I am writing this in the middle of our campo on this BEAUTIFUL sunny day, which is uncommon to say the least for rainy season. Rainy season here is absolutely no joke, but it makes you appreciate the sunny days SO, SO, SO, SO MUCH MORE!! Despite the difficulties of rainy season, such as your clothes almost never drying fully and it being impossible to walk anywhere in the middle of a torrential downpour, rainy season is also full of so much joy! Playing soccer on the campo in the rain is unbelievably fun, as is dancing and singing in a heavy downpour with your missionary community. The lesson for me in this rainy season: ENJOY EVERY DAY NO MATTER WHAT!!
After a month of orientation, job shadowing and discernment, beginning to form relationships with the kids here, and learning policies and procedures at the Finca, the Buds (the name for the new class of missionaries) received our job assignments for the upcoming year! My main job is to be an English teacher for grades 3 through 6 if school is in-person in February, which is more likely than not at this point! We also just recently began winter school for only kids that live at the Finca (their equivalent to Summer break/school), and this is a GREAT way to further our relationships with these kids and to practice our teaching skills for the upcoming school year.
Another crucial job for me is water distribution, which is responsible for bringing jugs of clean drinking water to all of the houses on the Finca property. There are only two spots at the Finca that have access to clean drinking water, so it is quite challenging at times to keep the jugs of water filled and ready for use, especially since running water is so inconsistent at the Finca. I deliver water to the houses every 2 or 3 days, but the job requires constantly switching the drinking water “hose” to an empty jug throughout each day.
I also am the Security Coordinator here at the Finca, so I will be working a lot with our security guards (called Watchies) to keep the Finca community safe and the outer fence up to date. In addition, I work with our maintenance staff part-time, usually only two afternoons a week for 2-3 hours each day. I really wanted to work with them at least a little bit throughout the week because the older boys at the Finca work in maintenance a lot, so it is a really good opportunity to work alongside them, get to the know them on a deeper level, and just have fun together.
In addition to a few other small jobs, I am also the vegetables man at the Finca! I order the vegetables for our missionary house each week and I sort all the vegetables for the entire Finca according to what each house ordered every Thursday afternoon. An INCREDIBLE way to practice vegetable names in Spanish! Lastly, all of our jobs as missionaries is to simply love the kids through our words and actions and to live in a way that they can associate with being servants of Jesus Christ. It is no easy feat and I fail every single day, but my heart is unbelievably happy at the Finca & I LOVE THE KIDS SO, SO, SO MUCH!!
There are 5 missionaries plus the McAuliff family in my class, but there were 6 missionaries in last year’s class (called Blossoms). Out of those six missionaries, Alicia & Emma are staying at the Finca for next year, Megan & Kelsey are leaving in January, and Georgi & Brittany just left on this past Tuesday. When I first came to the Finca, I thought it would be very hard to form deep relationships with the previous year’s missionaries that don’t stay an extra year because we are only here two or three months before they leave. Oh boy, was I ever VERY, VERY wrong….
It is difficult to explain how it is possible to get extremely close with somebody after only knowing them for 6 weeks, but that is exactly what happened with Georgi and Brittany. In particular, I became extremely, extremely close with Georgi in our six weeks together, as he is one of the most intelligent, funny, and kind-hearted people that I have ever met. Georgi taught me how to drive a manual car, was humble and honest about explaining his experiences and opinions at the Finca, made sports bets with me and Luke, and was ALWAYS willing to go shoot hoops with me on a basketball hoop close to our missionary house.
My Finca experience so far would definitely not have been the same if not for Georgi and Brittany, and it was SO, SO sad to see them leave early Tuesday morning. Luckily, we had an amazing community-wide farewell party for Georgi, Brittany, and Kimberly (who turned 18 this year and left the Finca this past week), so we got a chance to celebrate just how much they mean to our Finca family. There has been such a different feeling around Casa Santa Teresita this week, and it is 100% due to the missing presence of two amazing, loving, and generous people.
As we are only a few days from Thanksgiving, we are EXTREMELY excited in Casa Santa Teresita to celebrate Thanksgiving together, as well as spread a few Thanksgiving traditions to the kids! Please pray for our Finca community’s peace and joy as we celebrate the holidays together, and please also pray for all the kids that live at the Finca.
Please know of my prayers for you! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! I pray that you will enjoy the family time and live in the present moment with your loved ones.
GOD BLESS!