He is born...what could be better?

¨Before his gaze all falsehood melts away.¨

Spe Salvi, Pope Benedict XVI

Dear ones,

Peace to one and all. He is born! Let us rejoice indeed! Well, in this week of Christmastime on this little peninsula, all is blessed indeed. Things have been very tranquil with the school closed for the week and a majority of the children away for vacations, and it has been a blessed occasion for this little nurse to have a little rest and extra prayer time. I have been blessed to be able to spend more time in Adoration of Jesus in the Eucharist...and indeed have experienced what Pope Benedict speaks of in his new encyclical letter. Sitting before His Eucharistic Heart, alone in His Presence, in His loving gaze, all that is not of Truth is illuminated away and I am penetrated to my innermost being. Interiorly, in a manner that cannot be articulated, I am reminded of my mission in this life, of who I am striving to be. Held in His arms, gazing upon the Face of Jesus, opening my heart to the love He so ardently desires to pour into hearts. Recognizing my littleness and inadequacy, and trusting completely in His Mercy for His little ones.

This week, in addition to a beautiful Christmas Vigil Mass (the Birth of our SAVIOR...wow), we had the annual Mass for the elderly people of the surrounding communities. Hundreds of ¨ancianos¨ (ancient ones, as they say) came to the Santuario for Mass and a meal. Dear ones laying on mattresses, blind ones with canes, from far and wide. A beautiful thing. On top of all of the beautiful liturgical celebrations, we have been taking many trips to the beach with the kids who remained with us for vacations. Ah, life on the beach...watching all these dear ones jump and giggle in the waves as the sun starts to set over the water. Life is beautiful.

May His perfect peace be in each of your hearts in this time of Christmas. Our Savior has been born unto us. Our Savior. Amazing.

En Cristo,

m

Gloria!

Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear. The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."

--Luke 2:8-15--

Greetings of Christmas peace and joy to all!

Well, after a week of wrapping up the last medical consults with the kids for the year and saying farewell to the children who left for the week to celebrate with relatives, we have arrived to the eve of the Birth of our Messiah. Beautiful. Instead of snow, we have rain (usually it is sunny...Maribeth has been telling me that the Lord is blessing me the precipitation, even if it is not snow...ha). Instead of my family, here I am with these dear children who need the love of a family and these beautiful misioneras who give up their life for Jesus and this work. It is different, but it is perfect...because it is His Will.

I pray that each of you have a very blessed, very peaceful, and very joyful Christmas...surrounded by those you love and who love you...thankful for our Messiah who was born and died that we may live...

In His Love,

m

My little Superman.

¨Jesus touched them and said, ¨Rise, and have no fear.¨

-Matthew 17:7-

A blessed third week of Advent to each of you!

Peace of Christ. In this time of expectation, awaiting the celebration of the Birth of Our Savior, I hope all is most well and blessed for each of you and your families.

This week was wild...hey, aren´t they all! A little one of our´s, 8-year-old Fernando, had his guardian angels working overtime. This little one has been with us for about one year. He is the only child of parents who most likely will never be able to care for him again, and he had been in a foster family before coming to us. It is the goal of the foundation to re-unite families after the appropriate rehabilitation, but sometimes it is impossible. Therefore, hopefully, someday he will have a family to belong to. In the meantime, he belongs to our family here, and we love this crazy one dearly. He apparently was a really difficult child upon arrival with a really difficult background. For example, he had grown accustomed to having to defend himself, whether in the streets or his own home; therefore, he was always carrying rocks in his hands, even when sleeping. Although still difficult sometimes, the love of this place has greatly transformed his sense of self and security. Praise the Lord. Well, last Tuesday, with aspirations of flying like Superman, Fernando climbed the roof of the little store attached to the high school and ended up falling through the roof onto a stone staircase below, about an 8-meter drop. Thus, he was brought, with a significant loss of blood, into our mini-consultorio where the doctor and I were attending patients. After assessing the little one and controlling the bleeding from the laceration on his head, we had to embark on the 1-hour-plus ride in our old, old van with roads in terrible conditions to the nearest hospital with emergency and xray services. By the grace of God, Fernando is free of fractures and there is no evidence of other cerebral damage. A miracle. We spent the night in the emergency room, and then he was released to our medical staff here at the base. Therefore, for the past few days, Fernando has been my life. He had to stay in a more tranquil environment than the house with 29 boys in which he normally lives, so we moved him to the house of the misioneras for the week. There I spent my week, giving his medicine, cleaning his wound, reading books, playing cards, and sleeping by his side. Oh, my little son. There were also many others (including Maribeth and Jim) who gave of their time to care for him this week with great love. Blessedly, Fernando is doing incredibly well, and he has returned to life as usual...hopefully, with a different vision of how he can emulate Superman, minus the roof-climbing escapades. :)

Now back to life as usual for me as well! This is the last week of school for the children before Christmas vacation, so we are wrapping up all our check-ups with the doctor. Most of the children leave for vacations, either to their own homes or to foster families, but there are some who stay with us. What a joy to celebrate Christmas with these dear ones!

Well, I must be off. I hope to get back to email some time this week to reply to ya´ll who have so kindly emailed with your love and prayers. But in the meantime, I love you all dearly and hold you in my heart of prayer.

LOVE,

m

A trip to the Amazon

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Father, send now Your Spirit over the earth. Let the Holy Spirit live in the hearts of all nations, that they may be preserved from degeneration, disaster and war. May the Lady of All Nations, who once was Mary, be our Advocate. Amen.

Hey, all...peace...

Well, off we went to the edge of the Amazon this week. We headed out (Maribeth, Jim, Co, and I) to explore the possibility of having the Franciscan University medical mission go to this location in Ecuador when they come in March. It was a blessed trip, and it could be a truly amazing thing to have the mission group there. Highlights? Swimming in the Rio Napo and meeting a really beautiful bunch of mission priests. Oh, need I mention having a monkey climb all over me? (Check out the new pictures I posted.) This area, especially the pueblos deeper into the jungle, is really quite isolated. How amazing to have the chance to make the sacrifice to come serve these people, with hearts full of Christ´s love and medical attention.

The majority of my week was spent traveling, and although I love everywhere I have visited in Ecuador, it was great to come back to the Santuario. We arrived just in time to celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, a beautiful celebration of Our Lady...not to mention, two new misioneras made their consecration to the Lord and the community and another group of young people received their First Communion.

This weekend there is also a group of Ecuadorian seminarians staying with us. As impromptu as can be, the priest they came with asked me to share my testimony with them. It was such a beautiful thing. With Maribeth and Jim as well, we ended chatting with them for quite a bit...what is cooler than hanging out with future priests. :) Let us pray for our priests worldwide! What a vocation!

Well, the sun is shining this Sunday afternoon in December. Wild not to have snow or cold...but it is Advent time nonetheless, as we await Christmas when Christ is born anew in our hearts. And all is blessed.

My love from afar...

LOVE,
m

It is love alone that counts.

"Without love, everything is painful, everything is tiring, everything is burdensome. The Cross, taken up hesitantly, is crushing; taken smilingly, by free will, and with love, it will carry you much more than you carry it. Love makes time eternal by giving a divine value to everything."

-From I Believe in Love, a book based on the spirituality of St. Therese of Lisieux-

Peace of Christ to all!

*Living love. This is the call of my little heart. St. Therese also says, "It is love alone that counts." Rereading the little collection of quotes I have of St. Therese, the Little Flower, has been a beautiful inspiration for me to remember that in everything I do, whether it be cleaning a wound, attending to the fever of a little child, organizing files, sweeping my floor...if I am not doing it in love it does not really matter. On the other hand, if I can commit myself to living love in the small things, being attentive to the dignity of every person...therein lies true peace, joy, fulfillment, and sanctity. It is love alone that counts.

*So what has living love entailed for Mariya Papaya this week? Well, I am more and more accustomed to the 6:30am blood draws for lab work, and I am well practiced in my pep talk for the more reluctant patients. Oh, my. The climate is changing from rainy to sunny season, so as typically accompanies climate changes, we have many sick ones. I am also well practiced in the ¨Drink Water¨pep talk. :) Finding a way to facilitate availability of water is the trickier issue...when the water from the faucet cannot be drunk without being boiled first, when there isn´t proper storage for the water once it has been boiled, when it uses precious resources (gas and manpower) to attend to the issue, when the kids are at school all day...it is enough to keep me thinking and acting. The majority of the kids leave for Christmas vacation in two weeks, so we are working in getting all the control check-ups accomplished before the end of the year.

*Other randomly exciting news? Our fellow missionary volunteer, Jim Campbell, arrived safe and sound, and the base is excited to have him back...us too! There seems to be a lack of strong male role models for the children here, so it is an amazing gift to have a great Catholic man, such as Jim, serving here, loving these kids. Also, Padre Othmar, founder of the foundation, returned from his trip to his homeland of Switzerland, and it is wonderful to have his prayerful presence among us once again. And a really beautiful surprise for me this weekend was that at the last minute I found out he and a few others were going to La Rinconada to celebrate the Mass yesterday...so this crazy gringa was able to go with! What a joy to be back in that little pueblo! My work there has been set back due to my responsibilities at the base, but my heart is there in so many ways. I need to return soon. My love for maternity nursing was also rekindled when I realized how many pregnant women there are there at this time...SO beautiful. I am going to look into how I can serve this dear ones and their growing wee ones.

*Ha. Funniest occurrence of the week? Well, the 15th birthday for young women here is a really big deal, so every month there is a fiesta for whichever dear one is celebrating her 15th birthday that month. Yesterday one of the gals, Gabriela, in the pre-community (women discerning misionera life) turned 15; therefore, there was a fiesta last night. A typical part of these fiestas is that each group (boys´ home, girls´ home, misioneras, etc) present a dance, song, or something of the sort. Well, the gringos were invited to present as well. Just imagine. We had decided this time we just didn´t have the creative energy or time to plan something, but at the last minute, Maribeth and I decided that for Gaby, we just must. So there we were, lip syncing to ¨My Heart Will Go On¨ in a little peninsula on the coast of South America. What a funny life. Gaby had asked us to sing it weeks ago, so Maribeth had bought the song to give to her at some point...didn´t imagine we would present it in such a manner, but I think she enjoyed our craziness. It is love alone that counts.

*Also, I have the great joy of letting you all know that Jim started a stateside foundation, Mission Santa Maria, to help out the base financially. Please check out the website: http://www.missionsantamaria.com/.

*Hey, I love you all and hold you dear to me always...may the Lord bless and keep you, may the Spirit enliven you in your own missions, and may we live His perfect Love...

En Cristo,

m

Joy in the little things...

"He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury; and he saw a poor widow put in two copper coins. And he said, ´Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all the living that she had."

-Luke 21:1-4-

***Dear, dear, dear family and friends!

***Peace to you each of you! Let us rejoice in this day as the Church celebrates Christ the King! In celebration of this Solemnity, all the people who live at the foundation (children, teens, misioneras, crazy gringas, etc) walked from base to a pueblo a few villages away to celebrate the Mass, followed by a procession through the town. Lovely, hot, and so Ecuadorian. I was accompanied in the procession by two new little girls, one holding each hand, twirling the littlest one, Angelica, in circles as we walked...so that her little blue dress spun about and her sweet laughter was raised to the Heavens. A blessed Sunday indeed.

***Well, this week, I continued to update the records from the past year, as well as planning the weekly appointments with the doctor. I am learning to find new approaches to get some of the more reluctant patients to their appointments...some of the boys and young men here are just not interested...well, for the blood samples I understand a bit more. :) Also, as a notable highlight, I gave a talk on parasite prevention at 5:45am...that is a personal record. We received a donation of anti-parasite meds, and I helped the misionera doctora talk to all the groups about preventions before we gave the medications. Fitting into the kids´ schedule here can be a feat, so there I was, at the crack of dawn, talking about boiling water and wearing shoes and showing picture of parasites. What a life. In my world of nursing and medicine here, the other main development is that I was able to meet with another local foundation, Nobis, that runs a little clinic a few days a week a few pueblos away. When I have a bit more time in January and February when most of the kids leave for summer vacation, I am going to be able to devote more time to working in the surrounding pueblos (like La Rinconada); therefore, I am networking with at least this foundation to share ideas and resources.

***This week, the students of the elementary and high school hosted "Open House" days wherein local schools were invited and our students presented what they are learning in each course. It was really a neat thing. There was dancing, Ecuadorian food, math games, and more. It was a beautiful opportunity to see how the schools here function. The high school religion department did a beautiful and powerful presentation on abortion. Seeing those pictures and hearing those stories was a great reminder for me that we need to fight for those babies, advocating for the truth. In Ecuador, blessedly, abortion is illegal.

***As always, every day is an adventure. Maribeth and I celebrated our 2-month Ecuadorian anniversary on the 22nd, and we are thankful for what has been and look forward to what is to come. Being constant in my daily prayer is really the only way this life can be lived with joy and efficacy...pray that I live this truth!

***I love you all whole bunches...peace and blessings...

***En Cristo,
m

***PS: Jim Campbell, FUS alumus and missionary, returns today to serve with us here!

Here comes the sun, doo, doo, doo, doo...

Kindle in my heart the pure fire of Your love...

Dear ones...

***Peace of Christ from afar. Today I write to you from a little beach town called Salinas where Maribeth and I are spending our Sabbath day of rest. :) I hope to delve into St. Faustina´s biography from a chair on the beach after I finish here.

***It was a blessed week. I have realized my number one priority right now in the consultorio where I work is organization. I have the goal of having the medical files and consultation records in order by the end of the year. Then I will start in with new projects, such as little health classes/activities for the children, focused on prevention; I am constantly brain-storming ideas to make the healthcare more preventive rather than reactive. Meanwhile, I have truly become the base´s nurse...I cannot walk from one part of the base to another without having at least one mini-consultation with some dear one en route. Building patient confidence in their health care worker is a beautiful and challenging thing

***Maribeth and I had the blessing of meeting with the approximately 20 young women in the house for gals ages 14-20, I believe. They meet every night after Mass with their house mom (the missionary who lives and cares for them), so we had the joy of joining them for the evening. They are precious young girls, and Maribeth and I feel called to work with them in some way or another. So the other day we started by sharing our testimonies...how we came to give our Fiat to Jesus in our lives and in this mission specifically. It was a gift, and we shall see what comes of this ¨women´s group.¨

***In other news, Maribeth and I are English teachers. :) Our students are some of the missionaries here, and we teach for two hours every Friday. Wow. This will be a great adventure, I am sure.

***Well, for now, I shall sign off. Please know that I hold you all close to my heart in every moment as I live here what I am called to do, console the Sacred Heart of Jesus with my little offerings of love.

***LOVE,
m

***PS: We hope to post some new pictures the middle of this week.

PPS: Ah, the little song title to the blog refers to the gradually changing climate here...from rainy to sunny...here comes the heat!!!

PPPS: Special love to the Sanford family this week...especially in thanksgiving for their Monday Rosary! You all are amazing.

Lagrimas de Sangre

No hands, no feet on earth but yours

Yours are the eyes through which He looks

compassion on this world

Christ has no body now on earth but yours

-St. Teresa de Avila-

Well, hello there, dear ones...

*Peace of Christ to all. Ah, as another week of the vida gringa has passed, I write to you on the day after a great celebration of the association/foundation that we are working with. Yesterday we celebrated the 17th anniversary of the day a statue of Mary the Mystical Rose that they have here cried tears of blood. The misioneras from around the country came to the Santuario as well as other friends of the foundation and people from the surrounding pueblos, and it was indeed a beautiful thing to partake in this special day. In addition, on Saturday my dear fellow missionary pal, Maribeth, turned 23-years-old...and my nephew/godson back home turned 2-years-old! What a weekend. :) For me personally, it was a blessed weekend to be in prayer and to recommit myself to my work here.

*Last week, we arrived back to our home on the peninsula just in time for this little nurse to help with the traveling surgeon foundation that comes three times a year for three days to perform charity surgeries. It really is a well-run operation. They have one surgical suite in a semi-truck, and they used another surgical suite at the local hospital. Mostly gallbladder removal and hernia repair this trip. Monday they consult the patients recommended by the clinic the foundation runs then Tuesday and Wednesday they operate. I spent Tuesday in surgery, and Wednesday I was the post-op nurse. A world away from the post-op units I experienced during nursing school but a post-op unit nonetheless. I took a few pictures that I will post next week. It was brilliant, really. Great group of docs and a well-organized foundation. If you would like to read more about their foundation, they have a website: http://www.cinterandes.org/. They also have opportunities for foreign medical students.

*The other day, our missionary friend Fatima introduced me as "the nurse in charge of the health of the people here at the base." Wow. I have been learning bit by bit from the missionary health care worker who I am taking over for, and I have been brainstorming new ways to improve the health of the people here, but the other day, the great and beautiful responsibility of it all struck home. We are about 300 people living at the base, children, misioneras and other workers such as professors and cooks. There are certain things expected of me, such as attending to those who are sick and planning the well-child check-ups, but there is definitely potential for new projects to improve the health here. Please pray for me as I focus in on new and old ways to promote the health of these dear ones, to give to my work the compassion, efficacy, and energy to provide the quality care that they deserve.

*It is a such a joy to become more and more a part of this community. The misioneras continue to be incredibly loving and inspiring...to the point that they very, very often tease Maribeth and me about becoming misioneras. Also, I have been blessed to get to know the older children who live at the base a bit better, such as the lovely high-school age ladies who get a kick out of their gringa nurse whom they call "Papaya." (Johanna, wild, right? Maribeth started calling me Papaya, and I remembered it is a good way to teach the pronunciation of Mariya...so I started using it when introducing myself. So funny.) I would love to work with these gals more, perhaps a women's Bible study or something of the sort.

*Well, dear ones, I hope each and every one of you are doing well. May you live each day as a consolation to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

*Love and prayers,
m

Heading back to the coast...

"Let the peoples renew their strength...you who I took from the ends of the earth, and called you from its farthest corners, saying to you,´You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off.´" Isaiah 41:1, 9

Happy Sunday Eve!

Peace to all. Well, after a week in Quito, in just under two hours we will board the bus to head back to our little coastal home. Blessedly, I completed quite a bit of research...but, of course, there is always more. My research highlight of the week would probably be that I got in touch with the local office of Pan American Health Organization (the Americas regional branch of the World Health Organization), and they gave me a stack of literature on the health of the Americas and Ecuador specifically. Now, I have some reading to do...in Spanish nonetheless. Also, I revised the survey form the doctora and I use for our health census in Rinconada. And I prepared a bit more for the English classes Maribeth and I will be teaching to a few of the misioneras. This and more...

Well, included in all this excitement, Maribeth and I were able to enjoy a bit of Ecuador cultura. We stay with a dear family here in Quito that showers us with generosity. They are incredibly sweet. So not only did we experience our first Ecuadorian soccer game in the Quito stadium, we also learned of the celebration for El Dia de los Difuntos (November 2nd, All Soul´s Day). There is a thick fruit drink called “colada morada“ and a special bread in the shape of a baby (“guaguas de pan“) that are consumed in abundance during these days. No one seems to know the exact story (I´m still researching that one), but from what I understand thus far, it is a mixture of Catholic and indigenous traditions. Apparently, traditionally the family makes this drink and bread and spends the day at the cemetary. Then some of the food is left for the dead as while, in indigenous tradition. Masses are also celebrated in the cemetaries and the catacombs of churches. It is interesting...and delicious. Also, Maribeth had never experienced the joys of the Ecuadorian speciality “cuy“ (guinea pig), so we went with our Ecuadorian papi and grandparents to a special place to eat cuy today. I tell ya, nothing like a roasted rodent on your plate. Really, the meat is delicious...and you get an great study of anatomy at the same time. Ha. Oh, my. Check out the pics in my web albums, if you like.

It has been a lovely week here...studying up, resting, enjoying the culture. But it is indeed time to head back. The Lord has renewed my vision of the work I have been called to with the foundation, and it will be good to be back.

Until next week, all my love and prayers...

Besos y abrazos,
m

New phone number and new pictures!

Dear ones, greetings to you...

Just a quick note to let ya´ll know that I have a new phone number posted in the sidebar. Also, I posted new photos that you can access through the link at the bottom. Enjoy!

Besos y abrazos,
m

If we love one another...

"Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another.
No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us."

John 4:11-12

Hola, hola...

Peace to one and all. I write to you from the city of Quito tonight. We arrived early this morning and will spend the week researching various topics that have come up over the last month (information on public health nursing, therapy for a little boy with cerebral palsy, materials for teaching NFP, how to teach English to the misioneras, how to help the foundation financially, etc) as well as taking a little extra time just to be still and to pray...reflecting on what has passed and preparing for what is to come.

It was a blessed week in Òlon. The children at the base are getting used to their new nurse (the gringa with the name they can´t pronounce), and I am beginning to be a familiar face to the people of the surrounding pueblos. I learned about the vaccination schedule used by the Ecuadorian Ministry of Health this week and last while attending children at two daycares in more isolated villages, and I learned to remove stitches. Four new children were brought to the base this week from a violent and unstable home situation. They seem to be adjusting bit by bit and are receiving plenty of love...not to mention regular meals, medical care, and clothing.

Well, for now, I shall go. I will post again this week with my photos from the past month.

Hasta pronto, with much love,
m

A mission of love...

Go forth to the ends of the earth...

My dear family and friends,

Once I again, I come to write to you of the latest adventures of this little missionary nurse. Thank you all for your love from afar; it is such a blessing to receive your messages of encouragement and to know what ya´ll are up to. I have found that in trying to think, speak, and live only in Spanish, my grasp of the English language is, well, leaving me at times...so I will really try to focus in writing this post. Ha.

There is much to write of, as always. I will be returning to the little village I spoke of before every Thursday with a local physician. We have started house visits, doing a health census of sorts of this community of about 150 people. We treat the people as we can, and also, once we have a better idea of their needs, we will be having classes on different health topics. At the mission base, Maribeth and I are getting a bit more accustomed to the 4:30am wake-up siren to start the day. And our hand-washed clothes finally dried on the line in the few days we had without rain or mist! But today, I will spend my time telling you a bit about my dear little Victor.

Victor is 9-years-old. From the information I have gathered, he had been living in the streets of Quito (the capital city of Ecuador, where I lived last year) for two years before he was taken into a foster family, passed through a few different foundations, and has now found a home here with us. When he was in the streets of Quito, he had been kicked out of the house by his family to go "make" money, which usually means beg or steal. Victor loves just to be hugged. His affect is slightly off, and he has difficulties interacting with the other children. This child has become a special friend to Maribeth and me. He looks for us at daily Mass, often to come sit within our embrace; well, this often means he ends up sleeping in the most awkward positions (even when I am standing with his arms wrapped around my waist), bringing great laughter to my heart. He had a cut on his arm that I helped the doctor stitch the other day, so I receive a status report on the wound and its bandage nearly every time I see him. (I love being a nurse!) Today after Mass, he brought a mini-chalkboard to show Maribeth and me that he could write his vowels. After years of no schooling, he is now receiving his education at the school here, in the special class for kids who haven´t had previous schooling. Victor is a treasure. Many of the children here have stories such as Victor´s. What brings immense joy to my heart is that these children, like dear Victor, have now found a loving, stable and safe home, where they are free to be kids and to grow in an environment of love. Thank You, Lord. Thank you to all the parents who provide a loving home for their own children. Thanks to my parents for their love. The importance of family life to the stability and development of persons and communities is so evident. I am blessed to be working with a foundation who helps these little ones, like my dear Victor, with such Christ-like love. The love the misioneras (the consecrated women here) give these children and the love they put into all the work they do, is such a beautiful reflection of the overflow of love from their prayful relationship with the Lord.

Well, I must be off. The foundation also has "family houses" where a misionera lives with a group of younger children who are siblings. Today there is a birthday party for a few of the little ones, so Maribeth and I are headed there...to celebrate and to do what Ecuadorians always seem to do at parties...DANCE! :)

May you be blessed in your own mission of love...

All my love from afar,

Mariya

PS: Happy Sunday of Missions!

PPS: We are headed to Quito next week when the kids have a week of vacation from school. I may be able to catch-up with ya´ll a bit more at that time.

PPPS: Please pray for us, that the Holy Spirit may inspire everything we do!

Embracing every moment...

"All over the world people are saying that Mother Teresa is spoiling the poor by giving them things free. At a seminary in Bangalore, once a nun said to me, ´Mother Teresa, you are spoiling the poor people by giving them things free. They are losing their human dignity.´ When everyone was quiet, I said calmly, ´No one spoils as much as God himself. See the wonderful gifts he has given us freely. All of you here have no glasses, yet you all can see. If God were to take money for your sight, what would happen? Continually we are breathing and living on oxygen that we do not pay for. What would happen if God were to say, ´If you work four hours, you will get sunshine for two hours´? How many of us would then survive?´ Then I also told them: ´There are many congregations who spoil the rich; it is good to have one congregation in the name of the poor, to spoil the poor.´ There was profound silence; nobody said a word after that." -From Mother Teresa´s book, Total Surrender

Hello to one and all!

Peace and blessings to each of you. I hope that all is well for you in whatever adventures you are in the midst of!

Wow, I now realize that it has been just about two weeks since I have last posted, although it seems that much time has passed! Not wanting to be too verbose but still wanting to share sincerely a bit of what my life is here, I will try to pick out a few of the highlights.

One of the most beautiful experiences in the past few weeks was visiting the sick in their homes in a few of the surrounding villages. In one very special visit, we met a dear elderly man so full of light. He is blind and lives alone. His wife and sons passed away years ago, and he has no family in the area. With the obstacles he has encountered, he is not a bitter man. Much to the contrary, he greeted us warmly and before he received Jesus in the Eucharist, he prayed one of the most beautiful prayers I have ever witnessed. I hope to return to his side soon, to learn at his feet and to alleviate the pain of his solitude. Visiting and caring for the sick in their homes will most likely become my morning activity.

Another very special experience was our trip to an isolated oceanside village this weekend. We are in the middle of many, many days of rain, and, therefore, the countryside is mud. There is a road to enter the village by car, but the terrain being as it is, we had to enter from the ocean. We donned great black mud boots (FUS missionaries to Ecuador, you know what I speak of!) and marched along the beach at low tide, meeting many families out on this Saturday morning catching crabs and other such creatures in the tide pools. The ocean is their life. Arriving at the village - called Rinconada because it is in the corner, or "rincon" of the province - we met some of the people and were invited to lunch, where I ate my first prawn. :) I have much to learn about this place, but what I know is that they just built a new little chapel a few years ago and are eager to learn more about their Catholic faith. It is to this village that I will most likely be returning to a few times a week, getting to know the people, helping with catechesis classes, and caring for their health in the ways that I can. I love this little village.

The other major development of the past weeks is that I have started helping the doctor who cares for our children who live at the base. He sees patients three afternoons a week, and I will be working with him to take care of the health of our little ones.

Well, this and many other things (such as dealing with a monster spider in my room, learning to wash my clothes by hand, experiencing the hilarity of learning Spanish, etc) have been my life here thus far. As ya´ll probably have much to do, I will draw this post to a close. Thanks for your love and prayers from afar...they carry me through the work I am called to do here.

Be sure to check out Maribeth´s blog as well for more details! www.missionarymb.blogspot.com

LOVE, LOVE,
m

PS: Family, I am excited for your visits! I am constantly thinking about sharing this place with ya´ll. Little Sammie, I am praying for you today on your day of Baptism!
PPS: I posted my mailing address and phone number in the sidebar. I can receive mail here, but I must send from a bigger city...so hopefully I can work that out sometime soon.
PPPS: I hope to update my blog and check my email every Sunday, on my days of rest :)...FYI.

Living la vida...

"Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life."

John 6:27

Saludos to all!

Well, here I am on this peninsula on the Pacific! We have been in this place which is our new home for three days now, and all is well. Living amongst this community of missionaries has been an incredibly joyful experience thus far. The missionaries have this astounding joy that overflows into all that they do...the laughter and smiles are shared in abundance here. For example, last night during supper, the lights went out in the dining room. This became a great opportunity for making hand puppets on the ceiling and the wall with the light of a cell phone (yup, many people here have cell phones).

As you may know, one of the main outreaches of this foundation is the school that they run. Many of the children who either live very far away or who are abandoned in one sense or another, live in houses on the base. These children have stolen my heart, and it is a joy and an adventure to spend time with them...playing futbol, bathing them, doing the hair of the little girls. They are adorable and full of hugs...and they love the guitar, so this is a great inspiration to learn more!

Basically, in these next few weeks, we are really just learning all the outreaches of the foundation and continuing to study our Spanish. From there, we will learn how we will fit into the work they are doing. It sounds like I will be starting to work with a doctor who sees patients three days a week and then working with one of the missionaries who visits the sick in the surrounding pueblos. We really want to immerse ourselves in the people{s lives here, assessing how we can best serve them with what we have. It is a beautiful, beautiful challenge, this mission life.

I should be posting some pictures in the next few weeks, so you can get a better sense of life here. Also, I have added lists of prayer intentions and of needs of the base to my blog, if you care check it out.

Most profound moment thus far? I would have to say just hugging these beautiful children, embracing these little ones of God who are so hungry for love. Hug those around you today!

All my love,
m

***For those of you who have visited here before, you each are remembered very fondly!***

¡Estoy aqui! I am here!

"Awake, my soul...I will praise you among the peoples, Lord...may your glory appear above all the earth." PSALM 108

Hey, all! Happy Sunday! Just a quick note to let ya´ll know that we have arrived safe and sound. A wonderful family has taken us in for the week we are in Quito...Ecuadorian hospitality never ceases to amaze me. All well, all is blessed.

Let us commit ourselves to the glories of love!

En Cristo,
m

Off to Ecuador!

"For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another." (Galatians 5:13)

Peace and blessings to one and all!

Well, the time has arrived for me to venture off in response to the call on my heart to serve as a missionary nurse. I received the news today that my visa has been granted, and I will be leaving for Ecuador this Saturday with a dear friend, Maribeth, from Franciscan University who will be serving as a missionary social worker.

I will keep this blog as updated as I possibly can with stories, photos, and prayer intentions. Check back every now and again for updates, if you like.

Thank you all for your support in the past few years of my missions during my university years, leading up to this more long-term departure. Thank you for sharing in this mission.

All my love and prayers,
m