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