bienvenidos a mi blogcito!

Amigos, familia, bienhechores, y los que yo amo:

Have no fear - I won't be blogging in Spanish :)

Bienvenidos y bienestar - literally, they mean "good coming" and "good being". In other words - welcome to my blogcito, my little blog, which I'll be attempting to update with stories of my adventures in grace from my 27-month volunteer commitment to the Farm of the Child in Trujillo, Honduras. I've been home from Notre Dame for just over a month now, and since I'll be leaving for language school in Guatemala a MONTH from tomorrow (that's August 12th, to be exact!) I figured it was time to get this up and running.

My blog's name is "love is little," and before I get too much into the logistics of exactly what I'll be doing for the next two-plus years, I'd like to take a bit of cyberspace to explain the significance of this name, which is two-fold. First of all, "love is little" is the name of the shaker tune on which one of my favorite folk choir songs, "Holy Manna," is based. Our choir director, Steve, was always quick to remind us that although these beautiful folk tunes were musically simple, they weren't easy. I always thought the name of the Shaker tune mirrored that concept perfectly - although our human vocation to love one another is quite simple in theory, it's far from easy in action... and just like our music, it requires diligence, patience, and lots of grace to get it right.

Another reason for my blog's name: The volunteer house at the Farm of the Child, where I'll be living for the next 27 months, is called Casa St. Teresita, named for St. Therese of Lisieux - the "little flower." She was a Carmelite nun (and a doctor of the Church!) best known for her "little way of love." Therese believed that God was (is!) everywhere, in the ordinary, simple details of life, and her "little way" teaches us to do ordinary acts with extraordinary love. Her faith and her trust in God was simple, as a child's - and seeing as I'm going to be surrounded by lots of those little kiddos during my time at the Farm, I'm hoping and praying that I too will grow in faith, hope and love as I learn from them and from Teresita's example.

So, you might be wondering - exactly what will I be doing for the next 27 months of my life? And with a Notre Dame degree in hand, why would I want to spend two-plus years not only working for free, but actually raising all the funds I need so that I can do so? I guess I'll start with the supposedly "easy" part to answer: the "what." I've committed to a 27-month long term of volunteer service with the Farm of the Child (or la Finca del Niño, si se habla español) - a small, Catholic orphanage just outside Trujillo, Honduras. I won't know my exact "job" placement until a few weeks after I arrive on-site, but chances are good that I'll either serve as a teacher, social worker, or community outreach coordinator. Although some people see it as strange to not know exactly what role I'll be playing in the project, I think it's actually one of the more beautiful aspects of what we're doing - my fellow volunteers and I don't sign on specifically to be a teacher, a nurse, or a community organizer, but we sign on because we feel a sense of identification with the Farm's mission and are willing and open to offer our gifts however they're most needed to serve the kids and the community. The Farm is a family-style orphanage, which means that our kids live in houses organized by age and sex with Honduran house-parents and staff who raise them according to Honduran culture. In addition to family-style homes, the Farm offers our kids medical care (with a clinic on-site), a great education at Escuela Catolica San Pedro, and the opportunity for spiritual development - and many of these services are available to our neighbors in local villages as well. The volunteers live together in a beautiful, simple house on property. We live like the kids live, and they live (relatively) like our neighbors live... we have (cold) running mountain water and electricity (most of the time), but that's about where the luxury stops. We'll be sleeping on thin mattresses on wooden beds and eating lots of rice and beans... and there's no cell phones or internet. I know I'll miss air conditioning, having a soft bed, and a good cup of coffee every once in a while, but I'm looking forward to learning how to incorporate simplicity, which is one of the Farm's four pillars (the others are service, spirituality and community), into my life.

And now for the more difficult question: the "why." The answer begins in the summer of 2007, when I spent two months at the Farm of the Child as a summer volunteer... two sweaty, challenging, grace-filled months in which I fell in love with the Finca's mission and its adorable kids. After many, many months of discernment about where my post-grad path would lead, I found myself continually drawn back to this place I have come to love deeply - its wonderful, hilarious, difficult children, the intentionality of its community life, and the seriousness with which it approaches simplicity and spirituality. One of my models of faith, Fr. Michael Himes, writes that there are three questions we should ask of ourselves when discerning. First, is there a legitimate need? Second, do you have the gifts to fill that need, and is there an opportunity for growth? and third - is it a source of joy for you? When I think about the Finca, my answer to all three of these questions is a resounding YES. In short, I believe it is the place where I can best make love visible - where I can best live out with joy my gratitude for all I have been given.

And third: the "how." Well, first of all, with a LOT of grace :) and second, with the support of all of you. Whether you're joining me for the ride through reading my blog, making a financial contribution to my work, remembering my fellow volunteers and I in prayer, shipping donations down to the Finca, or just promising to welcome me back into your lives when I return in December of 2011... you are part of the path that has brought me to the Farm, and I know your support will uphold and sustain me during the most difficult times of my 27-month commitment. Each morning at the Farm, in our beautiful, simple chapel filled with volunteers and children and houseparents and nuns, we pray for our "bienhechores." This word means "donors," but I love its literal translation - "those who do good." For all the good you, my bienhechores, have already done, and for all that is yet to bear fruit as a result of your kindness, please know of my deepest and my most heart-felt thanks. So gracias - thank you - for reading, for supporting me, and for following along on what will surely be a crazy-beautiful adventure in the little way of love.

May your song be loud; may it be clear; may it be long and may God bless you.