Sister Maria Hernandez Choc

I am from the village of Lancetillo, Municipality of Uspantán, Department of Santa Cruz de Quiché, Guatemala. The daughter of Demecio Hernández Chiquín, (deceased) and Albina Choc Coc, I am the seventh of eight children.

Sister Santiaga Mejia Vasquez and the former Sister Deisis were the first Sisters I met from the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word. In 1995, they were visiting our community to educate the people about Family Planning. At that time, I was helping a group of women to learn how to plant a vegetable garden. 

I was looking for a Congregation where I could register as a student and see if I had a vocation. I went to one Congregation, but it did not appeal to me. When I came to visit the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, I felt attracted to them. The following year, I met Sister Vicenta Miranda, who took a group of girls, including me, to Esquipulas to study. I studied for seven years until I graduated as a Primary School teacher in 2002. During that time I lived in community with the other students and helped at "El Hogar de mi Hermano," a home for the abandoned sponsored by the Sisters. 

I liked the work that the Sisters did with the poor, the elderly, children, sick and with families. I started the formation process and became an Affiliate. I prayed to the Incarnate Word and martyrs and asked others to pray for me so that  I could discover my vocation and know what my response to God should be.

While an Affiliate, I learned about the charism of the Congregation. I also got to know the Sisters. This helped me to know myself better. I started studying theology at a university which helped me to learn more about the Bible, the Church and Jesus. In 2005, I entered the Novitiate. During this time, I got to know Jesus and the Congregation on a deeper level. While working at COAR (Communidad de Oscar A. Romero) in El Salvador, I cared for the orphan children and learned about the mission of the Sisters. This is where I could feel, see and touch the face of Jesus in the children and the people that worked with them. The community helped me to discern my vocation. This experience gave me the opportunity to know the Sisters and to see how they gave themselves in love to the children and the people with whom they shared their lives.

When I returned to the Novitiate, I helped in a public school, where I experienced another reality.  I saw that there were children who were abandoned and abused by their parents.

During that time, I was discerning God's call and saw how God acted in my life. All these experiences helped me to make the decision to take another step in my vocation.

On January 25, 2007, I made First Profession of Vows. This was another stage in my formation that will give me the opportunity to experience a pastoral apostolate, to share with the people, to walk in faith with them in their lives, and to live with the Sisters in the Maria y Jose Community, in Santa Cruz del Quiché. Today, I am Annually Professed and very happy in this new experience.

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