A New Place, A New Friend

Yesterday the 25th, as I sat not feeling well in the mission library I was joined by Sydelle.  As I sat with her making small talk I had never envisioned that after a few hours I would have made such a new wonderful friend and how the power of the Holy Spirit can bring people together.  As I got to talking more with Sydelle, for some reason I felt comfortable with her and opened up to her sharing struggles I have in life and faith.  Kinda questioning why I was basically word vomiting my life story, I soon came to find out it was because I wanted her to be comfortable in sharing something that causes her great pain.  A few years ago, after breaking away from an abusive relationship, Sydelle suffered a blood clot undergoing heart surgery.  During surgery she flat lined, ruining her pancreases and her kidneys.  She then had to undergo a kidney transplant and also has diabetes.  Wow, what a whirlwind of a life experiences I thought!  But through all these negative things, she seemed so positive!  She told me that for so long she questioned, “Why didn´t God want me?  When I flat lined, why did he send me back?” 

As tears roll off both our faces I said "doesn´t he work in mysterious ways," she agreed and said he does.  A few months after her near-death experience an old friend she hadn´t spoke with for years called her and asked how things were. Shocked by Sydelle´s response when telling her about her surgeries and health for her old friend hadn´t heard a word about it.  When Sydelle mentioned she had flat lined her friend asked her if she would share her experience.  Now Sydelle was very apprehensive in sharing her story because many people ask “Well did you see the light!?”  Well she hadn´t, instead she was walking in what she described as the most beautiful field of white flowers and a climate similar to what we are experiencing now in Guatemala.  She said she felt at peace.  As she told this to her friend on the other line, her friend gasped and said “That is exactly what happened to me when I had a near death experience.”  But why Sydelle asked, and her friends response was this “Your mission here on earth is not done, God still needs you here!”  

"But what am I supposed to do?" Asked Sydelle. 

“When you are there, you will know, for you will feel at peace.”  

So Sydelle´s journey began and she ended up in Glencoe, MN, serving as a youth director and loving every minute of it.  She said the missing pieces were filled and she knew she was doing what God had sent her to do, but after a year went by, she was called to a new place moving her to be the director of the Newman Center in Mankato where she stayed for 13 years.  Her main focus at the Newman was for vocations.  She loved it there but once again, she had a calling to do something else.  While at a retreat for the Newman staff, they were in a silent period and while she sat in the church in meditation she kept hearing, “Feed my Sheep”  well why was she hearing this?  It wasn´t in a homily that day, it wasn´t in scripture she read, and it hadn´t been mentioned anywhere else.  Well soon after that, she had a call from “Second Harvest Homes” a non-profit that helps provide food to people of a low social economic status.  And she went there and it is where she is still today.   

What a journey she has been lead on.  As we parted ways that night she looked at me and said, “You know the thing I miss the most at the Newman center is being able to talk to young people about vocations and life’s journey, so thank you for today.”  

I looked at her and realized that I was sick today because the Holy Spirit had guided me to meet Sydelle.   

So as you reflect on your current occupation and college career or where you should be in your vocation, remember Sydelle´s story.  If you feel at peace, you know it is where God wants us to be.

Today I Am A Coffee Farmer!

I woke up feeling much better this morning, thank you for all who have been praying for my trip and my health, they clearly are working magnificently.  When I arrived in San Lucas this morning I was greeted by at least 300 young children, for Wednesday is the Children´s Mass.  It brought me back to my days when I attended St. Francis Catholic School.  What joy children bring to our world.  I was so refreshed after mass because I was reminded of the enthusiasm and excitement the world and mass brought to me as a child, and I left being fulfilled and reminded.  There are so many things I have either been shown or reminded on this mission trip.  First, thank God each and every day for our blessings.  It is so easy to be distracted or discouraged in life by certain things because we lose track in what is important.  Never take for granted your family and friends.  They are the base of people who support you and love you, Jesus is living in them and wants you to love and appreciate them with your whole heart.  One thing that is highly demonstrated by the Guatemalan people is family.  They stick together, care for one another, support one another, something I think should be valued more in the United States.  Each day I see people, and I fall short myself, taking family and friends for granted, or perhaps thinking it is better to live away from my family so we don´t have so much conflict or not forgiving those closest to us for pain they have caused us in life.  Another thing is there are no nursing homes here, not saying that it is the way things should be, but I don´t find it very common for children to think they should care for their parents once they are older and need assistance.  Those are just some things to reflect upon.

Feeling refreshed and ready to go after mass, we loaded up in the back of a pickup (Emily Hanson you were right on saying that the back of a truck is the usual form of transportation, so thanks for the heads up!)  and were dropped up at a coffee plantation.  So for the entire morning I climbed coffee trees and rocks so I could grab ahold of branches that held ripe coffee beans.  They look like little berries and if they are bright red that means they are ready to be picked!  It was a fun job, but I think it would be taxing to do it your entire life.  To put things in perspective, me and 7 others picked for 4 hours straight and maybe had 40lbs of coffee.  A 100lb bag is sold for $50 U.S. dollars and on average a coffee worker gets somewhere between .83 to $1.00 a day.  Could you imagine that!?  It has really shown me a new perspective in the value of your occupations and money and made me reevaluate some things I spend my money on.  Tomorrow I will go out with Fr. Sam´s dad to his coffee field´s to see what his usual day is like.  Perhaps take some time today and reflect on your wages and thank God for what he has given us.  I am starting to realize the simpler the life, the more faithful you are to be a disciple of the Lord.  Thank you God in loving me in all the things I do.

Let´s Catch Up

Five days have come and past since my last post, so I have a lot of catching up to do.  Between the food, water and other unknowns, sickness is not so uncommon to travelers, so if you haven´t guessed it already, I have time today because I am sick.  So I will catch you up with what has happened since my last blog and go till I am up to date.  Hope you all enjoy! I miss and love you all!

The 21^st a day in Antigua.   

Antigua used to be the capital city prior to Guatemala City and is a highly visited spot and after a day there, I can see why!  The colors, the food, the churches and architecture, the climate and the people all mixed together make the perfect spot.  I will share my favorite part which was spent at El Hermano Pedro´s church.  Hermano Pedro is the first saint of Guatemala.  In 1954 he started is profession as a brother.  He taught, read to kids, and tended to the sick and poor.  He founded a hospital and school along with starting a religious community, Casa Belin.  At night he would walk the streets ringing a bell and asking people to pray for the souls in purgatory, “Holy God, ever strong & immortal, have mercy on us.”  What a powerful and true prayer.  He died in 1667 and in 1729, Benedict XIII authorized the beginning of the process towards his beatification and in 2002 Pope John Paul II declared him a saint.  I attended mass in his church, which was my 2^nd Spanish mass (today I am on my 7^th, I almost understand everything, a few more times and I should have it down).  It is powerful to witness another culture celebrating the same mass we celebrate daily, but how certain things are done differently; there is without a doubt a huge devotion to Mary, Saints and Jesus in Guatemala.

The 22^nd A Traditional Wedding Day, Take One 

I am very lucky to have traveled down to Guatemala with a native.  Fr. Sam Perez is originally from this area, so I have had the pleasure of staying with is family, they are wonderful!  While I am here, I get to experience the traditions of a marriage, for Fr. Sam´s youngest brother is getting married.  The Guatemalan culture has to perform two ceremonies, the civil, which was Saturday and the Church ceremony, which is this coming Saturday the 29^th in Quetzaltenango, which is about 2 to 3 hours from San Lucas. Before the civil ceremony started I attended mass and although in Spanish, left feeling this: Jesus lives in each one of us and he wants us to possess and feel the love he has for us and for others to reflect the love we have for one another.  Peace, love and acceptance.  We all must embrace these things and be Christ like for Jesus lives within us.  With that, we have one life to live and that it should be a taking up of the cross and if we follow his way with love, the load we carry shall be light.

 

Once returning to Casa de Perez it was wedding time.  The grooms parents stood at the gate, greeting the all the family and friends who traveled many hours, the ceremony started once a judge and his council arrived.  After about an hour of talking and signing of papers, the party began.  There was music, food and drinking.  The families were enjoying themselves and it was a beautiful thing to witness the combining of two families in a different culture.  I think there´s a few customs I´ll bring back with me! 

The 23^rd Lago de Atitlan.   

This is for another time and a blog all of it´s own, but this Sunday consisted of a boat trip around the most beautiful lake in the world.  We had three stops and it took all day, amazing adventures, and lots of stories so that and pictures are soon to come! 

The 24^th San Lucas Mission, I´ve never worked so hard in my life. 

Now growing up on a dairy farm and being, well let’s say “privileged” to experience the work ethic of a farmer, I thought I knew what hard work was.  Once pictures come up, you may see better, but today I helped build a road.  Now let´s remember this isn´t MN or SD anymore and everything here is on a hill, so me and a group of others, for many hours hauled huge rocks ranging from 15 to 70lbs up a hill to lay the foundation of this road.  The vision for this mission is to not come here and think we are helping the people and providing them with things we think they lack, but it is all about solidarity and learning from the people.  We are not here to stand ahead and pull or be behind and push, we are here to walk beside!  It is so awesome, it provides such an amazing learning experience.  The people here are dedicated in what they do and everything is done by hand!  There are not machines!  It takes time and teamwork.  The work day is from 9 to 12:30 then 2 to 4.  We also were shown every project that the mission is working on from coffee plantations, a women´s shelter, a housing development, a clinic, a reforestation project and roads.  If you have questions or want to hear specifics about any of those project areas please ask, I´d love to share more.  After a hard day of work we traveled back up the hill and had a traditional Guatemalan meal of tamales, bed shortly followed.

The 25^th A day in the Clinic

I started the morning the same as other, woke with the sun, hiked down the mountain, attended mass, but during mass I started to feel a bit sick.  Now many of the other American volunteers have been getting what is called the “amebas” (don´t quote me on that spelling) but it’s a bacterium that causes stomach illness.  Well after a morning battling with fainting spells and a horrible stomachache, I ended up in the hospital.  I was somewhat hesitant to go; A. I don´t speak much Spanish and B. what would the care be like.  We´ll I couldn´t have been more pleased, and I am happy this happened to me to rid me of my ignorance.  The nurse and doctor were both exceptional and with some help from Fr. Sam and some sign language exchange, we pulled through and fixed the problem.  I was wondering though, with my group why it had to be me who got sick, but this afternoon while I sit in a room with another sick woman, Sydelle, I soon came to find out why God chose me to be ill today.

Bienvenidos Guatemala

After 24 hours into my travels to Guatemala I have already experienced so much.  God immediately tested my faith on our flight from Huston to Guatemala City.  While the men on the trip wanted to play some cards, I switched spots with one of them, which left me sitting across from a young man the same age as me from Germany.  I got to talking to him and why we were both traveling to Guatemala and he flat out said, "That´s really great the things missions do, but I really don´t understand the concept of Christianity." So our discussion began, I explained to him our beliefs and he looked at me as if I were crazy.  He questioned why we restrain ourselves from certain humanly wants, and after explaining the practice of control and certain forms of suffering he started to come around or at least I hoped.  We got on the topic on how globally people are always searching from something more, either in people or worldly items...what I didn´t know is that this conversation would turn into reality soon.

As we went our separate ways I wished him the best, and said I would pray for him.  He said he was very happy to meet me.  As I stepped into the airport I looked to the group and quickly remember that when I switched spots, I forgot my jacket was under the seat.  My jacket also had my wallet and iPod in it, so I turned around and a woman stopped me.  Struggling through the language barrier I quickly found out that I was not allowed to go back on the plane, but they´d contact someone.  After about 5 minutes a worker came through the airport carrying my jacket.  I thanked him and as we walked away I realized my pockets had been dug through and my wallet and iPod had been stolen.  As tears welled in my eyes I was so upset and mad at myself for being irresponsible, and also that someone would steal, but as we traveled from Guatemala City to San Lucas I was reflecting on what had just happened and I realized something.

Here I was so upset that my things had been stolen and crying over my money and ipod that  I realized that what had been taken from me were just worldly positions, I can´t take them with me when I go, and often times they are distracters from God. My money and ipod don´t give me happiness, but here I was so upset over it and I had just told the German man that material items don´t provide true joy, it is the love of God that really provides it.  Here for the first time in a long time, God had been my distraction.  If it weren´t for my conversation about religion with the German fellow, I would have never forgotten about my jacket.  I feel like it honestly happened for a reason.  I was able to cancel my credit card and I hope whoever has my cash needs it more than I do, and I hope they like my music list!

Things are quickly changing and it´s only day one.

In Suffering There Is Healing

Even without trying I felt that calling that so many others may feel, and like so many others I brushed it off, tucked it away, and turned up the volume on something else.  But the calling got louder and I started to realize I better listen up.  Have you ever had that feeling?  Then I advise you reflect on it and pray, for just like me, our Lord is calling you.

I want to share my story for not only self-reflection, but to share with others who struggle each day in hopes to take action and allow that change to happen in your life.

As I left for college back in 2006, I looked in my rearview mirror letting go of my past and looking forward to the freedom.  Freshmen year was the freedom I craved, or so I thought.  I found myself surrounded by more pain than I could imagine.  I had severed a relationship that already was hanging on with my dad; I had the wrong friends and was so lost.  As the four years of college passed, I would have never predicted God would work such wonders in my life.  By my senior year, I had healthy friendships, a devotion to my faith and a feeling.

My entire senior year of college I prayed for my vocation, something I assume most individuals experience.  Day after day filled with anxieties of what God was calling me to do, I sat in my pew during Sunday mass and it was so clear.  “Emily you must serve.”  I was to travel outside of the luxuries of home, put myself outside of my comfort zone, and not think of myself, but for others.  As I traveled home for Christmas break, God had plans up his sleeve—as I stood in my Grandparents dining room on Christmas day, in walked Fr. Sam, a priest from Guatemala who had been placed my in parent's area parishes.  As we sat-down to share a meal we landed on the topic of vocations and the question, “What are you planning to do with your life?”

A question too frequently asked with no answer.  What I didn’t know at that time is that we are put on this world to be disciples of the Lord.  So sputtering out of my mouth came, “I want to try mission work.”  So the discussion started and he informed me about the San Lucas mission in Guatemala. It sounded great! I was sold.

 

Reality sunk in and with college graduation around the bend and student loans kicking in—my parents suggested a career first.  I agreed that I must be financially responsible, but I was disappointed—what I didn’t know is that God was going to make it all happen, I just needed to be patient.

I landed a job in early July after a whirlwind of a summer.  God had tested my patients in many forms—I didn’t realize that it was all for preparation of what was to come.  I had been back home for a weekend and celebrated mass with my family.  After church we joined Fr. Sam at a local diner and once again the mission topic came up, and I said when the timing was right, I’d be ready.

Well three months after our dinner conversation in November, I received a phone call; from the last person I would have ever expected…my dad.  “Emily, do you think you could get enough time off from work to join us on that mission trip to Guatemala?  Fr. Sam is leading a group and wants us to go.”

Wow!  For anyone who has never developed a good relationship with a parent, imagine the shock you would feel if you had that call.  God so loves me I thought.  Here I’ve been wanting so badly to serve others in the form of a mission trip, but even more than that, an opportunity to become closer to my father—God gave me both!

As I sat in prayer today, I was overwhelmed with a feeling I can’t even describe to you, but I know great things are about to happen.  For those of you who read this, please pray for me as I travel and for the Holy Spirit to fill me and guide me.  Also remember St. Francis Xavier proclaimed patron of all foreign missions.  I am so blessed to have this opportunity and I am looking forward to sharing my story.

God is loving me in this so much and know my friends that he is loving you too.