Visiting Dina from Honduras in Spain

I left Africa for my visit to the US on Sunday, August 2. I routed my travel through Spain to be able to see Dina Roxana Hernandez, a young woman from the neighborhood of our friary in Honduras who is studying there on a scholarship at an international Catholic boarding school for youth from developing countries. I've known Dina since she was a little girl of 10, and last saw her when she departed for Spain 4 years ago at age 14. She's now a young woman of 18, continuing her secondary school education.

The first two photos show the parish church in the village of Armenteros, where el Instituo de la Inmaculada (Institue of the Immaculate) is located. I celebrated Mass there the day I went to see Dina.



The photos below show Dina with me, and then with her friend Daniel (from the Domincan Republic) and Jose Manuel Gomez, the father of the family who very graciously hosted me and provided transportation during my stay.



Armenteros is located near the historic city of Salamanca, where we stopped briefly after spending most of the day with Dina. Below is an exterior view of the Cathedral and an interior shot of its dome, followed by the main plaza of the city.




Because I stayed a few days in Spain the Gomez Martin family also took me to see Avila, the native city of St. Teresa of Jesus, the great Counter Reformation Carmelite saint, reformer and doctor of the Church. While in Avila I remembered in prayer the Carmelite nuns who have supported and encouraged the mission in Sudan. Below are the exterior walls and gate to the medieval city, followed by the church constructed over St. Teresa's family home (within the walls)and the church on the site of the Monastery of St. Joseph (outside the walls, the first foundation of St. Teresa's Discalced Carmelite reform.






The Gomez Martin family live in the historic city of Vallodolid, once the capital of Spain, and so my stopover in Spain would not have been complete without seeing the city's cathedral, impressive architecture and fountains, and monuments in honor of King Phillip II and Christopher Columbus.