Special moments :)

So this will be short and sweet but just had to share these quotes with you before I forget....so amazing

Cati-not my favorite of the faces she makes, the side eye is definitely more entertaining

Cati: Nati! sabes que, yo soñaba de un hamburgesota y yo me meti endentro y comi todo. To translate this literally means, Nati! Yo know I was dreaming of a huge hamburger and I put myself inside and ate all of it! Now those that know Cati will truly appreciate this because Im sure you can just imagine her saying this to you with one of her Cati faces:) For those that dont know I will try my best to explain. Cati has this beautiful energy, this spirit about her, but sometimes she goes very fast from one thing to another. hehe. Its like when people write in all caps and you think how should I read this? It would seem like the person is either yelling the sentence or saying it with some intense passion. The best is these faces she makes. My favorite is when she turns her face a bit sideways and then gives you this eye, that maybe your mom would give you if she was trying to deduce if you were lying or not. I hope that can paint some picture for you....

Nati: Oye, que paso. ¿Parece que no puedes respirar? (Hey what happened, it seems like you cant breathe?)
Brayan: Sí, es que yo tenía una carrera con Canela (our neighbors dog that likes to frequent the finca) Yes, its because I had a race with Canela.
Nati: ¿Aha y entonces....quien ganó? Aha and who won?
Brayan: Canela
Nati: ¿Va por que? Why?
Brayan: Porque tiene cuatro patas. (Because she has 4 feet)

So Brayan is a very intelligent, young boy. Sometimes he has this Im very angry face but he usually cracks a smile after a minute or 2. The part I enjoyed most about this conversation was it was very matter-of-fact. When he explained to me that the dog won because of course, she has 4 legs, really Nati why are you asking me that type of way. hehe.

Brayan is in the middle

Life at the Finca

Brooke, or better known as Brookingham (because somehow that's easier to say) is our new nurse at the finca. We are so happy to have her in the clinica. She has many special gifts and I would like to share one that I feel she really captured well finca and community life in the video that she made! Thanks Brookingham!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2xrHoEMbl8&feature=youtu.be

and Jenna who wrote a beautiful reflection on advent.

http://jennaatthefinca.wordpress.com/2014/12/11/y-habito-entre-nosotros/

Who says you have to have all the words. hehe. I think they both did a much better job of expressing finca life than I could :) Thanks ladies!

Clínica wishlist

Thank you so much for all your love, support, prayers and especially patience with me and this blog. I have some things I would like to share but I wanted to make sure I put this list up in time to give people the opportunity to help this Christmas in the clinic if they feel called. These are some of the things that we always need in the clinic year round:

*****Pre-natal vitamins
Antibiotic cream
Adult and Childrens ibuprofen and tylenol
omeprazole
vicks
cough drops
cough syrup
anti-acids
baby blankets
baby powder
A&D ointment

The clinic is run on donations only. We receive one big donation from the Christ the King brigade every June that carries us through the year, but sometimes we run out through the year. What happens frequently here is that when people go to the hospital or to a clinic and the doctor gives them a script the people cant pay for the meds nor the exams that they send them to have done. In our clinic we are able to see patients but also give them the meds they need, by the grace of God and generous donations. Please help keep us going.

Here are some prescriptions meds, for those doctors out there that might be willing to help that we are low on or out of:

Enalapril
Albuterol inhalors
Cephalexcin 250mg/5mL (elixir)
Bactrim
Fluconazole 150mg

I realize Im not sure that Ive ever given you a tour of our clinic so here it is....
The Sacred Heart Clinic

work space

pharmacy

reception/waiting room

reception/waiting room

reception/waiting room

Laboratory

Lab/Dirty side

Lab

Main consult room

Pharmacy

Well I hoped you enjoyed the tour. May you have a Blessed Christmas and Happy New Year!
                        ¡Muchisimas gracias y Feliz Navidad y Feliz Año Nuevo!

Vísperas

Happy Monday! Just gotta love those mondays. I thought I would just share a monday story with you. So coming off retreat high and back to the "finca week" I was off to a rough start, trying to gather up all the grace I could this morning during prayer. But you know Satan somehow manages to steal that extra 30minutes of morning that you would've liked to prepare yourself for the day…yup that's how it started. Anyways clinic days while beautiful and I always feel so blessed from the interactions with the patients can sometimes be overwhelming and you walk up the dirt road pass house 5 and strain your eyes to see through the bushes that surround the entrance. Are the bancos full? It's always a good sign when there's people sitting out in front by the tree too (At least a 3pm day:) I hope the luz (electricity) doesn't go out…oh ya within the first 2 hours ya se fue. ( ya it went. haha) After finishing, next heading to a meeting. Man gotta love mondays. And just when you think you're done and can eat a banana maybe or some now delicious rice that might be left over from lunch, just to have more for dinner in 30 minutes…I see Elena a Britiani. "Nati vamos a rezar víspers por la playa ahorita. Vas a venir?" ("Nati were going to pray evening prayer on the beach. Are you coming?") Ohh. So I would like to say that I was thrilled, and had every desire to pray with children on the beach, geez what's wrong with me, how could I not? My first thought was however was… (I'm sure oldies will appreciate this) Pucha nombre… (Really I'm not quite sure of the literal translation maybe like dangit man…haha) I just wanted sit down for a minute, or eat, or pee. haha. But before I could even finish that selfish thought:) "¡Nati apurate!" (Hurry up Nati!) "Ya vengo" (I'm coming) I love answering the kids with the same phrases they use :) I have to say when you can truly let go of yourself, even in the small things, you can receive such amazing graces! We had such a beautiful prayer time on the beach as the sun was setting with both chic as competing over who would read. I was trying to think of the last time I volunteered to read…let alone try and compete with someone for the reading. Excited to read the word of God though they probably don't realize the importance of the exercise nor the words, but doing it whole-heartedly anyway, making faces during the times they weren't reading, throwing grapes seeds, but what innocent prayer. I remember one time hearing at a conference that our prayer is simply an offering to the Lord. The speaker used a beautiful analogy about our prayer being like a picture a child draws and gives to his parent. The parent (hopefully) accept it for what it is and find the beauty in it. In the same way the Lord excepts our prayer with all its distractions and deems it as beautiful…then puts in on the fridge:)

Thank you Lord for a beautiful monday, bring on Tuesday:)

Ritiro

I apologize for the lack blogs, but it's been a whirlwind weeks. I recently went back to the states, though I just came from vacation. I went to spend time with my family, specifically in service to my grandpa, but really to serve my whole family. I can not say enough about discernment. It's such a beautiful tool God gives us. We never have to know the right thing to do, (even though I definitely stressed out trying to figure it out) all we have to do is listen. In the end I accepted the grace that was being given me, and went. What beautiful time I had with my family! I wouldn't trade it for the world, but how much suffering within my family in this moment. I was restless in my heart. My question was not so much why do people suffer or why do bad things happen to good people but, "Why God am I watching all this suffering if I can do nothing to change it?" I had just recently asked God the same thing when I witnessed 3 specific things in Honduras the week before.

This question stayed in my heart the whole trip. I did spend beautiful time just in the presence of my family though I did not feel like I was doing much. When the time came though it was hard to leave my heart knew where it was being called and I returned to the Finca for only a day because we were off to retreat! 8 hours, 11 people, one land cruiser…virtue building. The time away together was beautiful. I received many graces throughout the retreat, but God revealed to me my true mission. My heart had been wrestling with this question over the past year but especially in the past month. "God why am I watching all this suffering if I can do nothing to change it?" The beautiful CFR priest we had a on retreat shared with us, that he knows he can't change anyone or any situation, and for that feels relieved, but he can be present. I don't know why this was such a moment of epiphany for me…God's timing is perfect. Padre talked about how the Lord put the disciples into situations all the time that they didn't understand, and couldn't handle, and while they were trying to "figure it out" and "make sense of of it" like we all try to do, He was really just calling them to admit that they didn't know the answer nor what to do but trust in His plan. The Passion probably made the lest sense to them at all. And where were they? Scared, trying to figure it out. Our Lady, John, Mary Magdalene, Veronica, and all those that were "present" at the Passion simply trusted enough that though it didn't make sense, this was part of the grand plan. They couldn't do one single thing to ease even an ounce of pain from our Lord, but they were present, they suffered with Him, and no one more than our Lady throughout His entire life. To realize that I can't change Honduras, nor heal the hearts of our kids.  To know I can't take away my grandpa's cancer, nor my family's sorrows, doesn't answer the question but rather gives me purpose. My purpose is to be present, I can suffer with them. It is so amazing that while the circumstances, the situations I witness are no less intense, nor less painful, but my heart can find  some peace in my knowing my real mission, my presence. 

'

Ice Bucket Challenge Challenge

So I don't know if you all have heard about the recent rage in the states about the ice-bucket challenge for ALS, but I was challenged about 2 weeks ago maybe. The idea is that you pour a bucket of ice water on your head or pay $100 to raise money for ALS. As a side note ALS is a disease that has no cure, researchers aren't sure what causes it, and the majority of people don't live past 2 years that have it. It is a motor-neuron disease. Basically you're muscles don't receive the messages to move. The disease is progressive and eventually takes over your respiratory system. So your body is dying but your mind is still intact. 

My good friend contracted the disease in her early 20s (this is rare). She was a beautiful young women, friendly, outgoing, would "do anything for anyone" type of person,  studying architecture 

at UF, and a great soccer player. She had the disease for only about 6 months before she joined our Lord. Near the end of her time her she went into a coma. Myself, and a group of close friends, probably about 5-7 started a ritual. When we all got off work we made it to the ICU at 10' o'clock (I'm not sure how we got past the visiting hour thing) and we would talk, pray and sing in a circle around her bed. For me at that stage in my life, it opened my eyes to what it means to have friends in Christ, and the difference between other relationship. This was true love, the love of a soul. I will never forget this experience. Starr left us shortly after, but not before giving her last gift, her organs.

I did the challenge in honor of Starr. I decided to see if the girls would like to be involved. We talked about making a short movie clip and for my friend over the weekend. The girls were eager to help. Below is the clip we made along with some girls that showed up early for girls soccer that day. Sorry the sound isn't great, I was explaining in Spanish what I was doing and the older girls were translating in English aunque tenía pena. (Though they were a bit shy.) Also I think the challenge is supposed 

to be completed within 24 hours….but I live in Honduras...y así es la vida.  

Hora Santa

Every Tuesday we have a holy hour as a community at 7pm. The younger kids go to holy hour separate at 5. Usually the missionaries attend with the older kids but this past week I decided to go earlier. What a beautiful holy hour! Our Lord truly knows the needs of our hearts. Try to imagine a bunch of 8, 9, 10, and 11 years olds singing…at this point it's still more like screaming a bit in different pitches and different times. Then you have Yadi, who is 3, who is trying to sing along but really has just her own tune. 

We some of our really common songs but tonight I was able to really focus on the words in a different way this night. I'm sure any former missionary still appreciates Pescador de hombres. 

The chorus goes, "Señor, me has mirado a los ojos, sonriendo, has dicho mi nombre, en la arena he dejado mi barca, junto a Ti buscaré otro mar."

"Lord, You have looked into my eyes, smiling, You have said my name, in the sand I've left my boat, with You I will look for another ocean."(sorry if my translating is poor) It's just such a beautiful song and has so much meaning especially here. Another one says " Si yo no tengo amor, yo nada soy Señor." It's so simple, but so true. If I don't have love, I'm nothing Lord. Singing it over and over again it became a beautiful meditation. 

For those that know me I enjoy silent adoration….That being said an adoration like this would usually be very distracting and almost frustrating to me to the point where I would miss the beauty in it. This day however, by God's grace I was able to take it in and appreciate it for all that it was. It was honest, pure, and innocent. This is the way God wants us to pray, at the top of our lungs, making a joyful noise….He didn't say it had to be in tune :)