Houseless but not Homeless

Our house final sold!   We are houseless!   Despite some last minute potential delays and hiccups, and with the last minute hard work of my Dad and our agent, Anne Smith, our house is sold.   And the freedom and the relief are amazing.   Our culture champions home-ownership as essential to financial freedom and the American dream.   To be fair, owning a home is a good thing and many are called to own a home, to open up their houses in hospitality, and to be stewards of the material blessings that God has given them.   But not all are called to own a home, and for us, it tied us down and held us back from following God’s call to serve Him and His people around the world.

I am reminded of Luke 9:57-62 (Oh by the way, a little spoiler alert, this is the Gospel reading for this upcoming Wednesday).   “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”   Who would have thought that giving up would be such a gain?   (Philippians 4:7-11)

God has blessed us with a home and community.   This became apparent this past Monday.   With great sadness we learned that Mr. Ed passed away in his home , one of our FMC missionaries that lives and works the grounds here in Louisiana.  While we did not get the chance to get to know Mr. Ed during our short time here, we did have moments to experience his gentleness and kind heart.   What was even more evident was the love and the support of the FMC community as we gathered together to grieve and to joyful celebrate his life and his birth into eternal life.   May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

We would like to show you a little more of our home at FMC, presented by the kids.   Enjoy!

Intake Week 1

I feel like life has been an absolute whirlwind these past few weeks!  After we said our goodbyes see ya laters in Buffalo three weeks ago we took the long way to Louisiana.  We slept in 6 different cities, visited with tons of people who are very dear to us, celebrated a wedding, had a mini 3-day family vacation at Mammoth Caves, and finally arrived at Big Woods.  We spent a couple days getting settled into our new home and getting the kids acquainted with everything here.  It was such a blessing to have a couple of quite days before Intake began on Monday!  I had no idea just how busy our schedule would be!!

Our typical day here starts with community breakfast at 8am in the Community House, then some form of morning prayer with everyone.  After prayer the kids go to Children’s Ministry where they do some school work (assuming I remember to pull it out and send it with them) while Josh and I attend a morning session, which usually includes a teaching or talk and some time for reflection or possibly a small group discussion.  Then the kids join us and we do a big community lunch.  For the first week and a half we are doing a retreat, so instead of project and chore time in the afternoon we have another session that includes a talk or another kind of retreat activity.  There is often a bit of a break, then community dinner.  During the evenings there is praise and worship, mission formation meeting, Mass, a party or another event.  Sometimes there are variations to that schedule to make time for things like family dinners or downtime, but you get the general idea. If you know me, you know that being on time is not a strong suit of mine, so having a set schedule where we need to be on time, multiple times a day, is a really good challenge.  As you can imagine, when we go to bed here we are happy and exhausted!

Through the week there have been so many amazing moments.  The Sunday before we left Buffalo so many of you came to the 12:30 Mass with us, and it meant so much to us!!  The closing song at Mass that day was “Your Grace is Enough.”  Fast forward to Monday morning (the first day of Intake), we got to the community house a 8:00am for breakfast.  Usually as a community we sing a praise and worship song and then say a prayer before each meal.  That day they started with “Your Grace is Enough,” and it really was such a blessing to me.  First, of course, I started by missing everyone we left in Buffalo and Ohio so much.  But then I looked around and saw that those in the kitchen with me would also become family to us, and in a short time they already have!!  Somehow in that moment I saw just how connected we really are in the Body of Christ, that we carry so many of you with us in our hearts and in prayer, and you all (like it or not) are part of the FMC extended family.  Thank you for making this crazy journey with us! 

True to form, I wish I had taken more pictures this week.  But I have a few snapshots to share, and we will share more in the future.

The Community House has a beautiful back porch that overlooks the horses in the pasture; we get to see some amazing sunsets here!!  This is one of the favorite places for the kids to catch lizards and just play with the other children.  

 

  

Here is a picture of the dining area in the community house…and Naomi.  (Please excuse the blue cast on her face, you get the straight out of camera shot these days).  

One evening they had a Cajun night celebration, and it was wonderful!!  We had a Cajun dish that I can only describe as a slightly spicy alligator stew that was served over rice.  It was delicious!!  The kids enjoyed it, but Naomi LOVED it!!  She ate an adult’s portion of alligator that night!  They also had a Cajun band playing and dancing.  The kids had a blast, and Nathaniel spent the entire evening playing in the band.  

On Sunday we made it out to Lafayette as a family to celebrate Josh’s birthday.  We ate at a local place that was recommended to us.  We ate a variety of seafood, as well as a sample platter with things like fried alligator and frog’s legs.  It was delicious, and gave us some much-needed family time.

That is the run down for this week, know we are carrying all of you in our hearts and in our prayers!! 

Hello Kentucky, A Hobbit’s Tale, and Other Reflections.

Hello Kentucky!   As we crossed Ohio River on Monday I was reminded of last time we were in the Bluegrass State.   It was about 13 months ago when we travelled down to Family Missions Company for a Come and See week and the opportunity to begin to really get a feel for FMC.   With most of Maria’s family living in Dayton and some living in Cincinnati and Columbus, Southern Ohio has always been in our normal circle of travels.   Crossing the river marks leaving our sphere of familiarity.   When we made this voyage last year I was reminded of one of my favorite scenes from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

Even if you don’t share in my affinity for Middle Earth and Tolkien lore, I trust that the magnitude of this clip speaks for itself.   Last summer, we found ourselves stretched outside our comfort zones and our provincial lifestyles and perspectives.   I found myself having doubts, “Am I crazy?   What kind of husband and father would take his family of seven over 2,600 miles, on a round trip journey from Buffalo to the Louisiana Golf Coast in only ten days?”   How did Abraham feel when he left home?   How did Peter and Andrew feel after they responded to Jesus’s invitation to come and follow Him and to become fishers of men?   I would imagine their initial excitement was followed by some reservations.

Overtime, the Apostles changed.   Abraham changed.   Frodo, Samwise, and Bilbo before them, changed.   Their hearts could never go back to the way things were.   They had tasted something that took root into their souls.   It gave them life.   It gave them purpose.   It transformed them, building off their true nature and identities, and bringing them into their own, into whom they were meant to be.   There is grace in the invitation, in the challenge, in the dying to self, in the being born anew.  

We had completed the Come and See and returned home.   We had gone there and back again.  We knew our heart’s longed to be elsewhere.   And while God made it abundantly clear that for the past year we were called to be in Buffalo, He had planted sprouting seeds for missions.

Before leaving for the Come and See last summer, we told family and friends, this trip could end up like when God called Abraham to offer Isaac. Abraham demonstrated his faith and obedience, and God stopped him, telling him not to harm the boy.   At the end, everything seemed to go back to how things were.   The sacrifice that would have cost Abraham what was most dear to his heart was not actually needed, and he had passed the test.   If I may be so bold to compare myself with Abraham, this is where the parallel breaks down.   What happens when the sacrifice is no longer seen as a loss, but a blessing?   What happens when it becomes a bigger sacrifice if the opportunity were to be taken away, for the door to be shut?   We could no longer say that our adventure could end up like the offering of Isaac.

When I have my moments of doubts, I go back to advice given by St. Ignatius of Loyola.   When making a decision between two or more goods, consider which choice you would have wished you made when looking back over your life at the moment of death.   Is raising a family and living in Buffalo a good thing?   Yes.  Is living near family and very dear friends a good thing?  Yes.  Is a career as a religion teacher at an all boy Jesuit High School a good thing?  Yes.   Is doing ministry at our home parish, teaching NFP, offering spiritual direction, homeschooling, etc.  good things?   All yes.   When on my deathbed, looking back over my life and preparing to go fully into the loving arms of my Heavenly Father, would I regret not trying, for perhaps only two years, serving the poor and sharing the Gospel as His missionary?  Yes.

“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door.  You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

Since leaving Western New York last week, we have been blessed to spend so much time with Maria’s family, to visit and stay with many of them.   The timing could not have been better so that we were able to make it to Maria’s cousin, John, and Sarah’s wedding in Indianapolis.   What a joyful opportunity to see many extended family members!   We slated the beginning of this week for focusing on just our family, spending three days and two nights at Mammoth Caves.   It has been good.  My mind has occasionally drifted back to Canisius High School as classes start this week.   And while I miss teaching and my students, I know this is where I am suppose to be.   I consider myself so blessed to be doing missions with my best friend and wife and with our beautiful children, to be missionaries as family.  God is good.