Posts

The Mission Lives On

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It has been too long since I have sent an update on our mission.  Our mission still lives on.  We are still very much engaged in Costa Rica. We continue to hear from Peru occasionally as well.   Having lived abroad in poor areas, our responsibility as stewards stretches far.  If my neighbor here knocked on my door, asking for help, I would take it seriously and see how I can help.  Well, now I have literal neighbors from Peru and Costa Rica who still "knock on my door" asking for help.  I take this very seriously, knowing that God is both in the face of those in need and he asks us to help those in need.  I want to thank those of you who have joined us to make it possible to respond and help meet some of those needs that come to our door. That being said, I have been able to continue to travel to Costa Rica, where I continue to connect with people in a tangible way. My greatest joy in returning is to serve alongside of Don Mundo and Doña Petrona and encourage them as local mi

Personal Encounter ofJesus Carrying His Cross

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 How to summarize my most recent visit to Costa Rica?  Upon returning home from Costa Rica, I was praying the Stations of the Cross.  As I was reflecting on the stations, faces of the people I encountered in Costa Rica came into my mind.  With tears welling up in my eyes, I realized that in Costa Rica, I just encountered Jesus carrying his cross in the people I met while there.  I would like to take you through the stations and allow you to meet Jesus carry the cross in these people as they are carrying the cross. 1. First Station- Jesus is Condemned to Death In this first station, I see the face of Hermana Ana.  I see her courage as she serves in Coopevega.  Sister Ana is a Sister of the Congregation of Misioneras Clarisas del Santisimo Sacramento.  Hermana Ana, along with two other sisters, share that in all their years of serving, this particular mission post has been the most difficult in terms of apathy from the people in response to their invitations to Christ and participation i

Don Mundo Family Missionaries

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  A couple months before we left Costa Rica, we asked Don Mundo if he and his family would be interested in doing some missionary work in Coopevega.  Don Mundo fled from Nicaragua a year or so ago to find refuge in Costa Rica.  They live a very poor and humble life, but they live in peace instead of fear now that they are in Costa Rica.  We asked them to do some of our mission work because of their faithfulness in attending Mass, their joyfulness in our times of prayer together, and their eagerness to learn and grow in their faith.  They responded with enthusiasm and gratitude for “choosing” them for this role.  Our expectations for them were that they would host and gather for prayer with other families every Wednesday, that they would make home visits encouraging families to pray, and that they would invite and welcome others to church.  It was so inspiring to see on my visit back how Don Mundo and his family went above and beyond my hopes and expectations for them! Before arriving f