A short trip back to Iowa

Leaving Honduras, even for a short visit, is becoming harder every year.

I guess this means I feel at home here.

It does help that I am building a house in the village of Plan Grande, Concepción, Copán. That will enable me to minister much more easily with the people in the parish of Dulce Nombre.

Front of the house - unpainted

Unfinished kitchen area

Upper open area, looking southeast

southwest view from the oratory/study

The house is larger than I thought it would be but I will keep the house open for visitors, as well as a place for friends in Honduras to come for a few days of rest and retreat. I already have one room claimed by a Spanish Franciscan sister and another claimed by a Dubuque Franciscan sister. I will have to keep a calendar for bookings!

I see this as a new opportunity to serve – being more present with the people.

I’m leaving today for Ames, Iowa, to visit with folks at St. Thomas Aquinas Church and Catholic Student Center, the church that sponsored me for several years and that is now a sister parish with Dulce Nombre de María.  

It’s a short visit, squeezed in between various workshops that were planned. But I hope to see a number of folks – both for fun and for generating support for the parish and for projects.

But my heart is really in Honduras, in the parish.

Heading home

Waiting for a plane to Miami in the Chicago airport for more than six hours, anxious to get home.

I do enjoy my visits to the US, because they offer a chance to visit with people I know and love.  

This visit ended up being rather special since I had the blessing to attend the Saturday ordination of three young men for the archdiocese of Dubuque, two of whom I know from my days as a campus minister.

I also attended the Mass to celebrate 150 years of the Dubuque Franciscans at Mount St. Francis and saw a good number of sisters whom I know.

Chapel at Mount St. Francis

In Ames, I saw a fair number of people – some by chance – and I renewed my Iowa driver’s license.

But I’m anxious to get home – to Honduras. There’s a lot of ministry to do – and I want to see how the house is going.

Honduras is my home. These visits to the US are not just chances to meet friends but also ways to share what the lives and ministry of the people I work with in Honduras.

Travelling home

I don’t always travel well — especially on little sleep.

Sunday I got up at 4:45 to get to the 6 AM Corpus Christi procession in Concepción. 

After spending about an hour and a half with the get together of confirmation youth in Plan Grande, I headed home to get ready to take a 2:30 pm, bus to San Pedro Sula.

On the bus, I thought about a remark on a Facebook note I had made. Some one wished me a restful trip back home.

Where is home for me now?

In many ways, it’s Honduras. I feel at home here – and will soon have my own home in a rural village.

Iowa is like a second home, since I’ve visited there every year since I’ve been in Honduras. The Philadelphia area feels like a third home – since I grew up there and have cousins and a few friends there.

But I’m traveling to Iowa today. I was up at 4:00 AM today to get to the airport for a 7:05 AM flight to Miami. I’m writing this the flight to New Orleans where I’ll get another flight to Dallas-Forth Worth. The final leg to Des Moines will get me there about 10:30 pm (9:30 am Honduras time).

But I already miss home.