Many of us have come to realize something that Ghandi said, i.e., “the best way to find yourself, is to lose yourself in the service of others”.  We also wonder sometimes “what will happen to all the progress we made in Nicaragua now that it is in the midst of more sociopolitical unrest”.  I believe it is truly important to hear the words of the famous spiritual author, Henri Nouwen who says this:

“When suddenly you seem to  lose all you thought you had gained, do not despair.  You must expect setbacks and regressions.  Don’t say to yourself  ‘All is lost.  I have to start all over again.’  This is not true.  What you have gained, you have gained…when you return to the road, you return to the place where you left it, not to where you started.”  (Henri Nouwen)  And so, it is with each of us, not only in our personal and spiritual lives, or with all that is happening in our world…but also in the LIFE OF THE MISSION OF HOPE.

So, today, I share the photo of one of our orphans in Nicaragua.  Behind her is a rocket stove and in the shadows next to her is the skirt of one of the nuns caring for her.  Indeed, all we’ve done is NOT LOST, but it is captured in this little one’s eyes….HOPE!

HOPE is what we had when we began and HOPE is what we share with her and thousands of other children…and HOPE is what we have now. Fill the spaces of our hearts and our lives with HOPE….because all is not lost!