Lent Continues...

Buenos dias/tardes/noches (depending on when you’re reading this)!

As I write this, the other missionaries and I are preparing (slightly feverishly) for the arrival of 2 mission groups from the US who will be arriving this weekend. Both are groups of university students on spring break who are coming down for a week-long mission trip. Much to do before they arrive!

As we enter more deeply in to Lent, I want to reflect a little bit on something really important, and something almost none of us have enough of: silence. I had the blessing to go on a 2 day silent retreat this past week, and although it was short, it was truly amazing. We are all surrounded by “noise” almost constantly: TVs, cell phones, computers, people, music, announcements……and other things that don’t necessarily make noise, but fill our souls with noise: stress, millions of things to do. The world speaks to us with constant noise. God speaks to us in silence. It is only when we try to separate ourselves from these things and calm our hearts that we can truly hear His voice. Mother Teresa used to say: “The fruit of silence is prayer; the fruit of prayer is faith; the fruit of faith is love; the fruit of love is service; the fruit of service is peace.” So it all stems from silence!

Entering in to just 2 days of complete silence really is like entering in to a different world. It makes you think differently, realize small things that you normally pass over, and helps you to see how God is working in little ways. It’s so hard to “tune out” all the noise in our daily lives and take time to just be. But how important it is! God is not going to try to compete for our attention. He calls us quietly.

The other day during holy hour, I was just reflecting on two things: what do I want to do; and who do I want to be? Do the things I do help me to be the person I want to be? And the answer to that, many times, is “no.” I want to be a person who loves, who tries to help others, who tries to reflect God’s light in the world. But do I really work super hard to love? Many times, no. I think all of us can agree that, deep down at least, we all know that love is the reason we are here. Do we work harder on loving than on all the other things in our lives? Often times I put more effort in to my facebook than I do in loving! How sad! Let’s try to put the things we do in line with the people we want to be.

One last thing. The other night, it was suuuper hot here, and I couldn’t sleep at all. We had a prayer vigil throughout the night, where each person signed up for 1 hour to pray in front of Jesus in the Eucharist. My hour was 2am to 3am, and I barely slept at all up until this time. And afterwards, I had to get up at 5am, like every day. I was really grumpy on the way to Mass in the morning, and just wallowing in self-pity (woe is me, I didn’t get any sleep, etc etc). Up until the time Mass started I was just in a horrible mood! And then, God spoke to me: “Eric, there are people who can’t sleep a minute because they have chronic pain shooting like lightning through their body. There are children in Africa who have to huddle together and sleep outside because they live in fear of being taken from their families and forced to be child-soldiers. And you are going to complain because you had one bad night of sleep? And on top of that, you got to spend one hour of your night with Me.” Well! Needless to say, after that loving reprimand from God, I was completely humbled and ashamed, but at the same time really grateful. My bad mood became one of peace in about 2 seconds. God is so good at doing that!

Ok, I should get going…lots to prepare before tomorrow! Please pray for us this week and next week as we serve the people in the mountain villages! God bless!

Eric

The Pope, Lent, and Mission

Hello again, from hot and humid Comayagua! Hope all of you in the north eastern part of the States are fairing alright with all that snow!

Well, we were all shocked to find out about the Pope´s resignation on Monday. My first reaction was sadness. Benedict is my Pope! I lived in Rome with him for a year, attending all the events of the Church with him, witnessing him stand in the heat of the sun for more than 3 hours during Palm Sunday Mass, cheering for him in Spain during World Youth Day, even climbed scaffolding to see him on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Some of the other students of the Emmanuel School of Mission and I even got to sing happy birthday to him (remember that guys?!)! It´s so strange that he won´t be our Papa anymore.

And yet, getting to watch him in Rome, reading his writings, and seeing the type of man he is, I´m sure that this decision comes from God. Pope Benedict is a man of deep prayer and humility, a person who seeks out God´s will, no matter how difficult it will be, and no matter how many people will oppose him for following it. Knowing this then, we can rest at peace, knowing that this decision is from the Holy Spirit, and that God will provide the guidance and wisdom for choosing a knew Pastor for our Holy Roman Catholic Church. How exciting! Who knows where our next Pope could be from? United States???.........we shall see! Let us pray for Pope Benedict and his decision, and for our next Pope. God knows he´ll need it!

And somehow or other, so soon after Christmas, we find ourselves in Lent!! How that exactly happened, I´m not completely sure…but here we are! After thinking a lot about what I can do and what I can give up this Lent to come closer to God, something kept returning to my mind over and over again – if it doesn’t help you to love, then it´s not worth it. I know someone who tried to live on bread and water for all 40 days of Lent. They succeeded, but they also succeeded in being quite impatient and aggressive with others, due to the constant rumbling of their belly! So we can reflect on that thought this Lent: is this helping me to be a more loving person? If it´s not, let´s toss it out and search for something to give up that gets in our way of loving!

Just one more quick reflection on mission in general. I had to read Pope John Paul II´s encyclical Redemptoris Missio in order to prepare myself for this mission. I´ve been reflecting lately on the following passages:

           

¨The mission demands holy missionaries. Let us remember the missionary enthusiasm of the first Christian communities. Despite difficulties, the Gospel quickly reached the ends of the earth. And this was the religion of a man who died on a cross! Underlying it all was the holiness of the first Christians……The missionary is a witness to the experience of God, and of the inner joy that comes from faith. In a world tormented and oppressed by so many problems, a world tempted to pessimism, the one who proclaims the Good News must be a person who has found true hope in Christ.¨

Well, JPII is definitely calling me out here! Thanks a lot buddy……No but seriously, it really makes me think – what does my life say to others? Does my life say, even without words, that I love God? Does it speak of that ¨inner joy that comes from faith¨? As we are all called to be missionaries, we can all reflect on this question. What does our life say? Does it express our deepest beliefs about life and love? If not, what can we do concretely in our every day life to make that happen more and more?

Sorry for giving out homework this week! But it´s Lent, right! I´ve gotta punish you somehow!! Kidding, kidding! We´ve already established, Lent is about love!

I hope you have marvelous week! You are all in my prayers. Peace of Christ!

Eric

Retreat at the Beach

Hola!

Well, much has happened in the past week since I last wrote!

All of the missionaries and some of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal piled in to a 15 passenger van and headed north to the city of La Ceiba, on the coast. This was my first trip to the beach, so obviously I was super excited! But our purpose there didn´t really include relaxing out on the sand…we were there to put on a retreat for 170 young people.

The name of this type of retreat is Pan de Vida, or Bread of Life. The purpose is to give young people a real experience of Jesus, truly present in the Eucharist. Often as Catholics, we grow up hearing again and again that Jesus is present in the Blessed Sacrament, but it never really means anything…we go up to receive that ¨piece of bread¨ each Sunday at Mass. During Pan de Vida, we try to help young people experience for themselves that this is no mere ¨piece of bread,¨ but that it is Jesus among us! So yes, there are talks and activities and such, but our goal isn’t to intellectually convince anyone of the truth of this Church teaching. It´s to help people to meet Jesus, alive today. So we have adoration of the Blessed Sacrament during the whole retreat! Jesus in the Eucharist is directly in the middle of the young people during all the talks, songs, dancing, activities, sharing groups, etc.

At one point, there is a vigil where all the young people sit in a huge circle, and a priest takes the Eucharist in the monstrance and lowers it over the head of each and every young person at the retreat. For me, this was the most powerful part of the weekend. It was amazing – at the beginning, many of the young people were a bit ¨too cool for school,¨ not participating in the music or activities. But during this vigil, there was such a prayerful and peaceful presence, and I definitely saw many tears shed (even from the ¨tough¨ younger guys!). Almost every single person went to the sacrament of Confession as well, which was beautiful to see.

One girl in particular, I noticed at the very beginning of the retreat, had her arms folded and a big frown on her face while we were singing some songs. By the end, she was beaming, laughing, taking part in everything. I know that God did a lot in people´s hearts during this retreat!

During the weekend, the guy missionaries all stayed in the house of the Bishop. It was really cool to eat breakfast with him, sitting there just in his undershirt and jeans. Bishops are people too, right!

After it was all over, we spent a beautiful few hours on the beach relaxing. Woo hooo!! I forgot to bring my swim trunks, but that wasn’t gonna stop me! I went in with my jeans on, and still was in paradise!

The past few days, we have been working hard to prepare things for kids going back to school. Here in Honduras, they are just starting up the beginning of their school year (they are just ending their ¨summer¨ break). School is free, but everyone has to buy a uniform, backpack, and school supplies. There are many people who cannot afford to do this, and because of this sometimes kids can´t go to school! So we help to support about 40 kids so that they can go to school. I got to go on a huge shopping spree, buying shoes, shirts, skirts, socks, etc. Thank you so much to everyone who gave me money while I was home during Christmas break! This money has gone to support these kids and their education.

Yesterday, all the kids came to pick up there brand new things. They were so excited – modeling their new shoes and shirts and skirts. It´s amazing how excited a kid can be over an eraser or some colored pencils!

On a bit of a more somber note…please pray for Honduras. The murder and crime rates are greatly on the increase. In the past few weeks, 2 mayors and one vice mayor have been killed, along with a lot of other people. It´s an election year, and here if you´re in politics, that means you have dangerous enemies. But don´t worry, I´m not going to die! I ran for mayor here, but, I lost…so I´m all good! ;)

Live in peace!

Eric

Im Back!

Hello again!

Well, it sure has been quite awhile since I´ve written anything! But the fact that I´m writing anything at all shows one thing…I decided to come back to continue serving in Honduras! My first 4 months here were kind of an introduction, at the end of which I had to decide if God is calling me to continue to serve here. And well…He made it pretty clear that He wants me here! So, here I am!

I got to spend one beautiful month at home with my family. It was so strange to return back to the States. Landing in the huge Atlanta airport was definitely a change from the airport in the capital city of Honduras, which has one runway. Once on the ground, I sprinted to the nearest cheeseburger I could get my hands on. Then I bought a nutella crepe. Then some chocolate peanut butter fudge. I had lost 12 pounds, and was on a mission to gain it back!

At first it was really hard for me to try to enter back in to my ¨normal life¨ back home. I´m so used to living so simply, and serving people who really don´t have any ¨extras¨ in life. The first time I walked in to my bathroom and felt the plush carpets under my feet, I literally felt like a king. Something so small that I would have taken for granted before. The day after I got home, I went with my mom to Kohl´s to pick up some things. I was SO shocked when I walked in…everything seemed so beautiful and perfect. I was literally overwhelmed. I walked up every aisle, just staring at everything with wide eyes. And it was Kohl´s, it´s not like it was Dolce and Gabana!!

But the thing that surprised me the most was actually how quickly I got used to everything again. After a week or so, I started to take hot showers, my computer, eating out at restaurants, etc, as ¨normal¨ again. I went to Kohl´s again, and didn´t think anything of it…just walked in and got what I needed.

But I did try to live what I had learned in Honduras…taking life more slowly, taking more time in silence to spend time with God, etc. I also got the opportunity to share my experiences with the middle school religious education classes at St. Kilian´s School and at Sts. John and Paul church. It was an awesome privilege to show these kids a different part of the world and to show them how ALL OF US, each and every one, are called to be missionaries, witnesses to God´s Love in the world.

I enjoyed home so much! Christmas and New Year were beautiful, with much family, food, and a 7 hour game of Uno (long story…)! With the help of Mom´s cooking, I gained back my lost weight…such a sacrifice! I was sad to say goodbye, but excited to return to Honduras to continue to serve God. It´s true, life at home is easier and more comfortable, but God wants me here. So in the end, this place, right here in Comayagua,  is where I can become happy – where I can give of myself, help others, learn to love. So it is all worth it!

But before heading back to the mission, I had the amazing blessing to visit my friend Adela in Nicaragua. I studied with her in Rome at the Emmanuel School of Mission for a year, and I hadn´t seen her since! It was a beautiful thing to be reunited once more! We got to climb a volcano, hike through the jungle, and visit a lake with 365 islands. Also, she was in charge of a big retreat for young people, so I got to help her with that for 4 days. As always, I thought I would get to enjoy the retreat and help out with little things…..but God had other plans! I ended up playing piano in the band, helping to MC one night, and I gave my testimony (in Spanish!) to all the young people. In the end of the retreat, a bunch of the young people shared their own stories about the weekend. Many had been involved in drugs, suicide attempts, etc., but they said that they really had a powerful experience of God and His love and mercy, and had the hope of living a new life. They had a new light in their eyes.

And now I´m back! It´s really great to be here again. I return with a new perspective and a new passion. I will miss home, but I am happy to be in the place where I can best meet and serve God. I can´t wait to see what He has in store!

Leaving tomorrow to give a retreat to 170 young people at the beach --- my first time to the ocean here! Please pray for us, and mostly for the teens, that they can have open hearts and meet the living God.

 

Hasta pronto! (See you soon!)

Eric

Fellowship of the Unashamed

I seriously cannot believe I have let myself go more than a month without updating this. Ah! I realllly want to write a proper update, but I just have no time!! Tomorrow we start a week of mission formation, training up other young people from Honduras to go on mission. The following week, all of us will be going on mission with these young people for a week, in different villages in the mountains. Pray for us!

One short reflection though. I came across this a few months before I came down to Honduras. It really struck me, and at this point in my life, its really how Im feeling. It’s a little bit intense, but I tend to be lukewarm so easily, so I need the intensity! Im so sick of being lukewarm! So……

FELLOWSHIP OF THE UNASHAMED

“I am a part of the fellowship of the unashamed, the die has been cast, I have

stepped over the line, the decision has been made. Im a disciple of Jesus Christ. I

wont look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still. My past is redeemed,

my present makes sense, my future is secure. Im finished and done with low

living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed

visions, worldly talking, cheap giving and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotion, plaudits, or

popularity. I dont have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or

rewarded, I now live by presence, lean by faith, love by patience, live by prayer

and labor by power.

My face is set, my gate is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is

rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot

be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity,

negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in

the maze of mediocrity. I wont give up, shut up, let go, or slow up until I have

prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Jesus

Christ.

I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go until He comes; give till I drop; preach till

everyone knows; and work till he stops me. And when he comes for His own, he

will have no problem recognizing me, because my banner will have been clear.”

I hope to update soon! Love and miss you all! Prayers!

Erick

Random Stories...

Back in Honduras! It really seemed like I was in Antigua for at least 3 months! Although my first few days in Honduras were difficult, and my time in Antigua was really beautiful, I was excited to head back to the mission. The first thing that struck me when I arrived back was how much peace I felt. I no longer felt anxious about the language, or the fact that I can´t leave our house, or the cold showers. I had been praying the whole time in Antigua for this peace, and here it was! God definitely answers prayers!

My first morning back, we went over to the house of one girl who helps with the mission, because her grandmother had passed away 9 days before. Here in Honduras, they have a tradition that when a person passes away, the family and friends set up a beautiful altar in the house with flowers and pictures, and each day for 9 days they come to pray for the person´s soul. On the 9^th day, they have a big gathering with food, and one final prayer to lead the person´s soul to God. It was truly a beautiful experience – the faith and unity of these people is incredible. So many family members and friends were there to offer support, and they truly pray, from the depths of their heart. This is something I´ve noticed – the people here pray so deeply, and they expect their prayers to be answered. I guess when you don´t really have “things” to rely on for security, hope and trust in God are all you have.

So many things have happened since my 2 weeks back here, so really I´m just going to share random stories:

Random story number one: My second day back, we found a huge poisonous toad in our kitchen. Such a wonderful dinner guest, don’t you think?! Unfortunately, I don’t think we´ll be inviting him back…You see, he was a bit ornery, and when he got mad, he inflated his cheeks to warn us that he was only moments away from spraying out his liquid poison all over us. I´m sure we´ll have other lovely guests over for dinner soon!

The people here are not self-conscious in the least bit. This becomes so apparent in the way that they sing, especially in church. They literally don´t care how they sound, which at first seemed rather unpleasant to my ears…but then I realized how beautiful this is! They are just expressing their joy, and they don´t care what other people think about them. This is so freeing! I think a lot of times we feel so self-conscious, and feel that we have to be so perfect at something before we let it out and allow others to see it. We´re so afraid of being judged. But why? Maybe we should forget about the others, and sing out loud.

A priest came to do Mass at our chapel last week. His name is Father Max, and he is really young. He started a school in the mountains for orphans and kids who can´t afford to go to school. In this area, there are many villages high up in the mountains that are hard to get to, and who rarely receive priests. So he gets up around 3 in the morning to prepare things in the school and then travels to different mountain villages to offer the Mass for the people. There are definitely hidden saints living in this country.

There is a monastery of Franciscan Friars of the Renewal across the street from our house, and they come to our chapel to celebrate Mass once a week. One day, Padre Francisco said something that really struck me. He was speaking about how stressful his life had been lately, offering many ministries, running a free medical clinic, etc. He had been saying to God: “Why didn´t you call me to a quieter, simpler life. This would surely be better!” But then he realized: No. This would not be better. Because God called him here. Exactly here. God knows what he needs. This must mean then, that he is meant to grow right here, in these exact circumstances, with these exact people, in these exact circumstances. This spoke to me so much! The life here isn´t always easy, and I was doubting why God called me here; couldn´t I do more good elsewhere? But I know for a fact God wanted me here, so it must be here that I need to grow, here that He wants to use me, here that I can become holy.

Welp, gotta go! I´m leaving tomorrow for a mission in the remote villages in the mountains. Prayers please! I´ll updated when I get a chance.

 

God bless you! Choose joy each day!

Erick  

Hablas espanol?

Well, my first 4 days in Honduras were difficult, to say the least. But I guess any new beginning comes with its challenges! Luckily, God is so good, and constantly reminded me of His presence. One day, when I was feeling particularly lost and lonely, I prayed that God would give me a word to remind me that He is with me, and I randomly opened the Bible to Deuteronomy, chapter 31, and read: “The Lord will go over before you…be strong and of good courage, do not fear or be in dread…for it is the Lord your God who goes with you; He will not fail you or forsake you…” I really needed this! Just another reminder that God is there, He truly cares about even our smallest needs, and He wants us to trust in His Love.

So, after 4 days in Honduras, I took a 13 hour bus trip through the incredibly beautiful mountains of Honduras (my stomach didn’t necessarily think the crazy mountain roads were so beautiful…), and ended up in Antigua, Guatemala. This city used to be the capital of the Spanish Empire in Central America, and today it is a beautiful little city, nestled in a valley between 3 massive volcanoes, and is famous for its Spanish language schools.

Upon my arrival, I got to meet Jamie Berns, a fellow missionary who will be serving with me in Honduras with the Missioners of Christ. We are the 2 “new ones” coming down to serve. We stayed in the house of a lovely woman named Hilda (or Gilda in español), who lives on her own. She made us 3 amazing meals every day, and helped us with our Spanish (since she doesn’t speak a word of English).

 

I took 4 weeks of Spanish classes, one on one with the same professor for the whole month. Not a word of English was spoken...it was a bit intense, but really good! Our schedule was the same each day: class from 8-12, back to Hilda´s for lunch until 130, and class again from 130 to 4. We lived really close to a beautiful old church called San Francisco. It was built around 1570, and was partially destroyed during 2 earthquakes in the 1700s, so it looks really crazy, half standing and half in ruins. The only saint in all of Central America, Santo Hermano Pedro, is buried there. He came from the Spanish Canary Islands to serve the people of Guatemala, especially the sick and poor. Pope John Paul II came to Antigua in 2002 to canonize him. So each day after class, we would go to Mass there at 5, and then pray at the tomb of this Saint. I felt a connection to him, since he also came from a foreign land to serve the poor. So I loved to ask for his help and guidance for my mission.

            After this, we would return to Hilda´s for dinner, and then go to adoration – there was a chapel very near our house that had adoration of the Blessed Sacrament 24-7. So each day I would go to pray to Jesus in the Eucharist and to spend time with Him. Receiving peace and strength in these times of Mass and adoration each day is the only thing that kept my brain from exploding from Spanish overload!!

 

The classes were just great. The school is situated in a big garden next to the ruins of a huge church, with little private cabanas dispersed throughout, which are the classrooms. My Spanish professor´s name was Paola, and she was amazing! We had 6 hours each day together, and much of this time was spent laughing J The universal language! We also talked about many really interesting topics…everything from saints, the Hunger Games, politics…you name it! She was so kind as to allow me to skip class in order to take me to a parade that her son was in and to her mom´s house for lunch, and she even bought me LOADS of typical Guatemalan sweets!!

Coming from the mission in Honduras, where I was shocked to find that it is too dangerous to go out of our house, I could tangibly feel the FREEDOM that I had in Antigua. I never thought I could be filled with such JOY just by being able to walk around outside!!! I lived this freedom so intensely, not taking it for granted for even an instant. One of my first evenings, I went out after dinner and bought a banana split. I could not even believe how much I enjoyed it! I savored every ATOM of flavor…literally. Its amazing…at home I would have gulped it down without thinking. But when we take the time to really enjoy something, to recognize that it is a gift that God has given us to make us happy and to show us His Love, we can truly enjoy it so much more! It´s so easy to take things for granted…but I definitely think that I am learning here to accept everything (especially the smallest pleasures like ice cream or walking around) as a gift.

 

Guatemala received its independence from Spain in 1821, and their “4th of July” is on September 15, so I was there for the celebration! During a parade on the 14^th, one of the volcanoes next to Antigua named Fuego (fire) erupted in a BIG way! Throughout the day, they had to evacuate 33,000 people from their homes in the surrounding villages. I was literally just walking down the street when I looked up to see a huge cloud of smoke in the sky…so crazy! So, that night, I did the only rational thing a person could do…I climbed the volcano! I went with friends from my school, and we took a huge truck and began our journey up toward the peak. The “roads,” (or lack thereof) where CRAZY…we had to go about 3 miles per hour, and many times we were sure the truck was going to flip. We were all in the back of the truck, so we were planning how to best jump out and survive. Eventually, after crashing through the jungle-like terrain for half an hour, we made it to our stopping point. The volcano was spewing out lava and rocks with such force, hundreds of feet in to the air, for hours and hours on end. It was such a sight to see. Really a witness to the mystery and power of creation, and even more so to its Creator. I was just in awe.

 

The Independence Day festivities were so beautiful. The people of Guatemala are very proud of their culture and their heritage, and it really shows in their celebrations. Even today, 40% of the population is indigenous or native, and the people still wear their native, extremely colorful clothing. In the parades for Independence Day, kids and high school bands marched around in various types of native clothing or costumes, playing really fun and upbeat music. It was really very simple, but so deep and so meaningful. They raised their flag and sang songs to Jesus. It´s still such a Catholic culture there, and the people express their faith outwardly in public constantly. EVERY store, shop, even bank, is named after Jesus, Mary, the Holy Spirit, a saint…its really quite incredible!

 

And the faith of the people is just incredible too. Many of them don’t have very much, but they trust so much in God and have a sense of joy about them. One day, I was exploring the city, and I found a really beautiful church just outside the city. I entered, and went toward the front to pray. There were only 2 other people in the whole church--- a mother was sitting on the floor in the very front, holding her handicapped son, who was probably about 30, and staring up at the Tabernacle repeating over and over again: “Gracias, Jèsus…Gracias.” I was hit so hard by this. We live in a world where many would say that the old, weak, and suffering have no quality of life, and should just be euthanized. And here is a woman, holding her son, who doesn´t live up to many of our standards of having a good “quality of life”…and yet she´s just thanking God for him, over and over again.

 

Each day when I went to adoration, I would meet a man and woman who stood outside the whole day. I would always just stop to talk to them a bit, and eventually we became friends. The woman, Maria, tries to earn money by selling things that she knits, and the man, Romero, offers to wash the cars of people who park near there. They´re there every day, 9am to 9pm, basically just standing around. I learned that they are brother and sister, have never been married, and haven no one else in the world but each other.

            One evening, I came out of adoration, and began to talk to Maria. She told me that her face hurt, and I asked her why. She told me that Romero, her brother, had hit her in the face really hard. She went on to tell me that he does this very often, for no apparent reason. She said she is so sick of this awful life, and really just wants to kill herself…….What could I do? I just stayed with her, and she cried and cried. She has an amazingly deep faith in Jesus, and I just reminded her how precious she is in His eyes, how much her life means to Him. It was so devastating to see the depth of her pain. We prayed together to God and asked for His help. As I left, I just felt sick, and burst in to tears. What could I do?! Nothing. This is a woman who is poor, has to stand outside hungry all day, and is abused by the only person she has in this world. It´s such a horrendous feeling to see this suffering and injustice, and be absolutely helpless to do anything about it. I can offer her love, remind her that although things are just awful, there is something better that awaits her. But sometimes I wish I could do more! I think that a lot of the problems in the world, we must accept that we´re not going to be able to fix them by ourselves. We just have to be there for people, and love them as much as we can. This in itself, although not much, is actually a bigger help than I think we could ever imagine.

 

I made a bunch of new friends, learned a lot of Spanish, and had some incredible experiences…it was hard to leave! But I didn´t come down to Central America to be on vacation; I came to be on mission. So I was really excited to get back to Honduras and start my mission!

 

This is getting excessively long (I warned you last time!!), so I will stop for now. Please keep my new friends Maria and Romero in your prayers, as well as friends and family members of my Spanish professor (Ottoniel and Rony) who recently passed away.

 

Thanks for the continued prayers! I can seriously feel them every day, and I will need them more and more as my true mission begins!

 

Peace and all good things!

Erick