my new home

Missionary House ( Casa Santa Teresita)

Front Porch

Sala (living room and missionary library)

Cocina (kitchen)

view out kitchen window

view out beach from front patio

girls rooms



my room

Garden

:) Jesus is in the center of our house

outdoor oven

Sunset

Daily Life and Logistics at the Finca

 

I first just want to thank all of you for all your prayers. I can truly feel them and I know they helped me so much during my discernment process. While I have known in  my heart for a while that mission life was something God was calling me to, I still can't believe where am I in life, and where I came from. I would encourage you to ask our Lady's intercession in aiding you to truly trust in her son. We can never imagine where the Lord will lead if we are just allow Him!

So I took some pics to try and give you a taste of the Finca. It's hard to describe what you experience here, but here are some things I've learned in my first two weeks:

-We are truly blessed to live on such a beautiful piece of property on the beach. I can hear the waves as I go to sleep:)

-The lights can go out at any time (usually doesn't affect you all that much except if you really need to charge something or in the cement bathroom...so we shower by candlelight:)

-The water can go at any time (usually we keep the pilas full for this reason and bucket showers are actually quite enjoyable...there's so much more water pressure:)

-There's an amazing amount of time to read and spend with people when there you have no TV or cell phone.

-You are able to adapt to things very rapidly. (For example; wildlife here including tarantulas, scorpians, rats, etc.)

- Rats are very intelligent.

-Living in community can be very beautiful, but also very challenging. (I've only heard the latter part through stories so far)

-Reading is a great outlet.

-Children are resilent.

-Hand washing your clothes isn't as bad as I thought. (Mind you I'm only washing clothes for myself.)

-Trying to dry your clothes during rainy season can sometimes be ridiculous. (It took 3 days for my towel to dry)

-Everything molds.

-On time is relative here. A meeting that starts at 12 would not be late starting at 1230, 1, 2 or just not happening.

-Hammocks are one of my favorite inventions.

-The only cereal in Honduras is Cornflakes

-Barefoot soccer is great fun!

-Taking a shower only means that you are clean until you leave the bathroom.

-Honduras is like Florida without the air conditioning. (I am soaked with sweat all day)

-Cold showers are great!

-Peanut Butter is a commodity.

-Clean is a relative term.

Learn to live life in the present!

 

 

 

 

Rat Race

 

So "rat race" will forever take on a new meaning in my mind. So we have a slight rat problem despite having all our food either in the cabinet or in Tupperware which apparently rats can chew through. They are getting so desperate they eat through an oven mitt. In response we decided Friday would be the day! Lucha! (Fight!) We divided up into 3 teams and started strategizing. Midway through this endeavor the lights se fue! (went out!) No problem, we continued by candlelight. haha. Our trap we a chute like contraption starting at a usual point of entry for the rats with a bag which contained peanut butter (so sad but we had to make some sacrifices) to lure them in, and then at the bottom a water bucket...self explanatory. Despite how great this trap seemed in theory we were quite doubtful it would actually function. We also used an old regular trap as well.

Rat Race Results:

 misioneros 4, ratones 0 :) ( most recent results)

Primer Dia en la Clinica

 

Through prayer I feel that the Lord is calling me to at certain times share a bit deeper my experience here. Entonces some parts of this entry is straight from my journal.

14 de Octubre

6:30am-Today is my first day shadowing! I'm so excited to finally be in the clinica and feel I have a purpose again. I'll let you know how it goes!

8:15pm- "Oh my Jesus thank You for such a beautiful first day! I am so blessed to work beside such wonderful other nurse missionaries and to have this opportunity! How different than the hospital but what affirmation and peace I feel in my heart that this is where You truly desire me to be at present!"

                "We started our day around 8am with a prayer outside the clinic with all the patients in line. How amazing! I'm just so excited to be serving in a clinic dedicated to Your Sacred Heart!" (The clinic is named, La clinica del Sagrado Corazon)

                This morning our first patient was a little boy who came in with c/o ear pain. OM (ear infection) is common here because of the ocean and the river. His legs were also covered by scabs that presented like impetigo. Apparently they are called "granos" here. The medical term is ecthyma. Usually it's cause by an initial mosquito bite that is scratched and is typically +MRSA or +Staph (though we have no way to test for sure). Ok I feel comfortable, a kid with an ear infection, easy enough fix, antibiotics and cream. We then moved on to consult his grandmother (in my head I was thinking oh no, an adult, I don't know what to do :) fyi I was a peds RN in the states) that brought him in. She had a BP of 180 something/100, which was an improvement from her previous two days before of 200 something/ 118 at which point we sent her to the hospital. This am she was asymptomatic and had not yet taken her BP meds yet. We reinforced the importance of taking your meds in the am. Thankfully she lives close by we had her take them and then advised her to return in the afternoon for a recheck. Our next family had 2 kids that had c/o of abd (belly) pain. The mom said she had seen worms in their poop. Kinda gross but very common here. During our consult I heard the RN in the other room let out a big gasp. I was so curious to know what was happening. Apparently a man had come in gushing blood from his thumb due to a machete wound! Did I mention all men here walk around with machetes? It's as common as people in the states with cell phones. Anyways, he had sliced his thumb to the bone. We gave him some Tylenol, held pressure for about 5 minutes, and irrigated it before sending him the hospital.  While we can do some suturing here, he had never had a tetanus shot or probably any others for that matter.

                After this we had a few more granos and gripe. Gripe is the term for the common cold, however I learned that when people complain of gripe, this does not usually include cough, mostly just mucous congestion and sometimes fever.

                 I feel like I learned so much it just one day! We finished up around 2 and headed home for lunch! It was nice to know lunch would be saved for us:) I can't wait to start cooking!

The Finca

Hola Family & Friends,

I have lived at the Finca for almost 2 weeks now! It has been so beautiful! It has felt a little strange because these last 2 weeks have been orientation so it feels a bit like an extended vacation. This week we had interviews for our jobs at the Finca. I was the only one of our new missionary class to come in knowing my position. During the interview process there was some competition, Noelle knows a lot of medical terminology. I think what put my over the top was my license :) Beside our primary jobs we also have three smaller jobs. I will be coaching girls soccer with Noelle, helping coach swimming lessons with Laura, and spiritual committee, which helps the sisters prepare the masses and other events.

Living in community, we will also have the shared task of cooking meals, cleaning, while maintaining our own chores like laundry, which is a bit more time consuming in the pila. I will never complain about doing laundry in the states again! haha. Actually I do enjoy washing my clothes pila style, at least for now :)

I am excited to have a purpose at the Finca:) I officially start shadowing Monday.  I hoping to propose a project involving the kids painting murals in the clinic! I'll keep you updated! More stories to come! Thanks for all your prayers! Please keep them coming!

Also because of many requests this is my new address for the next years! Instant coffee packets are always welcome! :)

Finca del Nino-Natalia
Apartdado Postal 110
Trujillo, Colon
Honduras, Central America

 

First Week at the Finca

 

So we finally made it to the Finca (Farm)! I think all our hearts are so happy to be here! I know for me on the car ride on the way to the Farm all the fears and doubts I had about coming just completely were taken by the Holy Spirit and were replaced with a peace that just filled my heart, mind, and soul with affirmation! It is hard to describe the Farm to someone, but I will try. It is a beautiful piece of property covered with trees right on the bay. In the middle is a beautiful, open-air chapel. There is a big soccer field in front of this. There are 6 houses that run in a circular fashion around the farm occupied by kids and tias (aunts) that are the primary caregivers for the children. The houses are separated by age and sex. The missionary house faces the ocean and I can hear the waves as I fall asleep. There is electricity and running water sometimes. I think when we arrived there was neither! It was beautiful! The whole community has welcomed us in with open hearts!

It has been a busy couple of days. Tuesday was the feast of Saint Therese, patroness of missionaries, Oct 3rd was the birthday of our founder, Vincent Pescatore, and Oct 4th was the feast of Saint Francisco, who was also a missionary, and is a big part of the spirituality of the Finca. We have had fiestas all week! The kids even had a parade around the Finca and a production of the life of Saint Francis!

Please continue to pray for the Finca and the missionaries as we begin to shadow for our new positions. I will be offering for ya'll and please if there is anything specific send me an email. I ask for your patience and understanding as my communication will be limited to every 1 or 2 weeks. Love ya'll!