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Month: May 2017

To Choose Neither

Editor’s note: Missioner Catherine Sullivan shares a poem juxtaposing the societal norms of the US and the societal norms she experiences throughout her time on mission and her ministry in the Bolivian prisons. These lives continue to baffle me. They are lives lived entirely for others                  …

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Easter Celebrations

Editor’s note: Missioner Maggie Van Roekel reflects on how the missing of Easter mass opened her to renewed solidarity with the Bolivian people and a deeper awareness of privilege. The Easter season is one of my favorite times of the year. I love celebrating the mystery of the Resurrection. Attending mass during Holy Week has…

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Warning All Mothers

Editor’s note: Missioner Anna Klonowski celebrates her mother on Bolivian Mother’s Day by acknowledging some of the life lessons that her mom taught her. Although Mother’s Day in the United States is always the second Sunday of May, in Bolivia the date never changes—mothers are celebrated every year on the 27th of May. Though I…

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The Ascension: Stepping into Service

Editor’s note: Missioner Janice Smullen reflects on how passages from the Ascension parallel her own experiences of being called to mission and her time in service. Each time I revisit the Ascension in the Gospels, I find numerous points that relate to mission and service. Throughout my own time on mission in Jamaica, I see…

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“The Lost Boys” Play

Editor’s note: DC Service Corps member Ali Sentmanat reflects on her experience of creating and performing a play with some of the men at the Father McKenna Center. I have been serving at the Father McKenna Center for nine months now, working with the men who come to the Center and who are determined to…

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The Weight of Waiting

Editor’s note: Missioner Allison Dethlefs reflects on early mornings, long lines, and the frustrations with the healthcare system in Bolivia from her experiences on mission, and how—through these encounters—she has felt called to deeper solidarity with the families she accompanies. The darkness pressed in on me as I fumbled to shut off my alarm. I used…

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Benedictine Encounters

Editor’s note: Missioner Anna Klonowski reflects on times she has experienced hospitality and how she has felt moved to reflect that example in her own life. As an FMS lay missioner, I am a proud member of a diverse, widespread, Franciscan family. I am a part of this family today largely because of my formation…

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New Beginnings

Editor’s note: Missioner Misty Menis-Kyler looks back on her first few months of mission and her time at Valley of the Angels, telling of encounters which have shaped her time on mission for the future. The months here at Valley have gone by in a blink of an eye. The days and weeks seem to…

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For My Mother

Editor’s note: In celebration of Mother’s Day, Missioner Cindy Mizes honors and reflects on the life of her supportive and caring mother. Last Valentine’s Day, I sent my mom one dozen pink roses to let her know how much I love her. But nothing on this earth could begin to express the depth of my…

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“Tres Mujeres Valientes”—Three Strong Women

On Friday, May 5, Franciscan Mission Service held our annual World Care Benefit. Every year, the organization bestows the Anselm Moons, OFM, Award to remember our founder, who began the Lay Mission Formation Program in 1989 to offer lay Catholics the opportunity to serve overseas in the spirit of Saints Francis and Clare. This year’s…

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The Importance of Giving and Receiving Help

Editor’s note: Missioner Aubrey Kimble reflects on how helping others is a two-way interaction that requires the openness not just to offer but also to ask for help. A few weeks ago, a veterinary sciences student at the university where I teach ended up in the ICU in La Paz. Suffice it to say that…

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Touched by Kindness

Editor’s note: Missioner Erin McHugh tells how an invitation to a Guatemalan family’s celebrations opened her eyes to the hospitality of the Guatemalan culture and the generosity of the people. Mission is challenging and lonely at times. You are entering into a foreign country with an entirely new culture. You are the outsider in this…

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