I am a Catholic missionary and I am human.

Kissing the ground as a sign of love for my new home: CAMIGUIN ISLAND

Yes. I’m human! I have wants, I have needs, I have likes and dislikes, I have emotions and I have fears! As long as I live on this earth, I will have these human desires.

            Let’s be honest, moving to the other side of the world for a year was a little bit overwhelming. Leaving my Goddaughter who is only a month old, all of my family and friends, and the comfortable American lifestyle behind to embrace the very simple Camiguin culture was (and still is) very hard.

            I could, in my humanness, complain about all the little “inconveniences” of living in mission entails. Like that our living room and dining room is outside and we have an audience for each meal, or the cold showers, or not having a toilet seat. There’s that fact that we don’t have an AC, a microwave, an oven, a dishwasher, or a washing machine. The ants, lizards, spiders and cockroaches like to crawl through the cracks of our wood floors and walls and say hello to us at night.  We sleep on mats on the floor and the 20 plus roosters or even our neighbors slaughtering pigs think they are a wonderful alarm clock at 5AM. Then there are the mosquitoes and the constant sweating and only being able to use my iPhone as a camera because we have little to no Internet access, but in all reality, these are gifts from God! When I look at my neighbors and all of the families on Camiguin who have less than I have and who are living in great poverty, God gives me the grace to rejoice for all that He has provided me with! I rejoice that the poor are teaching me how to be a simple soul, I rejoice for having an amazing family and friends that I can one day go home to, for the Lord teaching me how to grow in holiness and how to love others, for giving me a group of young women to lead in missions (even though 99% of the time they are leading me.) God has provided a house for me that is walking distance away from a crystal clear beach, a hammock to lay in while I read and drink my coffee, an occasional ocean breeze, unlimited coconuts literally a climb away, I get to have a sleepover on the floor every night with my best friends who always keep me laughing all day and night, and I am able to work with a priest who is a living saint. The list can go on… I rejoice for having a chapel in our house, for being able to walk everywhere I need to go, for the unbelievably generous and hard working Filipinos who call us beautiful all day long, for the children coming to our doorsteps to play and read the Bible with us, for eating organic without the price tag, for not having to worry about make-up or fashion or being “in-style”, for being able to teach Religion in a high school a minute from my house, and especially for hearing God speak clearly to me everyday.

            Missions is hard, and if I didn’t have God pouring out his graces on me, I would have quit yesterday, but He gave me the eyes to see that this is what it takes to build His kingdom. It takes my humanness to let God shine through my weaknesses to be the missionary He wants me to be!

Ask and you shall receive

    
      As a first year missionary, with Family Missions Company, I made a commitment that I would not drink alcohol or use tobacco products for my first year of missions. Seeing that I had just turned twenty one and had a history of drinking and smoking, these commitments seemed ridiculous and almost impossible to keep. However, I knew that God was calling me to be a missionary with FMC, so I reluctantly signed into these commitments when I joined FMC in September of 2012. At first I really hated these rules and thought they were pointless, but I soon came to realize that these rules would help me detach from the world, my disobedient personality and help me draw near to God. During the first three months of training, also know as Intake, I came to know my strengths and weaknesses, where I failed to love and how to grow in holiness. By the end of Intake my heart was set on fire for God and I was ready to go out and serve His children in Mexico.
      All that was left to do was to say good bye to my friends and family during the Christmas break and I would be on my way. I was ready for the hardships that came with being in the mission field, but what I wasn´t ready for was being put back in the environment that I had left behind. Within the first night of being back home with my friends I broke my first year commitments to abstain from alcohol and cigarettes. The next day I was so upset with my actions and lack of self control. I thought, if I could not even keep these simple commitments how on earth was I going to be strong enough to be a missionary in a foreign country.
      I continued to question if God was really calling me to be a missionary. Over the next few days I prayed that God would send me some kind of confirmation if what I was feeling was from Him. Shortly after I was emitted to the hospital because I was feeling very ill. I thought for sure this was the confirmation I had asked for. As I walked into the doors of the hospital thinking of how I will inform my mission team that I will not be joining them in Mexico, I got a text message from the office saying that I had received a large donation towards my mission. I was so moved by this donation because it was from a family that I greatly look up to. They are always striving for holiness and I knew that this donation was a very hard sacrifice for them. As if this wasn´t a big enough sign for me, I was still confused on what I should do considering that I was still sick in the hospital. Moments later the doctor comes in to inform me that I was sick with Hepatitis A. He said that I most likely picked it up from the food in Mexico but I would be immune to it so I could go back if I wanted to. He also told me that I would not be able to drink alcohol or smoke for at least nine months (which happens to be right when my first year commitments are up). At this point I was actually laughing out loud in the hospital bed. The doctor was probably thinking of sending me to the pshyc ward because he is telling me, what he thinks, is horrible news. We have a very humorous God! Not only did God answer all of my prayers, but I realized how much He cares for me and how important this mission is. He sent me beautiful and holy people that have encouraged me to say yes to the mission and he physically helped me with my weaknesses. We have a glorious and almighty God!
      After a couple of weeks of recovering from Hep A, I was able to join my mission team in General Cepeda, Mexico! I have been here in General for about a month now and it has been truly amazing. God has blessed me with a wonderful team of missionaries that continue to call me on to holiness. We have been serving the people who come to our door asking for food, prayers, and other necessities. We go out to the different Ranchos inviting people to hear the Word of God. We visit the people that are home bound and attend different prayer groups that are set up by the native people. God has blessed me with great health to participate in all these ministries!
      Jesus was not joking when He said in Matthew 7:7-8, ¨Ask, and you will receive, seek, and you will find, knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks will receive, and anyone who seeks will find, and the door will be opened to those who knock.¨ We have a very real God that does real things for real people in the real world! Believe and have the faith that God will bless you if your intention is to glorify His name.