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Year: 2016

The Rare Calm of Early Mass

Editor’s note: FMS staffer Kim Puchir reflects on the meaning she finds in attending early Mass. Daily Mass is anything but everyday. Yes, it takes you to untraveled corners of the liturgical calendar with their feasts and saints. But I find that attending Mass in the early morning hours is the best way to get…

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Love in the Midst of Tragedy

Editor’s Note: Missioner Aubrey Kimble shares how a tragic event in the community brought her back to the realization of the urgent importance of love. “There is a small but significant chance that this will be my last year – but whether or not this is so, my life will certainly be transformed, in a…

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Strong Arms Holding On: Christmas Prayers from the Father McKenna Center

On Tuesday, December 20, I spent time with DC Service Corps volunteer Ali Sentmanat and her friends and colleagues at The Father McKenna Center in downtown DC. I was hoping to find a little Christmas among the men there, many with no homes and troubled with physical or mental health issues or addiction. And in…

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Be Not Afraid: Something Wonderful

Editor’s note: Alumna Bridget Higginbotham reflects on an experience she had while on vacation in Guatemala this summer that changed her outlook on life. Standing on a plywood platform, I looked out over a lush, misty valley full of coffee plants. My chest still heaved and my shirt (okay, all of me) was damp from…

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Be Not Afraid: Works of Mercy

Editor’s note: FMS’ previous development associate Sarah Sokora relates her experiences of service and shared giving while volunteering at the Texas border. “Lord, You know that I want to serve the homeless. Please give me the opportunity to do so.” I prayed this prayer at the GIVEN Forum, hosted by the CMSWR in June of this…

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Be Not Afraid: Casting My Cares Upon God

Editor’s Note: DC Service Corps participant Madonna Enwe shares how answering a call to help those who were affected by the earthquake in Nepal showed her a deeper lesson about placing trust in God. I was sitting in one of the cramped study rooms at my college intensely studying for an Organic Chemistry exam when…

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Be Not Afraid to Choose You

Editor’s Note: Programs associate Amanda Saunders shares how pushing past the fear of how we are perceived by others leads to true freedom and lived out faith in God’s plan.  It seems that when you enter into adulthood everything becomes about how you are perceived by others. There is a fear of not living up…

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Be Not Afraid: Bridging Over Fear

Editor’s note: Missioner Maggie Van Roekel reflects on the whisperings of fear and the overcoming power of trust, hope, and love which led her to hearing God’s call to mission. “Do not be afraid.” I hear this phrase during so many Sunday mornings and I read it in the words of Jesus when I open…

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Be Not Afraid: Finding Joy

Editor’s Note: Graphic design and communications associate Kathleen Strycula reflects on the active nature of waiting. Do you know those times when you sit in front of your computer screen or notebook, waiting for artistic inspiration to strike? For those perfect words or the story you’ve always felt was waiting inside you? Or when you feel…

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Be Not Afraid: An Opportunity for Discernment

Editor’s Note: Interim executive director Meghan Meros reflects on the Baltimore city rioting, and how the initial reaction of fear can lead to an opportunity for greater discernment and love. In the spring of 2015, on a long drive from North Carolina to my apartment in Baltimore, my phone lit up with multiple texts and voicemails…

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Be Not Afraid: Waiting With Them

Editor’s Note: Missioner Allison Dethlefs shares how fear of being an intruder and of not knowing enough about the Bolivian medical system led to a new understanding of what it means to walk with others through complex and scary situations. I stood on the corner feeling utterly helpless. I was supposed to be meeting four…

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Be Not Afraid: Walking Among the Stars

Editor’s Note: Communications manager Kim Puchir shares how turning to the rosary in the face of fear has led her through many difficult times. Fear seems like the end of the road. When loss, sickness, and uncertainty bring this familiar feeling, I imagine myself standing at a ragged edge of asphalt. A bridge has capsized,…

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Be Not Afraid: Practice, Practice

Editor’s Note: FMS board member Lee Lechtenberg shares how a conversation with a stranger showed him a deeper insight into humanity and the affection of fellow recognition.  Walking down an autumn morning street, I eyed the old man approaching me scuffing his boots. He is stooped and tugs a small cart with two plastic buckets and…

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Be Not Afraid of Success

Editor’s Note: Missioner Brandon Newland reflects on the past two years in Jamaica as he looks ahead to his return to the US where he will start a new chapter in his life. With only a little more than a month left of my time on mission in Jamaica, it is time to deal with…

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Be Not Afraid: “Fear not, I am with you!”

Editor’s Note: Sr. Cathy Cahill, OSF, shares how receiving her letter of assignment in the summer of 1966 forced her to offer up her fear and move forward in obedience.  In the summer of 1966 I was attending summer school at St Bonaventure University and staying at our Motherhouse nearby. One day after lunch I…

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Be Not Afraid and Offer Your Yes

Editor’s Note: DC Service Corps member Ali Sentmanat reflects on the road that led her to a year of direct service with Franciscan Mission Service and the anxieties she overcame along the way. If you are overcome with fear all the time, will you get anywhere? At the same time that I was looking into…

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Be Not Afraid: Consumed by Fear

Editor’s note: As Missioner Erin McHugh prepares to return to mission, she shares how the fears that she faced over the last few months brought her to a deeper recognition of what it means to trust unconditionally. The past six months have been an unexpected and challenging journey for me, what with having to return from…

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Welcome Communications Manager Kim

Where Kim goes, plants follow. The Franciscan Mission Service window ledges were lonely before, but now green things ranging from sprouts to stalks can be found growing on each one. “I love plants and giving plants to others,” Kim laughs. “My large indoor garden may have been the original Franciscan impetus to find a more…

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Be Not Afraid: Talk about Your Childhood Fears

Editor’s Note: Missioner-in-training Misty Menis-Kyler reflects on the Scripture passage she returns to whenever she feels fear or feels anxious. Fear is one of the hardest things to overcome. It is the devil’s greatest tool to turn us against God and each other. Our wars and conflicts stem from fear. We are scared that the…

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Be Not Afraid: Openness in Prayer

Editor’s Note: Missioner Janice Smullen shares how offering quiet moments up to God showed her a deeper insight into herself as well as her relationships with friends and family. Moving past a fear of “not being busy” allowed me to open up to prayer. As a mother with young children, I would roll my eyes…

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Be Not Afraid: Finding the Possibility

Editor’s Note: Missioner Patrick Montine shares how moving past the fear of failure while in Jamaica made it possible for him to find the right ministries for the Savanna-la-Mar community. As we enter the season of Advent, we enter a season of preparation and anticipation  for Christmas. For some people, Christmas can be  a time…

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Be Not Afraid: Meeting Myself in Solitude

Editor’s Note: Missioner Annemarie Barrett reflects on how accepting silence and solitude led her to a better understanding of herself as well as the other people around her. There is a quote from the popular feminist author, bell hooks, that says, “Knowing how to be solitary is central to the art of loving. When we…

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Be Not Afraid: “Therefore Will I Trust You Always”

Editor’s note: Missioner Anna Klonowski reflects on her past experience studying abroad in Guatemala and the fear she overcame in traveling to a new country. My sophomore year of college, I was accepted into my university’s study abroad program in Guatemala for the following spring semester. I felt so excited–ready for a new journey and…

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Be Not Afraid: Leaving ‘Me’ Behind

Editor’s Note: Missioner Catherine Sullivan shares that when she first arrived in Bolivia, she was her own greatest obstacle and had to overcome the expectations she placed on herself. For this year’s Advent blog series, we  were asked to write about overcoming fear.  We hear the words “Be not afraid” so often in the Bible,…

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Be Not Afraid and Trust God in the Midst of Suffering

Editor’s Note: Missioner Aubrey Kimble shares how her faith was shaken after a traumatic event in the campus community in Carmen Pampa, Bolivia. “Brothers and sisters, do not be afraid to welcome Christ and accept his power. Help the Pope and all those who wish to serve Christ and with Christ’s power to serve the…

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Be Not Afraid of the Unknown

Editor’s Note: DC Service Corps member Chase Medelberg shares how the journey that led him to FMS required him to push through his fears of choosing a year of service over a corporate job. Since my sophomore year of college I really wanted to participate in a year of service. I told my parents and they…

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Be Not Afraid: Strength in the Aftermath

Editor’s Note: Missioner Cindy Mizes reflects on the Nepalese earthquake in 2015 and how she was able to move past her fear for her own security in order to serve and assist in the relief efforts. When I read the headlines on April 25, 2015, describing the major earthquake that struck Nepal, fear immediately welled…

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Be Not Afraid of Foolishness

Editor’s Note: Missioner Tom Little shares how breaking through the image many people had of him when he first came to Bolivia allowed him to open up more and form deeper relationships. On mission I have had to move past the fear of making a fool of myself in order to build relationships with people…

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Be Not Afraid: Am I Good Enough?

Editor’s Note: Missioner Amanda Ceraldi shares how her fear of not being good enough for her students was a fear she could only combat through encounters with these students. Being a teacher is hard. It’s one of the hardest things I have ever done. Every day when I walk into the classroom I am challenged.…

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Advent 2016: Be Not Afraid

Throughout the Christmas narrative, God presents people with a challenging invitation while simultaneously reminding them, “Do not be afraid.” Although these words in themselves can be daunting, it’s important to look at what becomes possible when we move past fear. These words are an assurance that, though the fear is justified, it is worth pushing…

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Hasta Luego

Editor’s Note: Missioner Maeve Gallagher reflects on her dwindling time in Guatemala as she prepares to return to the US and live out her definition of home. Since I discerned to return to the United States several months ago, I’ve been on the receiving end of the question, “Are you excited to go home?” countless…

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Thank God for Answered Prayers

Editor’s Note: Missioner Aubrey Kimble shares how some advice from a friend caused her to see her past and present in a different light and set her on a path of deeper gratitude for the future. Thinking of the future has always brought me a bit of anxiety. It usually reminds me of the need…

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Tuesday Normal Morning

Editor’s Note: Missioner Allison Dethlefs shares a poem that she wrote after an emotional visit with a patient at one of her ministry sites in Bolivia. With one of my ministries, Fundación San Lucas, I often have the challenging and formational experience of going on home visits to check in on various children or families…

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Class 32 Commissioning

On November 12, Anna Klonowski, Misty Menis-Kyler, Cindy Mizes, and Maggie Van Roekel were commissioned as Franciscan Mission Service lay missioners. They will serve overseas with FMS at one of four diverse locations for at least the next two years. Misty will be serving at the Valle de los Ángeles School in Guatemala. Cindy is headed…

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Challenging the Kids

Editor’s Note: Missioner Brandon Newland reflects on the past summer in Jamaica and the various activities that he arranged for the kids. The summertime is a wonderful time for students to rejoice and enjoy their freedom from school and homework, but to adults it can be a time to build patience and bonds with the…

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Come Grocery Shopping With Me

Editor’s Note: In order to provide a glimpse into her life in Cochabamba, Bolivia, missioner Catherine Sullivan takes her readers with her on her weekly grocery shopping experience. Every Saturday morning, my site partner Allison and I head out to do our weekly grocery shopping. With a list in hand (along with a price ‘guestimate’…

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Care for Creation at the Beach

Editor’s Note: Missioner Patrick Montine shares how a trip to the beach with some of the kids in Savanna-la-Mar, Jamaica, created a great opportunity for a lesson and experience of care for creation. Usually our summers in Savanna-la-Mar are pretty uneventful  and most of our ministry shuts down because we work with kids and the…

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Good Things, God Things

Editor’s Note: Missioner Maeve Gallagher shares how an incident with a friend caused her to reaffirm her decision to be a vessel of love and acceptance on mission. “True enough, the Reverend Billing, when they caught up with him, turned out to be a thief, an adulterer, a libertine, and a zoophilist, but that didn’t…

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Student sitting along a ridge looking out over a rural valley at sunset

I Am Learning to Let Go

Editor’s Note: Missioner-in-training Misty Menis-Kyler shares how her past service experiences at St. Labre Indian Catholic Academy formed and inspired her. Letting go means being willing to allow life to carry you to a new place and maybe even to a deeper, truer version of yourself.   I spent the last two years serving the…

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Compassionate Equality

Editor’s Note: Missioner Tom Little reflects on the difficult struggle that often arises between compassion and fairness. Overall, teaching English in my first semester at UAC-Carmen Pampa in Bolivia was a positive experience. That is, except for one incident involving a student, which really tore me up. The university has pretty strict rules in place…

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Lessons from my Hometown

Editor’s Note: Missioner-in-training Anna Klonowski shares a poem about the Native Americans who lived in her hometown and reflects on how learning about other cultures – both near and abroad – has opened her to new experiences. This past Monday, the United States celebrated Indigenous Peoples’ Day, or Columbus Day (a name which many are…

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“So, Where Will You Be Going?”

Editor’s Note: Missioner-in-training Maggie Van Roekel reflects on her time in Formation waiting, discerning, and planning before traveling overseas for mission. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a meticulous planner. My calendar book is my life-line and I am constantly writing to-do lists, feeling triumphant each time I can cross off a…

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Happy Day

Editor’s note: Missioner-in-training Cindy Mizes reflects on her service at the Jeanne Jugan Residence, where she has formed relationships with the residents. Every Wednesday morning, I take a 30 minute walk from Casa San Salvador through the Catholic University of America campus to the Jeanne Jugan Residence, a long-term care facility for the elderly with limited…

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Free to Have Less

Editor’s Note: Missioner Annemarie Barrett shares how moving towards a simpler lifestyle has positively affected her in physical, spiritual, and emotional ways. I wonder about how complex we make the concept of simple living; I think about how entrenched we have to be in consumerist culture to buy more books to teach us about consuming…

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A Breath of Fresh Air

Editor’s Note: Missioner Janice Smullen shares her reflections on mission and culture after a recent visit to Savanna La Mar, Jamaica, to visit fellow FMS missioners Patrick and Brandon. After numerous times of re-scheduling dates, I finally got to travel west and visit with FMS missioners Patrick and Brandon!  It is a four hour bus…

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IDs and Identity

Editor’s note: Missioner-in-training Anna Klonowski reflects on the role of identity in her time serving at the Father McKenna Center in Washington, DC.    Every Wednesday morning of Formation, I have the opportunity to help out at the Father McKenna Center, an organization that provides services to men experiencing homelessness in DC. During my time…

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Presence in the Everyday

Editor’s note: Missioner-in-training Maggie Van Roekel has an encounter that gives her a new perspective on the practice of ministry of presence in daily life. During the first few weeks of formation, we’ve talked a lot about ministry of presence. FMS really embraces not only serving, but also opening our ears and our hearts to…

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Just Smile

Editor’s Note: Missioner-in-training Misty Menis-Kyler reflects on a thought-provoking encounter with a man experiencing homelessness as she served food and drink to those in need in Washington DC. Last week, in addition to our regular formation classes, I  had an amazing opportunity to go out into the streets of DC and give food and drink…

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100 Paper Cranes

Editor’s Note: Missioner Maeve Gallagher reflects on how she holds on to hope even in the face of terrible things happening all over the world. Here’s what they tell you before you go on mission: you will miss a lot of life events of your friends and family. Birthdays, weddings, baptisms, births. It will be…

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Formed in Love

Editor’s Note: Missioner-in-training Cindy Mizes reflects on what led her to FMS and shares her experience of the first weeks of formation in Washington, DC. When asked what led me to become a missioner, frankly the only thing I could say was that it was a calling from God.  In truth, I didn’t understand the…

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