Settling in!

Two and a half weeks of language school down, three and a half to go. So far, every new day spent here is “officially my longest time spent out of the United States”. I often find myself comparing things here in Honduras to life in States. For example, seeing a child sitting on their parent’s lap in the driver seat of a car on a main road is normal and accepted, as is seeing a small child strapped to their parent’s chest as they are zooming down the street on a motor cycle. After spending many years as the shortest member of my family, and the last four years of college as one of the shortest people in my friend group, it is strange to be taller than almost every person that I meet. More than once I have been referred to as “la chica alta Emi” (the tall girl, Emily) and named the designated selfie taker of the group. Another normal is that people here celebrate EVERYTHING. Hearing fireworks in the middle of the night has become a normal thing, as is randomly stopping everything so that a parade can go down the street. Also, there are stray dogs everywhere. The other day we were at Sunday Mass. In Guatemala they keep the church doors open the whole time to welcome anyone who might want to pop in and take a peak at what is going on. A few minutes into Mass a random dog came strolling up the isle and found a nice spot to lay down right in the middle, half-way to the front. He was very content and stayed there almost the entire time. It was not until it was time for communion and people were getting out of their seats and walking to the front that the dog decided to get up too. It was pretty entertaining to watch him follow someone up to the front and then turn around and walk back with them before finding a new person to follow back to the front and then back again. I guess he just wanted to participate in the Mass too!

The five of us with our teachers. And yes, that is our school!

Even though I love this new culture and everything that comes with it, it is nice to find a constant that connects this new life to my life back home as well. That constant for me has been from going to Mass every day. I know that sounds funny since I can’t actually comprehend any of it since it’s all in Spanish. How can I feel so connected to something that I can’t even understand or comprehend yet? It is so difficult sometimes! But then, that’s where the beauty of the Catholic Church comes in. Today during Mass I was struggling to keep my attention to what was going on. I was more concentrated on the fact that despite reading the readings in english prior to mass, I still had no idea what Father’s homily was about. My thoughts drifted to the fact that somewhere up in Oklahoma my OU friends were also celebrating daily Mass at that same time. I can’t comprehend, but I am still able to follow along and know what was going on, it’s like we are celebrating together despite being so far apart. It is such a gift.  I have been able to find so much comfort in knowing that every Sunday somewhere in Texas my parents and siblings are participating in the exact same Mass as I. Isn’t that so beautiful? I think so anyway. I also know that so much of my peace and comfort is coming from the many prayers that I have been receiving from family, friends, (and strangers!) back home. THANK-YOU!!!!

The other two missionaries, Cecilia and Laura arrived a little over a week ago now officially completing our missionary class! The five of us have stayed pretty busy with Spanish classes, presentations, volunteering around the city, and exploring Guatemala. It’s funny because even though we are not actually getting graded at school, we still spent a solid amount of time researching and practicing for our Spanish presentations this past week. Each of us individually researched a Saint of our choice, wrote up a “30 minute” presentation in Spanish, and created a PowerPoint to accompany it. In addition to that, because we are now apart of the Latin American culture, we all had to make colorful invitations to our presentations and distribute them personally to the other missionaries and their teachers as well as to the directors of the school. That would never happen in America but our teachers insisted that we not only make them, but that they look high quality as well. In addition to all of that, we obviously needed snacks for our presentation, so one of my weekly “field trips” consisted of Kassidy, both of our teachers, and I walking to the super market. Side note- on our way there we came across the nicest McDonald’s to ever exist, so of course we went inside too look around (and take a picture with Ronald McDonald).

Outside of the Convent of the Poor Clares

Another “field trip” that we took last week was to the Convent of the Poor Clares. It is located one quick ride on the Chicken bus (yes, that is what they are called), and short hike up the bottom of one of the volcanoes. It was great being able to talk to them about their lives and even our Mission to the Finca. Since my Spanish is still in it’s beginning stages it was a lot more listening than talking for me, but still interesting and helpful nonetheless. We have also gotten a lot of Spanish practice in during the weekends when traveling to various places around Guatemala. This past weekend all five of us got to visit the beautiful Lake Atitlán. We went on a boat tour that took us to three different pueblas (towns) where we spent about an hour at each place talking to the people that live there and exploring their local markets. The culture here is pretty amazing.

On the boat ride around Lake Atilán

At one of the biggest markets in Guatemala

I am very thankful for everything that I have experienced thus far. From the Spanish classes to the beautiful places that I have seen, it has been such an adventure here. I am loving my host family, the food, and all of the friends that we have made. Feel free to email or Facebook message me prayer requests, if you want to learn more about what I am doing, or if you just want to chat. I LOVE hearing from everyone! Know that my prayers are constantly with everyone back home. Blessings and love to all!

Don't worry mom and dad, we still eat ice-cream regularly

My "host-cousin" Camilla and I playing dolls on evening

Hola from Guatemala!

Hola from Guatemala!

Week 1 has been such a great experience already. Guatemala is MUY bonita!!!! One of my favorite experiences so far has been walking around the town and visiting the old churches and cathedrals. There are 8(?) Catholic Churches walking distance from where I live. We have been trying to attend a different church for daily mass every day. Of course I have already taken a ton of photos, my favorite being this one below.  Since we walk everywhere, I am lucky enough to be able to pass by and spend time here every day!

On the left of the picture is San Francisco Church, which is just down the street from my school and on the right is the most beautiful adoration chapel. 

Anne, Kassidy, and I arrived in Guatemala last Saturday  and the other two missionaries, Cecilia and Laura arrive tomorrow to complete our missionary class. Anne, Kassidy, and I were welcomed by 3 of the staff members from La Union Spanish School. They gave us the sweetest letters from our host families and a doll that is a gift from the school. 

My sweet host-mom, Lizza

I have school every day from 8am-noon, and I usually hang out at school for a bit afterwards before heading back home for lunch at 1:15. I am then free to study and explore in the afternoon and evenings. My school offers various activities in the afternoons that any student can sign up for and participate in. They also offer volunteer opportunities around the city which we will hopefully begin next week. So far we have visited a music and coffee museum, and we were taught how to make tortillas (my tortilla making skills are still a work in progress).

Anne, another student at La Union, one of the instructors, me, and Kassidy making tortillas

My baby tortilla

In school, we all have 1-on-1 teachers that teach us according to our individual spanish learning needs- which is great because my spanish needs a lot of help! Since we have 4 hours with our teacher per day, they often take us to various places around the city. One of my favorite adventures so far has been to the market. I have seen markets like this in pictures and TV shows, but they do not do it justice. It had everything that you could possibly ever need and more options than you could ever imagine. My maestra (teacher) told me all about the different foods that we saw and I was able to practice my spanish through communicating with her and through buying fruit while at the market. When we got back to school we made las fresas (strawberries) y los bananos con crema. There was a ton of extra so Anne, Kassidy, and I served some to the other staff, teachers, and students- while of course practicing our spanish when offering it to them. It was muy delicious!

                                                                Can't start school without a first day of school pic!

Anyway, Guatamala has been amazing. I will continue to blog and post pictures when I can. While I am in Guatemala I do have access to wifi at the school and would LOVE to hear from you via e-mail (listed on the right hand side). We were told this is our transition phase into to missionary life, a time of separation from home with a new lifestyle, yet not quite the life of a missionary. I am trying to distance myself from accessing the internet on a regular basis, but I still love hearing from family and friends when I do access my e-mail! That is where we are right now, enjoying our days of Spanish and new places and preparing for the day we meet our Finca family.

Thank you so much to everyone who has kept my fellow missionaries and I in your prayers and has made this adventure possible, you are very much appreciated and loved! We are praying for you as well. God Bless!

How I got here- trusting God's plan

Hello! First of all I would like to start off by thanking anyone who is reading this. As someone who has never written (or read very many :/) blogs before, I hope that I live up to your expectations. I plan to post when I can whether that will be pictures, stories, random reflections, or just to prove that I am still alive and well.

I have been asked multiple times about how I decided to become a missionary. Upon sharing my story with people I began to recognize a reoccurring theme in this discernment process so far. That theme?- That would be that God’s plan is always always greater than mine, and to never get too comfortable. God showed me over and over again this past year that despite what I decide, His plans will always prevail.

            Now to start from the beginning. The summer before my senior year at The University of Oklahoma, I went on a week-long mission trip to Trujillo, Honduras. I served at an orphanage called the Farm of The Child, or Finca Del Niño. While I absolutely loved my time there, I did not think that I had a future in missions or that I would ever be returning. As it turns out- I was wrong. I spent my entire senior year giving myself all sorts of excuses as to why being a missionary was not a practical or good idea for me. I was going to be a teacher here in the United States close to my family and friends. As you can probably guess, the Lord had other plans for me.

Since accepting a missionary position with the Finca Del Niño, I have been asked many questions about my mission. The post popular being: “Do you know anyone that is going with you?” and “Do you speak Spanish?” The answer to both of these questions is the same- no. That answer is greeted by nervous looks only to be followed with “well you graduated with a degree in elementary education, so you will be teaching right?” At the beginning of the summer I was fairly confident that this would be true. I had not been assigned my job yet, but surely since teaching was all I knew, that is what my job would be. But surprise- the Lord continues to keep me on my toes! During a conference call late July I was told that I will be the social worker serving the younger kids on the farm. When I first heard this I was a bit nervous.  The Lord was already asking me to give up constant communication and close proximity to my family and friends, the comfort of my American life, and my English language, and now he was asking me to give up the only job that I had any sort of prior knowledge on.

            With all of that being said, throughout this entire discernment process I have had an odd calmness about me. My mind wants to freak out when I am reminded about how unprepared I am, but then the Lord shows up and reminds me that He is in control. Despite my lack of knowledge, I have been provided with so many people who are willing resources for me with regards to my future job and mission in general.
            Recently at Mass at my home parish of St. Peter’s in Boerne, Tx, our Priest, Father Norm gave a homily on Faith. He gave many definitions of the word “faith” one of them being that “Faith is trusting in the mystery.” Those words have really stuck with me. Those words can apply to our lives as Christians in so many ways. For me personally that was another instance of the Lord telling me that in my life there will be so much unknown- so much mystery, but in the end the Lord has a beautiful plan for each of us that he is stitching together piece by piece, I just need to trust Him.

So here I am, a whole year of discerning later.

·      Do I know anyone that is going with me? Not in person, but we have texted and video chatted and I can’t wait to do life with them.

·      Do I speak Spanish? Not much, but I’ll learn.

·      Do I know how to be a social worker? Not at all, but I am so so excited for this opportunity.

·      Am I excited about this future that the Lord seems to have planted in my life?

You bet!! I am thrilled, clueless, excited, and nervous all at the same time. I may not know what I am doing, but the Lord does. So here’s to many more life experiences, realizations, and (hopefully) blogs written to document my experiences. Thank you all who have stuck with me through this whole jumble of thoughts. A huge thank you to my home parish, St. Peter's Catholic Church for their very generous support of my mission. Please continue to pray for me and feel free to reach out to me with thoughts and prayer requests of your own.