A stowaway!

This week has been another busy but amazing week!  We had Archbishop Rivas of St. Lucia here visiting this weekend.  During Praise and Worship Friday evening with the families (and of course a lot of little ones playing in the middle of the room) he coined my favorite quote of training so far “It has been a very long time since I have found myself contemplating the Divine amid such chaos.”  It was a perfect description of family and missions…  it is absolute chaos, but it is a sweet sweet chaos where the Lord keeps showing up, speaking, healing, and working among us.  It is blessed, wonderful, and exhausting.  I wouldn’t trade it for anything. 

We are continued with our “regular” schedule, the study of Acts of the Apostles, St. John Paul II’s, “Mission of the Redeemer,” a scripture study, praise and worship, morning prayer, and so much more.  This week we also added our Thursday morning service time.  When our service teams were announced, Josh encouraged the kids to come up with our team name.  Somehow Josh our kids came up with name “Team Fun Ninja Unicorns for Jesus.”  The T-shirt design is still pending the approval of the FMC directors. 

This week’s service assignment definitely stretched me outside of my comfort zone, we were asked to do door to door ministry.  One of the seasoned missionaries and his family led our group, and he showed us how he goes to the door, introduces himself and his family.  He then just asks if there is anything we can be doing for them, if they have any prayer intentions they want us to pray for, and invites them to our Wednesday night Mission Formation meetings.   We then pray with them if they have intentions and are willing.  It sounds so nice when I write it out, but it was really difficult to do!!  But after spending a morning doing that I can honestly say it is something I would like to do again.  There were not many people we got a chance to speak with, but there is one in particular who stands out.  Her name was Amy, and her mom, Joyce, had just been moved to her home in hospice care for stage 4 cancer.  The weariness on her face was so apparent, my heart just broke for her and the grief she was experiencing.  Being able to pray with her and see the peace on her face after made the whole morning more than worth it.  She has been on my heart ever since, could you please join me this week praying for her and her mother?

One of our assignments this week during our teaching workshop was to prepare and present our witness story in 10 minutes or less.  It was so amazing to listen to the different stories of the others in Intake with us, and see what the Lord has led each of them through to bring them to where they are today.  Although all of the stories were different, each one had the fingerprints of a God who pursues our hearts tirelessly.  It is absolutely incredible to hear first hand accounts of just how deep the Love and the Mercy of the Lord is. 

Last (but definitely not least) we wanted to share some very exciting family news with you!  It ends up we have a little stowaway making this crazy journey with us!  Little baby “Stowey” (short for stowaway as an in utero nickname) is due March 30^th, 2017.  The kids are incredibly excited and we feel so honored that Lord has given us another little one to love who will be a missionary from the start.  To answer an obvious first question…. we still don’t know logistically if we will be giving birth in the US or in another country, we have obviously began praying and discerning where our first mission post will be with “Stowey” in the forefront of our minds.  Thankfully FMC is very accustomed to families growing, and are truly here to help guide us through this process.  We know this baby is a beautiful part of the Lord’s will for our family, and we cannot wait to see the glory He has planned!! 

We are carrying you all in prayer this week!  Please let us know if you have specific prayer intentions, we would love to be able to lift those up for you.

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.

Coping with Curveballs and Less than One Week Left

We have less then a week left in Western NY!   Where has the time gone?!   The past couple weeks have been very busy.

God seems to be constantly saying, "Trust me!   I've got this."   I've frequently thought of Abraham after first leaving his home and arriving in the Land of Canaan in Genesis 12.   God tells him to leave his land and relatives and to travel with his wife to a land God will eventually show him.   The passage doesn't really give a lot of detail, but I can only imagine how Abraham's conversion unfolded with family and friends as he shared God's plan.   I can only imagine his times of doubt and worry in the middle of the night.   But he goes.   He arrives, builds an altar, and praises God, calling on the Lord by name.   Happy ending.   Oh wait.   No.   There is a curveball.   The very next line, beginning in verse 10, reads, "There was a famine in the land."   Come on, God!   That's not fair!   Couldn't they have a little milk and honey?  Didn't Abraham follow Your command?   Wasn't he obedient to Your calling?   You led and showed Abraham the land, and then there is a famine.  In fact it is a pretty bad one.   "So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, since the famine in the land was severe."   And God is saying, "Trust me!  I've got this.  Maybe this wasn't part of plan that I shared with you, but it is still part of my plan.   I have led you this far.   I'm not going to let you fall.   I will not abandon you."   And God brings even more blessings into Abraham's life, blessings that he would never have received had there not been a famine and went to Egypt. 

I am willing to bet, that had God told Abraham more, Abraham may not have said yes.  "Go and lead your family to the land I will show you (etc.) and when you get there, there will be a famine, a really bad one.   You will not be able to settle down, in fact you will have to keep on moving and go to Egypt, and I will give you even more blessings."

And then Abraham said, "Ummm....  I'm not a big fan of that follow You to a Promise Land, only to have it full of famine, and having to leave.   I have an idea...  let's do it this way...  hows 'bout I stay here with my extended family, in my comfort zone, till the famine is over, and then I'll go down.  Oh God, yeah, that makes a lot more sense."

Hmmm.... I wonder why God didn't tell Abraham about that little curveball.

Needless to say, we have encountered a good number of curveballs in the past several months,   Family losses, illnesses, home buyers falling through, etc.   God is telling us, "Trust me.  I've got this.   I have always had this.   I didn't tell you earlier about it, because I didn't want you to say no.   I didn't want you to say no to Me and the blessings I have in store for you and others.   This is not a passive-aggressive approach that I am entitled to as deity, because the purpose is not a particular utilitarian end or a manipulated outcome, but a relationship with Me.   I desire to call you more deeply into My love, to know just how far you can trust in me.   I am your safety net, not your plans or your sense of control, not your intelligence, your jobs, your income.   Be still and know that I am God.   I am the one with you in the boat tossed by wind and waves.   I am the one kneeling by you in the agony of your gardens.   I am the one that gave you this morning's sun rise, that sent that phone call with encouragement, that put the smile on the face of your loved one that warms your heart."

Where are the curve balls in your life?   Where is God telling you, "Trust me.   I've got this"?   Please share with us, so we can pray for you!   Comment below or send us a message/ prayer request.   For the past several months we have been writing down people's prayer requests in a journal.   Everyday we pray for all the names and intentions listed in that book.

So here are some updates and our upcoming plans...

After our previous buyers fell through, we had an open house on August 7.   The following day, we had an offer.   The day after, an inspection.   Two days later, the bank did their inspection.   We have an estimated closing date of mid-September.   And the price...  exactly what we have been asking God for in prayer.

We finally got everything out of our house.   All of our belongings fit in the small Amish shed that sits on my parent's property minus a couple things that we are keeping in their house.   Everything else has either been sold or donated.

Thank you to everyone who came to the Praise and Worship Night on August 10!   It is always a blessing to praise our loving God with you.   We want to thank St. Gregory the Great for hosting the event and for Patrick in maintenance in helping with the set up.   Thank you Kevin, Jeff, Carrie, Dan and Tom for sharing your musical talents with us!   It is always a grace filled joy to work and pray with you!   Thank you spouses, families, and friends who brought snacks and refreshments!   Thank you Sarah for putting together the flyer and bookmarks with our information.

My parents have return from their 6 week / 500 mile trip hiking the Camino across northern Spain.   They come full of stories and encounters with Christ on the trail, at meals, going over mountain peaks and down into dark valleys.   Their hearts burned within them with each act of generosity, kindness, coincidence and blessing that seemed to be sent their way by a loving Father joyfully leaving gifts to be discovered by His precious children.

Days have been filled trying to get time in with family and friends.  It is impossible to place priorities of time spent with some over others.   We wish we had more time to spend with everyone.   It has been hard having to limit play dates, cups of coffee, and meals with so many dear friends.

We have been getting well-visits and check-ups in with doctors, dentists, optometrists, and mechanics.   Plans and preparations are underway for packing and traveling with enough clothes for a family of 7.

On Sunday, August 28, there will be a commissioning mass at 12:30 pm at St. Gregory the Great Parish in Williamsville, NY.   The family will receive a blessing from the parish and Aron (8 years old) will receive his First Communion.   We are so excited that Aron gets to receive this spiritual nourishment in Eucharist as we are sent forth.

Tuesday, August 30 we leave Western New York and will spend the rest of the week visiting Maria's family in southern Ohio.   Labor Day Weekend we will join more of Maria's family in Indianapolis as we celebrate the wedding of her cousin, John, and Sarah.

After the wedding, we will spend some family time traveling down to Louisiana and the headquarters of Family Missions Company.   Training (AKA Intake) begins Monday, September 12.   We plan on moving in and settling in a couple days prior.

We look forward to continuing to share our journey with you.   Our goal is continue to write blogs on roughly a weekly basis.