Adventures of me..

Long time coming......

2008-02-12T18:31:00.001-08:00

Wow... it really has been a long time since I have been able to write on this blog....This evening I was rereading alot of my past entries because it has been the first chance to actually sit down that I have had in a long time. It just hit me how much writing down my experiences has helped me in my journey here in Latin America and in the mission.
Coincidentally, I am scheduled to head back to Nicaragua in the next week, to visit San Marcos, where I lived and learned Spanish, and in a profund way, much of the mission that I am currently serving in. This will be the first time that I have had an oppurtunity to visit away from the mission in the last year or so, because of missions and retreats, basically the busy schedule that we live here in Comayagua.
Life here is still the blessing that it has been since the beginning, in the last 2 years (its hard to believe it will be 2 years in june) there have been many changes in the community and the ministry we are participating in. We are still working largely with our young boys and teenage youth on a weekly basis, and after these past years of working with them, we are finally seeing fruits in their lives. In the past 6 months we have been on 3-4 missions in the mountain aldeas, and between 15-20 of our youth participated for the first time, and it was quite amazing to see how much God has worked in their lives and families. As of the past summer, my current ministry is focused primarily on the mountain missions, so I have not been present very often in the house here in Comayagua, having spent most of my time living and serving the parish priests. This has been amazing, God has taught me so much through the people who live, in many ways a life with technology and conveniences of the beginning of the last century. Whether it has been learning how to survive without electricity, running water, cars, or my normal American diet, I have grown quite fond of the moutnain life and its simplicity. (Many of the these villages only have visits from the priest once or twice a year!)
This past january, 2 young adults from these mountain villages have come and committed to serving in the community for at least a year (There is a huge thrist for Christ in these mountain villages) and we are now living about 18 in the house-a huge change from last years 6-8 people. We have some many different cultures under one roof this year, we have a few graduates from Steubenville, one from Notre Dame, a young lady from Illinois, a young man from El Salvador, a few Hondurans, a young lady from Scotland, a young lady from England, and then us from good ol´ Virginia.
Although much has changed in the house, our Mission remains the same, proclaim the Gospel at all costs, raise up this generation to be on fire for Christ, run to the beat of a different drum....and seeking Holiness on a day to day basis. It is even more a blessing to know that back home I have a support in you all and that through the sacraments and community there is a constant channeling of prayer interceding for one another at all moments through the richness of our Church. It is a beautiful thing being Catholic, its what drives me to continue the mission everyday...the desire and longing for the unification of alll Christians, in order to share the richness we truly do have in our Church.
As I go back to Nicaragua to visit a family I made while I embarked on my mission, I pray that I have grown in whatever small ways and that I am able to share with every individual God places in my path. I feel many times that God has placed many loved ones in my path and through the different paths he has led me, I have somehow lost touch or communication...at times this is a hard concept for me to accept and understand, but I pray that I can refelct love to all those He has placed in my life....and for those I have failed in the past and will fail in the future , I ask forgiveness and ask for your prayers. Please pray for my conversion and also for my discernment here in Honduras. I truly feel called here for an indefinite period of time, I love all of you at home...thank you all for your support and prayers...may God Bless you and may Mary protect you with her Holy mantle...she knows her Son better than anyone else and can intercede for us better than anyone else- its not a question of theology or ¨catholic beliefs¨ its the logical truth...Peace of Christ

Andrés

Excuse me for the grammatical errors...its late

Long time coming......

2008-02-12T18:31:00.000-08:00

Photos

2007-05-25T21:01:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to add some pics to show a little of what we do around here.... so here it goes

A picture of Youth 2000 (Pan de Vida en Español) retreat practically in our house

Here is a picture of our mission in the mountains in November

And this is my catechism class that I teach on tuesdays...

One of the most beautiful places on the earth in a town called El Rosario (the rosary)

Here, the convent of the Friars is where we have mass everyday...

.....and where we have masses on friday night(and where the bishop lives)

the cathedral of the immaculate conception...which boasts the first clock ever sent to latin america from spain...

21 years

2007-05-25T16:07:00.000-07:00

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

Life in Honduras

2007-02-09T20:20:00.001-08:00

Peace in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ

It has been a while since I´ve had time to really get on and update this blog. I hope that it finds you all in good health and spirit as it finds us here in Comayagua.

Things have been flowing very smoothly here lately in the hands of God. It was quite rough for a while having different people visiting all the time, and not for the people but for the lack of consistancy in the schedule....but now we are seeing alot more of our ministries solidify for this coming year or 2. Please continue to pray that not only God sends more long term missioners but that people will be open to following what He says....

I have definitely grown in a lot of ways, and am noticing many ways in which I still have much much room to grow in my faith, future, and leadership....but most importantly my humility. I am blessed to have a local priest Fr Reynaldo as my spiritual director...who also happens to be the vocational director of the entire country here. God has placed me in many ways in a position of the ministries at the parish of Maria Reina....more than anything, being more involved with the youth there and events of evangelization...and for me has really allowed me to feel once again part of a parish.

As for the house, things are going very well, even though we have very few long termers who will be here for more than the next 4 or 5 months....and I have been blessed and cursed to be more in the position of helping Carol with administration and the decision making process ( a curse because I finally understand why here role here is so difficult yet crucial)
I have made some amazing friends and brothers and sisters within the community and with the Friars as well as outside of the community in Comayagua...

Our neighborhood and the people we live and work with have consistantly challenged me to holiness and to the humanity that we so many time have a hard time connecting with, not just in the states but I believe in any area where poverty is much less seen. God has highlighted many ways in which I havent learned to be human in the middle of disease, being uncomfortable, dirty, tired and sad......The people here will always continue to call me to a type of holiness in whichever ministry we continue to pursue, be it the classes of the children we teach, the evangelizing in the neighborhoods, or whether it be mountain missions, in all parts of this country for me, the beauty of nature and humanity is amplified about 100x. In many ways at many times, although I miss my family and friends, I feel as if I was born to live and die here, and not out of emotion but something much more full of peace and understanding all guided by prayer.....

I have continued to discern my vocation and will constantly be struggling with it I believe, but now I understand much more where my heart is being tugged towards as well as where I feel called to in my life. Please continue to pray for me in this process as you have already been doing.

Thank you all for keeping in contant....(thanks Leslie Terry and Casey! ) and thank for you all your prayers and support.....I understand how hard it must be to feel obligated to support my decisions in this life here, and I appreciate more than you could know in how much you all trust me...Please continue to ask questions or call....this mission and my life here whatever it may be, is something I want all my family and friends to be in some way a part of. I miss you all, I love you all....God Bless You

Andres

Life in Honduras

2007-02-09T20:20:00.000-08:00

Christmas

2006-12-22T12:17:00.001-08:00

Greetings in Christ and Merry Christmas....almost....
I have been gone for about a month and half in the mountains on a mission with 2 of the guys from our house here in Comayagua.
We left on about the 12th of november for a place in the mountains called ¨El Florida¨ and in fact there are millions of oranges....so many that they sell a sack of about 150 oranges for 5 to 10 lempiras which is roughly 25 cents or less....
Anyways....so Maynor, Wilmer and I arrive in the mountains at a parish of a 28 yr old priest Fr Maximiliano who has 56 churches to serve. The plan was to send us with 15 of his own missionaries to about 5 to 10 of his communities spending 3 days in each community and then leaving by foot to the next communities on the 4th day, arriving and then staying at the next for 3 days as well. So we left and encountered more than we could have ever imagine...and me being the only american in the whole team, I was probably experiencing the most drastic changes in not having spoken english in more than a month and completely having to submerge myself in the culture....but it was beautiful as God completely emtpied my being of all that I had known before....and by His Grace...allowing me to survive all things...from foods I never thought were edible before, 8 hour pilgrimages to other communities climbing, trekking through rivers...passing through waterfalls, all in one day...going a week without changing clothes or bathing due to lack of shower or running water (sorry if that grosses anyone out) and really experiencing the life of the people that have never known any other form of life in the mountians.
As we encountered some of these communities who dont recieve Father or Mass but twice a year or less....we found great spiritual need in some, and in others...we found a faith more simple and yet more profound than we ever imagined before.
Were talking people who have never learned to read or write....who have never watched a television or never afforded a radio...and only know what they learned from their families in the field working and in the Catholic church every sunday when they have their community prayer meetings. But overall....the generosity we found in these people, who would empty out the rain barrels of water saved for weeks just to give us a drink.....or killing the last chickens in their house to feed us for a night....putting their 8 children in one bed or on the floor so we would have room to sleep in their one room house.....amazing...and we truly believe their treasure and reward is in heaven where they fully acknowlege that they are placing it.
As poor as they are by our society´s standards they are by far the richest people I have ever had the honor and privelege to meet.
The whole mission was a success...Not because we were successful....we can never measure a mission or ministry as successfull....this is one thing I learned the most from the people of the mountains....the mission was a success because and ONLY because we maintained the faith....and more than taught the people the catechism...we left having learned more than we taught....this is the success..the mission of the church
Giving witness of Christ and His Love for us, and the witness that the Catholic Church lives and by means of the sacraments and especially the Eucharist...we are living in full communion PHYSICALLY with Christ as He nourishes us spiritually.

So after a retreat of more than 300 youth in the parish....we arrived back in Comayagua...and within a day or two we were leaving for another mission in El Rosario....where another young priest has more than 50 churches to serve....and as of a month or so Burglars had robbed the images of the Holy Family and Our Lady of the Rosary as well as The Eucharist from the tabernacle....so we left with haste to help recover and really examine the needs of this priest in his communities as he physically cannot be at all the places all the time....and although the sadness of the events have consumed some, the Faith is stronger than ever as the people realize they need to unite for the Church as children of Christ....

So on Friday....we arrived back around 630 inthe morning from El Rosario and began a Pan de Vida here in our neighborhood with the Friars...of about 250 youth....and although completely exhausted...not having rested for more than a month (literally) and still sick from the mission in november....God worked as always, through each and every leader during the talks, ministry and leading up to the Eucharistic Procession which is the culmination of all Pan de Vida retreats... a 2 hour procession where each youth comes literally face to face with Jesus for a period of time in His Body and Blood....and I was extremely blessed to serve Fr Felipe and was able to walk in front of him as he proceded with Jesus to each and every youth and was able to pray for each one individually....so Sunday night, we finished the Pan de Vida and really took the advantage to rest since then....preparing over 400 Christmas cookies for about 50 of the families in the neighborhood and Br Paul and I are practicing carols on guitar so we can visit each family and carol to each one tomorrow and Sunday before our all night Christmas vigil with the Friars.....
Im sorry its been so long...ive really missed you guys alot, but I felt your prayers more than ever in this time especially in all the ways the Lord has stretched me completely out of my comfort zones and taught me the true beauty of poverty...please continue to pray for us and the neighborhood here....and if you could intercede for Father Maximiliano and Father Victor for they each have more than 50 communities to celebrate mass with for Christmas this week.....thank you all and Praise our Lord God for all that He is doing in each and every one of our lives...

Peace and Merry Christmas!

Andrew

Christmas

2006-12-22T12:17:00.000-08:00

Settling down and then leaving again

2006-11-03T07:07:00.001-08:00

Hey all! I hope that all is going well back home and that everyone had a beautiful All Saints and All Souls day. It has been a while since I have been able to update this, we have had a lot of things going on and just when I think I have time to sit down and write, something comes up....so Im praying that I can actually finish this today.

First of all, thank you all for your prayers in this time, we have definitely needed it, for many of the situations God has placed within our community have been literally impossible, but His Grace alone has provided in the times that have seemed most difficult. Please continue to pray for the family of Maria Luisa and Johanna, the family we got out of their house due to irresponsibility of their mother who left them at home for days with their little sister. We got them to what seemed to be the perfect place for them, but when we came back to visit them a few days later to bring them their things, found that it was a somewhat anti-catholic evangelical orphanage....and for these girls (due to the death of their newborn baby brother this year, murder of their father, and negligence of their 24 yr old mother) the Church, Eucharist, and the embrace of our Mother Mary, were the ONLY solid consistent things they had in their life.....so it was a wreck to have left them for a period of time in a place where all of these things were not only attacked, but considered to be from the devil....
So with much prayer and meeting with the Friars, we were able to move them to a Catholic orphanage where the priest in charge is going to continue their classes in the faith and prepare Maria Luisa for her First Communion which was the one thing she told me on the way to the first orphanage, that she wanted most at this moment in time.....Please pray for her, for her faith, and for clarity in what is going on....she has lost so many things and people in this one year....she needs a miracle....and we need to believe that God will perform a miracle in her life.

Much of the past 3 or 4 weeeks have been consumed in these events and planning trips in order to secure the safety of these girls as well as other crisis, but with these crisis comes so much Grace not only in our lives here at the house but in my faith...although at times I enter the chapel for Holy Hour thinking and asking God, why these things happen.....the amount of faith that flows through the brokenness of these people has helped me grow and discover my part more and more in the Body of Christ, in ways Ive never known before...

Yesterday I was blessed abundantly to visit with a family of one of the young girls in our group Dulce, and I had the oppurtunity to spend a good hour and a half with her great grandmother who is about 75-80 years old. She lives not only in the poorest part of our neighborhood, but I would venture to say one of the poorest parts of the city of Comayagua...she grew up in a mountain village where the priest visited for Mass about once a year and she survived off of the land alone. Some family members recognized the gifts she had so they sent her to live in the City of Comayagua with an order of Franciscans here and work with the Bishop. So she started to grow in her faith and then realized....life means nothing without Christ and even deeper, in recieving His body and blood in the Eucharist...participating in something that unites all Catholic believers in the world, in all the years past and all the years to come as ONE BODY IN CHRIST...and she thought to herself, "none of my family is baptized or has recieved their first communion"
So she invited a ton of people from the mountains back in the 1950s to visit the Bishop and he baptized over 50 people in one day...and assigned a priest to her village in order to teach and form the people of the faith...Obviously, she has much family, she is the great grandmother of Dulce who is about 14 years old, and she is consecrated 3rd ORDER FRANCISCAN! She has been very sick for years now, and the friars and family have thought she was dying about 4 or 5 times now, and she is anxiously awaiting her arrival in heaven, but God is keeping her here for a time....and Praise Him for that! She passes her days for hours in her bed, sitting up praying spontaneously, recited the rosary for hours, and singing canticles to our Lord and interceding for the Missioners here, the friars and all the Church around the world.....she is truly a saint, and I cant describe what an honor it is to know her and to be loved by such a follower of Christ as her....amongst all of the brokenness and perversion I run into daily here in our neighborhood, it is the women like her that teach me how much Love their is in this world.

Please keep Maynor, Wilmer and I in your prayers, for we leave this coming week for a month...we are going up into the mountains on the boarder of El Salvador and Honduras to live and work with the people of El Florida...some of whom have never heard and experienced the word and love of Christ...pray for our faith and that God might use us as vessels of His Love.....I will be arriving back here on about the 13 of December and will be anxiously awaiting the arrival in late december of the team coming from Virginia! Peace to all of you! I love you and Miss you...

Peace of Christ

Andrew

Settling down and then leaving again

2006-11-03T07:07:00.000-08:00

Video

2006-10-26T07:32:00.000-07:00

Hey All!! Im sorry, i dont have much time right now, but I wanted to post this video made by Brad who came this summer to Comayagua...its really a good 7 min recap of what we do here with the Friars and the people of this Country..

http://faithful-servant.blogspot.com

Thank you all for the prayers....I will update soon but we have a retreat this weekend and are preparing....Peace be with all of you

Andrew

Pan de Vida

2006-10-01T10:33:00.000-07:00

Greetings in the Peace of Christ! I write this with much peace and joy in how the Lord has blessed us lately here in Honduras.
This past weekend in Honduras, we had a Pan de Vida retreat which for those who arent familiar, is a 40+ hour weekend of Adoration of Jesus in His flesh and blood in the Eucharist with about 100 youth. It is jampacked full of talks, praise and worship, mass, and all things Catholic.....in actuality all things Christian.....for whether or not they believe in It, everyones soul desires the Eucharist, however at times we dont realize it through our own faults, or by the faults of those who may have taught us falsely under distortions of the faith or through traditions of other faiths...and this is precisely our mission here in Honduras, and throughout the world as Baptized Catholics....to spread the Good News to everyone, because we believe it is the truth and it is what will not only save us for eternity but will allow us to enjoy and find peace in this world for the short time we live in it.
This retreat does just that in its teaching and goal...to make Catholics aware of our role as missionaries for LIFE....and to focus all of our life in the Eucharist...believe it or not, as it may be the biggest distinction in Protestants and Catholics as well as the biggest arguement....it is the one part of our faith that will shine the truth of The Church......for even Martin Luther believed with his whole heart and soul in the Eucharist even during his breaking from the Church.....

In his words regarding people who decided to translate the Bible according to their church...

"Who, but the devil, hath granted such a license of interpreting the words of the Holy Scripture?
Who ever read in the Scriptures, that ¨my body¨ is the same as ¨the sign of my body¨? What language in the world ever spoke so? It is only then the devil, that imposeth upon us by these fanatical men....Not one of the Fathers, ever said...¨It is only break and wine¨ or ¨the body and blood of Christ is not fully present¨. Certainly in so many Fathers, and in so many writings, that the negative (Christ not fully present) would be found in at least ONE of them, had any of them thought The Body and Blood were not fully present. But they are all Unanimous."´
-Martin Luther (LUTHERS COLLECTED WORKS, Wittenburg Edition no. 7, page 391)

And we learned quickly while working here in Honduras that if our focus moves away for even a day from The Eucharist....the fruits begin to slip away...for it is The Eucharist that we focus ALL of our work and service towards, we are nothing in this battle here....and finding coverts to protestantism BECAUSE there arent enough priests for sufficient masses....is a sign to many that our work must reflect preperation for The Eucharist. Praise God for His gift to us and the ability we have to recieve every day if we want in the States...for if the people here had the oppurtunity ever day, they would change EVERYTHING in their schedules to attend mass or even Adore Him for an hour. This is the secret of poverty, the gift among what we see as injustice...the gift to rely on Him for everything....

Not only the retreat has been powerful since last weekend, this past 2 days I spent time in another part of Honduras, Siguatepeque with Maynor and his family. It is a beautiful place but the goal of the trip was to visit the seminary....and I must admit I am still in awe from what I experienced there....a seminary on the top of a mountain with crops of all sorts, animals of all sorts all maintained by the 20-28 year old seminarians....all completed by a giant waterfall at the top of the mountain.....I can understand why so many people might be turned off from seminary in the states...from the ones ive seen and heard about....they pale in comparison to what they should be.....for men to study 6-8 years of their life and Vocation.....I must admit, I feel a tugging on my heart....I need alot of prayers and much more time...but for the first time Jesus is teaching me to be open to His will in ANYTHING.....and I pray that we all together can learn how to live this way.....reckless abandon to His will, no matter what that means...changing our plans for our futures to serve Him how He wants, leaving jobs, careers, big houses, nice neighborhoods, friends, family, to be with Him in the specific ways He has for us.......I do ponder the idea much down here on how protestants can survive following the will of God as well as many of them do, for withouth Mass and the Eucharist everyday....I do not know what I would do.....that may be the one thing I am the most sure of in this moment, my incapability without His flesh and blood

Peace

Andrés

Joy

2006-09-14T21:03:00.000-07:00

Well, Im on the computer tonight and I am supposed to wait until tomorrow to take care of this, however, I will be staying in the mountains with Father Balthazar, so I wont get a chance to do any of this up there.

Things have been going very well, Thanks be to God. Life is slowing down a little bit here, things are settling in and now more than ever, I am feeling at home and getting quite used to my responsibilities, activities, and way of life here. It is a beautiful life here, one that I wouldnt trade for anything at this moment. I feel more blessed than ever, being here and having the honor of working and growing with some of the people I am living with as well as the people in this neighborhood whether it is them coming to the door to chat, or the opposite, when they have me in their house. It really is an honor, I can think of no other word to describe the attitudes and love I feel here from our neighbors.

I have continued to work with The Ramirezs, the family with 3 of the children who can not walk or move most of their muscles, however as of the last month of visiting, we have gotten the oldest son to walk and he actually thinks of it as a game, Praise God. The other siblings are anxious to do therapy when I get the chance to visit, and they have opened their hearts to me in ways I could never repay them in. The doctors say they will never walk, but I believe with all my heart that he, and perhaps his sister will walk in the next year given much practice - a miracle in the making.

Maynor one of the Hondurans that I am living, Joseph and I have been really involved with the catechism class with Brother Mateo, and it has been a gift too. We have been preparing activities that reflect the topic such as vocation, prayer, etc. We try to lead praise and worship, but the best times so far, in which weve gotten alot closer with the kids in our class have been praying Bible Jeopardy, and last weeks treasure hunt, involving a clue being tied to the leg of one of the chickens.....hilarious....

With Gods grace I have been able to understand Spanish farely easily, my grammar in speaking is still farely rough, but I am also able to speak and communicate way beyond what I expected or could be capable of with His Grace. Maynor and I have been visiting houses with the rest of the days that we have, houses of the children in our class which has really built some strong relationships with them, and houses of people we dont know yet, which has brought us closer to understanding our call in life as missionaries in every moment. Again, the stories and situations at times are beautiful and joyful, at other times, horrible and also unbelievable, but here these things become common. This is where I have learned so much about the power of my prayers, and the importance of simply sitting in silence and interceding for others....in fact this is where all the power is, because without this, we are in fact, doing simple social work.

As for sharing stories, there have been way to many to recount in this blog, and also way to many to choose which would depict life in the best way possible, I pray that God with bring us together one day again and I will have the honor to share them with you, but for now I can only ask for your prayers. We are praying very hard for this neighborhood, for it is under attack. There are institutions attacking the faith of the people, whether it is Planned Parenthood with their birth control schpiel they give to the poor in schools and other places, or the Mormons and Jehovahs Witnesses, using the name of Christian and utterly confusing many faithful neighbors of ours to the point that people have approached us and the Friars in tears out of confusion of what they have taught them.....pray for this neighborhood, for many are not entirely and completely educated and can innocently fall for lies such as these, and pray for these other religions, because they are further than just seperated brothers, they are an entirely different religion in itself, devoid of the Salvation given to us by Jesus on the Cross.....

As for everyone of you, I miss you all extremely, I think about each of you at least once everyday, and It is difficult being away, however I know and am being affirmed in my prayers everyday that this is where I am called...and even more that alot more people are called here as well, for this I am praying for any of you who are called and wrestling with the idea of dropping everything and serving our brothers and sisters in this world. I have to admit, at times when I look back at where I was 6 months ago or what I would be doing in my house or apartment, its easy to think that I dropped everything, but in actuality it wasnt until I dropped everything that Ive started to tase what it is going to be like to gain Everything. Please pray for me, and for all those I work with....we need it everyday.

I love you Mom and Dad, Travis, Lindsay, and Chris, in case you guys are reading this....and all you others...your in my heart and prayers.....

The Peace of Christ

Andrew Charles Pocta

Dignity

2006-08-22T07:24:00.000-07:00

Greetings! I pray that this reaches you all in good spirit! Praise God for He has been doing great things here, and please continue to pray for us and more importantly the people of Honduras, for with the good work of God comes satan attempting to ruin it.

This past week has been quite an adventure and the topic of discussion around the house is human dignity....praying and working to restore the diginity of the people here who many times through their situations, feel less than human, and for us to grow more human and to lose the comfort barriers built up in our own lives.

This week has been a week of rest for me, I have spent much of the time laying and reading and trying to walk around with the missioners yelling at me to rest. By the grace of God I managed to finish the dog house and a pen outside before Max arrived on Saturday. Thursday however was a turning point in the week, and was when I had enough strength to start walking again. We had a 3 hour vigil at a little chapel called St. Martins in our neighborhood and the whole week was spent inviting people to the Rosary, Mass, and then Adoration Thursday and thanks be to God, about 75+ people showed up to worship our Lord! Personally, the evening was a turning point in alot of my spirituality when a 14 year old girl, Fatima, gave her testimony while Jesus was exposed in the Blessed Sacrament. She talked for 5-10 minutes, but what was amazing was that she was preaching about suffering and how it is such an important part of our faith. She shared her story and her immense suffering and urged the people there, who she admitted probably suffered much more than her in her life, to carry on in Faith and Love. From then on, as Father Harold offered Confession (for some people there, the first time in years) and others sobbed and carried their burdens, suffering, abuse, etc... up to Jesus and knelt before Him in His Precious Body, and at that moment I thanked and praised God that He had cradled me firmly in the Church, and at the same time I began weeping realizing how little faith I have, and this girl who is 14 and probably been abused and who-knows-what-else, is a Prayer Warrior! It was at this time agian, that I heard Christ ask me in a soft voice if I was willing to give my life as a friar in order to love Him...so please pray for that and for my discernment, and more importantly too, the people who were present at the vigil.

On Saturday night, it was quite a turning point, for we had run a lot of errands, and I was finishing up the dog house and other things, when I heard gun shots, and 5 minutes later, ambulances near our neighborhood, less than 20 minutes later, Maria Luiza, (a girl in our girls program who is 12 and lived with us a few months back when her mother left her with her and her 6 month old baby for a few days, and the baby got sick and passed away, please pray for her and her family) came running to our door screaming, and as I answered the door she told me they had killed her father and cousin.

I had never been around murder before and didnt know what to do, so Allyson and Ethel just comforted her, and prayed with her as we called the friars to come over. To make the long story short, after the friars went back to her house and found her father their, they went and prepared things for the funeral because by law, the body must be buried by 24 hours. This was absolutely horrible, and even worse, not so uncommon here, and all we could do was pray....but the more I thought about it, that was the best thing we can ever do...is to give everything we do to Christ...and thats what Maria did, she prayed with us as she mourned and I praised God that our house was their for her to run to, and that the friars were there to help the family and give some reflections....there is much more to say, but in keeping with her dignity and her family´s dignity I should stop and just ask that your prayers are with her and her family.

Overall, I felt Christ with the family through the funeral procession and carrying of the coffin to the cemetery the next day, and the presence of the family and the devotion of prayer I saw in each one of them touched my heart, but again it brought out in me, my selfishness and weakness I have in my dependence in Christ, which needs to increase more than ever. For in the hands of the young girl was a Rosary as she sobbed and begged God to give back her father, she was sincerely praying, listening, depending on Christ for her strength.

Yesterday, in the afternoon, Ethel and I took a family to IHNFA, a government run organization that helps get children out of extremely abusive houses. Once again, this was the first time I had ever experienced anything like this, and I felt this was none of my business, but as the daughter(another girl from our girls program) told me about her mother and some of the things in the house, I understood why Ethel needed to take them to try and get help, they had been neglecting their children of school, food on some days, and any parenting at all...the atmosphere quickly changed when the young boy of 8 years grabbed my hand and told me he couldnt walk alone in the city, and the little girl took my other hand. Christ shined so clearly through their faces yesterday, and I wanted nothing more than to make their mother a good mother for them, or get them into a house where they would recieve love rather than giving it all day......

it broke my heart, and at Holy Hour last night, i realized more and more how much we HAVE to allow ourselves to learn from what this world calls the "poor and the broken", for as much as we try to teach them, it is really them teaching us and until I understand that fully, I will have a hard time hearing Christ in His whispers, especially when it is the child at our front door whispering for Him.

Back in Honduras......for good

2006-08-11T06:12:00.000-07:00

Ahh...so the first week back in Honduras is over.....and the shock of not going home like every other short term mission is now hitting me. It has been a beautiful week, but last night reaffirmed in all of our hearts how much the work is just slowly beginning. As much as I have grown to love the girls who stayed for the summer, it is a positive thing to see the forming of the real team that will stay for this coming year or more. So far...after Tony and the other girls leave, it will be Carol, Joseph, Allyson, Ethel and I. Last night we discussed the issue of long term commitment to the mission from the supporters in the state.....its strange and very providential that Joseph and I came when we did....for there would have only been Carol and 2 or maybe 3 people on the permanent team for this year...which would have been a crazy responsibility on them. But, after this week and the blessings and oppurtunites God has given this summer and for the future of ministries here in Comayagua....more long term commitments are needed so we are praying, and ask that you pray for that as well. God provides, and as Carol said last night, He always has, even when it would take a miracle so we must Praise Him..

Anyways, with much work and responsibility has come Beauty like I have never ever seen before. Working with the young children and families this week whether in a classroom type situation, or outdoor ministries, or last night in a small Chapel on the other side of town.....God shines through these people in ways I never knew. Again, amidst the pain I find so much love and willingness to submit to our Lord...it is truly amazing. But as I am witnessing this beauty, I am coming face to face with my failures and my lackings...everyday the little things that I struggle with are highlighted in such profound ways, in which God is demanding conversion of heart...it has been the most difficult thing I have ever encountered but I am growing so much, and yet have so much still to grow in.

Yesterday, as I was working on a very ugly looking dog house for the puppy we are in the market for, the discipleship girls met in our house and totally blew me away with their presence. I felt so much peace, and as I listened to their testimonies and their voices, I felt like I was in the midst of Jesus Himself...and I was. They were all living tabernacles of His love, and yet all had so much pain in their pasts, whether physical and/or sexual abuse, extreme poverty, and lack of love from family. Still, they had SO much love to give and desire to share with Someone, anyone....and I am slowly learning how sometime to just let these children and even adults with such sad and horrible backgrounds....love you with their whole heart. It is truly a beautiful humility to be learned....and I believe we all need to learn how to love, but also to let others Love us... After the class, we went over to the soccer court near our house and I asked the guys who always play on the court everyday, to let us play a game first, since the girls are never permitted to play.....and being a little bigger than most hondurans, they gave in. So we played soccer, and I saw so much joy in the smiles of these little girls....just having the oppurtunity to play soccer and enjoy life, which seems crazy to believe, but these children can enjoy life in the little things, hugs, games, coloring, etc....but they do it with their whole heart...and you can definitely see it.

After the game, we drove over to San Isidro which is a little chapel built for the people to have vigils in about a 10 minute drive from our house. Every thursday we prepare a meeting on a certain aspect of the faith, and have praise and worship with about 20 or 30 people in that neighborhood, and they Love it....they bring their families and praise our Lord with us. Last night was beautiful, and the the presence of Christ was so evident for me, as well as His peace in all the faces, especially the old women there...one of them Eva, is this beautiful older women wit the biggest smile and and even bigger way of showing her love every hug or kiss she gives....and it constantly reminds me of how much love I lack and need to continually pray for.

Right now I am preparing some things for a meeting with Brother Mateo, so I apologize if this was rushed, I really do want to update this so I can petition you all for constant prayers and intercession...I need it more than ever before....so please forgive me.

Also, pray for all those who left last week from here and are back in the states.....Especially the 3 or 4 I had the honor of spending time with friday....their vocation and calling....Josh, Fina, Amador....I saw the face of Christ in all of you guys...and Im praying that you continue to listen to Gods calling in your lives....

I have to go now, I have a long day downtown today, and the Poor Clares are having their feast day today....please keep all of us in your prayers, and we will be praying for you.. P

Peace of Christ

Andres

Last Week in San Marcos, Nicaragua

2006-07-29T11:24:00.000-07:00

Hola! Como Esta. Yo espero que ustedes tienen paz como Jesus quiere por nuestra vidas. I am writing, as this is our last week or 4 days in Nicaragua...and its been tough coming to terms with leaving for good. Last night, Joseph and I spent the evening in the hospital with our teacher and her family awaiting the birth of her granddaughter Catarine Michele. Catarina (the mother) went into what we thought was labor about 3 days ago during class in the morning and our teacher rushed out only for dissapointment as Catarine was not ready to leave her mothers womb. I had formed a pretty close relationship with the family, and they had envited me over many days a week for coffee and conversation, and I had gotten to know Catarina very well. So this week was an anxious awaiting for the birth. Last night, I had joked around telling Gloria, the mother of the family, that we should have a party and prayer vigil for the coming of the baby, and she told me that we should.....but I was only joking. So, I ran around town getting supplies to cook for the ladies, (the husband of Gloria passed away this past winter) and the family is all women still living in the house. So i bought cheese, tortillas, ice cream all natural from Jinotepe(famous in Nicaragua) and cabbage for a salad. When I arrived back from my shopping, Catarina had already started having the pains and they had left for the hospital in Diriamba. I was in my teachers house with her daughters until Joseph arrived, and I cooked for about an hour tortillas with fried cheese in them, and we together made a salad. We finished eating, and like the past couple of nights, the electricity was cut off by the government for 3 or 4 hours from 7 till about 11. So with lit candles we made some phone calls and had a friend taxi driver, pick us up and we headed to Diriamba. We arrived at the hospital and our Teacher was in tears, because the hospital had barely any electricity and noone to administer the anasthetics?, so their was much tension and anxiety about the C-Section Catarina needed. The whole family circled together with Joseph and I (2 gringos) and prayed for a bit until the doctors gave us permission to come and wait inside the hospital. We walked into the waiting room, I looked up for some strange reason and saw Mary Queen of Peace....our Mother....with roses surrounding her, and Joseph and I (being in somewhat of a awkward situations being gringos and not knowing the 10 other family members) just prayed and listened to the family. We learned at about 1045 that all was well with Catarina, and we went home around 1130. Catarina had the baby with no problem during the night - Catarine Michel. Joseph and I will visit them tonight when she brings her back home.
Overall it was quite an adventure, throughout the evening I had thought and even remarked to Joseph how different it was than the states....a friend would need to have known a family for far more than 4 weeks, as well as probably be from the same area as them to be invited to the hospital at such a crucial time in a persons life and vocation. It was a blessing to be present with them, and they have constantly renewed my faith in Christ and His Love. At this point, I am praying for peace in leaving San Marcos, for I have to leave people I have become quite close to in only 4 or 5 weeks. My family that I live with is very sad, as am I in leaving, and I will miss alot of the community here, but I am excited about arriving back home to Honduras. I have experienced so much in this past 4 or 5 weeks and Joseph and I have constantly reflected on how impossible it would have been without constant Mass daily, recieiving Christ in what actually makes us Catholic...just as the christians did in the years immediately following His resurrection....only they did it underground for fear of the government. We now have Jesus in His Eucharist any time we want it and we refuse Him in our negligence.... or conviction in other sects or ideas of christianity that "its not important, or Jesus doesnt really mind if I dont believe in the Eucharist, all that is important is that I love him and read the Bible, or the verse about eating His Flesh and Drinking His Blood, is only symbolic."
There are so many excuses we make for neglecting Jesus in the Eucharist, sadly it can be seen in our world today....
Lacking Morals
Lacking Values in Children and Life
Sexual Promiscuity
20,000+ different christian sects
Religious Confusion

We all fail so much everyday in these things or things similar to these, and the worst thing is that when we do fail.....we dont run to Jesus in the Eucharist like EVERY Saint or Saintly person in the HISTORY of christianity.....and we need to do just that.....
I am learning every day more and more the importance of this and How much an hour of Adoration with Jesus can do for our souls and for the souls we are praying for .......and I really know that if I can help anyone in this period of time, and in my life....I can do nothing less than to desire to bring them The Eucharist....

As another life is brought into this world this day here in San Marcos, we NEED to pray for all of those who never had the oppurtunity to live at all...

Oh and by the way....remember Roe vs Wade, the court case that helped the movement in America for legalizing Abortion? Here is the website about "Roe" now.....check it out
http://www.leaderu.com/norma/
I love you all, I miss you, Im praying for you, and please pray for me....

Adios, Dios le Bendigo....

The FPO´s

2006-07-17T12:37:00.000-07:00

¡Feliz Fiesta de Nuestra Senora de Carmelita! At least, thats how I think it goes.....Yesterday was the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and it was a beautiful day with the friars of the primitive observance. The Carmelitas live very close to the Friars, actually exactly right between my house here and the Friars convent on the Coffee Farm of the Leeches, a North American family who harvests coffee out of their back yard and sells it to the U.S.. I am hoping to be blessed with an oppurtunity to visit them soon, they have a 12 oclock daily soup kitchen for the orphans in the area who havent found an orphanage yet...anyways they invited Joseph and I and anyone else from the Campus to go and pray and sing with them for they have about 50-75 kids everyday. They are truly saints, just another example of people living radical lives for Christ in a world centered around the idea of self.
Interesting, in my spanish dictionary- thanks Jiza...the word Yo translates into 2 definitions- 1)I and 2) Ego.

So about the visit with the Friars....I left the campus on friday to go to the convent at 2pm. I walked into the convent during their midday prayer and found out upon arrival that this was their day of silence. I had already drank a cup of coffee at school and was unprepared but I read for the first hour and then adored Christ in their chapel for the next 3, which was probably the most spiritual time I have been blessed with and Christ repeatedly told me to have peace...and it was the one thing I had been missing for the last couple of weeks. I had moved into a new country and met new people, left that one for another one (nica) and then met newer people, started living with a new family, praying with a group of new people who spoke a different language and this whole time I was constantly being broken. I must admit, I was far from full of peace during this past month or so. So it was this friday in silence and meditation that Christ could really speak to me in such a powerful way. And it was SO simple too, which was probably the biggest blessing out of all of it, It was really really simple. Almost like a ¨shhhhh¨ from a mother to a young child crying. From that point on, the weekend flowed into more and more discernment in my heart. The Friars FPOs are probably the most simple guys I have ever met, they have nothing and seem to be the richest guys I know, apart from the CFRs, but its a very different community. We went to bed nightly around 9 oclock and awoke at 1 am for office of readings and we had to light candles in order to see. After those, we went back to sleep for roughly 2 and a half to 3 hours and arose again at 530 for prayer and then Holy Mass at 730. It was in celebrating mass with the 5 friars in a chapel of dirt floor, 2 candles and extremely humble tabernacle that I fell even more in love with Christ in the Eucharist. So many things occured to me as I recieved Christ that Mass in such a fashion- why it was so important to spread not only the ¨good news¨but the Love of the Church and to earnestly and enthusiastically draw closer to the Catholic Church, Christs SPOUSE, and to desire with everything we have for others to be just as close IF NOT closer to HER, for the sake of the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. This quiet listening was Necessary for me at this point in my life...and was completely providincial in many ways. Saturday morning after Mass, Fr Peter and I talked for a while about my vocation and he gave me some great direction in that, he helped explain some things and answered alot of questions I have had for a while in ways that have been very beneficial in my discernment. The rest of the day I walked the streets with the friars begging for food and sharing time with the people of the city. I felt honored in a way to be apart of their community even for that short time. I had an amazing vision of Friars all over the world as the special forces of The Church in 3rd world countries, here they call it the power of the Habit, but it truly is that way. They walk among criminals, injustice, rape, heretics, violence, abuse, etc etc, but when they walk....people STOP everything they are doing and notice them. Not in some fancy schmancy way like we would the president or something but in Awe....if their sacrifice, of their devotion and of their LOVE. Their love for anyone....no matter their story, past, life, these MEN of GOD, love anyone with as close to the same love Christ had for us, as you can get. Like the red sea parting, and Pharoah with all of his evils stopped as the water closes back on his troops, so does the sin, at least for that time....as the people part opening a path for the friars to come and pray, to hold, to love.....their selfishness or hurt ceases during that time. It was after these things that I left the Convent and headed back for San Marcos....a truly beautiful and clarifying experience.

So...I arrived home to Maria Sara's wide open arms around 8 30 pm last night, Fr. Peter kicked me out so I could avoid walking around in the dark (not a bad idea). It felt great to be back at my home again, Maria Sara (the little 4 yr old) and Jesse (6yr old) had just gotten over a really really bad cold and ran to me saying (in spanish) Estamos mejor! Puede abrazar nosotros! Because for the last week or so, they couldnt hug me due to an extreme flu that was going around San Marcos.

So now its monday, and the reading today in Mass was about Jesus saying ¨I have not come to bring Peace.....I have come to seperate brothers, sons from fathers, daughters from mothers¨ and this is so TRUE.....But, we must never forget His love overall....as in Revelations (in spanish in one of Johns visions about the seals being broken and total warfare, destruction, blood, tears, etc etc etc, and God is victorious as always, but we must remember that Jesus doesnt only preach fun and happy things.....in fact He teaches Repentance of our Sins and Conversion of Hearts more than ANYTHING else...which is not such an easy and happy happy joy joy type thing at all. Now, all these things can be good, family is very important as are Brothers and Sisters in Christ....but what we must realize is that its not always about feeling good, and that is where I think the protestant church, as well as many of us Catholics go astray. This is where we should draw closest with Christ in His SUFFERING on the cross. And I thank God everyday that I am given His Son in the Eucharist to remind me of that. As Catholics we can all experience this....EVERYDAY.

As for this weekend it was truly one of the most amazing experiences I have ever been blessed with and I feel above all else that God has His Hand open in front of me, with an invitation on it written.....¨You are invited to join my special forces. Date: Life. RSVP if you decide to join my troops.¨ As I left the convent yesterday evening.....it was as if God used Brother Patrick to hand me that spiritual invitation....and I know that if this is my true calling....There will be no hesitation in making that quick phone call upstairs..

I pray that all is well in the States.....You are all on my mind and in my heart all the time...especially in big groups of people when I cant understand a word of their rapid-fire nicaraguan spanish...Please please please pray for me, as well as the missioners here and in Honduras....I hope the trip went well to my home in Honduras Joe, Joe, Andrew, Chris and Dad. Ill be praying for you guys.

Praise God for the gift of Life.

New Family in San Marcos

2006-07-04T11:40:00.000-07:00

I am writing to ask for prayers as I have moved out of the dorms of Ave Maria and into a family's home in San Marcos. They live about 5-10 minutes by feet from the campus. We met the father through the Friars of the Primite Oberservance here in Nicaragua. They are amazing(the friars), they live in a convent in the woods near my house, all of it from one tree that broke near the site a few years back, they built it by hand, none of it is man made, all natural "material" was used, the floor in the house is the actual ground of the earth, the chapel has nothing but dirt to kneel on, the beds are their desks they read or write on (flat wood), and they beg everynight for their food. I am going to stay with them for a week visit in a few weeks and to live the life with them, discerning what God might be calling me to. Their presence in Nicaragua is extremely influential the faith of Catholics and even non-Catholics seeing it as an example of the faith the Church can inspire...it is truly one of the most important backbones in this city. Anyways, the father, Tavin is a really devout and passionate Catholic in San Marcos (unfortunately one of very few) and a very loving father and husband. His wife Lupa and him have 3 children, a 15 yr old boy Jader, a 6 year old son Jesse, and an absolutely beautiful 4yr old daughter Maria Sara. They treat me like their older brother, and the are extremely welcoming and loving to me. We live in a not-so-great part of town, called La Cancha, and you can hear the freguent dogs barking and fire works being lit till even 4 in the morning. The door is kept open till about 10 oclock because frequent visitors stop by; friends of the family, couples newly married that Tavin and Lupa have counseled in their marriage class at the parish, and young children wanting food. They are extremely generous despite having just enough to get by- it is beautiful. It is the way Jesus asks ALL of us to be, and I still have to learn that. The children are vey innocent and obedient, mostly unaware of the unjustices happening even across the street. They know Jesus, and that is enough for them. It is a practice that we pray the rosary together as a family, with Tavins parents (in their late 80's) every night, usually followed with praise and worship. The normal meal at the house is gallopinto (rice and beans) with possibly a tortilla. When I am really hungry, it even tastes good for breakfast. It is difficult at times because they know absolutely no english, but they are patient with me. I have met many of their extended family and friends whom Tavin refers to as "Hermano or Hermana" so I have no idea which of them are actually blood reatives. It was a hard transition for the campus because I had been used to meeting with the many strong Catholics for Adoration and praise and worship everynight, and starting to get to know some of the young adults here. One of them, Nubia who just graduated from Ave Maria, does alot of the facilitating here, and she is a complete blessing. I got to go to her home town Jinotepe last weekend, and it was another beautiful city, except it was alot bigger than San Marcos, and I had come at a strange time, during an Ipica, where "cowboys" show off their horses and the streets are flooded all day with parties and music. It's a very lively culture much like that of a city in the United States, except Nubia told me that you can usually expect to walk around and talk to anyone at length whether you know them or not. So here I am, in Nicaragua, somewhere I never thought I'd be in a million years, especially not in 2006. It's just another example of how much we have NO idea what God is calling us to. And I am slowly learning how much I lacked trust in God in the past (and still do in many ways) when I reminded myself of my priorities- Family, School, Work, etc with God involved with all of those, but that was WRONG....its GOD and then because of, and ONLY because of His grace...we can try to undertake those things...this is the MOST important aspect we must focus on when we say we Love our Lord, or that we Trust our Lord...He is first, and as Fr. John Anthony C.F.R. told me last week before I came to Nicaragua...."If I really follow the commandments and Love the Lord with all my heart (which, yes folks...is a Commandment) than I have to say 'I will do WHATEVER You want of me Lord, NO matter WHAT that means'".

I have to go now, but I want to leave you with something that Jesus reminded me of yesterday in the Chapel as I was overwhelmed with Spanish, and stressed out telling God "This is too much, I can barely make it", one of the teachers at Ave Maria gave me a card without previous knowlege of anything and said, completely out of the blue!,
"My son Andrew just got ordained and this is his motto"
the card read
"He Must Increase, I Must Decrease"
Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to prepare, and I thank you all again for the support....I pray God blesses you the way He has blessed us here...I could be no more peacefull than I am right now, despite the challenges all around me.

Peace

Andres

Nicaragua

2006-06-26T14:43:00.000-07:00

Hola! Como estan usted? I say that, because in San Marco, Nicaragua....they use usted unlike Comayagua. I started my first day of language school today, got to meet some very beautiful and loving people at Ave Maria and in the town. The trip from Comayagua, Honduras was long and because of a stomach sickness it was rough, however it was amazingly beautiful. The landscape and the people along the way were a total blessing from God. As we drove through Masaya and into San Marcos in Nicaragua, my love for the Latin American culture grew even more. The willingness to offer anything that could help us, even their meal for the night....out of love is probably the most profound thing I've seen yet. I have a hard time myself giving up things, and they are plentiful. It amazes me the amount of love they have amidst all the pain, hurt, and injustice...once again a clear and beautiful PROOF of the existence of God. On my heart right now as we left Honduras for a month or two, have been two families I have already grown very close to. One is a family of 5 children and the sister (who has taken the role of mother, 150%) Carrina....they are one of the poorest families I have encountered and Christ has stirred in me to love. I call Carrina the mother because their own mother is a prostitute and is close to never home at all. Carrina is seen leading the 5 children with a newborn (maybe 3 months old) in her arms, head unsupported, dirty, coughing....with the other children half naked running around, with no sense of obedience, societal rules, etc. From the moment I met them, out of the ugliness of my own comfort level, I was apprehensive to interacting with them...but God stripped me of all that, showing me how much I had to be humbled and I was able to hold the baby...and slowly day after day become closer with the children. Patience and utter unconditional love is needed for these children, for they have had no education, not parental supervision and do not understand right or wrong for the most part...its heart breaking but it is a common thing to find in Comayagua. In most situations like these, Prayer and Unconditional Love are the ONLY option....we need to learn to rely more on prayer like our ancestors...that is also something God is showing me I have forgotten. For many in this world, prayer is the ONLY thing they can do, and the power they believe their prayers possess is Inspiring. Sadly, this is how we should all be regardless of our situation...but because (and this is simply my idea in my own life) of my idea of capitalism and my upbringing in it, I rely TOO much on myself....not valuing God as my sole provider, sole counselor, and most importantly I need to learn to live "Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit." In fact, joseph(my roomate) and I, are going to paint a picture with that verse on our wall....its becoming our motto in learning humility. The other family I am drawing closer to is Rosa's family, a loving wife with 3 children with cerebral palsy, who's backs are consequently stuck straight and they cannot bend, let alone walk or move on their own. I have visited them and I hope to take over Katies role as family friend and physical therapist. Katie is one of my former roomates who left yesterday to enter the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal in NY!!! Praise God! Anyways, Rosa's family is very poor and was found by the friars in the mountain unable to travel because of the childrens conditions, but they are one of the most beautiful and devout families I have met. Please pray for them. However, as I continue to repeat, there is so much hope and beauty in their poverty....of which we here try to emulate in everyway. It is the closest I have seen people draw to Christ in every outlet of their life because they have nothing else to rest their hope in. Ahh....it shows me how much I have to grow. I must go now, Im off to Holy Hour with Carol, Laura, and Joseph at the Chapel that is on the top of the mountain in San Marcos...looking down on a huge part of Managua, Nicaragua. I pray that all is well, please continue to pray for the Church, the Pope, the missioners here and in Honduras, as well as the people all over the world living lives of injustice and true poverty. It has been a breaking process- coming face to face with Real poverty- people who dont know if they will eat that night, children not going to class because they cant afford it, women being used to sexual and physical abuse as almost societly OK.....so please pray that I have strength through it all. I thank The Lord everyday for the support I have back home and I know that everytime I celebrate Mass here that it is the same Mass and the same Eucharist the whole Body of Christ is receiving and that allows you to be with me as I am with you, just like Christ said...

Adios.....a simple way we say goodbye here....with in itself means God be with you....

Andres

¡En Comayagua Honduras!

2006-06-20T08:57:00.000-07:00

¡Hola! ?Como estan? My spanish as you can see, slowly getting there. First I thank you all, and above all, Our Lord for bringing me here safely. From the moment I arrived and got a beautiful whiff of Honduran air, I knew I was finally at my second home. I have never felt as much peace as I did driving through the most deadliest interstate in Honduras to Comayagua. It really felt like years and years of dreams finally coming true, and I still feel that the next day. We arrived to a house of about 4 girls, all who have devoted a year and still more to the ministry and let me tell you, they are the most peacefull and charismatic women I have ever met, all with the guidance of Carol and our Blessed Mother, bringing their broken hearts to Jesus. It really is about being broken here, and it is alot more than I expected, but my heart is beating stronger because of the challenge and the humility that God is promising me in this. We spend about 3 hours sporatically each day in prayer (mass, adoration, praise and worship, etc) and that is the least we can get to strengthen us to do the work set for us here. As I meet more and more Hondurans who remember me, I constantly get more strength in this community. Things although, are much different here. The government is a wreck, daylight savings time is only observed by a few areas in Honduras. The HARVEST truly is plenty, and the workers sadly to say, are few. Which is why I believe that in my love for Honduras I can do nothing but serve the people here with my whole heart, my whole mind, and my whole spirit. Please pray for Honduras, America has rubbed off on it in many ways, some Good, some bad. The medical departments give out cheep (less than 1 dollar) birth control to ANYONE, provides cheap sterilizations to men and women...which is PERMANENT. And the evangelical church in its sincere attempts to help people, has been viciously damaging the Church and Her people here in devastating ways....but there is much hope for them here. Amidst all the sin and emptiness that exists because of a growing idea of SELF....there still is hope. There are those few OUTstanding Honduran youth and adults that want to protect their country from this way of life. I have to leave now, the teller wants his lemps for using this computer. Forward this to whoever you feel should read it and please above all else, draw close to Jesus, and please fall in LOVE with the sacraments. Pray for us...it is your prayers that allow us to serve here. I miss you all, and love you. May the Peace of Christ be with everyone. May the Body of Christ thrive....

Andres

A construction worker's revelation

2006-06-15T14:07:00.001-07:00

Hey all! I am now getting closer and closer to my departure; I have three days until I leave and as much as I am nervous and anxious I have a feeling of peace in knowing that now is as appropriate as ever to start my life in the "real world" in which our Lord has created me. As I approach the time that I must leave this world as I know it, I have been meeting with some family who are dear to me, eating dinner, praying together, celebrating masses with, and just reflecting on life overall. As you all know, I have been working at a concrete-pouring, construction-esque job with about 5-10 30 year old men whom God has been utilizing in a way to illustrate the reality of the "backbone" of our American Society as we may not know it. It is as if my Saviour had something planned for me before I left. As much as I presupposed God preparing me spiritually for Honduras, he had some hidden lessons in store for me. For the first time I was introduced to a group of men who are truly living lies that our society as we know it(and our freedom of expression, etc etc) has justified. The saddest part is I believe for a small number of them, they are unaware. As for the others, they are mislead by one another and by the failures I myself have fallen into in my actions, words and attitudes. As we pray for one another, please keep them in your prayers. Basically, what I was getting to in pointing this out, was the issue of the Body of Christ. Lately I have been reading alot of St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine and the Body of Christ Itself is becoming more and more clear for me. One thing I have been discussing with some close friends and spiritual directors is the question, "Is it good for a lukewarm Catholic to convert to Protestantism if they are on fire through that church?". This question alone has posed many further questions to my heart about protestantism and how my heart feels about my protestant brothers and sisters. In the midst of all of this, I know in my heart that Christ truly does give me a burning love and empathy for all of them. However, today at work I had an incredible vision, possible a revelation in its weakest forms, and it was a vision of the whole world and of the Body of Christ as it stands. This grew and grew as i prayed and day-dreamed of the aspect of Vocations in The Church. I know in my heart that all humans whether they acknowlege it or not, have a true vocation in the Church because we believe (because we believe She is the manifestation of Absolute Truth) that all humans should be blessed in coming into the Church. Now, if all humans have a specific vocation in the Church, does someone not being Catholic yet, exclude them from having a vocation as we know it? I am extremely inclined to believe that everyone does have a possible vocation of single consecrated life, priesthood or matrimony. If we were to believe as Catholics, that only those in the Church could have a vocation, it would simply be contradictory to what we believe as the absolute truth. In line with this idea and now my utter conviction, the vision of the Body of Christ being a physical being in perspective took place. I believe God showed me this vision of a Bodily figure, partly strong and working (speaking the Truth, hearing the Truth, reaching and walking in Truth and LOVE), and the other part weak, (broken limbs, silent lips, clogged ears, etc) and I was compelled to pray for non christians and even Protestants to understand and embrace because if A denomination denies the possibility of vocation to the priesthood or religious life, we have to accept the idea that this in a way Hinders the Body of Christ preventing some from hearing a possible vocation. I mean this in as much of a loving way as possible, not to be hatefull or bitter, but to provoke prayer to our Lord and Savior as well as our Blessed Mother to pray for us and for the Body of Christ. For the first time I have come to a conclusion that part of the "lack of priests" may be due to those christians who's church has no idea or belief in a vocation of the priesthood or religious life. As I prepare further and more specifically in my journey and my vocation, I thank God for people like Andrew Jones and Chris Graham for placing them in my life as examples of converts to Catholicism that embrace the idea of possibly having a vocation to the religious life (pray for them in their discerment. I apologize if I outed either of you). They give me hope and faith in the repairing of the Body of Christ through our Church as Jesus desires to see Her. Please pray for me as I leave for Honduras, I will try to update this in order that I might plea for more prayers from all of you. God Bless You

Andrew

John Domingo's Confirmation Class

2006-04-30T21:41:00.000-07:00

So John asks me 2 weeks ago to prepare a talk/testimony to his confirmation class. I wasn't too worried or apprehensive about this, but I remembered how lazy and unexcited I was during my confirmation classes, and I tried to think about what they would want to hear from some "crazy catholic". But, to my surprise, Johns class apparently loved going to confirmation classes and loved even more the idea of getting confirmed! This blew me away and reaffirmed the faith and hope I have in the youth of the Church as well as my generation together being the SpringTime of the Church. So, from that point on, I became even more excited about having the honor to talk to these young adults. As the evening approached and John started to introduce me as the speaker, it was as if my mind went blank (as usual) but God continued to keep me peaceful. I had planned to talk about how I found the Church and how I found Christ, but something came over me and all I could speak about was Love.....everything I tried to relay to the audience came out as Love, and it really made me question whether or not I am praying to do all things with Love. I know that my motives in speaking tonight were Love and I wanted so badly for these young people to know that Love that Christ gives us, but I need to constantly ask that God might bless my intentions and desires so that they are done with Love. Every relationship, interaction, problem, and oppurtunity I have each day to live, needs to be done in the spirit of Love. I want to thank all those who support me in my journey, especially those who supported me tonight, and I pray that this week we can ask God to show us where we need to beg for Love the most.
Peace

Divine Mercy Sunday

2006-04-24T00:20:00.000-07:00

Divine Mercy Sunday....

How amazing is it that we believe in not only a God who loves us, dies for us, has a plan for us, eternal life for us, but has MERCY on us? We are in no way worthy to recieve Him, and yet he has mercy on us? A sign I constantly go to in order to search for the validity of our faith is the humility of the holiest. I recently had the honor to spend time with Father Benedict Groeshel C.F.R. and I can honestly and sincerly say that he is one of the holiest men I've ever met. Almost every person (catholic or not) in New York City has met this man and I can also admit that he is one that I could learn from in efforts to become closer to our Savior. But- and this is what seems to seperate our faith from so many others around the world- he is also one of the most humble servants I've ever met. Wait a minute....the most popular man in NYC, the most holiest man I've met....believes he is lower than me? How bizarre is that? Fortunately, almost every man and women seeking holiness seem to view the world in the same light. On Holy Thursday, the Mt. Carmel mass included 4 of the "holiest" men in the community washing the feet of the congregation. It was the most humbling yet most beautiful experience I've participated in, in years. But, Jesus wants to do this in our lives every minute of every day. He is our teacher, our Lion of Judah, our Foot-washer? In no way can I comprehend the vast reaches Christ made in His lifetime to show the mercy of His Father, and more specifically, the love of the Trinity. Although it is 2000 years later, and the world is full of much more material things, the most amazing example of Christ's love is in His mercy. And it is not temporal, emotional, sympathetic- it is Divine. As I look now at the encounters I've made with the homeless in Richmond, and the encounters I will make in Honduras, I can reflect on the other ways I could have attempted to show the love that my Savior has for them in so many other ways than I did. During the mass at Mt. Carmel last week, I can only imagine what would have happened if I would have stopped everything and began to wash the feet of the many homeless men on the streets. It seems radical, and it is, but romantically, I feel that it would have been the most amazing and awe-inspiring symbol of His love for the poorest of the poor. Although my heart feels called to this for of love, something beyond romantic emotional love, I continue to be ashamed or embarassed. I pray not only that God could have mercy on me and possibly grant me the desire to serve Him in such a radical way, but that my brothers and sisters would be stirred to do the same.

Recently, I met with a friend who has left the church for rightly reason- he failed in finding a good example of a passionate Christ-loving person. I can only apologize to those who have had the same misfortune and cling to the blessings that Our Lord has poured out in me in the Church. He also shared with me a vision he had of Virginia Beach as one church, all of us gathering together, putting aside selfish comforts and political correctness and loving eachother and those who oppose us. It is truly a beautiful vision and it inspired me to pray for all christians. I know that I am one of the weakest because I know the truth and the narrowest path towards Christ, and yet I continue to venture off course due to my own selfish desires. But, because of His mercy, I am granted that continual "knock" on my door, and like a fish who has eaten the bate off of the hook, Christ puts another worm on and casts once again. That is truly a fisher-of-men, and we need to learn from that. True love is patient yet persistant, blunt yet mercifull. On this Divine Mercy Sunday, I pray for the desire to serve God in all of the little ways I can as a human. And I thank Him for his perpetual mercy.

roughly a month and a half left

2006-04-19T23:44:00.000-07:00

This blog is intended to verbalize my heart and my faith so that I can reflect upon my growth, struggles, and set backs, because I am after-all, human as God created me. Feel free to read this at your own risk.

Well, I have about 2 weeks until I finish my soph year at VCU and then im back home to virginia beach. Then I'll have about a month to work up some money, raise some funds for Honduras and spend some time with some specific friends and family before Im ready to be gone for a year. I know that God needs me to allow Him to use this time to listen to His will and direction with my family and friends in case something crazy happens down there. It's been a month since Ive been in NY with the friars and already I miss them to the extent that I have dreams about my time with them, as well as so much excitement to be living across the street in Comayagua to them. There is something about their lifestyle that I had envisioned since I was a child, the spiritual freedom to work with whoever whenever God needs me to, and the community and brotherhood they have really fills my heart with peace Ive never known before. Although it's been hard explaining my feelings of being called to that lifestyle to my family and friends, the love of Christ poured through so many of them when they supported the sincerity they said they saw in my words. I pray everyday that those closest to me can continue to support me and my desires to the fullest as well as know that I am not planning on "ditching" any of them. For the possibility exists that I might never see many of them ever again, it is in Heaven that I pray I will be reunited to all of those who have directly and indirectly supported me in my life, my struggles and in my walk with Jesus Christ. As Saint Paul says, "When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things." and I feel that desire in my heart more than ever. Even more than that, I feel the urgency in that calling at this point in my life. These 2 years have held more experiences in them then I had ever hoped or even expected to see at all. My wildest imagination didn't even prepare me for certain events that took place these last 2 years, having friends and acquantances revealing things that have blown me away, in both positive and negative ways. Living in richmond I have seen so many things that virginia beach could never prepare me for, and it was solely through the mercy of the Lamb of God that got me through them and has thus made me who I am today. Through it all, I have felt a very deep calling to serve my fellow man, not only as we are all called to do as the Body of Christ, but in a deeper way. I dont say that as if I have a higher calling, but at this point in my life I see that serving in a religious community (ordained, or as a lay brother) could be the only future that could bring me peace in knowing that I was being used the way I was constructed to be used. It is the love in the eyes of the poorest of the poor even here in Richmond (who have it way better than they could ever realize) as well as in Honduras from my experiences so far that has brought me the peace needed to last all this time. The joy it brings to be used as an instrument of Christs peace so far and even more dramatically in NY for the short time I was there, has really revealed to me my passions and desires for my life. I continue to pray that God reveals more to me and the essential things needed before I leave for this year or possibly more so that my heart can truly be at peace in Honduras for this important part of my life.