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Month: September 2015

Power Outage

Editor’s Note: The following post was written by Nate Mortenson. Last week the whole region where we live in Bolivia had difficulties with electrical generators or other technical parts of the power plant. Consequently, Carmen Pampa University and the whole surrounding village had no electricity for almost 3 days. After the problem was fixed, we…

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Hagrid, Hogwarts, and Me

It’s the beginning of the school year in most of the world, which means one thing: time to go back to Hogwarts. September always makes me think of Harry Potter and his friends starting classes at the school everyone wishes they attended. The Guatemalan school year runs from January to mid-October, so I’m nearing the…

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“It Looks Difficult…”

Editor’s note: Missioner-in-formation Janice Smullen draws parallels between life and an activity the formation class and other FMS participants did during a recent team building day. “So, here are the rules of this exercise. One person is blindfolded and will navigate a set of actions. One person will be able to verbally tell the blindfolded…

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Walking with Pope Francis

This week can best be summarized as a papal whirlwind. Between all the members of the Casa San Salvador community, there were people present for almost all of the Pope’s events during his visit to Washington, DC. On Tuesday, the missioners-in-training, one of our DC Service Corps members, and one of our office associates packed…

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Happy 15th Anniversary, Casa San Salvador!

On this day 15 years ago, Casa San Salvador was officially blessed as the new home of Franciscan Mission Service. During an open house celebration, Br. Denis Clark, OFM, conducted the rite of blessing on the 14-bedroom house in the Brookland neighborhood of northeast DC. [button type=”big” color=green url=”/support/wishlist/”]Donate in Support of Casa San Salvador[/button] The June…

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Cultivating Compassion

Editor’s Note: Lay missioner Brandon Newland shares how he acted as a bridge-builder between two ministries where he serves in Savanna-La-Mar, Jamaica Even though there was no Bible study over the summer, I still wanted to stay involved with the students as well as keep them connected to the church. I invited the children to…

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From Passive to Passionate

Editor’s Note: Lay missioner Patrick Montine describes how his participation in a Youth Rally in Jamaica led to a dramatic wake up call. I had the opportunity to go to a Youth Rally last weekend in Browns Town, Jamaica. The rally was for teenagers and young people to come together and hear some talks about…

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Relics of Mother Teresa

Editors Note: Missioner-in-training Beth Brown shares her reflections from her service site in Washington, DC, during her time of formation. Our formation process with Franciscan Mission Service includes a half-day of service at one of Washington, DC’s many help centers. I said yes to serving at “A Gift of Hope,” a residence facility for elderly,…

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Prisoners doing Prison Ministry, Wait…What?

It was an interesting day at prison. I came as I usually do on Thursday morning to facilitate the faith-sharing group I helped to start last August. It’s been one full year since the day I decided to take the leap of faith. I saw the need for this group and there was a lot…

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Welcome New Development Associate Sarah!

As Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio stepped onto the balcony on March 13, 2013 and made his first public appearance as Pope Francis, University of Dallas student Sarah Sokora stood in the crowd in St. Peter’s Square and witnessed a wave of relief wash over the people. She remembers joyfully thinking, “We have a father again.” After…

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Marching with Survivors of Sexual Violence

Editor’s note: Missioner Valerie Ellis describes two events she participated in for the recent Bolivian National Day to Support Victims and Survivors of Sexual Violence. As we began the climb through the mountains, so did the sun. When our trufi got high enough to see the snow, we took chilly pictures over the landscape of…

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The Power of Presence

Editor’s Note: Missioner Amanda Ceraldi reflects on an experience of ministry of presence during her time at Valley of the Angels orphanage in Guatemala. St. Francis got a lot of things right. He understood the reason for radical poverty and simplicity and lived it out. He understood that stepping out of your comfort zone is…

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Witness to Hope

If you ever visit Valley of the Angels, you’ll probably hear someone say that Valley is less of an institution and more of a family. We eat meals together, do chores together, and learn lessons in and out of the classroom together. In my six months at Valley, I have become close to many people,…

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DC Service Corps Launches – Meet the First Class

Last week we welcomed two new Franciscan-hearted young adults to our community as part of the exciting launch of our newest arm of the Nonprofit Servant Leadership Program: DC Service Corps. This transformative year of direct service in our nation’s capital builds young adults’ foundation for a lifelong commitment to social activism and their Catholic…

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Through the Eye of the Needle, Part 5: Putting it into Practice

Editor’s Note: Lay missioner Annemarie Barrett finishes up a special five-part series, “Through the Eye of the Needle: Unpacking White Privilege in the Journey Towards Racial Reconciliation” on how her time in mission in Latin America is shaping her understanding of racism and privilege.  I want to wrap up this series with a short list of concrete…

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