Dear Friends and Family,
Honduras has the reputation of being a dangerous country, but today, we saw a piece of heaven. It was not just the natural beauty but the beauty of the people here in Honduras.
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| The natural beauty of the country |
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| More scenery as we walked |
We had the opportunity
to “be” with 25 -30 families in an aldea (mountain village) all day. We arrived to a parish at 8:30 am
with Fr. Gregorio. He heard three hours of confession and then we had Mass.
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| Marcia with her friend while we waited for Mass to start |
During the three hours, none of the people complained about waiting, they just
sat there. Sometimes, they sang and sometimes they just waited. In America, we
would never see that….everyone is in a rush.
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| Notice the bottles at the foot of the altar. People brought the bottles so the water could be blessed by Fr Gregorio |
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| Two Missionary of Charity Sisters at Mass |
From 12:30 to 4:30, we walked house to
house of these people from the parish.
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| As the day progressed on, it got hotter...but no one complained |
Fr Gregorio blessed each of the houses and enthroned the Sacred Heart of
Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Missionary of Charity Sisters had
been working with the families since March preparing them for this day.
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| Our last home |
We all walked to each person’s home singing.
When we arrived, we were graciously welcomed, we all squished into the front room of the home and then everyone prayed for that family.
Again, in the
United States, we don’t tend to know all of our fellow parishioners nor neighbors. They
did here and they all knew where everyone lived. If we did know, would we take
time from our day to visit and maybe even pray with our friends and neighbors?
At three o’clock, Marcia, Mary, Patti and Fr. Gregorio hadn’t eaten so a
family had prepared a meal of chicken, rice, plantains, potatoes and tortillas
for us while the family offered a glass of soda to all of the people (by far,
this home had the most means that we had ever seen). The locals hadn't eaten either but that didn't stop them for wanting to go to every home. They just sat in the house, out of the sun and talked with each other. When someone stops by your house, do you offer them a meal or
something to drink? And if you did, would they take the time to sit?
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| We walked through their yards with the laundry hanging. No one was embarrassed . It's just a normal part of their life |
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| This lady walked the whole afternoon....just happy to be there with her neighbors |
It was a great blessing to spend the day
with no agenda and just enjoy being with the people…they lived the fruits of
the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control (Gal 5:22). The people we were with gave us a lesson of God. Life is good in Honduras.
Mary always making new friends
It’s hard to describe our experience but
maybe the photos will help. Thank you for your support…without you, this
mission trip would not be possible.
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