My Goal: Be Present
Hello all! Once again, it has been too long since our last time here. I am sorry to keep you all hanging, but as many of you know, I was able to go home for the month of June to see and spend time with my family and friends. It was a wonderful time with loved ones and a great time to recharge so that I could come back to the Finca and give it my all.
If I am being honest, it feels a little weird to me being back at the Finca. There is a whole month where I was gone yet life here just went on. I guess that’s how it always is in all situations, but there was not a day when I was gone where I didn’t think about my kids or my community. I missed everyone so much, yet now that I am at the Finca (and even before my vacation) it was the same thing where there was not a day that went by that I didn’t think about my family and loved ones in the States. That’s just the way things are. The only thing I can really do, or at least try to do, is be present wherever I am.
As I had mentioned in my last post, the month of April was a big turning point for me. What I came to realize throughout the month of May was that being present was an essential part of the fairly consistent state of joy that I was in. That does not mean that things were always easy, but I did feel like I was better able to love and serve the kids and community at the Finca. Before the month of April, I thought that I had been doing a decent job at being a missionary and loving on the kids, but as I said there was a major turning point and things started to get better beyond my expectations. My capacity to love and serve expanded in a way that I didn’t think was possible and I was very grateful for it.
May started off as a pretty smooth month with the usual ups and downs of Finca life, however, by mid-May there were many things that we were preparing for. One of the things we were preparing for was one of our kids’ 15th birthday. It was a very big deal for him and when the day finally came, he was so happy. I had seriously never seen him in such a good mood. It was so sweet to see him during his special mass where he wanted nothing else but to give Mama Mary some roses. He gave such a sweet speech and the other kids also said many kind things about him. It was nice to see the kids love on one another, which is sometimes hard to find, especially among the older kids. During one of the girls talks, I was reminded of how the kids within the Finca are family to one another. The Finca is their home and it is a place where they are provided with everything they need and are loved dearly. Her talk made me think about how lucky I am to be entrusted with this mission to love and serve these kids, even if it is just for a short while. Like I said, the kids are family to one another and though they may fight at times, they all share a special bond simply because they all ended up at the Finca at the same time. Needless to say, it was a special day not just for the birthday boy, but for the whole Finca because everyone gets to share in the joys of one another.
On the day of his actual birthday, he wanted to celebrate by playing some multiplication math games online...that's what I like to hear :)
At the same time as our boy’s birthday, we were also preparing for the Finca’s 25 year anniversary. This was an event that the whole Finca was looking forward to for a long time. Even our co-foundress, Zulena Pescatore was present for the occasion. There were two events planned for this special week: a formal gala and the Finca Olympics. The gala was a big night at the Finca where there were many people from outside of the fence present, which was a big deal because we hadn’t had very many visitors at the time because of COVID. I was amazed at the amount of people present whom I hadn’t met, yet played such a big role in making the Finca what it is.
The Finca Olympics, on the other hand, was a special day that the missionaries planned for just the kids and tias. This was a fun morning for everyone where there was music, chants, teams, activities, etc. The kids and tias were split into the blue team and yellow team. Each missionary planned one event that everyone would get to partake in. There was tug-of-war, an obstacle course, a clothes change race, a relay race, and egg race, etc. The kids and tias all had so much fun, and the missionaries had fun planning it and facilitating it. The missionaries were not on either team, but we were happy to support both teams in our own small ways (aka look at my face). The day continued with fun activities and ended after lunch with an awards ceremony and a water balloon fight. It was indeed a long day, but it was a day well spent as a wider Finca community. The long preparation was worth it when we saw how much fun the kids had.
Finca Olympics with Kelsey and Britney
Still at the same time that we were preparing for our events, we were also getting ready for the return of our community members, Megan and Adam, as well as our three summer volunteers! The Finca is very special in that we have up to four volunteers come for 10 weeks to serve and love on the kids and take on our missionary roles while we full-time missionaries get to go on our vacations. We were very happy that Sarah, Carson, and Rachel said yes to the mission and chose to come to Finca to help us out. Right away, we could see that they were ready to work with the kids and love on them and that they were going to be a great edition to our community. Though the arrival of the summer volunteers was very good, I didn’t get much time to interact with them since the week right after they got to the Finca, Britney and I left for our vacation. The end of the month consisted of Britney and I getting to travel home together and reuniting with our family for a short month.
Here's Brit and I as we get ready to travel to the US
Reuniting with the family after almost 9 months apart
Throughout all the events of the month of May, I felt like I tried to be as present as possible at each event. Though sometimes life at the Finca is a bit frustrating with activities being planned at the last moment or experiencing difficult times with the kids, being present definitely allowed me to enjoy my days and enjoy the little moments that would have seemed insignificant throughout the rest of my time serving as a missionary.
Now that I am back at the Finca, I am so grateful to be reunited with my community and all the kids. As I said before, I missed them and am glad that I get to keep working with them in a classroom setting. Though the transition back has been harder than I anticipated, I am sure of the fact that Jesus is present in the work that I am doing. As I write this, I feel as if it is a reminder to continue trying my best to be present with the kids and community even when it seems like an impossible task. So until next month, I will be trying my best to do just that. I miss you all and am praying for y’all!
Paz y bien,
Alicia
P.S. Tune back next month to hear about a special visitor's time at the Finca
