Every morning the Finca community gathers in the church- children, house parents, volunteers, sisters. We pray together for holy hearts, whose only desire is that God be known and loved and served by all. We are all but instruments of God\'s grace. And yet, more than any other place I have been, God\'s grace is clearly present and moving on the Finca. The social, economic, logistical, physical, and emotional issues that the Finca faces are enormous, larger than our couple of acres, larger than Trujillo, larger than Honduras. The progress that we see is small. It is a long awaited high-school graduation, it is a family freed from the cycle of domestic violence, it is baby who was once a malnourished skeleton now chubby and cheerful. At the Finca we plant seeds, we care for the sprouts, and we pray that through God\'s grace, they will bear fruit.

Spirituality, Community, Service and Simplicity. These are the four pillars of the Farm and they are the reason I decided to volunteer at the Farm. I wanted to strive to live simply, in solidarity with the poor. I wanted to live in a community focused on Christ. I wanted to live a life of service to those in my community. In coming to the Farm I decided that this was the next step and the best place to live a vocation centered on these four pillars. The first day of school this year was my high point. Being present as the children ran into the school with huge smiles and tons of enthusiasm was a really important moment for me. I saw the teachers standing there to welcome them into the loving environment we had worked all winter long to create. The teachers were ready with a new curriculum and tons of energy to help guide our children toward their educational goals. It was also a special moment for me because my son was going to school for the first time in our PreK class. The Farm is changing lives, not just of our children but of the adults who have gathered here to serve them. Our children are growing with the love we give them and they are emerging from difficult pasts to discover a brighter tomorrow. For me the most remarkable thing is the way in which the children have helped me and encouraged me to grow.