Daughterhood
The valley where Gloria’s mom lives
Gloria, una amiga fiel
This month, Gloria invited a few of us missionaries to her childhood home in the mountains—about an hour's drive up the mountain, followed by another hour of walking. She had decided we were going to make tamales, and if you could have seen the look on her face, she was lit up like a little girl.
Making tamales is an all-day process. It involves grinding corn for the dough, cutting banana leaves for cooking, grilling the leaves, preparing the vegetables, cooking the chicken (and, yes, killing it first), and assembling everything together. Let's just say Gloria put us to work. It was all worth it knowing she’d be home with her daughters, giddy, eating her tamales for dinner.
Gloria often tells me that whenever she visits her parents' home, she never wants to leave. This visit was no different. Throughout the day, she kept saying how hard it was going to be to go back down the mountain.
It made me reflect on the goodness of a home, especially one where loving parents dwell. Gloria is the mother of two beautiful daughters, and her days are full of the joys and demands of motherhood. She loves every second of it. Yet no matter our age or stage of life, there remains something deeply comforting about being cared for by those who first loved us.
While Gloria brought us to the mountain, her sister stayed home with her daughters. It was beautiful to watch Gloria become a child again under the care of her own mother. For a day, she was simply a daughter—free from the responsibilities and worries.
Of course it was hard to leave. We were made for this kind of love. A mother’s love. As we walked back down the mountain, I was able to reflect. It makes sense that Gloria doesn’t want to leave. Not because life below is bad, but because for a few hours, she was freely able to be who she was before all the responsibilities: a daughter. And perhaps that is what God is always inviting us to remember. Before we are workers, mothers, missionaries, caregivers, or anything else, we are His beloved children. Every good home gives us a glimpse of that reality, and through every loving parent, we are given a taste of His Divine love.
In Other News
Missionaries of Charity
The month of May was packed! We welcomed the Missioners of Christ from Comayagua, Honduras. This was an especially full-circle moment for me because my first time in Honduras—and the first time I felt called to become a missionary—was with them in 2022.
30 Years of the Finca
We also celebrated 30 years of the Finca! It was a weekend filled with visitors and even more stories. The most remarkable visitor for me was Christy, one of the original three missionaries whom Vincent recruited before his death. Hearing her stories about Vince, Zulena, and the earliest days of the Finca was indescribable.
Seeing how the Finca has evolved over the past 30 years gives me such hope. It is easy to see where we fall short in the day-to-day, but witnessing the fruit through the lives of former Finca children and their own families was a gift that I cherish because many missionaries do not see the fruit of their mission while serving.
I want to thank you all again for the many ways you support me in mission, whether through your financial generosity or your faithful prayers. I truly could not do this without you, and I pray for you often.
Praise God for His faithful servants, who make it possible for us to carry out His will together. Thank you for being such an important part of this mission.
