Anniversaries and Kinder Dreams

October 1 marks one year of living at the Finca. I still remember the first day of driving into the Finca. We were standing in the back of a pickup with our luggage covered by a tarp because it was drizzling. We drove through the gate and wrapped our way around the soccer field to the maintenance garage, which also functions as a party location. Staying dry from the rain and sitting on a circle of benches were all the kids and Tías eager to see new faces. After 6 months of having no visitors in the Finca, our group of 6 stood powered by nerves and adrenaline as introductions were made, songs sung, and welcome posters given. Now, I'm on the other side of things planning a welcome gathering for our new missionaries.

The Finca is a place of many seasons. And the season that is upon us now is a season of transition as we welcome 5 new young adult missionaries into our home along with a missionary family comprised of a husband and wife and their 3 children ages 1-5. It's very exciting getting ready to share the Finca, a place that I have come to love, with an incoming class of missionaries. There will be the little explanations like how to flush the toilet when there's no water to lengthier lessons such as cooking meals together so they get used to making meals with leftovers and the food that's going bad and conserving gas by using the fogón. There will also be shadowing days where missionaries will follow me around for a "day in my life" seeing how Kinder classes function and my tutoring sessions.
Although there will be lots of hellos and get to know you conversations, there will also be goodbyes. Two missionaries will be leaving in early November and two more in the beginning of January.

One of my FAQs while I was at home on vacation was "when are you coming home for good/are you staying a second year?" My go-to answer was "I'm 80% sure I'm staying another year but I haven't made my decision yet." Well folks, the decision has been made and I haven't surprised anyone yet when telling them. I've decided to stay another year at the Finca. So they're stuck with me here until December of 2022.

Alicia, another missionary in my class and myself have decided to stay on another year. There were lots of factors that weighed into my decision. Yes it will be hard to be away from family, especially for holidays, and I'm missing out on autumn and eating squash right now. But what it really boiled down to was knowing that my time wasn't done here yet. God still has lessons for me to learn and ways he wants me to serve not only the kids living here, but also the kids and families that live in the neighboring village of Mohaguay.

I have many dreams that I would love to see come to fruition during my next year of service, most prominently seeing the school open up fully. After coming back from my vacation in August I was able to start having Kindergarten classes in the Finca. So twice a week I walk a short line of mask-clad 5 and 6 year olds from the gate to our classroom where we do circle time and sing songs, complete letter of the week crafts and practice identifying numbers. It's an exhausting part of my day that tests the limits of my Spanish, but brings me so much joy.

Around November the new missionaries will receive their jobs and I will pass off some of my jobs. I've decided to stay the Kindergarten teacher another year. The Kinders are definitely young and little and learning all about what school is, but I want to pour my energy into a class that comes to school 5 days a week and watch them grow and learn from the beginning of the school year to the end.
I'm also going to continue with my official and unofficial duties in my role of community outreach. Officially I visit Mohaguay once a week for our women's group. This has been such a great way to get to know moms and grandmas in the community. But I frequently make visits to stop and chat, say hello to the kids playing tag in the streets and share mangos with them, or go and ask certain kids if they are coming to Kinder classes that day. It's so fun getting to know my neighbors and I'm looking forward to doing that more as the year progresses.
My prayer recently has been a lot of reflecting on how the Lord has helped me grow in relationship with Him and as a person this past year and looking into this next year. Moving to Honduras and living in their culture has allowed me to be exposed to poverty and illiteracy in ways that I didn't expect. I have Kinder parents who can't spell their child's name and a 10 year old friend from Mohaguay who dropped out of 2nd grade, but is hoping to come back to school next year and give 3rd grade a try. I've been in situations where I can do nothing but cry and have faith that the Lord is at work, hearing my prayers, and tenderly loving those around me. Looking into the year ahead I can't wait to discover all that He has in store. I'm certain I will be challenged to stretch and grow and love those around me in creative and unique ways.
I want to end this blog by saying thank you. Thank you to everyone for your continued support of this mission and the work being done. Thank you to everyone who has been supportive of my decision to extend my time and continues to pray for me. As we say on the daily, Paz y bien,
Emma

p.s. Happy feast day of St. Therese of Lisieux, patron saint of missionaries!!

Hanging out with one our teens.