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