The Journey!

One of the Altars in the Racho Chapel's

Dona Anita with the cross Sean got for her.

Me with a baby!  Suprise Suprise!

The home visit team praying over Dona Maria

When you think of Missions, most people don't think of 80 plus hours of the time in a 15 passenger van. So when God called us on mission to Mexico, I was questioning our decision to drive from Georgia to Mexico. Little did I know how blessed the journey would be. Now call me crazy for thinking of our journey and remembering that Mary and Joseph made a journey as well. Coincidence that our journey happened during Advent? I think not. In true Covecrest style we set off into the unknown with eager hearts to serve, and little understanding of what to expect. The first day we traveled from Tiger, GA to Lafayette, LA. Imagine 10 people in a 15 passenger van with all our luggage and donations piled up high. Three more missionaries were following in a car behind. After sing alongs, morning prayer, and rosary and 10 hours in the van with 2 stops...we made it to our first check point in Lafayette, LA.  

We were blessed by the people in Lafayette. The Clement's opened their home to us and gave us a true LA meal of Gumbo. We claimed our air mattresses, prayed in thanksgiving for the trip, did consecration, night prayer, and slept through the night. The next day brought the feast of Immaculate Conception!! We got to have mass at the Cathedral in Layfette with the bishop. And I got my first taste of a po' boy sandwich in true LA style. We hung out for the day and picked up 4 missionaries from Family Mission's Company: Neil, Joseph, Chris, and John Paul. We set off again to drive through the night and meet the Mesa Missionaries in Texas. It is funny how journeys bring people together.  We arrived at our destination at about 5 in the morning. That was a harrowing adventure, as Mr. Frank almost took out a trailer and did take out some construction cones as lanes on the highway narrowed without any warning. He was so calm and prayerful about it...I was a nervous wreck. He is way more holy than I! We dropped Mr. Frank off at a truck stop near where he had to pick up a mission's van that had broke down a couple of weeks before. Lesson 1 of a Missionary: Take a ride when you can get one! It's okay to go off the beaten path.

The Mesa missionaries were behind schedule, so Lesson 2 began: Always be patient and flexible. 3 hours later at the truck stop...I was questioning my decision to come. Maybe God was calling me to minister to the truckers, I was too tired to even contemplate, but as Joseph our fearless leader gave us Lesson 3: "Praise God in all situations" so all I could say was "Praise God"! Danielle taught up Lesson 4: Humility, humility, humility, when she scraped up her face when she tripped and fell at the truck stop. It looked like it really hurt, and she took it like a champ and didn't complain once. I am learning holiness from those around me! We went to breakfast and met the Mesa Missionaries and our journey to Mexico continued. 

Journeys take you to places unknown, to see things that you haven't seen before. Mary and Joseph's journeyed to Bethlehem to meet Christ. Our journey led us to the location of General Cepeda, Mexico. But more importantly our journey led us into the heart of Christ much in the same way Mary and Joseph received Him. We met Christ in the people, in their poverty, in the generosity that they showed in that poverty, to their joy and despair and most of all their great faith. Each day we would journey to our work projects to help Dona Anita fix her roof and wall or Luz, a mother with 4 children, to put a roof on her house. The journey took us to the home visits, into the hearts of the people. At night we would journey into the desert, to the small ranchos communities, where people had so little, but had great faith. I journeyed door to door and invited people to prayer in the Chapel of their community, and there we prayed for them, we prayed with them. We shared how God was moving. I saw Jesus in them.  

They journey home also reminded me of the holy missionary family of Joseph, Mary and Jesus. They went back a different way to get home. While we did follow the same path home, we defiantly came home different. I came home with a renewed understanding of what it means to be a missionary, to have a heart full of Christ, a heart full of generosity, not just to pray for others, but pray with others. That God invites us to be missionaries to every single person He puts in our path! God knew what He was doing when He called us on this journey, as He invited us into this mission. The greatest lesson that He showed me was that it can't end in Mexico, that it is something that I have to live out everyday.

Small Things

Carla Cleaning!

Sarah, Chris, and Kelsey eating by the fire.

The Chapel in fall before it snowed!!

  So the title of my blog is do small things with great love.  That is one of my favorite quotes from mother teresa.  It seems like such an easy statement, but not so much.  We, as missionaries, have been studying Story of a Soul by St. Therese and her spirituality.  I started reading the book, and she just irked me.  I had to ask myself why...she is holy...the church recognizes that, right.  I realized that she is just so holy and I am so NOT!! So really I am more irked at myself then St. Therese.  God has really been working in my heart, and He has been revealing that I am not holy in the small things.  St. Therese was pursuing God's heart, She was pursuing love.  She loved people in their weaknesses and not in spite of them.  Once again, something that I really struggle with.  So God has been calling me out into deeper holiness.  St. Therese says that when you have been loved abundantly, you must give love for love.  I have been asking God to teach me to listen and to love better.  That is at the heart of vocation...to love.  So why does it scare me?  I know God will fulfill me, yet I still hesitate.  Yet scripture says "Perfect Love casts out all Fear."  Anyway, I want holiness, I want God and I want to love better, I dont' want to be afraid.  St. Therese teach me!

Love, 

Carla

On the Mountain

So it has been a crazy busy week, with never a dull moment. I am enjoying community life and being able to serve. We have our crazy moments...I fell in a hole the other day...but there is something to be said about living, working, praying and playing with the same people. There are lots of laughs for sure!!

Prayer is the foundation of life here. Starting each morning with a holy hour has been very hard and very blessed. Even though I hate getting up in the mornings and will complain and want to sleep in, it totally sets the tone for the day. My prayer lately is that I can be open to whoever is put in front of me that day. Yesterday we had youth ministers from Atlanta come up for the day to pray and hang out. I knew a lot of them from when I was a youth minister. It was great to get to be present to them and serve them. They are doing such important work. I have been diving into the book Radical Hospitality, based on the Rule of St. Benedict. I have learned that I need to listen more and talk less. Easier said then done.

So the highlight of the week was family dinner. The singles in the community are invited to the different families houses on Wednesday nights for dinner. It was the highlight for 2 reasons: 1. It is a great time just to get to be engulfed into the heart of the family. 2. It was one of those fun God moments for me this week. Chris, Sarah and I went to the Ball's house this week. Dinner was fabulous and so fun to be part of the family. I got to feed little 2 year old Austin with train noises, so he would eat all his pork and get ice cream for dessert. So fun!!! The highlight came at family prayer time before bed. We all sat down around a prayer table while little Caroline joyously was ringing her little fairy bell to call us to prayer. Her little shouts of "it's prayer time, Come pray" made my heart smile.

As we sat down she brought us each a pillow it sit in. It was her night to decide the order of prayer. She chose Song, bible reading, and chosen prayer. Eight year old Madison, chose You never let go as the song. Caroline and Austin very reverently got on their knees and folded their hands as the song started...so cute!! Then as the chorus raised, Caroline got to her feet and recklessly started dancing around in circles, throwing her arms around. And of course Aussie followed suit. It is, I am sure, how King David danced before the arch of the covenant, with reckless abandoned, just not caring. Every now and then Caroline would kneel back down and fold her hands and pray, but then jump back up and dance.

It made my soul happy to see her in her reckless abandon and simplicity of faith. After all that is where God is calling me...to that reckless abandon. So next time I pray, don't be suprised if you see me dancing around with my arms held high. :)

God's Love

So this month has been about diving into the heart of God. I don't think I question God's love for me, but in not questioning it, I find I haven't tried to dive deeply into the immense love He has for me specifically. I guess I just took it for granted. By diving into His unconditional, sacrificial love, I have come to see my incredible worth in his eyes. I am starting to see more with God's eyes at others, who are created in His image and His likeness. I guess that is what Mother Teresa was saying when she said that she sees the face of God in the poor she cares for.

The missionaries had the blessed opportunity to go hear Christopher West speak on Theology of the Body. It is this amazing teaching that John Paul II wrote on the truth and fullness of our sexuality, love, and our identity. It is amazing teaching and truth and freedom lie in the teachings. Sex and us being male and female are holy things that are good and pure. Marriage and family are the center of our faith. It was amazing conference and one of the things that he said that stuck was that "Love never is, it is only becoming." That is daunting but good at the same time. With my time here I am coming to learn how to love better and deeper all of God's creations, but I will never arrive at perfect love. It is more about the journey than the destination. I was amazed at the people of St. Monica's parish. They generously opened their doors to us to attend the conference for free and provided food and places to stay! It was hospitality at it's finest.

Paul, a missionary from Ghana, has come to live with the community for the month. It has already been a blessing to hear from him and his mission. He is married and has 2 children. He traveled here alone, for a month. He has been talking a lot about his people and most of them don't have access to school, health care, and the average family makes only 1 dollar a day. Yet today, when he was speaking on Charity, he said that God's first gave to us his son. So what is our gift going to be? If we have the Son in our hearts, we can give him to others. If we have gratitude for the blessings we have as Americans, we can share that gift. We need to give out of our love and not just to do good.

Ahhh...the lessons I am learning. I am working hard, serving, praying and each day going to bed utterly exhausted. It has been so good. Hopefully it will only get better. If you need any prayers, shoot me an email carlaheinsch@gmail.com. I do holy hour everyday, so I would love to lift specific intentions up!! I loved having St. Thomas the Apostle up here last weekend. I knew I missed you, but didn't realize how much I missed you until I saw all of your smiling faces and got your hugs! Keep being holy!

Blessings,

Carla

Good things going on!

Hello friends, prayer partners, teens and family! Yes I am still up in the mountains and things here have been good. This weekend we have teens from St. Ann's doing their confirmation retreat and Sorority girls doing a weekend getaway to go over their values and mission from Kennesaw State University. It has been a busy but blessed day. It is exciting to watch the teens get excited about their confirmation and exhausting praying for them. Prayer lately has been hard personally because I am in a spiritual dry time, so I am trying to persevere. I know God will show up soon :) My challenge is to really be present to the people who come up so that God can work through me.

We are coming to the close of our second week. Community life is different then I thought it would be but really good! The other missionaries are great and crazy and fun all at the same time. It is like instantly having a lot of brothers and sisters around the same age. We live together, pray together, work together, and play together. Start praying for them now because they have to live with me for the whole year :)!! It is inspiring to watch them really pursue the heart of God in their lives. We are in the midst of planning an 8th grade retreat for Holy Redeemer Catholic School. It is a bit crazy planning a retreat in a week, but we will all be great spies as we make it MISSION POSSIBLE. God is in control and "all things are possible with God"... Anyway...thank you for your continued prayers and support! I love you all and can't wait to here from you soon!

Blessings,

Carla

Tuesday, Sept 16th Rafting Adventure

(Here are some pictures of the missionaries I work with.  The top pic is of Toph, Sean and Reggie.  The second is of Colleen, me and Danielle.  We are eating out at a Mexican Restaraunt on our first day off!  The third is Shawn, Kelsey, and Reggie on our first trip to get supplies from Home Depot.  Alex isn't in any of the pictures but I promise he is  still alive!)

So things here have been really good and challenging all at the same time.  I love all the missionaries and enjoy each of the unique personality.  The scedule is full and we spend about 3 solid hours in prayer, which is kicking my butt.  It has been really good.  I have been settling in a bit more and it has been fun to serve the groups that are coming up here.  It has been funny to be classified as a missionary, but it has opened up the door to have some real conversations to people about God and faith.  I find that as we serve the retreats coming up here and go out into the community in Clayton and Tiger Ga that people are waiting for the invite to talk about God.  There has been some really God moments and conversations over the last couple of days.

Today we took at Community trip White Water Rafting!!  It was an all day adventure and I must day that I didn't fall out of the boat once...but I did jump out a couple of times:)  We went down the Chattooga and it was really fun.  A great choice for team building.  I jumped off of 2 cliffs (not that big) and climbed under a water fall!!  It has been good.

Please pray hard for me!  If you guys have any prayer requests, email them to me, and I will offer them up at my holy hour!  Love you guys!

 

The first week...

(Pictures of Jamaica after Hurricane Gustav and a Jamaica Picture of Nathaniel and Me)

Hello friends, family, and prayer warriors. So the last couple of weeks have been crazy! I went to Jamaica to do mission work and ended up staying longer than expected when of hurricane Gustavo hit and flooded Sophie's Place where I was staying with the children. I ended up having to stay in Jamaica for an extra 4 days to help with clean up and to patiently wait for the road to be uncovered from mountain debris. God is good and he protected the children and the missionaries, so that no one in Mustard Seed was seriously hurt that day. Pray for 3 of the children who died the week following the storm. I firmly believe that they are in heaven running around and talking with Jesus!

I was home for a whirlwind couple of days, and then I was off to Covecrest for a year of mission formation and work in the mountains of Georgia. It is only Thursday and I already feel the blessings from this crazy experience. There are 8 of us missionaries as well as 3 families and 4 other single adults that are a part of the Covecrest mission. The missionaries for this year are an eclectic group of on fire Catholics. Reggie is from southern LA and loves everything Cajun. Chris "Toph" is from Ohio and just graduated from Ohio State. He wants to be a Youth Minister. Sean is from Florida and loves to cook and has crazy hair. Alex is from LA as well, and he has never lived away from home. The girls (and my house mates) are amazing. Danielle and I share a room. She came all the way from California! Pray for her extra hard since we are sharing a room...I woke her up this morning singing show tunes. Kelsey is from Minnesota and is very sweet. Colleen just graduated from Emory and loves to knit, cook, and anything that has to do with children.

Life at camp is an adventure in community. We have a Rule of Life that is based off of the Benedictine Rule. It focuses on prayer and our relationship with Christ. We pray together, eat, together, hang out together and serve together. We do a holy hour every morning from 7:15-8:15 then pray liturgy of the hours together. We eat breakfast then go into mission formation. After lunch, we do community and camp outreach. No task is too big or small for us to tackle. yesterday I climbed under bunks to clean baseboards:) We do evening prayer together and dinner then in the evenings continue our outreach or have some free time. On the weekends different groups come up to use the camp and we are the hospitality and prayer warriors for the participants while they are here. Monday is our day off! Our goal is that we are intentional with everything we do, that we give everything to God. I am excited about it this year!

I will continue to ask for prayers for me...it is a challenging living in community and surrendering some of what I want for the community. It has also been very blessed. The earlier mornings are kicking my butt too. I was used to a youth ministry schedule of sleeping in til about 8:30 a.m. The focus on prayer and the understanding that Christ is at the center of all we do is good. I desire to be so filled with Christ that his love overflows to everyone I meet. I love you guys and am praying for you. I apologize if I don't get to call and talk each week...schedules here are tight! Remember you are always welcome to come and visit!!