21 years old last thursday...I am now officially, technically, and proudly an adult. Unfortunately here in Honduras nothing changes once you turn 21 so I didnt really do anything out of the ordinary in Honduran terms. In the evening I got to spend some time with the friars and our community and it was overall beautiful....especially since the focus wasnt on me(most people forgot after 5 minutes because we were in the middle of a medical brigade). A few days later when things calmed down and the doctors left, I got to invite 5 families over to eat dinner and share praise and worship time with them and their children which was amazing....and getting to be with the families Ive grown with the closest this year....including the neighbors and their 5 kids in my catechism class....and then a family that I visit with once a week who have 8 daughters and expect God to give them more- overall some pretty amazing examples faith and marriage here in Comayagua.
But probably the most powerful experience on my birthday was evangelizing in one of the neighboring mountain aldeas which we do every thursday.
We had left around mid day and just planned on visiting some of the church goers in the neighborhood- in preparation for a summer mission in July. As we usually do the first couple times in visiting an aldea, we try and visit the sickest of the sick as to inform one of the priests to bring them the Eucharist, and we met Don Jaun.
Now, Ive had some experience with Parkinson´s disease as one of my best friends dad has been struggling with this for a long time back home, but this man was incredible and God was blatently calling us to stay and pray with him for some other reason. This man has about 70 years now, and has just begun to struggle with parkinsons and it really disables him from doing alot of what a Honduran male needs to do in order to survive in this country where a super market, washing machine, and oven/microwave just arent available. As the clock showed 3, we decided to pray the divine mercy chaplet with the señor and I tell you, he prayed this pray as if he either - prayed it everday of his life or as if he had never every prayed anything at all before. This man had a passion that I havent seen in many places with a love for Christ that is hard to find in old men suffereing with diseases. He is the opposite of sour, bitter, grumpy, or tired. Although his veins are extremely enlarged, his shaking controls his body and speech.....he still shakes ones hands like the president or king would, and offers of his home and belongings as if he had millions to give. As we prayed the chaplet, he looked at me for a moment and then thinking of Mr Molochko and his son in mass, both clenching eachothers fists in order to calm the shaking during the most solemn of moments, I grabbed his in order to help him. God definitely humbled me on my birthday, in a way that I cant explain nor comprehend...but Im slowly getting it....what it means to be humble and yet a man of God.
And that is all he was as we left....he asked nothing of us materially....simply pleaded that we would send a priest so he could recieve the Eucharist....which he said was all that mattered at this point in his life.......offer his suffering for the sinners of the world...and to finish his life already sharing in the joy and glory that Heaven offers us....
21 years....I am a man...and an adult....(dont mean to scare you mom and dad) and - altough nothing compared to the linebacker in highschool- I am strong and capable of serving our Lord as a Man of God....please pray for me and for all Men who are commited to serving Jesus and living a life of the gospel.
Peace and I love you all
