Pictures from the last mission in Mal Paso!



Here´s a picture of Carrie and I; Gloria and her brother Jesus are to the left of me


Eucharistic procession


All of the young adults who were here for a week


!Buenas!

I just got back from a mission in the mountains today. We were on mission for about 4days, and this mission was much more hard-core than the last one I was on. To get there, we spent the day taking 3 different buses up rocky dirt roads, until we got to a town called Florida. The priest at this town, Padre Max, has about 50 (yes, you read that correctly) different parishes, and also runs a mission house for teens to teach them practical labor, as well as train them to be missionaries. He is probably the youngest priest in Honduras, and has also been given one of the most demanding jobs; I didn´t get to meet him, but supposedly he is basically a living Saint.

Once we got to Florida, we were driven to a village called Kukinka which is extremely remote, doesn´t have electricity, and was also forgotten about for many years. The people there were SO beautiful. The children acted like they had a middle-school crush on us the whole time, whispering and giggling when we would try to talk to them. The people were so humble, and I was inspired by the enjoyment they received out of simple things. For example, while we were waiting for the programs to start, Zach(who is 6'9, which made this extra funny), Jaime, and I were playing duck, duck, goose with the kids before the program was starting. The adults were there waiting for the program to start and watching us. The grass was really slippery, so we all kept slipping and falling all over the place. The people must have found this extremely amusing, because basically the whole town just sat there and watched us, hysterically laughing, for a good ten minutes.

The missioners split up a few times, and we were able to visit about 5 different villages in total. It involved a lot of difficult hiking, but the mountains here are stunning (they actually remind me a lot of my good ole Blue Ridge mountains =) We had programs in the afternoons, but a lot of what we did was visit houses. We visited the sick, shared the Gospel of the day, and prayed with them for their intentions. Two other mission members hiked three hours to an aldea that had about only 5 houses; an old, sick woman who they visited was so happy because she said that no one comes to visit her, especially not a missionary...she said she hadn´t seen a missionary in years. Visiting houses could be difficult at times, but it was also my favorite part of the mission. Walking into a strangers house, knowing that you might be able to bring them the hope of Christ in some way, is an indescribable feeling.

Everything about life in the mountains seems so much more real...it is like going back in time. Most of the people still have large families, they live off the land, and it is not uncommon for family members to die young. These people know raw suffering, but, at the same time, their joy is pure and undefiled. There was a moment in the town when I was watching all of the teenage boys in the town play soccer, and I understood a little more of why Mother Teresa would say that poverty is the ultimate freedom. I realized at that moment that I haven´t really missed the comforts of modern technology, not my cell phone or computer, and that even if I was given the opportunity, I wouldn´t be able to give them those things. It would rob them of their simplicity. Their faith is simple, yes-I didn´t meet anyone who even had a Bible. Yet it is also grand, they rely on God for things which we wouldn´t even think of entrusting to God...the health of their children...food for the next day. I can´t explain how beautiful their faith is and how blessed I feel to know that people like this still exist. I have only about 2 weeks left..can you believe it? I hope that God has also stretched you and taught you many things this summer. Thank you for all your prayers.

May our Blessed Mother wrap you in her mantle,
Angie

"Many people are talking about the poor. Few people are talking to the poor."
-Mother Teresa

Hijos y Hijas de Dios,

The mission was so amazing! I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to work with. The village we worked in was absolutely gorgeous. I wish I had pictures to share, but my camera broke the day I got there. It was called “Mal Paso”, which basically means bad road. The roads were crazy- tons and tons of mud and huge rocks. The first morning when we got up, I naively wore sandals. My feet were basically two weights of mud. It was pretty hysterical; all the Hondurans usually gave us looks of pity, but I’m pretty sure we were their entertainment for the week. Supposedly there is some special way to walk in the mud here. I’m not even kidding. There would be a foot of really thick mud on the ground, and the Hondurans would walk into Church with spotless feet. That baffled us the entire week.

The generosity of the people was incredible. The woman at the house we were sleeping in would look through our things and wash our (muddy) clothes. We didn’t ask her to do this. She would fold them up discreetly, and never said a word about it. Everyday for lunch we were served chicken. Our leader, who is a Honduran, explained to me that they only eat meat in the Aldellas on Christmas and Easter, huge celebrations. Yet, everyday they were giving up their animals for us. The people were really such a joy to meet. Although we were there to serve them, I almost always felt like the one being served.

One girl specifically had a huge impact on me. Her name was Gloria. She was about 11, and her mother had died. She told me that she wanted to be a missionary like us when she grew up. She was often teased—I think it might have been because she was so poor. She asked me if I would move here and be her sister…yeah. She was so joyful and so in need of love. Throughout the mission, we were given these huge blocks of cheese to eat at almost every meal. The cheese here is really strong, and it was honestly really difficult to finish. We would sometimes jokingly complain to each other afterwards about how much we hated it. I was talking to Gloria and I was asking her about what she ate everyday. She said she eats beans and tortillas everyday; I asked her if she had cheese as well, and she said they didn’t have enough money for cheese. She also said they can’t afford to eat meat even on Christmas. I’m sure you can imagine how I felt after that! Every time we felt like we were going to gag on the cheese, we would say, “This ones for Gloria!”

For the mission, we had 3 programs everyday, one for children, one for teens, and one for adults. This mission taught me to have a deeper trust that God was using me and speaking through me in whatever way He wanted. When I gave talks, I never knew if the people understood what I was saying or if I was even saying things correctly. We often would visit houses and invite people to come to the programs and we would usually never see them again. This sometimes got to be discouraging, and I felt like screaming, “Am I even doing anything for you Lord!?” But that’s where that trust comes in—I had to trust that they heard and were given what they needed at that moment in their life. I will remember the people I met for the rest of my life. I’m so blessed to have met them and to have been able to share my love for Christ with them in whatever small way I was able to.

Love always,
Angie

"Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest, if we do not give up."
Galatians 6:9

Hermanos en Cristo,

Yet another week has slipped by here. I am absolutely amazed that I have been here for over a month now. The time is slipping through my fingers like sand. I know that I am really living my life when this happens, when I am not counting the days, and barely notice they are passing me by. But I know that I have to treasure this last month or so and be more in tune to what the Lord may be trying to use me for.

Yesterday, a big group of young adults came in from all over the country to serve alongside the rest of the missioners for a mountain mission that we are embarking on this Sunday. We have people from places as far as Texas A&M, Steubenville, California, Florida...it's so exciting, the people are inspiring, and it's so great to have new faces in the house who have hearts so willing to serve Christ and His people.

I am beyond excited for the mountain misson. Missioners have told me that it is a life-changing experience. We are going to be staying at an aldea that is so deep in the mountains they don't have electricity, and are only able to recieve the sacraments once a year. Can you imagine? I honestly can't. Imagine how difficult it would be to maintain the faith as a Catholic and go that long without confession, and especially the Eucharist. It is hard enough for me when I have the sacraments readily available. To say the least, we will learn a lot from them.

Our mission is to bring them hope and to walk alongside them in their hurts and doubts, even if just for a week. We will be doing retreats for kids, teens and families..and yes, I will be giving talks, in spanish. The Holy Spirit better get working, that's all I'm saying!

I wanted to share with you all one experience I had this week. We met a poor woman who had just found out that her baby son had been sexually abused. We prayed with her, but mostly we listened to her heart-felt prayers to God, and we held her while she wept. And we wept too. For a long time. The whole time time I was thinking how inspiring it was that this woman could still pray. Carol, our leader, tells us that we desperately need the poor for our own salvation. This was a moment for me that helped me realize how much I need them.

Please pray for us on our mission. You are in my prayers!

A kiss of peace,
Angie

"Only in heaven will we see how much we owe to the poor for helping us to love God better because of them."
-Mother Teresa