!Buenas!

I have so much to I want to talk about, I don't even know where to begin. So all of us summer missioners got back tonight from language school. What an incredible experience. First of all, we stayed at this gorgeous, peaceful retreat center out in the mountains for two weeks that is run by these adorable nuns who spoiled us rotten with tons of Honduran food. We were immediately welcomed so generously by the people in the town and we had the opportunity to get to know some of the Hondurans really well.

Language school was definetly a challenge, but I think I 've learned a lot, and I'm really hoping that it will help me better connect with the Hondurans. All four of us summer missioners really got to know eachother these past two weeks. They are such wonderful people and I already feel like I've known them a long time. Jamie is 20, a junior at Carroll College, and is really intelligent and kind and is helping us all stay on top of things. Carrie is a Senior at UNC, and this is her third time in Honduras, but her first time being here for the whole summer. She is super positive and joyful all the time, it's so wonderful. Zach is 20, a junior at Franciscan University of Steubenville. This is his fifth time in Honduras with the missioners...he is in love with this country and the life of a missionary, so he has taught me a lot.

These last two weeks, the Hondurans in the town we were staying in blew me away. I've never met more hospitable people in my life. We got to spend a lot of time with this young priest who serves in the area where we had language school. He is the only priest to around 20 parishes throughout the area. A lot of his churches are far up in the mountains, and because he has so many churches, a lot of his people only get to celebrate mass once a month, at most. Even though this man works harder than anyone I've ever met, he is also the most joyful man I've ever met. He was literally always smiling. He took us to around four different parishes, and at every parish he made us go to the front of the church and introduce ourselves and sometimes give a testimony. There were so many times when I felt like running away and hiding. I can't explain how unworthy I felt...these people are only able to recive Christ once a month, yet they continue to have such strong faith..and I am a missionary to them?

This one village we visited was especially deep in the mountains. They didn't have electricity or running water, and the people in this town looked at us like we had four heads, I'm guessing most of them have never seen gringos like us before. In order to get to their church, we hiked alongside the Hondurans up this really steep mountain for about 45 minutes. The whole time I was thinking...I wonder how many Americans would hike up this to go to church (think about how empty your church becomes on Super bowl Sundays and Labor Day weekends). Then I couldn't help but think..would I? Living on a Catholic campus, I have the opportunity to easily go to Mass everyday, but how often did I not go to daily Mass because I had "something else to do."

The most humbling thing about all this is something Zach was explaining to me. Some of these people wait their entire lives in hope of meeting a missionary. It is the hope for their children..they even have a special prayer they say here at every mass specifically for missionaries. They opened up their homes so generously to us, and made us feel like the most important guests they have ever had (contrast that to the way Americans notoriously treat door to door missionaries). I have so much to learn from the people here. Pray for us, because now the real work begins!

Que Dios le Bendiga,
Angie

"For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted." Luke 14:11