October is always a MAGICAL time to be a missionary at the Finca, largely because it always marks the arrival of new missionaries into our community in Casa Santa Teresita! Especially this year when I have struggled SO, SO much to have a permanent missionary community and I ended up being alone in CST for a good portion of the year, I had September 30th circled on my calendar for MONTHS prior!
On September 30th, Teddy, Rachel, and Theresa arrived at their new home for at least the next two years to an incredible welcome party at the front gate from our Finca community. That time spent together as a Finca family was filled with donuts and juice prepared by our Finca tías, introductions, endless laughs, and numerous games of toca-toca at the nearby children’s park.
Words cannot describe how excited our entire Finca community was for their arrival at the Finca! A huge part of being a missionary at the Finca is simply loving the person in front of you and doing fun activities with the kids to give the tías a break. When it was just me at the Finca for the majority of the last year, the kids weren’t able to go to the beach, the park, or to the campo as much as they would have liked because there simply weren’t missionaries around to take them.
Because it was just me trying to keep our missionary programs afloat, I didn’t have much time to give our tías a break in the afternoons or on weekends by pulling all of the kids out of their house for a few hours. Our tías, Lics, Sores, and maintenance workers also had to help out a lot more than in years past with the daily PAVI program when they likely had something better to be doing. Nonetheless, truly EVERYONE at the Finca has been so excited for a long time to receive new missionaries in Casa Santa Teresita! & THAT DAY FINALLY ARRIVED ON SEPTEMBER 30TH! HOORAY!!
The first two weeks of a missionary’s time at the Finca are always filled with endless orientation talks regarding our Finca rules, how to live in the missionary house and at the Finca in general, past trauma in the Finca kids, and a brief introduction into all of the different areas of work and life at the Finca. Despite the inherent challenges of constantly being in orientation talks and not yet being able to spend time with the Finca kids on your own without a current missionary present until the two-week mark, it has been SO amazing to get to know Rachel, Theresa, and Teddy on a more personal level over the last 3 weeks! I am so grateful for their servant hearts, their willingness to jump into whatever is asked of them, and the incredible ways that they simply love the person in front of them. I HAVE COMMUNITY AGAIN!! GOD IS GOOD!!
On a more personal note, I actually arrived at the Finca on September 30th, 2021, and it was a really awesome opportunity as we made the 9-hour journey from San Pedro Sula to the Finca to reflect on just how much my own personal life has changed in the last 3 years. I remember SO WELL the interesting mix of joy, anxiety, peace, and doubt that the new missionaries were experiencing on the way to the Finca, and I was filled with intense gratitude that God provided me the ability to stay at the Finca over at least the next couple of years.
I also had time to reflect that I took over the service coordinator position about one year ago, and what a WILD, WILD year it has been. I am now so grateful for all of the hardships and the lessons that I learned from last year’s missionaries, as it has allowed me to not take a great missionary community for granted and to enjoy every second of life with them. I had two INCREDIBLE communities my first two years at the Finca, and I mistakenly thought that every community would be like that. I was REALLY, REALLY wrong, but I am now so much more grateful for Rachel, Theresa, and Teddy than I probably otherwise would have been. GOD IS GOOD!!!
This October especially is also a wild time of year because Zulena, our beloved founder, is visiting the Finca with her oldest daughter, Monsy! Zulena normally visits the Finca twice every year, so she actually traveled with us from San Pedro Sula to the Finca on September 30th and arrived with the new missionaries. Zulena’s love for the mission is always so evident and highly contagious, and her time at the Finca is normally accompanied with lots of parties and celebrations.
Gratefully, this year has been no exception!!! We had a HUGE party celebrating 25 years that our Franciscan religious sisters have been at the Finca, a party celebrating the anniversary of our founder Vincent’s death, a play orchestrated by Zulena and a dinner celebrating St. Francis, and a DELICIOUS dinner that Zulena prepared celebrating three of our male employees that have been married in the Catholic Church over the last year. Some of my favorite times at the Finca are when the entire Finca community, including maintenance workers, teachers, security guards, and other less visible employees, comes together to celebrate something! Luckily, we have had SO, SO many of these moments over the last few weeks that Zulena has been at the Finca. GOD IS GOOD!!
Please pray for Cati! She is back at the Finca this month doing her practicum with our maintenance staff and living in the missionary house with us. Please pray for her heart, her peace, and her ability to hear God’s voice in her life.
Please let me know how I can pray for you!
God bless!