I found myself once again sitting on the beautiful, huge rocks of the Río Cangrejal, looking down at the rapidly flowing currents still very much affected by Hurricane Sara that rolled through the area in mid-November and looking up to admire the beautiful sunset surrounded by Pico Bonito National Park and the many sounds of nearby birds and other animals enjoying the cool weather. I found myself looking down at the moving river beneath me prior to jumping off the huge rocks into the river, enjoying the rush of adrenaline that accompanied the maneuver every single time. I found myself thinking that I am so blessed to be able to call this my life.
I found myself contemplating just how much I have grown in my year as service coordinator at the Finca, especially as I had sat on those very rocks and reflected on what went well and what went poorly during those brutal first few months on the job back in late 2023. I found myself contemplating God’s call for my life and appreciating the moments that I had sat on those very rocks, admiring the pure natural beauty surrounding me and wondering if God was calling me to marriage with Kristen. I felt for the first time on those very rocks back in July 2024 that maybe I wasn’t being called to be service coordinator AND to marriage with Kristen at this time. I then once again sat on those rocks in October 2024, shortly after our relationship ended, soaking in God’s love and reflecting what it means to follow God’s will no matter the personal sacrifice. I found myself thinking that I am so blessed to be able to call this my life.
I found myself admiring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament during our time in adoration on the deck of Pepe’s house in Pico Bonito, overlooking the beautiful river below with its rapidly moving currents, the Bejuco Waterfall in the distance with the thoughts of adventuring there the following day as a missionary community, and the many beautiful trees and animals that make up Pico Bonito National Park on the edges of La Ceiba. I found myself glancing to my left with gratitude as I looked at Padre Oscar, who is the local diocesan priest in the area that agreed to celebrate mass and holy hour during our retreat, and a beautiful Honduran couple that accompanied Padre Oscar to our house, who were so clearly on fire with the Holy Spirit and what it means to pursue God’s will in their lives. I found myself thinking that I am so blessed to be able to call this my life.
I found myself gushing with joy, love, and gratitude as Teddy, Rachel, Theresa, & I cooked dinner together every night as a family, which included two nights of baleadas and one night of homemade pizza. I found myself praising God for the missionary community and the family that we have formed in Casa Santa Teresita as we prepared dinner together, laughed a lot, talked about our adventures during our free afternoon on the river, drank some wine, played some fun card games, and genuinely just enjoyed one another’s presence in the present moment. The girls even had a random Taylor Swift dance party prior to dinner one night! I found myself thinking that I am so blessed to be able to call this my life.
I found myself admiring the incredible beauty of God’s creation as we hiked together to the waterfall one morning and spent an hour in near silence simply enjoying the moment and thanking God for such an amazing creation reminding us of his presence. I found myself admiring Teddy’s childlike faith as he looked for animals during the hike and stopped to admire literally every single animal he saw, ranging from the smallest of butterflies to snakes to birds. I found myself reflecting on just how much God has blessed me with an amazing missionary community this year as we stopped for lunch on the hike back to Pepe’s house and had the opportunity to simply enjoy one another’s presence in midst of God’s creation. I found myself thinking that I am so blessed to be able to call this my life.
I found myself thinking of the sacrifice of missing another incredible Christmas with my family back in Kansas City as I opened my family’s Christmas notes to me while overlooking the vast natural beauty in Pico Bonito. I found myself imagining the love and the craziness in the Janssen household on the night of Christmas Eve with my 3 young nephews bringing the child-like joy and faith to the house. I found myself picturing myself sitting in the living room, probably drinking a Moscow Mule or a great craft beer, smiling and looking around, trying to soak in the people that I love most in this world. However, probably to no surprise to those who know me the best, I found myself feeling God’s unimaginable peace in my heart with my current life, and I know that there is no other place that I would rather be. I found myself thinking that I am so blessed to be able to call this my life.
All in all, it was a magnificent retreat at Pico Bonito with my missionary community! Our moments were filled with an incredible amount of joy, love, and peace, and, maybe most importantly, we filled our cups up in God’s love to be able to return to the Finca and complete our ministry to the best of our ability. As I always say, the mission is to simply love the person in front of you regardless of what you have going on that day.
Please pray for all of our teachers and students in our Finca school and colegio this year, as classes resume on February 3rd!
Please let me know how I can pray for you!
God Bless!