recognize how it can only be filled by Him? Of course, finding the God in suffering is not a new idea at all - in fact it is the heart of the Christian call. The cross, a picture of suffering, is also the symbol of Christianity. Passing our troubles and our heart through the cross allows us to delve deeper into the life of Christ. These are definitely words I have heard much of my life, but somehow through that C.F.R.'s talk and the quiet hours of adoration in the middle of a tumultuous time they took on a reality of peace and closeness to God.

Amidst our deepening in faith and growing excitement to return back with increased vigor to the kids at the Finca, the news in the country kept getting worse. The Board of the Finca in the United States worked tirelessly to discuss and make a plan for how we should move forward. After their late-night conference, they informed us that we were going to leave Honduras. Around 12am, we all bought our tickets (fearing that the flights might fill quickly), and we left a day later. It was very sudden in some ways, but I think the Lord had been slowly preparing me by showing me His goodness and complete control. It was a fittingly Adventy call to say, "Thy will be done." Of course, it is also such a gift to be home. I have gotten to meet my new niece, Elin, go skiing in Colorado, take hot showers, fully understand mass in English, and drink coffee with real cream among many other blessings.

From what I have heard, life continues on at the Finca fairly smoothly. All are safe in Trujillo - Praise the Lord! I live in great hope that we will be returning quite soon. The update so far is that the incumbent president, Orlando, has won the election, despite all of the alleged shady business. The Organization of American States has done investigations and found many inconsistencies in the election. However, unfortunately, the U.S. has congratulated Orlando on his victory, showing support/overlooking the corruption that is going on. The people of Honduras are angry, and I have no idea where the country will go with this news in the next few weeks. Please offer a mass, a rosary or a simple prayer up for the people of Honduras. The King of Nations is in control - let us beg Him for justice and peace in Honduras!