Photo Post!

Here are some photos of the last couple of weeks that I wasn’t able to include in the previous posts!  

First, we have our group picture from the retreat. We are standing with the sisters from the convent where we had the retreat.  Here is a run down of everyone in the photo-

Back Row (L-R): David (1^st year missionary from the Bay Area, CA), Raul (former missionary back to help us with orientation), Felicia (she is slightly blocked and in purple.  She was a missionary at the Finca when it first opened in Honduras 15 years ago and now serves on the board.), Sara (1^st year missionary from Nashville), Erin Marina (1^st year missionary from upstate New York), Kevin (1^st year missionary from Memphis), ME, Allison (1^st year missionary from Chicago suburbs)

Front Row (L-R): Ashley (1^st year missionary and nurse extraordinaire from New England), Erin Patricia (3^rd year missionary currently serving as a house mom in La Ceiba in our Phase II program), 3 sisters from the convent, Zulena (one of the founders of our project and seriously one of the most amazing women I have ever met!!), Ysmary (our amazing director at the Finca)

Not Pictured: Jacob (2^nd year missionary and the volunteer coordinator)

My amazing birthday presents from my parents and host parents!! 
(see birthday posts for details)

 Celebrating my birthday with my whole house!

A destroyed Buzz Lightyear Pinata for Erin, David and I 
from the awesome other missionaries!!

School children in the extravagant Independence day parade in Parque Central here in Antigua.  

 This is a picture from our awesome trip up to Pacaya, a volcano about 1 hour away from Antigua.  This is one of the other volcanoes that we could see on our way up.

A group photo with all of the climbers (minus our guide)!!  That is the peak behind us.

  We didn’t go all the way up to the top but stopped about ¾ of the way up at a plateau.

Close to the top there are a ton of hot saunas because of the molten lava beneath the surface. We got to get in a couple!

 Some of the saunas were so hot that we could roast marshmellows!  FYI, the marshmellows in Guatemala are colored- pink, blue, yellow.  It is quite ridiculous.

Well, I hope you enjoyed looking at some fun photos from the past little while!

Much love to all,

Erin Lucia 

God Is...

Well, I wanted to write another blog post to share a little peek into what we have been talking about within our community. Felicia, who was one of the first missionaries of the Farm when is moved to its Honduran location, gave the missionaries a prayer book with a weekly reflection.  Today we met at my house and talked about seeing God in the people around us.  I wanted to share some of the places where I have seen Him…

… He is in the eyes of my new little Guatemalan brother named Kenneth as he knocks on my door and peaks into my room with a bright smile. “Cartas?” I have taught him several American card games and he can’t get enough.  He asks to play constantly and hearing his laughter when he gets a pair in Go Fish is wonderful.

… He is in the hands of an older indigenous woman wearing the vivid colors of traditional Maya dress. She is kneeling in the church with a posture of fervent prayer. She pats the head of her grandson who has run around the church and over to her looking for some love.

… He is in the face of a young teenager running through the streets of Antigua with his friends. He is blowing a whistle and following banners and a torch, celebrating his country’s independence from Spain so many years ago.  It begins to rain, as is the norm in the afternoons, and that only excites the group more, bringing out smiles and a lot of laughter.

… He is in the words of my new sister Allison.  She stopped by to see me twice while I was not feeling well yesterday. Her encouraging words and generous spirit warmed my heart and were yet one more reminder of the blessing of this new family the Lord has called me to.

… He is in the laughter of the guys I live with while we sit at the dinner table and attempt to speak Spanish with our host parents.  The little ways they remind me of my brothers at home are such a blessing.

… He is in the hard work of Ana Rosa, my Spanish teacher. She wakes up every morning at 3:30 to work in her parents’ bakery, spends four hours with me in the morning and goes back to working for them in the afternoon and evenings. She never seems tired and always has a positive attitude.  Her interest in my life and the ways she adapts based on my needs are true gifts!

… He is also in the friendly spirit of the other international students at La Union.  Sharing and talking with new friends… having a 15-minute conversation about the culture and food in Iceland- ever had horse before?  God is allowing us all to grow and learn so much more about the world.

… He is also in the grateful smile of a Guatemalan mom who took her children to play in the park. She has just watched her kids pounce on the candy from a Buzz Lightyear piñata that Ashley, Allison, Kevin and Sara bought for Erin, David and I. Sharing that moment with a bunch of children and watching their smiles and their moms smile made the piñata just that more special.

… He is in the 10-minute long video message from a dear friend from the States. Seeing the daughter of Christ she truly embodies reminds me of our journey at Elon and how much the Lord worked in the lives of all of my friends there.

I could go on and on about all of the places where God is.  He continues to show up and promises to keep doing so as long as we keep looking for Him.  Go check on Danielle Rose’s song God is.  She is amazing and the lyrics of this song are fantastic.

Much love to everyone at home!  

- Erin Lucia

My Birthday!

Well, I was more than blessed yesterday on my birthday. Seriously, I felt the love. I woke up in the morning to greetings of happy birthday from everyone in the house. At school, my missionary family, who had a wonderful card and notes, greeted me first.  Kevin is awesome at origami and he created a St. Crane-sis of Assisi. He (St. Cransis) was brown and Kevin drew a habit on him. It was fantastic. My teacher also brought me a gift! She gave me a beautiful rosary since we talk about God so much in class. Seriously, Ana Rosa is wonderful. I have really loved getting to know her.

Home for lunch, some reading, and laundry (hand washed and dried out on a line!). I went back to the school to meet up with some of my friends and they took me out for ice cream! Saritas is a franchise here and I had this awesome mango and cream cone.  I think that fruit ice creams here in Central America are much better than the States!  We walked around for a bit and eventually split up to go home for a Skype date I made with the lovely Tracy Schell.

I was very fortunate to have been able to Skype with a lot of people this week- email me if you want to set up a time!!  Seeing so many wonderful people that I love on and around my birthday was so great. 

Anyway, when I got home, there were even more surprises waiting for me.  I seriously think that I have the best parents in the world.  First off, they have let their daughter move very far away to a remote part of Central America for 2 ½ years.  Not only did they let me go but did so with so much support and love.   The first time I talked to them about wanting to be a missionary, one of the very first things my parents did was pray over me saying that while it would be very hard and that they would miss me a lot, they knew I belonged more to the Lord than to them and that they had complete trust in His will for my life.  Wow, it brings tears to my eyes to write it down- not to mention the wreck I was almost a year and a half ago.   

The second reason why I think they are so amazing is that they found a florist here in Guatemala and surprised me with roses, chocolate and wine. Seriously?!  It was amazing! Even though I have not physically been with them for the last 5 of my birthdays (because of college and now this one), they have always made me feel so special and continue to surprise me.  Anyone who reads this and then is able to see them, please give them a huge hug from me. I am expecting them to get bombarded, so please don’t forget!!

My host parents also had a surprise for me. They bought a wonderful cake for our entire house to share after dinner. It was so sweet and their hugs and love were priceless.  There are now 12ish people living in our house, plus visitors all the time.  A very large group came to sang Happy Birthday (in two languages!) and have cake.

After dinner, I was able to spend some time in the Perpetual Adoration Chapel that is 2 minutes from my house.  It is such a blessing to have that so close and accessable!  Afterwards, I met up with Sara, Kevin and David (the other missionaries were not feeling well and two of them are still sick- please pray for them!!!).  We went to this fun bar, had a beer and enjoyed an acoustic guitarist.  Sara and Kevin are both from Tennessee and literally couldn’t get enough.  It was such a great way to end a fantastic day!

Again, thank you so much to everyone who sent emails, posted on FB, or sent me anything.  Grandy and Bibber, I loved my card!!   You all have been such instruments for the Lord to show His love for me.

Until another post, Erin Lucia

P.S. My four new “host brothers” moved in and all 5 of us are now sharing the bathroom. My dad commented that my posts have been soo positive and that I should share something that is a little difficult too. Well, this is one but it is preparing me for life at the Farm where all of the girls will share.  

A Typical Day

So I thought it’d be fun to take you all on a virtual tour of my life here at La Union language school and then back to my house! Let’s go!

      This is the entrance to my language school.  It has a great set up with lots of individual tables. Each student is paired with a teacher and we each sit and learn at different paces. A lot of the teachers have different styles. Some of the other missionaries in my group didn’t mesh well with their teachers and needed to change but mine is great!! I have been so blessed. Ana Rosa is really fun to talk to and we have a great balance of book work, practicing verbal skills, games and just having conversations. Today, I also told the story of Little Red Riding Hood. It was ridiculous but such a great way to practice my spanish. It’s been a while since I heard the story so I definitely had to make some things up which made it even funnier.  My language skills are improving every day!

Okay, now I have to head home from language to have lunch at my house! 

Here is my front door.  I live at #45 and you basically walk in to the garage.

     Through the garage is this courtyard- which is beautiful!!! All of the rest of the rooms are off the courtyard. My room (you’ll see it in a second!) is off to the back.  There is a living room and dining room and kitchen. My host parents live in a really big master bedroom in the front right corner of the house, off the living room with their private bathroom.  And now…

      Here is my room! As you can see, I have moved in and made it my own with pictures, books, and other things to remind me of home. These pictures were taken while I was packing for the retreat so please excuse the stuff on the bed.

I also have a bathroom that is pretty much just for me.

Warm water for showers (!!!!!!) and plenty of space- its perfect.

This is my host family. Elder and Marina live in the house and have been hosting students for 8 or 9 years, since he retired. I have absolutely loved getting to know them and practicing my Spanish, especially with Elder. They have three children and 3 grandchildren. They are all precious! Kenneth is 5, Steven is 3 and Joanna is 7 months.  None of them live here but visit all the time!  4 of their nieces also live here during the week. They study and work in Antigua during the week, and return home on the weekends. There is another girl from the States who arrived on Saturday. She works for Google and took her vacation time to come study and teach computer skills for 10 days. Tomorrow, 4 guys from Michigan are also coming. They will be here for the entire fall semester. Basically, it will be a very full house when everyone gets here! Lots of fun!

A typical day for me starts by waking up at 7 to eat breakfast and get to school by 8. School from 8 to 12 Daily mass is at noon and at a church less than a minute from the school. Lunch at home and back to the school or a café called Y Tu Pina Tambien, to meet up with my fellow missionaries. It is totally a café for gringos (foreigners) but it has free wi-fi and great couches.  The afternoons are always different (Today, I went to 4 different travel agencies with Allison and Ashley looking into prices for some traveling our group will be doing). Home for dinner, homework, reading, internet use and bed.

Alrighty, I hope you enjoyed our little tour and a look into my life here. Sorry that this is so long! I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.

Love always,

Erin Lucia

Update from Antigua, Guatemala

I am currently sitting in my new room at my host family’s house.  I arrived here in Guatemala on Tuesday evening, landing at 8:30, followed by a 45-minute care ride to Antigua.  My host family has welcomed me with open arms and they have a wonderful home.  My host parents are in their late 50s- Elder and Marina.  Also living at the house are several of their nieces who study in Antigua during the week and return to their families on the weekends. There is wireless Internet at the house (sometimes) and I have a cozy room, which is just perfect for me!

I have spent the last two mornings at language school in one-on-one classes for 4 hours each morning.  So much is coming back to me since my last official Spanish classes in high school.  My time spent with my Aunt Marianne in a couple of lessons definitely helped train my ear and get me back until the swing of things a bit (thank you!!!).  My host family speaks no English so it has been an adventure in communication but a great one so far.

This weekend, I am heading out on a retreat with the other first year volunteers from the Farm. I am so excited to spend time getting to know everyone and growing closer to the Lord.  Yesterday, when I met everyone (except Allison- she comes today!!), I received yet one more confirmation that this is where I am supposed to be.  I have already been encouraged by and felt so much love from my new brothers and sisters in Christ.  I am so grateful.

I will definitely post more next week about the retreat and about Antigua but I think it is time to head back over the school, meet up with the other volunteers to figure out what fun things we are going to do this afternoon!!  Also, pictures to come of my house and room.

Don’t forget to send me your prayer intentions!!

Much love to all,

Erin Lucia

P.S.  Erin Marina picked out this new name for me. I was going to go by Erin Lacey at the Farm but Lacey sounds too much like Lazy and I was getting funny looks.  I love this new nickname!