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