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Month: July 2015

Tapping into Potential at the Portiuncula

As the Feast of the Portiuncula approaches, I find myself reflecting on my own visit there this past May. It was my fourth day in Assisi, and I finally felt like I was through the worst of the jet lag and fogginess that comes with it. The day before had been mostly spent in silent…

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Accepting Differences and the Right to Fight

A perspective from Brandon Newland, first-year missioner in Jamaica Recently, the U.S. Supreme court has decided on some very large decisions. Living outside the U.S., in Jamaica, I witness what is happening in a unique way, and I have become frustrated by where we, as Americans, choose to focus our energy. Even though the political…

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Throwback Thursday: “A ‘Gringa’ makes Tortillas—Cross Cultural Cooking”

Editor’s Note: In celebration of our 25th year of preparing and supporting lay missioners, we look back to our archives at a World Care newsletter from 1993 with an article from returned missioner Jodie Abbatagelo from Class Three serving in Guatemala from 1992-1993.   To the rat tat tat of tin, I opened my door that first…

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Children in Guatemala praying in a line with hands grasped together

An Unsettling Reality

I often forget where the students at Valley of the Angels come from. I forget the lifestyles they face at home. I forget that they are at Valley for a reason. I forget this because, more often than not, the kids are full of love and smiles. I see them laughing, studying, and playing games.…

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Throwback Thursday: “A New Definition of Rural”

Editor’s Note: In celebration of our 25th year of preparing and supporting lay missioners, we look back to our archives at a World Care newsletter from 2005 with an article from returned missioner Cecilia Marcy from Class 19, serving in Bolivia with her husband, Tim, from 2004-2006.   What does it mean to be rural? Living in…

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Black Lives Matter Bolivia

It was February 12th when I received the first email. The subject line was “First Steps Towards a Worthy Cause”. The email talked about coming together as a US community in Bolivia to voice our concerns around the racial injustices taking place all over the US. My first reaction? Why are we doing this now?…

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Learning from Children with Special Needs

The last couple of of weeks I have had the amazing opportunity to work in a classroom with some student teachers from Xavier University (Cincinnati, OH). They came to work with children with special needs. They needed assistance for their student teaching, and I have some experience teaching, so I agreed to help. I worked…

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Throwback Thursday: “It was a Dark and Stormy Night”

Editor’s Note: In celebration of our 25th year of preparing and supporting lay missioners, we’re sharing stories from the archives of ourWorld Care newsletter. Today’s post was originally published in 2000 and is by lay missioner Steve Grube (Brazil, 1999-2000) about traveling to his mission assignment in the interior of Brazil. We pushed off from the dock in Belem…

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