As she prepares to make her lifelong commitment to the OLCGS mission, Sr. Nelly Ortega, from Honduras, shares something of her vocation journey with us.
My calling was born out of a deep personal encounter and closeness with God.
I grew up in a devout Catholic family in Germania, south of Honduras’ capital city. For as long as I can remember, my maternal grandmother guided us in catechism to prepare for the sacraments.
In our home, there are eleven children, seven boys and four girls. I am the youngest. My grandmother prepared all ten of my siblings for their First Communion and Confirmation. Being the youngest, I was quite spoiled and, to be honest, didn’t enjoy attending catechism classes with my grandmother because she was very strict.
Time went by, and in 1990, when I was ten years old, the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd—who had previously served in prison ministry—moved to our village to continue their apostolate.
I gradually came to know these wonderful women. Their dedication to children, youth, and women deeply impressed me. I started visiting them with my cousins and friends. And it was the sisters who prepared me for my First Communion and later my Confirmation.
They taught us to pray and to sing (I joined the children’s choir) and introduced us to baking and crafts. I learned how to make bread, cakes, and all sorts of handmade creations. It was one of the happiest times of my life. I attended the local school in the mornings and eagerly awaited the afternoons to go to the sisters’ house, where I learned so many new things that quietly shaped both my heart and my vocation.
After some time, I joined the youth group. When I was eighteen, I felt my first call to religious life. However, I tried to ignore the Good Shepherd’s voice and instead focused on my university studies. I worked for eleven years and served as an evangelizer. Along with a few others, I led small groups of five to ten families, visiting them weekly to share the Word of God. I grew more involved in ministry yet still avoided going deeper into my vocation.
For fifteen years, I was a Lay Associate of the Good Shepherd—what we now call a Partner-in-Mission. Yet the Good Shepherd never stopped calling me. There was always a little flame burning in my heart—it flickered softly, but it never went out. I was content giving the Lord the little time I could spare through my pastoral work with families and children in catechism.
Then, in 2015, during a Eucharistic celebration, I heard the Lord’s voice more clearly than ever. The priest reflected on the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians, where it says that an unmarried woman is concerned with serving the Lord. He explained that this service is expressed by caring for our brothers and sisters who are most in need. In a way, I was already living that, but I felt that the Lord was asking for something more. He no longer wanted me to be only a catechist or evangelizer.
That day, I felt very restless, so I went to talk with the sister who was accompanying me spiritually. She told me to discern, and from there I began this journey—a journey full of joy, difficulties, personal growth, crosses, and graces—through which I continually reaffirm my calling and vocation.
God willing, in 2026, if the Good Shepherd and the Congregation allow it, I will make my Perpetual Vows—my total surrender to the Lord who loved me and called me by name.
