Every year at the Finca, there are a few times that simply take your breath away whenever you stop what you are doing, look around, and allow yourself to be filled with the joy and love that comes with seeing your true Finca family simply be a family. It is an incredibly special feeling that I feel at every Christmas and New Years party here at the Finca, and it always fills me with an amazing sense of direction and gratitude to be able to call this my life!
The life of a Finca missionary is not easy… it is 120% worth it, but it is hard, challenging, often frustrating work that constantly forces you to fully trust in God and surrender everything to Him OR be miserable and want to go home. It is a BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL mission that has captured my heart in just about every single way possible and still fills me with intense gratitude every morning when I have the discipline and the patience to simply look around me and enjoy this life. That is why I am SO, SO, SO grateful for these handful of moments every year that simply take your breath away, bring tears to your eyes, and force you to do the only thing possible in that moment: give thanks to God! I am going to tell you about the most recent time that I experienced this incredible specialness at the Finca, and I hope to explain to you the way that it made my heart and soul feel. VAMOS A VER!!!
“Y” is a Finca teenager that came to the Finca when she was under 2 years old and has spent the last 13 years capturing the hearts of every missionary and worker at the Finca and wildly frustrating her teachers in the Finca primaria y colegio. Every missionary that has spent any sort of time at the Finca (including our week-long immersion trips) has loving, joyful, and often funny memories of “Y”, and she still absolutely CRAVES missionary attention and quality time with the missionary community.
“Y” turned 15 over the past month, and we celebrated with a quinceañera at the Finca, which is a HUGE party culturally celebrated when a young teenager makes the metaphorical leap from girl to young woman! Our Finca church (decorated ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFULLY by Sor Isamar) and then our Finca colegio (decorated ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFULLY by the missionaries) was full of people who deeply care for and love “Y”, including teachers at our Finca school, teachers at her school in Trujillo that she attends one day every week, former missionaries who made a long journey to the Finca in order to be there for her special day, former Finca house parents that took care of her and consider themselves to be her family, her friends from her class, and all of the Finca employees and children.
& let me tell you, WHAT AN INCREDIBLE PARTY THAT IT WAS!!! It was full of incredible dances, unforgettable laughs, wonderfully cooked food, a well-planned out ceremony, a touching slideshow highlighting pictures from “Y’s” life from the day that she came to the Finca to the present moment, and, most importantly, a smiling and sometimes crying “Y” that felt like the most special 15-year-old in the entire world! It was a lot of work to plan the party and required incredible collaboration by just about every Finca department, but every single person would tell you that it was 100% worth it and they would do it again in a heartbeat to watch the smile and joy on her face.
However, the moment that really moved me to tears and made me sit back for a moment and reflect on the insane beauty that is found within the Finca was shortly after the mass ended and after everyone had found their seat in the crowded party space at the Finca. Our Finca teenage boys and our other Finca teenage girls were in “Y’s” court, which is essentially her group of close friends and/or family that dances with her at the beginning of the party as they all make their entrance. As the Finca boys and girls were dancing their heavily rehearsed “Vals” (or Waltz of Honor) dance in front of everyone, I found myself taking a step back, looking around, and reflecting on the incredible privilege to call this my home and my life.
To watch our older boys who truly don’t take ANYTHING seriously in their everyday lives dance so intently, trying to be perfect for “Y’s” big day brought joy to my heart and made me reflect: THIS IS ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY!! An imperfect family for sure, but an incredible family that works everyday to love another more deeply than the day before. It moved my heart so deeply to be able to look around at all of “Y’s” family and friends watching her dance with such love and admiration for the young woman that she has become.
As I reflected on in my previous blog, I was about a week away at the time of her party from finishing my busy 2 or 3 month stretch that challenges me every year to continue to simply love the person in front of me. This exact moment of watching our kids dance and having all of “Y’s” biggest supporters cheering her on from the sidelines with their eyes and hearts made me realize something that sometimes I forget in life’s busiest moments at the Finca: THIS PLACE IS TRULY A GIFT TO PARTICIPATE IN!! EVERY SINGLE DAY!!! It is certainly not always easy, but I must be better at slowing down, taking a good look around me, and simply living in the present moment knowing that I am sure as heck gonna miss this moment one day when I am no longer at the Finca.
Please pray for our 3 new missionaries that will receive their jobs in a few days!!
Please let me know how I can pray for you!
God Bless!