On Vocation
“Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love.” - St. Therese of Liseux
Disclosure: We were promted to hold hands
Wow, is it really March already? I don’t think I will get used to how fast time moves here. This month was filled with so much joy, just like the others, but I also found a new understanding and contentment in my role. Praise the Lord for growth!
St. Therese - my inspo
As I was preparing to move to the Finca this summer, a friend shared with me this quote by St. Therese of Lisieux: “My vocation, at last I found it; my vocation is love.” The first time I read it, I loved it and it made sense to me. However, living here has allowed me to truly live it out. Other than the two clinic days where we see patients, I have a lot of flexibility with my schedule. At first it gave me anxiety about not knowing what to do or where to be. This is where the Lord showed me one day that my mission is to love. My vocation is to love. Nate has been telling us to “love the person in front of us” since the day we got here but it hadn’t clicked until this month. There is no need to be anxious when Jesus himself has taught me how to love. I found that when I did step into this vocation of just seeking out someone to love, I became fully alive and filled with energy.
With times of idleness, the Lord is also teaching me that it is okay to do nothing and simply be still. After all, He does tell us this in Psalm 46:10 (“Be still and know that I am God”), I had only ever thought of it in the context of refraining from worry, not resting. In our society of busyness, it is very easy to believe the lie that we are only as good as what we accomplish. This is the lie that I had been believing, especially on the weeks where I wasn’t always busy. Rest is such a gift and I re-learn daily that my worth does not rely on my productivity.
Update on my Role!
I began teaching!
I never thought I would be teaching down here as I perceived my hands being full with nursing and all. But, here I am. The day prior to being asked to teach, I had just been telling Theresa how glad I was to not be teaching. Our Lord is quite funny. However, I am only teaching English one day a week. I am also not teaching in the Finca - there is a Catholic School in Trujillo called “San Juan Bautista” that has a goal of becoming a bilingual school. They don’t quite have enough English speaking teachers to qualify as a bilingual school. So Nate and I are partnering with 2 other missionaries from a different mission in Trujillo, Paul and Hilda, to split up the week and each teach 1 day. All added together having 4 days every week in an English class with Gringos will be very helpful for the school’s goal.
We Hiked the Torres!
The Torres is the mountain right next to the Finca. It is a 6-mile route, ranging from a 3-4 hour hike up. We left the Finca at 5 am with a backup full of baleadas to enjoy at the summit! All of us missionaries summited as well as 3 of the oldest boys, Sister Isomar, Miguel (security guard), Misael (security guard), Madeline (our social worker), and Ircy (our psychologist). It was quite the crew! Once at the top we enjoyed the baleadas and the beautiful view for a couple of hours before returning.
Random Joys
Thank you for reading this month’s edition of my life at the Finca! I pray that you may be able to be still with our Lord especially as we venture into Lent. Please keep us in your prayers - specifically the mission trips that are coming this month. We pray the students may be able to discern the Lord’s call in their lives regarding mission. God Bless!
