Year: 2022

Editor’s Note: Overseas Lay Missioner Victor Artaiz reflects on his recent arrival to Cochabamba, Bolivia. What a joy to have arrived and spent my first month here in the land of the “Cochabambinos,” an endearing name for the dear, diverse, multicultural, indigenous, and cosmopolitan people of this Bolivian department. Kind, gracious, and muy simpatico are…

Editor’s Note: Overseas Lay Missioner Mari Snyder reflects on simplicity, gratitude, books that spark joy, and preparing to leave for the U.S.-Mexico border.  Does this display of books “spark joy” for you like it does for me? If you have read one of these books and wish to recommend it, please note it in the comment…

Editor’s Note: Overseas Lay Missioner Joleen Johnson reflects on the meaning of accompaniment and friendship.  My close friend and fellow missioner Rhonda Eckerman, who is serving on the U.S.-Mexico border, recently helped me brainstorm ideas for the topic of this blog. As I reflected on some of the ideas presented, I embraced a moment of…

Editor’s Note: Overseas Lay Missioner Julia Pinto reflects on the hidden blessings she’s discovered during a season of waiting as she prepares to serve on the U.S.-Mexico border. Holdups are often perceived as torment, especially in the context of a culture of instant gratification. We would rather not wait longer for our package or dinner…

Editor’s Note: Overseas Lay Missioner Rhonda Eckerman shares a story about finding a snake outside her home on the U.S.-Mexico border and how she embraced her inner St. Francis.  During FMS Formation back in the Fall of 2020, when I lived with 14 other Franciscan volunteers at Casa San Salvador, we adopted the acronym WWSFD (What…