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Walk with One

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Some months have already passed since my last visit to Costa Rica and I am already looking forward to the next.  Praise to the Lord it was a beautiful mission!  I was able to spend 4 weeks in Costa Rica this past February. I find so much joy returning to a place where I have built relationships over the past seven years and continue to build new ones every time I go. This reality means that there is always more to do than I can accomplish in the time I am there and so many people to visit. Knowing this ahead of time, I try to come with some clear goals, so that I can be at peace not doing it all!  As I sought guidance from the Holy Spirit, 3 main mission goals were placed on my heart.   The first being to form a group of faithful Catholics on how to Walk with One.  Walk with One is a four-step formation that is put out by the National Eucharistic Revival.  The four steps are: Identify, Intercede, Connect, and Invite.  The basic idea is that you as...
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A Call to Repentance

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The missionary sisters and I passing out invitations to the Reconciliation Service.   My last trip to Costa Rica was a mission inspired by Luke 13.  I was in church asking the Lord what he wanted me to do on this mission to Costa Rica.  He impressed strongly in my heart that it was not going to be primarily about corporal works of mercy, but rather spiritual works of mercy.  I opened my Bible to Luke 13, which was entitled A Call to Repentance.  I knew then what my mission was about.  I confirmed the mission idea with the local priest, and he was 100% on board.  We scheduled a date for a day of Reconciliation out in Coopevega, our mission post, and then the local Missionary Sisters and I got busy.  We spent the next couple of weeks going door to door bringing Gospel passages on the importance of repenting.  One of the Gospel passages we used was Luke 12:35-40 which is about the Vigilant and Faithful Servants. In this passage it says, "You als...
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Feeding the Hungry and Sheltering the Homeless

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I was talking to a friend over Christmas break, and she was wondering if there is anything happening back at our mission posts.  I was convicted that I have not sent an update in a long time informing you of what is happening.  My apologies to all of you in the United States as well as to those abroad in Coopevega, Costa Rica and Leoncio Prado, Peru.  You all deserve to have these stories be told.   We continue to send regular funding to Costa Rica to help feed the hungry.  We navigate that by sending funds to the Waldrop family, FMC missionaries living in Santa Rosa, Costa Rica.  They take that funding to go buy the supplies, deliver it to the Claretian Sisters in Coopevega, who then distribute it according to need in the area.  The sisters are very grateful for this assistance, as there are a lot of people in need, and they wouldn't be able to help them without this extra food coming in.   Sister Vanessa and an FMC missionary family de...
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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 Petr...
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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 in...
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