Mission and Service
Mission Monday: Community Gardens in Bolivia
As a Franciscan organization rooted in the commitment of caring for creation, Earth Day is a very special time for us. We are especially joyous today because our newest lay missioners in Cochabamba, Bolivia have been recently participating in some great ecological endeavors while exploring the ministries in which they’ll serve. From community gardens to…
Read MoreGroup Connects with Youth on Test Trip to South Africa
Video created by Domestic Volunteer Anna about her experience in South Africa as part of a Short-Term Mission and Global Awareness Trip. While winter weather raged back home in the states, a group from FMS led a gathering of young adults in the Electric Slide in the North-West region of South Africa. The group, piloted…
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Discernment Days – Is Mission for Me?
Perhaps you have just recently graduated from a college that’s cost you your life savings, countless sleepless nights, and many antisocial weekends. Or perhaps you just celebrated your 20th anniversary at a job you’ve kept through thick and thin. Whether you are 22 or 62, discerning a call to mission can be a journey. For…
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Mission Monday: Reflections from a Spring Breaker
This March marked the first group of students to spend their spring break at our headquarters in Washington, D.C. to participate in our Short-Term Mission and Global Awareness program. Nine students from the University of Georgia learned about poverty in the U.S. from educational workshops to hands-on service. One of the students, Jacob Spaulding, reflects…
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Update From Bolivia: Patience and an Open Heart
New lay missioner Annemarie Barrett has been in Bolivia since January 2013. Here is her update on her experience so far. Without the comfort of familiar schedules, places and plans, I can tell you now that the process of growing into a new context is even more challenging than I had expected it to be.…
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Franciscan Friday: Look At Our Reality From the Perspective of the Poor
Recently I found myself in a small upper room in a Franciscan Spirituality Center in Tarata, a town about an hour drive outside of Cochabamba, Bolivia. I was sitting in a plastic chair in a circle of Franciscan volunteers from around the world, some from Germany, others from Brazil, and me from the United States.…
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What is an adequate response to the love that I have received?
“What is an adequate response to the love that I have received?” New Missioner Annemarie tries to answer that question after spending the last month saying goodbyes to friends and family before leaving for her two-year mission in Bolivia. How can I not smile? When I am surrounded by so much love from family, from…
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Encountering God in the Human Family
Our domestic volunteers commit a year of serving full time in our office supporting our organization in areas such as communications, development and programming. But on Wednesday afternoons, the domestic volunteers go out and serve directly in the community. Today’s Advent story of encountering God comes from domestic volunteer and communications coordinator Bridget Higginbotham who…
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Mission Monday: Sharing in Christ’s Fellowship
During their training in D.C., our mission candidates take a morning each week to volunteer in the local community. For this Mission Monday, Annemarie Barrett shares what it’s like to work alongside Christ’s chosen company. Photo: www.fathermckennacenter.org Every Wednesday morning during formation, I visit the Father McKenna Center, a daytime drop-in center for men who…
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National Volunteer Month Profile: Kitzi in Bolivia
Kitzi Hendricks started her Bolivian mission in January after completing three months of training with us in Washington, DC. Originally from Sacramento, California, she graduated last year Creighton University where she studied psychology and was a member of Pi Beta Phi. Today Kitzi shares about her new ministry with Madre de Dios in Cochabamba, a shelter for…
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“To be consoled as to console” – Leonel and his father
The students of the rural Unidad Académica Campesina – Carmen Pampa overcome many obstacles to receive a college education in Bolivia. The indigenous Quechua and Aymara peoples have little access to health care or education and survive by farming small plots. Students often juggle the stresses of school with those of helping their family. Our missioner…
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Four Days in Bolivia – What Kitzi’s Seen So Far
After arriving safely in Bolivia, our newest missioners started their Spanish-immersion classes at the Maryknoll Language Institute yesterday. In her first blog post abroad, Kitzi Hendricks summarized her observations so far. As is common with new arrivals overseas, many of her observations are general and are from an outsider’s view. Her understanding and appreciation of the Bolivian culture…
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Franciscan Friday: Prayer for Missioners
Michael Redell Kitzi Hendricks Susan Slavin Missioners Michael Redell and Kitzi Hendricks arrived in Bolivia today while Susan Slavin makes her final preparations for Kenya. As they begin their two-year mission journey abroad, please join us in praying the Franciscan Prayer for Missioners: Lord, make our sisters and brothers serving in other countries instruments of your peace. .…
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