Beans, Rice and Fishers of Men

Autumn Craziness in Honduras

2009-12-01T13:02:00.000-08:00

While the leaves have been falling in the United States, we have been experiencing a rapid passing of time with a very busy schedule. Time flies when people are leaving for missions, only to come back for a split second before taking off for another adventure in the mountains. Within the past month, we have successfully sent a team to Nicaragua for a Pan de Vida retreat with the CFRs, lead a retreat for the Becas Program, and went on a well deserved community retreat. When all of this is accounted for, it is shocking how we even found time to do all of this!

The Pan de Vida retreat was a real success and even though I was not there, it was nice to hear all of the stories about the lives that were changed through the personal encounter with Christ that all of the participants experienced. Many of the missioners that were there just a few months before for the first Pan de Vida were astounded by the amount of spiritual growth that the community has encountered; it was remarkable to hear how people that just a few months earlier were radically following the Lord and walking side by side with their brothers and sisters in Christ to build a stronger community.

The retreat for the Becas program was a chance for all of us to grow closer to the children that are in the sponsorship program. It was fascinating to see the stark difference between the "city" children and the "mountain" children that we encountered when we met up with the young men and women that live with Father Max, the priest that runs a mission program in Florida. Our students were clothed in the latest fashions, with all of the best clothing that they could find. On the journey to Florida, all of the girls were painting their faces, admiring the fake beauty behind their compacts, whereas those from the mountains were plain and simple, untouched by the mainstream; it was a lesson for both students as they interacted, and interesting to see the differences.

The students heard talks about responsibility, with the theme of the retreat purposely aimed at drawing a deeper and more intimate relationship with the Lord. The students were encouraged to leave all of their past faults and failings behind to follow with more vigor and truth the path that God has chosen for every one of them. Through small groups and activities that conveyed the message of the Gospels, each student brought home something that they did not have at the beginning, a deeper love for our Lord's sacrifice.

After the Becas Retreat, we went on a community retreat to get in touch ourselves and refuel our spirits getting to know each other a little better. We spent a few days relaxing in the hills right outside of Tegulciculpa in Valle de Angeles. The retreat center is half for those seeking a silent retreat, and the other half is for youth groups and groups like ours where silence is nearly impossible. It was nice to finally get some time away from the mission house where regardless if we are in a meeting, there is a knock at the door or an emergency. In this way, all of us were able to escape at the same time and enjoy some time without having to cook, or help someone in a crisis.

We left Valle de Angeles relaxed, and continued our relaxation at Suyapa, right behind the Basilica where there is a retreat center. There were had 2 speakers, one of which was Father Max (different from the one aforementioned) who had helped with one of the mission teams earlier in September to the Mosquitia. The other speaker was one of the missionaries at the retreat center who was incredibly encouraging and had very inspiring words to share for everyone in order to help us continue doing the work that we have been called to do.

This month has been a very hectic and crazy month filled with many surprises, but the mission is still going strong and continuing through the constant guidance of the Holy Spirit. We have all learned more about each other, and have been able to reach many new people through the different retreats as well as all of the traveling that we have been doing. It is through God's constant intercession and love that we are made whole, and are able to continue with eager anticipation for His coming.

Feliz Adviento!!!!

2009-10-22T14:00:00.000-07:00

Nely, Roger, and Hannah outside Casa Guadalupe before the Pan De Vida Retreat

Brother Mateo with the Missionaries of Charity in the kitchen of the Convent before the Transitus Celebration

Community building in the Mountains of Comayagua...... and a water fight!!!!!!

The past few months have definitely been a marathon of work and changes, but things remain relatively the same in Honduras. With Honduras winning a spot to compete in the World Cup next summer in South Africa, it would be an understatement to say that this has been a momentous occasion of excitement, exhilaration, and elation. Honduras has been nobly trudging through a very dark and difficult time within its history, and such a win was not only a miracle, but a very inspiring and enlightening way to take the focus off of what political or personal agendas people might have, equalizing and unifying a shattered community.

This unity has ironically been transposed onto the community, which recently received four new additions from the United States. Over the past 2 months, we have all experienced a Pan De Vida retreat, the Transitus of Saint Francis, and most importantly community building.

This recent Pan De Vida took place at Casa Guadalupe during a very ominous and gray week in Honduras. Mel Zelaya had returned to the country earlier that week, and everyone was put under strict curfews due to the unstable political conditions. Whether or not the Pan de Vida retreat would even take place was a very touchy situation since the country had been under a "toque de queda," or a nationwide curfew.

Despite all of the chaos, God valiantly triumphed and the retreat occurred without a problem. A little over 100 adolescent boys and girls filed into Casa Guadalupe with anticipation and a certain level of anxiety not knowing what really would occur during the weekend. For many, this was their first encounter with Eucharistic Adoration and Eucharistic Healing. Even though the world might have seemed fractured and there might not be that much hope, our Lord shined through filling our sorrows with His grace and love. Seeing so many conversions and changed young children of God was truly inspiring.

Regardless of what the world might say while reflecting on the situations within Honduras, one aspect of society shines brighter than them all...... HOPE. Honduras may have entered a very difficult time within its history, but the people remain faithful, and with an armament of faith are willing to weather the battle forbearingly.

CALLING ALL SAINTS - HONDURAS NEEDS YOUR HELP!!!!

2009-07-01T16:18:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

We are writing to give you a brief update on the status of things here in Honduras. It has been a challenge and a gift to be invited to be with the people of this beautiful country in a very critical time. The need for the Church to be united in prayer in the world that we currently live in is immense. In times of crisis we come to realize that God continues to ask us to be an active part of the Church-militant; standing in the gap and learning how to be intercessors for the poor, those in turmoil, those needing conversion and the desperate of heart.

Honduras is in crisis. Over the past several days (and years) we have seen a drama unfold that puts the country today at a critical crossroads. The president, Mel Zelaya, who was elected in 2006 has been gradually and deliberately aligning himself and this country with other Socialist nations. In the past year he joined a list of several other nations to include Nicaragua, Bolivia, Venezuela, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Saint Vincent, Granada, Antigua, Barbados, and Ecuador in the Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América (ALBA) whose goals put the country on a course in the direction of a socialist dictatorship and a disregard for defending democratic rule and practices. He preports to be a voice for the poor and marginalized but has spoken for them and the country without comprehensive consensus and support.

With this brief background the events of the past week have taken place. Mel decided to try to push through a referendum vote that would allow for his term as president to be extended. This is directly against the constitution of the Republic and only the Congress can pass a referendum that allows for the possibility of the constitution being changed. He decided in the process to ignore the legal channels and to continue without the support of the Congress and the Supreme Court. Because the military refused to defy the Congress's order and the written constitution and help him distribute the materials for the scheduled vote this past Sunday, he fired the head of the military. It was determined that his actions in firing him were illegal and the Supreme Court issued an order that he be reinstated. Mel refused to reinstate him and went as far as to enter the military base with many of his followers where they had confiscated the voting boxes distributed for the vote to redistribute them. This again took place after the Congress had determined that the vote was illegal.

The Congress and Supreme Court entered an emergency session on Saturday to determine their needed response in the protection of the country and in protection of democracy and the Constitution. They determined that the president's choices were clearly illegal and that it was necessary to remove him from office and have him transported to Costa Rica where they could prevent as much chaos as possible from taking place on the Sunday when the vote was supposedly going to take place. And then the world drama began.

An emergency meeting of the countries represented in the ALBA agreement was immediately organized in Nicaragua. Mel was flown there by Hugo Chavez from Costa Rica. The organization of American States and well as the United Nations also scheduled emergency meetings to take place over the next few days and to decide the position other nations would take on what had taken place in Honduras.

There has been an overwhelming response on the part of the international community in defending a former president who clearly committed illegal acts to move the country of Honduras back in the direction of socialism. There has not been balance in the international communities reporting in addressing directly the clear violations that lead up to the arrest of Zeleya and his transport to Costa Rica. What has proceeded is confusion and uncertainty.

The newly appointed president (not a military officer) but the next in line for the presidency, Michiletti, has been doing what he can to calm the situation and make decisions based on protecting the country as democratic and peaceful. Of note is that Michiletti is from the same political party as Zelaya and a a party they have decided that the goals of Mel's presidency are clearly not there own and have withdrawn their support of him. Mel's return to Honduras on Saturday after the warning given by the international community of restoring him to power in 72 hours puts the people of Honduras (with a clear majority not supporting the return to the presidency of Mel), the Congress and the Supreme Court in a very difficult position.

What can we do? WE NEED TO FAST, PRAY AND MAKE SACRIFICES THAT GOD MIGHT HEAR THE CRIES OF HIS PEOPLE AND MOVE WITH COMPASSION ON THEIR BEHALF! We have been doing almost continual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in a round-the-clock schedule knowing that Jesus Christ is our peace and can make a way out of no way. The power of the prayers of His faithful in the past has stopped wars, averted disasters, and can calm this storm. We are begging our friends and family members to join us in praying for a demonstration of God's power and a preservation of peace and right in this country. We are part of the same body and really need your help.

We have attached to this blog a novena to Our Lady Help of Christians and are going to start praying it here today. Please join us in praying with the specific intention that peace would reign in this country and that Jesus would be recognized as the One that the people are crying out for and need.

We will try and send you updates on the situation in the country every few days via this blog. Thank you for your willingness to be a part of seeing the body of Christ in Honduras preserved from all evil and free to continue to choose Christ.

May the Lord continue to give you His peace.

Carol Restaine & the Missioners of Christ

NOVENA IN HONOUR OF MARY
HELP OF CHRISTIANS

DAY 1

Faith and the acceptance of the Word of God: Luke 1: 26-38

O Mary, powerful help of those Christians

who approach the throne of your mercy with trust!

Listen to the prayers of your children

who invoke your help to avoid sin and the occasions of sin.

Hail Mary, Glory Be

Almighty and merciful Lord, in a marvelous manner you deigned to make the most holy Virgin Mary a powerful helper in defense of Christians. Grant that, having fought the good fight under her protection during our life, we may be victorious over our infernal enemy at the hour of our death. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.

DAY 2

Sincere humility: Luke 1: 48

O Mary most holy, kind and merciful mother,

with your visible help you freed the Christian people

from the ferocious assaults of the Muslims.

Free our souls from the attacks of the devil,

the world, and the flesh,

so that we may always overcome the enemies of our salvation.

Hail Mary, Glory Be

Almighty and merciful Lord, in a marvelous manner you deigned to make the most holy Virgin Mary a powerful helper in defense of Christians. Grant that, having fought the good fight under her protection during our life, we may be victorious over our infernal enemy at the hour of our death. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.

DAY 3

Active charity: Luke 1: 36-39

Most powerful Queen of heaven,

you triumphed over heresies

which sought to tear your children away from the Church.

Come to our assistance so that we may remain steadfast in our faith

and may guard the purity of our hearts

in the midst of the many dangers that beset us.

Hail Mary, Glory Be

Almighty and merciful Lord, in a marvelous manner you deigned to make the most holy Virgin Mary a powerful helper in defense of Christians. Grant that, having fought the good fight under her protection during our life, we may be victorious over our infernal enemy at the hour of our death. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.

DAY 4

Filial love for God: Luke 2: 21, 22, 40

Mary, our most amiable Mother,

you are the Queen of martyrs

because of the heroic courage and strength you exercised on earth.

Obtain for us the strength we need to be constant in your service

and always to show ourselves your devoted children in life and in death.

Hail Mary, Glory Be

Almighty and merciful Lord, in a marvelous manner you deigned to make the most holy Virgin Mary a powerful helper in defense of Christians. Grant that, having fought the good fight under her protection during our life, we may be victorious over our infernal enemy at the hour of our death. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.

DAY 5

Gratitude for our gifts: Luke 1: 46-49

Loving Mother Mary,

you showed your powerful protection in the triumph of Pope Pius VII.

Spread your mantle over the Church;

and protect our Shepherd, the Holy Father,

from the attacks of the enemy,

free him from all attacks,

and assist him always as he steers the bark of St. Peter to safety.

Hail Mary, Glory Be

Almighty and merciful Lord, in a marvelous manner you deigned to make the most holy Virgin Mary a powerful helper in defense of Christians. Grant that, having fought the good fight under her protection during our life, we may be victorious over our infernal enemy at the hour of our death. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.

DAY 6

Gratitude shown in the offering at the temple: Luke 2: 22-24

Mary, Queen of the Apostles,

take under your protection all the ministers

and the faithful of the Catholic Church.

Fill them with a burning zeal for the salvation of souls,

and give special assistance to missionaries

so that they may succeed to attract all souls to faith in Jesus Christ

and thus form one flock under the guidance of one Shepherd.

Hail Mary, Glory Be

Almighty and merciful Lord, in a marvelous manner you deigned to make the most holy Virgin Mary a powerful helper in defense of Christians. Grant that, having fought the good fight under her protection during our life, we may be victorious over our infernal enemy at the hour of our death. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.

DAY 7

Poverty accepted with dignity and with trust in the Lord: Luke 1: 48; 2: 24

Loving and merciful Mother,

you saved Christians from countless misfortunes.

Free us from the plague of infidelity

which seeks to alienate us from the Church and religious observances

by means of corrupt publications

and schools and irreligious sects.

Grant perseverance to the good,

give strength to the weak,

and move sinners to repentance,

so that truth and the Kingdom of Jesus Christ may triumph in the world.

Hail Mary, Glory Be

Almighty and merciful Lord, in a marvelous manner you deigned to make the most holy Virgin Mary a powerful helper in defense of Christians. Grant that, having fought the good fight under her protection during our life, we may be victorious over our infernal enemy at the hour of our death. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.

DAY 8

Prayer in the apostolic community: Acts 1:12-14

Mary, Pillar of the Church and Help of Christians,

we beg to keep us firmly rooted in our faith

and to protect in us our freedom as children of God.

We promise not to stain our souls with sin

and to obey our Holy Father and the Bishops

in communion with him.

We want to live and die in the bosom of the Church

and to attain eternal salvation.

Hail Mary, Glory Be

Almighty and merciful Lord, in a marvelous manner you deigned to make the most holy Virgin Mary a powerful helper in defense of Christians. Grant that, having fought the good fight under her protection during our life, we may be victorious over our infernal enemy at the hour of our death. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.

DAY 9

Mary, Mother of Jesus and our Mother: John 19: 25-27

Most loving Mother Mary,

you have always been the Help of Christians.

Help us with your powerful protection in life

and especially at the hour of our death,

so that, after having loved and venerated you on earth,

we may come to proclaim your mercy in heaven.

Hail Mary, Glory Be

Almighty and merciful Lord, in a marvelous manner you deigned to make the most holy Virgin Mary a powerful helper in defense of Christians. Grant that, having fought the good fight under her protection during our life, we may be victorious over our infernal enemy at the hour of our death. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Holy Week Missions

2009-04-21T11:16:00.000-07:00

May the peace of the Risen Lord be upon you all!

To conclude the Lenten Season, we had three missions during Holy Week. Two teams went into the mountains to do missions, and one team stayed and did local missions within the neighborhood.

The following is a reflection was written by Diana, one of our Honduras long-term missioners who has lived in the community for a year and half. She with a number of other missioners lead a team into the mountains of La Florida.

"During Holy Week we did a holy mission in a parish named Holy Family in La Florida, La Paz with a priest named Father Maximilian. We went to a number of villages that are a bit away from the city. During the week we participated with the people in different celebrations. We visited homes to encourage the people and to speak to them about the Love of God. Sometimes they feel distant and excluded, and for them to know and to hear the Word of God gives them strength. Visiting these villages helped us to realize how extensive the Catholic Church is and that we need to work more. The people mantain their faith mainly by family tradition, and to help them to grow deeper in their faith was our mission. These people have mass every 6 months or once a year because the parish is large and Fr. Max has much work and is unable to make many visits to each village. Fr. Max has 40 youth that are currently in school while living and working with him in his parish. We work with this particular priest a lot."

We also had another team that went to the mountains of Tutule (pronounced too-too-leh). Here are some photos from their team.

Emily leading the children in praise songs.

Via Crucis.
(The Way of the Cross)

Mode of transportation: a coffee truck!

Team Tutule!
On the steps of the local parish.

I, myself, had the opportunity to participate in the local mission. One big blessing during this time was that we had two family visits taking place - Mark's sister and cousin came to visit, as well as Therese's dad and two brothers, who had come to surprise her. As it turned out, God had a bigger surprise, particularly for Therese - she had appendicitis! She had to have a appendectomy, but is now recovering and healing. Please keep in her your prayers as she continues to heal from the surgery.

Therese with her dad.

On Tuesday MJ and I lead a day of reflection with the help of local youth and Therese's brothers for all the residents at the Missionaries of Charity home. Among the residents are elderly men, women and mothers with aids, and children with aids or who have been orphaned as a result of aids. We started off the day praising our Lord with song, and then spent time with each group, singing, giving them a short teaching, and doing projects with the children. We concluded with Holy Hour and confessions. It was a beautiful day and an awesome reminder of what a precious gift TIME can be when given to others.

Me with Kenny, one of the children who lives at the MOC's.

Therese's brothers David and Greg with the boys.

The team at the end of the day with the children.

On Wednesday, we did the stations of the cross with the children of our barrio. It was wonderful to lead them in such a powerful way of prayer. We started off with a group of about 20, and people joined us as we continued along. We ended in front of our local parish and left solemnly anticipating the Lord's rising.

I hope that all of you had a blessed Lenten season.
CHRIST IS RISEN, ALLELUIA!!

Through Mary's heart,
Cecilia

Spring 2009 - Our Newest Additions!

2009-03-11T08:08:00.000-07:00

The following biographies are of our newest missionaries that arrived this past January. Please continue to keep them in your prayers!

My name is Nereida Carolina Ballesteros Villamil. I was born in Siguatepeque, Comayagua. I am 28 years old, and am the third of six siblings. My brother Maynor also belongs to the Misioners of Christ. I am a public accountant, and worked for a family as an accountant for 10 years. I like to read and learn a little about everything. I belong to the parish of San Pablo in Siguatepeque and to the youth group “Missioners of Christ and Mary”. My best friend – Jesus. I love to talk to him.

My name is Rudy Benitez. I come from a family of 8 children, 3 boys and 5 girls. My new Christian life began when I was 18 years old through a priest named Father Maximiliano. He invited me to the youth group and at the same time to a mission with the Missioners of Christ. Through him I came to know the Missioners, and in seeing the testimony of the Christian life, I wanted to be a missionary. I spoke with Carolina and she gave me strength to continue to see if it was God’s as will – and it is, because now I find myself living in the community of the Missioners and I am here giving all that I can to find the call of God.

My name is Cecilia, but am often called Cece or Ceci. I hail from the San Francisco Bay Area of California, and am Filipina by blood and in heart. I am the only girl in a family of 5 children, and have the 4 coolest brothers a girl could ever have. I am 21 years old and just graduated from San Francisco State University with a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and minors in Philosophy & Religion, and Business Administration this past December. I take after my namesake and patron - St. Cecilia, music is one of my greatest passions and my favorite way to speak with our Lord. I am very excited to serve God among His poor, and am humbled that He would call me to serve Him this way. May the good God bless you and may Mary keep you, always!

My name is Edwin. I am 20 years old and am from Agua Blanca, Minas de Oro in Comayagua. I’m from a humble Catholic family. My hope has always been to serve and to surrender my youth to God. God has now given me this opportunity to be a missionary, so I’m going to work hard for God as a Missioner of Christ.

Nails in the Door

2009-01-26T10:42:00.000-08:00

Most Sundays, a small group of us goes to the 9:00 “Children’s Mass” at the parish down the street: Santíssima Trinidad (Most Holy Trinity). All of the neighborhood kids come, and the church is always packed, which means that the Mass often turns into unmitigated chaos. Imagine – dozens of kids of all ages, many unaccompanied by their parents, some accompanied by their pets, older siblings dragging younger ones by the hand, babies crying, little boys picking their noses and punching each other in the arm, little girls playing with each other’s hair and chattering incessantly… It drives some of the missionaries crazy, but I love it! True, it’s not exactly an environment conducive to contemplation, but Fr. Erminio always gives spectacular homilies, and something about that Mass (chaotic as it is) always leaves me feeling like I’m exactly where God wants me to be at that moment. I usually see the little girls from my discipleship class, and they remind me of how God has charged me with the responsibility of being a good example for them. Yesterday, 8-year-old María Concepción came to sit with me, and when she wasn’t holding my hand or playing with the buttons on my jean jacket, she was imitating everything I did. Everything – even the way I had my hands folded!

Providentially, yesterday morning Fr. Erminio preached about the effectiveness of a good example, especially in regard to the conversion of our families. As he has many times before, he emphasized the great need in our society for parents who teach their children by example to love the things of God and not the things of the world. If parents want to be able to provide a better life for their families, he counseled, they must begin by being faithful to prayer and the Sacraments. Of course, he added, a good example only goes so far. Sometimes even the most devout parents find themselves unable to keep their children on the right path – and yet there is never cause to lose hope. To illustrate this point, he related the following story:

“Once, a father came to me who was very distressed by the behavior of his only son. He and his wife had done their best to teach him by their example to love the things of God and not the things of the world, but during his teenage years he rebelled against them by declaring himself an atheist and refusing to attend Mass. He joined the neighborhood gang, began abusing alcohol and drugs, and became frighteningly violent. Some nights when he came home drunk, the boy would hit his mother, and if his father so much as raised a finger in protest, the son threatened him with his machete. Because the father knew it was within his son’s power to kill him, he always backed down, and for this he felt ashamed. He had lived in this sort of fear for years before coming to me for help. Not knowing any way out of this seemingly impossible situation, I encouraged him to continue to pray that somehow his son would be converted, and promised to pray with him.

“The man went home, and while he prayed that evening, he was inspired with an idea. The next day, he began to hammer nails into a wooden door in their home, one nail for each of his son’s misdeeds. Each time his son boasted of some terrible thing he’d done, each time he beat his mother, each time he threatened to kill his father, his father hammered another nail into the door. Soon, there wasn’t space left for even one more nail.

“One morning, as the boy was walking to the kitchen for breakfast, he noticed the door covered in nails and stopped in front of it. ‘What are all the nails for?’ he asked his father.

“‘For each of your misdeeds,’ his father answered, with great sorrow in his voice. ‘And this isn’t all of them – I only began doing this some time ago, and soon I saw that the door wasn’t big enough.’

“His son stared at the door for a while, and looked at his father as if he were still in need of an explanation. ‘I used nails,’ his father said, ‘because each terrible thing you did felt like a nail driven into my heart.’

“The boy began to weep, and asked quietly if he could remove the nails from the door. There were so many, and he was ashamed. ‘You can begin to remove the nails,’ his father said gently, ‘if you begin doing good deeds in reparation for all of the hurt you’ve caused – not only to me and your mother, but to God.’

“His son promised to begin doing good, and after several months, he was able to remove the last nail from the door. ‘Well done, my son!’ exclaimed his father, embracing him. ‘Now, we must celebrate!’

“Much to the man’s surprise, his son began to cry – deep, heavy sobs, the way he had cried as a small child. ‘Father,’ he said through tears, ‘the nails may be gone, but their marks are still in the door.’

“‘Don’t let that trouble you,’ his father said. ‘We will fill the holes made by the nails, not with putty or clay, but with the love we have for one another.’”

Prayer to St. Joseph for Families

Gracious St. Joseph, protect me and my family from all evil as you did the Holy Family. Kindly keep us ever united in the love of Christ, ever fervent in imitation of the virtue of our Blessed Lady, your sinless spouse, and always faithful in devotion to you. Amen.

Meet Our Missionaries

2008-11-04T18:36:00.000-08:00

The following missionaries have been serving at the mission here in Comayagua during Summer and Fall 2008. Please keep all of them in your prayers!

Maynor Ballesteros - My name is Maynor Ballesteros, and I am 26 years old. My parents have been married for 32 years, and I have 3 sisters and 2 brothers. I have lived in community with the Missioners of Christ here in Comayagua for the past 3 years. I am here to grow in virtue so that I can better serve those in need and to grow in holiness through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Diana Blanco - My name is Diana Blanco, and I am 19 years old. I was born here in Honduras, and I have been living with the Missioners for a year now. In December I will leave the Missioners to attend university. I work with the Rosas de Maria, a group of young girls aged 11 to 14, and help with the coordination of Advance Missions. I also work with leadership retreats for youth and pro-life ministries. The reason I am here with the Missioners is to grow in my faith and as a person, with the help of God and my brothers and sisters in the community, and to learn how to be a better servant of God.

Roger Blanco - Hi! My name is Roger Blanco, and I am 21 years old. I am Honduran and from the department of La Paz. I come from a small family, 3 brothers and 2 sisters. I am currently living with the Missioners of Christ, along with my sister Diana, and completing the first year of my secondary education. I have been with the Missioners for 17 months. I am a strong Catholic, thanks be to God. I like to work in the garden and with children and young people, and I am open to doing the will of God. Please pray for me. God bless you!

MJ Brennan - Hello! My name is MJ Brennan, but here in Honduras I also go by Maria. I am 22 years old, and I just graduated from Boston College, though I am originally from Grand Rapids, MI. I heard God calling me to live with the Missioners for, God-willing, two years to dedicate my daily life to serving God completely in community life and to learn how to better love the poor. I have begun working with a number of programs including the Scholarship Program, the Single Mothers' program, Rosas de Maria catechism class (11-14 year old girls), and short-term missions. I am very grateful that God has placed me here for this season in my life.

Emily Byers - Peace of Christ be with you! My name is Emily Byers, I'm 21 years old, and in May I graduated from Louisiana State University. On my first mission trip in 2004, I knew that God was asking me to serve Him as a missionary, but I wasn't sure where (or when) He wanted to send me. Throughout college, I participated in several mission trips to Mexico and continued to discern God's call. By the time I was ready to graduate, our Lord had made it abundantly clear that He was sending me to Honduras! I arrived in August of this year and plan to stay for two years. Right now, I'm working with the Niñas del Rey Montesorri class (for girls aged 7-9), Academic programs, including the library in Casa Guadalupe, Local Evangelization, Communications and Worship (Music Ministry). What a great gift it is to serve God's littlest ones in this way – to see the face of Christ in His poor!

Mark Fein - My name is Mark Fein, and I'm from North Dorr, Michigan. I am 30 years old and have served with the Missioners of Christ in Honduras since January 2008. I hope to continue serving for another year. The ministries I participate in include evangelization missions in mountain villages, teaching Montesorri catechism classes and helping prepare boys at a local orphanage for their First Holy Communion. Sharing the light of Christ and my Catholic faith is very rewarding for me.

Therese Floyd - Hi! My name is Therese Floyd, and I am from Warren, New Jersey. I am 22 years old and recently graduated in Nursing from Seton Hall University. I was involved in a lot of volunteer work throughout high school and college and felt called to unite my love of nursing with my call to be a missionary! I was drawn to the Missioners of Christ because this is a place where I am supported in my faith and given the opportunity to serve the poor spiritually and physically. Some of the programs I am involved in are Hijas del Rey for girls aged 15 to 22 years old, a program for women in crisis situations and a prenatal program with women from the mountains. I also work as a nurse at San Benito Hospital and work with the medical brigades. The Lord has been so faithful to me, and I am striving to respond to His call.

Marylee Grabowski - Hola! My name is Marylee Grabowski and I am from Richmond, VA. The Lord has filled my life with many blessings; especially a loving Catholic family and friends who daily encourage and challenge me toward holiness. After graduating from the University of Virginia with degrees in Spanish and Environmental Sciences, I taught third grade at a mission school in New Mexico for a year. Upon returning to Virginia I began working with the amazing young people of the Church as a youth minister. I have been a part of the Missioners of Christ community for the past seven years and feel truly blessed to have spent this past year in Comayagua loving, serving and learning from the poor. I am so grateful to the Lord for the opportunity to be here and for the support of all my friends and family back home. Praised be Jesus Christ now and forever!

Kathy Hernandez - Hi! I'm Kathy, and I'm 17 years old. I'm from Honduras, from the city of Siguatepeque. I come from a family of 8, and I've gone to Catholic school my entire life. Why am I here with the Missioners? After my conversion, I asked the Lord how He wanted me to serve Him. I wanted to serve Him as a missionary, but wasn't sure how to do so. A friend invited me to visit the Missioners, and before coming to visit them for the first time, I told God: “If you want me to serve at this mission, open the door.” And He opened the door! I have a passion for serving the Lord, and for leaving everything and giving myself to Him totally during this time in my life so that I can truly grow as a person.

Tracy McGee - I am Tracy McGee, and I am 36 years old. I come from Scotland, although I am actually of Irish descent. I have been in the MOC Honduras community for over a year, and what an interesting year it has been. I praise God for the gift of being here and getting to know myself, strengths and weaknesses, and for the privilege of serving Jesus alongside all these wonderful young missionaries, who are trying so hard to grow, to love and to serve. Serving Christ in His poor is challenging, wonderful, heartbreaking, and delightful all at the same time. I thank God every day for calling me here. We are embarking this year on a new form of catechism based on Maria Montesorri's wisdom, and I am really excited at the prospect of “educating our children to peace.” I also currently serve as Communications Coordinator and get involved with all our other projects in whatever way I can. Please pray for all of us here in Comayagua. God bless you.

James Minogue (Santiago) - Hello, everyone! My name is James Minogue, but here in Honduras I'm known as Santiago. I am 19 years old and from the great state of New Jersey. I am an XT Missioner who came in June of 2007 and will be here until next June. I had the desire to serve when I was in high school, and the opportunity came after the completion of my studies. My youth group leader who spent a year here recommended this specific missionary organization. After much prayer I applied to come down as a summer volunteer. God opened the door, and just a week after coming here I felt the desire to stay longer. I prayed about it and realized that it was the will of God. My ministries and responsibilities are Worship Coordinator, Assistant Coordinator for the mid- and extended-term Missioners, and a Montesorri catechism class. I also help with the community finances, but my main "mission" here is to grow closer to Jesus and to learn how to serve as He served. Praise be to God!

Candyce Maximiliana Ochoa (Mili) - My name is Candyce Ochoa, but here in Honduras I go by Maximiliana or Mili. To recall the advice of a dear priest friend of mine: "Look where God has brought you; remember where you were." I have lived in many different places and have done many things, most of which the average 20-year-old has not, and I now live in Honduras as a lay missionary of the Holy Roman Catholic Church. Wow! I've been in Central America for a few months now, 6 weeks of which were spent in Guatemala for language school. Now at home in Comayagua, I notice how God has prepared me for this my whole life. My gifts and experience all come together here. A few months ago, I applied to serve with the Missioners since I was too young to enter the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal. My greatest and most loved responsibility here is the Sacred Liturgy - cleaning vessels, linens, vestments and chapels – it's beautiful!

Carol Restaine - Peace be with you! My name is Carol Restaine, and I have been truly blessed to be a part of this wonderful mission here in Comayagua. My hope is to continue to serve Christ through the people of Honduras while striving to live out the universal call to holiness. May Christ fill you with His love and joy as we follow in His footsteps!

Cristina Rivera - May the Lord's peace dwell in your heart. Hola! My name is Cristina Rivera. I am 22 years old, and I live in New York City. I graduated from Metropolian College in May 2008 with a degree in Human Services. My degree is exactly what I want to do for the rest of my life: to serve people. I worked with the CFRs, serving the poor and the youth in the South Bronx, for 2 years, and then God called me to serve Him here in the beautiful country of Honduras with the Missioners of Christ. What a beautiful experience serving the poor in the mountains, in the neighborhood and in our programs. Some of the ministries I work in are teaching of Theology of the Body to youth, spreading the truth about God and His plan, and working with young girls from the neighborhood in Montesorri catechism - but my main ministry is to grow closer to Jesus and to trust that He loves me and has me in the palm of His hand.

Juan Carlos Rodriguez - I am Juan Carlos Rodriguez, and I am 23 years old. I am from El Salvador and am the oldest son in a family of 4 children; I have 3 sisters. I heard the call of God at age 14 and have been serving Him ever since. Why am I here? The call of God in my life was very strong and powerful, and I serve Him gratefully.

Richard Vaughan - My name is Richard Vaughan, and I am 23 years old and from Austin, Texas. I have been here in Honduras for more than a year now and have been working a lot with missions and evangelization. I am here to serve, evangelize, and love for His greater glory and the body of Christ. Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam.

"Come, my brothers, let us begin!"

2008-10-05T13:58:00.000-07:00

My first month as a missionary in Honduras has been full of "firsts." I think I've seen or done something new every single day that I've been here! Last Friday was no different. For the first time, I got the chance to experience a truly unique Franciscan tradition: the Transitus of St. Francis, a solemn celebration of his life and his transitus (passage) from this life to the next.

The evening began, of course, with dinner at the friary. Practically the whole neighborhood had turned out for this special event, and much to my surprise, I recognized so many faces that it took me a while to greet everyone that I knew. What a beautiful part of Catholic culture - that our celebrations almost always include a communal meal! As a Eucharistic people, we recognize that sharing a meal is a powerful expression of our love for one another, that when we gather to "break bread," we remember how Christ has made us one Body in Him.

After dinner we walked along a candle-lit path through the cloisters of the friary, following Fr. Juan Antonio, who was carrying a crucifix, and we sang:

Bendiga alma mía al Señor, y bendice su santo nombre.
Bendiga alma mía al Señor; Él me rescata de la muerte.

(Bless the Lord, O my soul, and bless His holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, for He rescues me from death.)

The procession ended in the chapel, and once everyone took their seats, quite a few people were left standing near the doors. At the front of the chapel, surrounded by dozens of candles, lay a crude wooden coffin, and inside it, the "body of St. Francis" (a stuffed habit, laid out as if for a funeral, with lit candles at its feet). After singing a song of praise, we listened as one by one, the friars recounted in dramatic fashion stories about the life and death of their father, Francis. What a gift it was to see how the children present laughed and listened attentively to so many of the stories, wide-eyed in amazement. Who knew that St. Francis was once a child like them, one who threw wild parties for his friends and had dreams of growing up to be a famous soldier?

The narratives, of course, took on a more somber tone when the time came to speak of Francis' stigmata, of the way he wore himself out in service of the poor, and finally of his passage into eternal life. Dr. Carlos, a friend of our community who works at San Benito (the friars' hospital), commemorated the saint's death by singing the hymn that Francis himself sang as he was dying. While by this time some of the children in the chapel were struggling to stay awake, most of the crowd seemed completely taken in by the drama of the moment - we were listening to the last prayer of a dying man as though we were truly present at his bedside, and in those few minutes, we were able to glimpse not Francis the saint but Francis the man: a man of profound humility, who went before his Creator in prayer knowing that even up until the moment of his death, he was only a weak soul in need of a Savior.

The narrative having been thus concluded, the friars knelt around Francis' coffin and chanted a beautiful hymn to our Lady, "Ultima in Mortis Hora," asking her to pray for us in our last hour and to obtain for us a holy death. When they were finished, we left the chapel in prayerful silence, remembering St. Francis' final exhortation to his followers:

"Come, my brothers, let us begin, for up until now we have done little or nothing."

St. Francis, pray for us - pray that we might learn to be poor and humble servants, to love our brothers and sisters in community as you loved your own, and to live with the Cross of our Lord always before our eyes. Amen.

Everything I am...

2008-09-27T07:54:00.000-07:00

Throughout college, praising God through music was a powerful form of prayer for me. Here in Honduras, I am able to “sing a new song to the Lord,” in a new language! Before leaving, I thought it would be difficult to give up my favorite praise and worship songs in English, but as usual, I was focusing more on what I would lose than on what I would gain. The words to one of these new songs have been especially significant for me, as a new missionary in our community: “Todo lo que soy, todo lo que tengo, todo lo que quiero, todo lo que sueño, a ti Señor Jesús, te entrego.” (Everything I am, everything I have, everything I want, everything I dream, to you Lord Jesus, I surrender).

Some days during the past 3 weeks I have prayed these words joyfully, thanking God for the opportunity to really wake up each day and spend myself completely for Him. Some days I pray them with exasperation, feeling poor and useless. But the words of this song keep causing me to realize that our God longs to be our Provider; in fact, His heart burns for it! But He allows us the freedom to allow Him in, and we can only do that when we don’t leave our options open: Christ is our only option! And He is everything.

This was made clear to me during last week’s mission to the mountain town of Guajiquiro and its surrounding villages. The night before we left, we were blessed with an extended night of prayer and praise before the Blessed Sacrament, asking God to pour forth His Holy Spirit upon us again as He did at Pentecost. And send us forth He did, to the unknown, like the branches from His vine. All we had to bring to the villagers was Christ, literally—in His sacraments (Fr. Juan Diego, cfr was with my team).

Each night in the village we had a holy hour with the villagers. On the last night I was sitting in the back row of the chapel, sharing my candle and song sheet with Luis Alfredo, a 7-year-old who had been joining us all week. As we sat and shared Christ’s light, my fellow missioner Juan Carlos began the song… “Todo lo que soy, todo lo que tengo…” I looked up at Christ, humbly gazing at us from the altar, thanking Him for what He had done that week with our willingness to serve Him through our simplicity, poverty, and faith that He was at work. Lord, let us be living monstrances, displaying your love to everyone we encounter. When all we have is You, we have more than enough.

Stuck in Folsom Prison...

2008-05-20T12:01:00.000-07:00

Each of us has a heart for a different need in the world, its beautiful how God has created each of us with different gifts and desires. Our ministries and projects here are varied because we are varied. And what is beautiful, although sometimes challenging, is that we have the freedom to discern what God is calling us to, what is prudent, and what it is that we personally have to offer. Frederick Buechner described it beautifully when he said, "The place that God calls us is that place where the world's deep hunger and our deep desire meet."

In this update we wanted to share with you a new ministry we've begun due to the open heart of one of our missioners. Always at the heart of all we do is love, especially for those most in need: the poor, the broken, the abused, the sick and...the imprisoned. Tracy had been feeling a very strong call to serve vulnerable men, almost to the point of looking for another mission or ministry, she had been thinking about homeless ministry, but God had another plan for her. Erika, a friend of the Missioners (and sister of Etelvina) expressed interest in visiting the prison here in Comayagua, but she hadn't yet found the path by which to do so. When Tracy heard about the opportunity she knew it was God speaking to her desire. She (along with a group) has been going faithfully once a week to visit and pray with the men there. This is her reflection on her experiences so far:

“Don’t judge another squaw until you’ve walked a mile in her moccasins”...... they’re not quite squaws and it’s more flip flops than moccasins but anyway….the guys inside the depressing edifice that is Comayagua’s local prison are doing time for an interesting variety of crimes: murder, rape, armed robbery, kidnapping….to name but a few. I try not to dwell too much on the reasons for their incarceration, or to judge, remembering the often pitiful circumstances and poor example in these lives, not to mention the powerful enemy we are all battling. I try to focus more on the truth that each of them is a soul created by a loving Father, for love, and for an eternity spent in a peaceful place very far removed from where they are right now.

Their souls, like ours, are thirsting for God, and in an environment where drugs and prostitutes are readily available, the prison guards busy themselves lounging around chatting (when not openly watching pornographic films) and rosary beads joyfully handed out by naïve missionaries become currency for indulging vices……the thirst is that much more intense. I thank God for the many good men I have encountered in the prison who are striving in the midst of such darkness to lead others to conversion and holiness through daily scripture study, prayer and good example.

I am blessed to be a witness to our wonderful Lord, who paid the price for all our sins, in such a crazy place, and implore your intercession for this new ministry we are undertaking. Please pray that God might use us as His instruments to help set the captives free from the sin, fear, doubt, despair and false masculinity that poisons the hearts of His poor children and keeps them from His tender care.

St Dismis, Patron Saint of Prisoners, pray for us.

-Tracy McGee, Scotland

Mountains and Teeth

2008-05-14T12:49:00.000-07:00

The Friars host 6 Medical Brigaides a year in their hospital San Benito. A medical team of doctors, dentists, nurses, surgeons etc is brought in for a week to provide surgeries and medical care to the poorest of the poor. Each brigade brings new faces, new cases, and new challenges. We as Missioners support the Brigades by preparing food for the patients and their families, helping prepare patients for surgery, translating, and visiting with the patients after their surgeries. Two brigades ago we were finally able to realize a hope we've had for quite a while to bring dental care to the mountains. There are several priests with whom we work that had been asking for dentists for quite some time. God definately provided because an American dentist with years of experience working in the mountains of Central America had been consistently arriving with the brigaides to work out of San Benito's clinic but had at the same time been expressing interest in returning to work in the mountains. With the help of a portable dental unit he is able to go anywhere there is electricity, light, and water to work, he can work then even, as he says, "on somebody's front porch." So he and three of us Missioners (to help assist and do intake, translate) set off for a trial day. We drove the three hours into the mountains of San Luis, set up all the equipment and attended to 10-12 children, basically just doing extraction dentristy. It was my first experience assisting and I learned very quickly it takes patience, a sense of humor, and a strong stomach...sucking blood and spit and being handed extracted teeth is not for the faint of heart. It went very well and Father Balthazar was really excited to finally be able to offer the service to his people.
So...this last brigaide we set out again for three days working in two different villages of Father's this time. We worked again in San Luis but then traveled for the day to the even more remote village of San Rafael. Its really incredible the need in the mountains. A combination of poor education, lack of supplies and lack of dentists makes for some pretty unhealthy mouths. It was difficult to see at times the results years of lack of care can produce. We worked on a young girl who was only 12 years old, already her four front teeth were false and we removed three more permanent teeth, if we had had time we could have removed more. Many many people even at a young age wear dentures. We took 7 teeth out of one woman, finishing off her upper teeth. The majority of the people we saw had seen a dentist maybe once or twice before, some never. It is really convicting as always to experience the lives of the poor first hand, to see what becomes normalcy when living without. In many ways their lives are more simple and more beautiful but we cannot lapse into idealizing the situation. There lives are also very hard and burdened; there is a great amount of suffering and struggle that exists that we have no concept of. We must be honest and real about our responsibility to love them and serve them. Our hope is to continue to return to these aldeas and to not only treat the emergencies but work on prevention and education, to improve their quality of life and quality of care. Hopefully they will experience the love of Christ in us in this humble opportunity to care for them, as always we returned more changed and affected by our encounter with the poor than they ever will be by us. We hope to return in June to the mountains, this time making two different trips and hopefully bringing along a Hygienist for more cleaning and prevention work...as always keep us and the poor in your prayers.

Dinner for Two

2008-04-23T14:21:00.000-07:00

Candles. Flowers. A little Frank Sinatra...

the ingredients for a romantic dinner for two. For couples in the US its something we take for granted, a nice meal in a nice restaurant once in a while, to celebrate, to take time to for each other, a much needed night spent together away from the kids and the noise.

But what about here? I didnt realize until the other night just what a rarity it is for the poor to be able to spend a quiet evening together with their spouse.

On Sunday the friars held a day long couples retreat with the purpose of helping couples from our neighborhood refocus on each other, center their relationship on God and recieve grace as they struggle for their families. At the end of the day they closed with Mass and Holy Hour and then....Dinner.

We missioners were responsible for one romantic, classy dinner. We transformed the dining room of Casa Guadalupe into an elegant banquet hall...with candles and fresh flowers and white tableclothes. We hung pictures and sheets and Christmas lights and at the end it was a completely different room. Alba and Natalio, with lots of helping hands, prepared an amazing meal. We served as waiters and waitresses, all dressed in our finest black tie garb.

When the Mass finished we all waited at attention for them to arrive. And...

It was beautiful. To see their faces as they entered, especially the women. Women who have never, ever had the opportunity to be treated to a romantic dinner out, never eaten in a nice restuarant, who work and fight hard for the survival of their families at the cost of their own needs and desires. It was beautiful to see their faces light up at the sight of the flowers and the cards that were just for them and to be waited on as if they were the most important people in the world. For the couples it seemed such a gift just to have one night away from home, with out the kids, just to talk to each other.

As dinner finished several couples shared their testimonies. One man shared that the retreat had touched him very deeply and though he and the mother of his children had been together for over 15 yrs they were not married (very common here) but that he hoped that very soon they could recieve that sacrament. Others shared how beautiful it had been to share the day with other couples and learn from each other.

Finally one women confessed that the dinner, the evening had been "the best gift she'd ever recieved." Looking back on it now it seems such a perfect image of Christ's declaration that the last shall be first, and the first shall be last, and of what heaven will some day look like, when the poor and the wretched take a seat of honor at the head of the banquet table. I hope one day I am there to witness it.

First Impressions

2008-03-05T14:43:00.000-08:00

Chloe one of our newest members to the community has been with us a little less than 2 months now, but she has jumped right into ministry, serving with her whole heart and all of her talents....which have turned out to be many. This her reflection, in her own words on how its been going so far, what she's experienced and some of the projects she's taken on.

Honduras is such a beautiful place. It's so entirely different from what I'm use to so there's been a lot to learn in these first weeks of my time here. Everything is new and exciting and bewildering and wonderful.

Coming from cold Wales (UK), the tropical climate here is like living in a dream-I have to remind myself that it is March and that on the other side of the world it continues to rain and feel like winter.

Traveling through Tegucigalpa on my first day with Friar Damiano and two of the missioners who had collected me from the airport I saw how "immediate" the peoples lives are. The streets were packed with men, women, and children talking, shouting, and practically all trying to sell something: many of them sitting on the pavement with their goods spread out in front of them and the traffic roaring past. The chaos of cars and bikes and people weaving in and out was incredible, along with so many things that are forbidden in England and Wales like entire families riding open air in the back of a pick up truck along fast roads, and men carrying machetes in their belts.

Joining the community of the Missioners of Christ is like becoming a part of new family. Each person is so different and has so much to offer as well as to learn from the others. Its such an amazing grace to have Mass every day, morning and evening prayer, and a whole hour in Adoration each day in the very house where we live. Since the chapel walls are only railings, with the fresh air (and dust) constantly blowing through, Jesus' presence is all through the house. Its an incredible haven of serenitiy in the midst of a poor, chaotic neighborhood.

After my two weeks in Guatemala at language school, I began to help Tracy in the program "Ninas del Rey" each week. The girls are beautiful, full of life and appreciation and interest for the lessons. Things that I have always taken for granted -like pencils- mean the world to them. Their immense love and yearning for education is an amazing example and witness after being surrounded by a culture of young people who constanatly complain about school. Two weeks ago when I mentioned to Carol that I took ballet classes, she suggested I start a class with the girls. So I spoke to Erica who used to figure skate and we held the first class on a Saturday morning two weeks ago. It was lots of fun and a great success! Having worried beforehand about where to start and about what steps to teach, I soon realized that it didn't matter to them at all; they have no experience of learning to dance, let alone ballet, and their big smiles as they copied the movements were enough to tell me that they enjoyed it. Erica and I are hoping to organize a show for their parents to come and watch what they've learned which I am looking forward to very much!

Time is going by so fast however, every day flies by and I know this 6 months is going to be gone too soon. So I am trying hard to appreciate every moment.

- Chloe Fawcett

Tela Trip- Community Retreat Photos

2008-02-20T18:47:00.003-08:00

Tela Trip- Community Retreat Reflection

2008-02-20T18:23:00.000-08:00

Its amazing what a weekend away can do for a community and everyone in it. I mean really, just to get away leave the mission and just pass time by with the rest of the missionaries. Its easy to spend time with the missionaries--you are with these people pretty much 24-7--but finding a time when you are just relaxing with them, enjoying each other´s company as opposed to working and planning all the time, is really hard to come by. And that´s why this weekend was so good. Bob and Erica did an excellent job of planning the whole weekend, making sure that we spent time just having fun and yet have serious time devoted to looking at ways we can grow as a community.

We arrived about four in the afternoon in Tela, some by bus, the rest by car. Tela is on the Northern coast, about 60 miles from San Pedro Sula, and about 125 miles from Comayagua, of course, sits right on the beach. It was relaxing from the beginning. Our hotel was several stories tall that looked out over the beach, which was only 3 minutes away by foot. We spent most of Friday just passing time together, with some brief reflections and introductions to the retreat by Bob and Erica, and enjoyed dinner together closing with celebrating Diana´s birthday (even though it was a Friday during Lent, we felt her birthday was worth celebrating with cake and ice cream). By the way, the Honduran Happy Birthday song is so much better than the one Americans sing, you create your own verses and all that, its great. Saturday morning began early and after some personal prayer time, we headed down to the beach and had some praise and worship on the beach, a unique opportunity to look out on the horizon and really see that yes, the Lord´s faithfulness does stretch to the skies and that He has been faithful to us as a community even through our difficulties. Next we competed in teams to build the greatest sand castle. The competitive spirits came out in full force, as it turned out the team with the biggest castle was the team who won (the judge being a local Honduran who happened to be walking by). After some free time on the beach and in the water, Erica gave us some concrete ways to help fortify our community to be even more Christ-like with supporting one another, genuinely working on relationships, and learning to correct one another in charity. We took some more time that afternoon and brainstormed what were the strengths and weaknesses of our community and what we can do better to improve our weaknesses. After enjoying some pizza, we had the long awaited talent show where everyone was asked to do or perform something in front of the group so as to show off our talents as individuals. This had been talked about since October, and for various conflicts had been put off until now, but the wait was worth it as it was quite memorable. There was just about a mix of everything: a magic trick, a comedic act, an impression of Sméagol from Lord of the Rings, songs performed on guitar, both written and improvised, testimonies shared, dancing and gymnastic routines, and even a time of prayer and intercession as one individual led us in prayer to ask the Lord for gifts we wanted from the One who gives every good gift. It was the perfect way to end the night as we ended our display of our own gifts by in turn, thanking the Lord for his gifts to us, and continue to ask Him to allow us to discover new gifts, so that we may glorify Him all the more. Sunday wrapped up the retreat with Mass in the local parish, a grand breakfast at the restaurant, and prayer.

So to conclude, I would say it was definitely blessed as the Lord really showed us how each one of us is a gift to the community as a whole, and each member God has called here for a particular purpose to accomplish his will. That and it reinforced why we do what we do, for what purpose, simply because the call of God is on our hearts and we all have been given the grace to respond accordingly. Its really quite amazing to think how each of us has come here all for the same purpose. How radical the call of the Lord is and how much he has done in our lives!

Personally speaking, I am very blessed to be a part of this great missionary community. I would not be the same person had I not joined, and I can see how the Lord has changed me a great deal in the time of just six months. The community as a whole is a testament that when we focus on Christ and truly aim to make Him the center of our lives, however difficult and stressful certain times may be, because we take time as a community and as individuals to focus more and more on Him, God in his faithfulness and love, truly uses each and every situation to teach us something about ourselves, whether it be our weaknesses or our strengths, not just so we can suffer more through difficulties, but so that we can learn from them to grow and be strengthened in the future. I pray that truly, may the Lord draw us closer to Himself for his greater glory in time and eternity. Amen.

-written by Richard Vaughan

Who's Who in Our Community

2008-02-09T13:30:00.000-08:00

Bienvenidos! Welcome back, it has been a while as we have been in a period of transition in our community. But we are finally whole and ready to begin the second half of our year with renewed energy and zeal. We have had several members leave our community to return home over the last few months and weeks. Andy Kadlec returned home to North Dakota several weeks ago, he is in a period of discernment as to where the Lord is calling Him next, with the likelihood of returning to school soon. His "chill" is greatly missed.Erika Espinal a local Honduran woman who joined our community for a few months during her vacation has returned to school and returned to live with her family. Lorena Ventura who has been living with the Missioners for the past year has entered the university with the hopes of studying medicine and has returned to her family as well. However we are blessed to have them both still serving the Missioners by continuing to lead Rosas de Maria our formation class for 11-15 yr old girls.

Finally, Brad Fassbender who arrived in Honduras this past summer departed for the states by way of Mexico and the Virgen Guadalupe on Tuesday. During his visit home over Christmas he visited the Carmelite Monks of Wyoming. He returned to Honduras after having a very good experience with them. The Carmelites invited to him to join as early as the end of March. After several weeks of intense discernment he accepted there offer and will join them very soon. Though we are sad to see him go sooner than expected we know he will continue to be an intense prayer warrior for us and we are very excited for him.

We are also welcoming several new members into our community. These new Missioners, pictured throughout the blog are Rudy Sorto Benitez, Chloe Fawcett, Mark Fein, Daniel Galvez Montes, Juan Carlos Rodriguez. Rudy is 19 yrs old from Cabanas, Honduras, he is great with people and hopes to be here at least a year. Chloe is 18 yrs old and is from Wales in the United Kingdom and she is beautifully sweet, plays piano and will be with us until the summer. Mark is 29 from Ann Arbor, Michigan, has committed indefinately to Honduras and is currently studying Spanish in Guatemala and will join us in Comayagua soon. Daniel is from Siguatepeque, Honduras, is 18 and is nearly bi-lingual which is an awesome added benefit to our community. And Juan Carlos hails from El Salvador, he has been serving in Florida, Honduras with Father Max a young priest we work with often and has come now to serve with us here, he is passionate and has already brought new life and new visions to our community.

Mountains and more mountains...

2007-12-19T14:11:00.000-08:00

The past month has been a whirlwind tour of the beautiful mountain villages of Honduras. Near the end of November we began training local youth to lead mission trips to the mountains. The training week was packed with talks, team building, prayer and practical training. At the end of the week they all packed their stuff and prepared to go to our first aldea (mountain village).

The first parish was the parish of El Rosario, three different groups served the villages of Loma Larga, Huertas, and el Horno. Over the week the youth visited homes in the mornings and led programs for kids, youth and families in the afternoons and evenings. It was beautiful to see the simplicity of the families and their lives in the mountains. Their generosity was overwhelming. Every home we stepped into it seemed no matter the level of poverty welcomed us and showered us with gifts of bananas, vegetables, sugar cane and coffee (some of the best because its mountain grown and ground fresh right there).

Their love and appreciation was apparent, but even more so, their faith. For most of the communities Mass is a rare gift as their Priest is assigned to dozens of aldeas. To have the gift of Mass three times in one week, along with confessions and adoration it was a very blessed week for them and for us. At the end of the week the different aldeas met in the central aldea for the closing night. It was an amazing experience walking together with our community singing songs and praying together along the way (almost and hour walk).

The second week we traveled even farther into the mountains of Minas del Oro. After taking buses to La Libertad we climbed into the back of four different pickup trucks and drove 3 hours to the aldeas of Ojo de Agua, Pimientia, and Socorro. Again we encountered very simple lifestyles. None of the aldeas had electricity and many groups had to bring water up from the streams to bath and wash our clothes, but the people were as generous and loving as ever. Accepting us into their homes, feeding us, and praying with us. Because the aldeas were even more remote, the sacraments were even less frequent. Mass is said once a year in their village. You could sense the hunger in the people, longing to be supported and fed in their faiths. One woman upon hearing that a priest was coming to her home (she lived about an hours walk away from our aldea far from almost everything) she began to cry. It was so convicting as to how much we take for granted: materially, physically, spiritually, all the opportunities and privileges we have that we consider rights. Overall it was a very challenging but very blessed experience.

Over the last weekend we traveled to yet another part of Honduras to lead a retreat for the youth of the parish Florida. Almost 200 youth spent the weekend with us there listening to talks, sharing in small groups, singing, praying, playing and most of all spending time with Jesus in the Mass and Adoration. It was great for the youth, many of whom had been with us in the previous weeks of missions to the mountains. God was really moving in them throughout the whole weekend and their openess was so apparent. While there is an abundance of youth ministry and retreats in the US, it was a rare opportunity for them. We hope to be able to offer one there every year in the future.

It is incredibly hard to desribe what the past few weeks have been like, how beautiful the mountains are, the intensity and grace in our experiences, and it is impossible to speak for everyone because each person has had their own experience, but what is for certain is that Gods love has no limits.
God Bless.....

Greg’s Reflection

2007-12-08T16:27:00.000-08:00

Hello again all! It has been several weeks since our last post, we have been very busy as it is vacation time for the youth here and we are busy with training and Mountain Mission Trips, retreats, and other service projects, etc. We hope to have updates and photos up soon. But for this update we have something a little different.

On November 19 our community said goodbye to one of its members. Greg was here with us serving the people of Honduras for 6 months and returned to the States to finish school, discern his vocation, and Im sure, do a lot of his favorite activity: chilling. The following is his personal reflection on his time here. Greg you are already very missed and always in our prayers....

When I got off my plane in Tegucigalpa, I was shocked that I was actually in

Honduras

. The idea of coming here just seemed like nothing more than another half thought-out dream of mine that would never really be realized. But then I found my slacker self here. The only explanation I have for how I got down here is God wanted me here. I had wanted to come too, but when I saw I had to complete an application, do interviews, raise money, etc., I almost just gave up and forgot about it. But God somehow got me to do it and got me down to

Honduras

. And I think that is the most important thing of the many things I learned here; God’s Will is a mystery. I don’t understand it, but its going to happen anyways.

I had hoped to discover my vocation while I was here; but while I didn’t have an epiphany, I did feel and see God working in me more than more than ever before, far more. And I´ve learned to trust Him more and more. I know that I have a long way to go, but I also know that He is guiding me and will put me where He wants me when He wants to.

As for my time here in Honduras, I enjoyed it immensely. Some highlights: Growing my beard out. Playing late night soccer and basketball with the friars. Mass, everyday. Repeatedly getting humbled on the soccer field by 12 year olds. Visiting Fr. Max in the mountains. Riding in the back of trucks though the mountains, early in the morning. Spending time with the people in the mountain villages, especially in San Antonio. Witnessing the simple and very beautiful faith of the Honduran people in spite of great suffering. Visiting and talking to Marta. Getting Dengue fever, which I am probably going to brag about for the rest of my life. Living and working so close to the friars and seeing their faith everyday. Licuados. Just working and hanging out with my mission brothers and sisters. Learning how to pray. Never losing a game of volleyball, especially not to Carol. Pan de Vidas and Eucharistic Adoration......I could go on, but the most important thing that happened to me here is that I think I grew closer to God. Not very close, but closer. And ultimately that is all I wanted or want.

2007-11-14T12:26:00.000-08:00

Hello Again! As we move past the period of discernment and begin to really dive into our ministries and projects and attempt to get into a rythym, we are discovering that...well...there really is no rythym. Everyday there is a new opportunity to serve and all of them involve being flexible and willing to jump in with our whole heart.

Our youth formation programs our nearing vacation time, during December and January we will be switching gears and focusing more on special projects with the youth, retreats, and trips as well as facilitating numerous short term missions teams.

This past weekend was a great example of an atypical weekend. As most community members were nearing the end of the 90 days we are allowed to remain in the country on our visas (we must leave Honduras for at least three days every three months), many of us spent the weekend traveling.

Carol, Greg, Brad, Richard, Andy, and Erica traveled to Belize to visit and establish a relationship with the mission community of the Society of Our Lady of the Trinity or SOLT. Rachel and Tracy spent the weekend in Costa Rica. Also, Marylee was blessed to be able to travel home to spend some time with her parents. Those who remained in Honduras were no less busy, as Milton, Maynor and Andres traveled to visit Fr Balthazar in the aldeas and those in Comayagua were busy attending the first communions of many of our youth and preparing for the Medical Brigaide that began this monday.

Below are some excerpts from our weekends:

"Tracy and I went to Costa Rica to renew our visas. The bus ride was a grueling 20 hours! But the views of the ocean, volcanos, mountains, and flora were breathtaking. Tracy called it a "feast for the eyes" It was great to experience a new culture and see a new part of the world. The people were very friendly and generous. Whenever we got lost people would walk with us out of their way. Although it wasnt much of a change of pace being as it was a big city, it was nice to have a change of scene and a break from the stresses that sometimes exist in community. It was also a good chance to spend some time with my pal Tracy and have me some good laughs."

"Belize was beautiful with all of its culture and the mix of people. We were blessed to be able to see so much of the country in such a short time. We stayed for several days with the Society of Our Lady of the Trinity community there on the border of Belize and Guatemala. We were able to participate in their prayer life, share with them about their mission, and visit the school they run. They are beautiful examples of the goal to unify lay men and women with the religious to work together in mission. We were able to spend time with their priests, sisters and several mission families. We then began the long trip home which included Belize city, Dangriga, and Punta Gorda as we traveled our way down the coast, not to mention a Mass with some great Garifuna women and a missionary priest, dinner and breakfast on the beach, and a very interesting boat ride. It was an excellent chance to meet and share with other people with the same hearts for the poor as well as a chance to spend some quality time together exploring as a community."

Photos from Belize:

Greg leaves our community on Monday to return home to the states, he will be greatly missed and we are not looking forward to his absence but we are looking forward to his "Despedida" or going away party that we will be throwing!! Look for his reflection on his experiences here with the mission to be posted soon.

Here We Are...

2007-10-23T11:37:00.000-07:00

The Missioners for 2007-2008 are here, and getting to work! God has blessed us with an amazing community this year. New faces and old faces, Hondurans, US Americans, and even one Scottish face, we have 9 women and 9 men! We range in age from 18 to....well....older. Some of us are just out of college, some have been working or volunteering for a while, and some are planning to finish their schooling after leaving. All of us have been called for different reasons, but with our diversity comes great strength because we all have different gifts and talents to offer. We have everything from english and theology to social work, psychology and pre-med backgrounds. And we are all bearing with one another in love as we settle in, learn the language, discover what our gifts are, and learn to be a community. Because we have a larger community this year we are able to offer some new programs and hopefully add some more stability to our existing programs.

So without further ado...the 07-08 Missioners: Maynor Ballesteros (Siguatepeque), Roger Blanco (La Paz), Brad Fassbender (Wisconsin), Marylee Grabowski (Virginia), Greg Hamilton (Georgia), Rachel Hoffman (North Carolina), Andy Kadlec (North Dakota), Tracy McGee (Glasgow), Bob Monahan (Illinois), Erica Noble (Illinois), Andrew Pocta (Virginia), Krista Popp (Minnesota), Carol Restaine (now...Honduras), Milton Rodriguez (Comayagua), Toni Sacca (Georgia), Richard Vaughan (Texas), Lorena Ventura (Comayagua), Diana Ramos (La Paz)

A New Year.....

2007-10-22T12:32:00.000-07:00

Its a new year, and so we have begun a new blog. We are hoping to have new updates posted here throughout the year, about once a week. Hopefully here is where you will be able to keep up with our community through stories, pictures, videos etc. Also hopefully it will be a bit more personal than our website and newsletter which you may already be reading.

Here too you can leave us comments!! Which means we will know who is thinking of and praying for us! So whenever you have a bit of extra time, stop in and take a look around. We would love to have you. God Bless....

The Missioners