A rainy day today in Santa Rosa could not dampen our spirits, or lessen our laughter, or keep us from experiencing God’s abundant graces. Our morning reflection focused on today’s Gospel reading from St. Mark where Jesus teaches his disciples (and us) that with him there is nothing to fear. There will always be waves crashing against us in life, and our friends in Honduras are often teaching us the lesson of the Gospel – that there is no point placing our faith in the material goods of this world because our essential goods rest in God and friendship with others.
Today we spent our morning and afternoon with the elderly, playing bingo (a good time by all) and then opening a makeshift shoe store as we brought out the shoes and crocs donated by SMA for the elderly men. A Polaroid camera (yes they still exist) provided the wonder of instant photos as keepsakes for our elderly friends.
Encountering the poor can often bring a sense of fear. Today we went to the nearby hospital with some of the girls from the orphanage to bring coffee and bread (made by the girls at the Hogar) and prayer cards to the poor (mostly family members forced to wait outside in the cold and rain while loved ones are seeking treatment). As is often the case here in Honduras, this turned out to be an occasion for singing and laughter as we encountered a traveling “troubadour” with a guitar and a knack for making up funny songs (some in English too). The spirits of those we served seemed brightened by the simple gifts of food and drink, and knowing that they have our concern.
We capped our day with (you guessed it) more beautiful singing – first during the rosary with the Ninas, and then to close out our dinner when Sor Juanita got out her guitar, tuned it with an Itunes app, and led a concert at the dinner table. God was truly present in the singing and clapping, the laughter and community.
“Love drives out all fear.” 1 John 4:18. We were blessed to experience the truth of this scripture today in so many ways.
Buenas noches!
Dcn. John
St. Michael the Archangel Honduras Mission Project 
Beautiful blog today and all week. Thanks for helping us back home imagine what you are experiencing. Ironic to think we would think of the girls in the hogar as “poor” yet here they are ministring to those “more poor”. Really puts it in perspective.
By: Rose Kopecky on January 9, 2020
at 11:57 am