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Simple Living

Advent Day 20: Strengthen

Editor’s note: Becky Kreidler will be embarking on mission to Bolivia in 2020 after returning home from mission in Guatemala due to a knee injury. Becky offers us an Advent reflection on the strength she’s encountered during her time in formation with FMS and the ways it’s helped prepare her for this next journey.  When…

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Advent Day 19: Light

Editor’s note: FMS Missioner SarahJane Cauzillo currently serving in Cochabamba, Bolivia offers an Advent reflection ‘light’.  It is the rainy season here in Bolivia. In just a moment, a clear blue sky can be completely transformed as the dark clouds come rolling over the mountaintops. The sun can be covered in an instant as the…

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Advent Day 7: Presence

Editor’s note: Deanna Wolf, good friend to former staff member Bridget Higginbotham and previous casa resident and volunteer for the Columban Center for Outreach and Advocacy reflects on the word “presence”. Deanna discusses the impact a simple engraving on a bracelet has had on her life, as well as her relationship with both herself and…

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Advent Day 6: Trust

Editor’s note: DCSC volunteer Kate reflects on the word “trust” this Advent season through song lyrics and the Annunciation story of Our Lady. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8_475FKJWQ I have traveled many moonless nights Cold and weary with a babe inside And I wonder what I’ve done Holy Father you have come And chosen me now To carry your…

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Advent Day 4: Patience

Edtior’s Note: In this blog, FMS Board member and secular Franciscan, Laura Rainey, OFS, shares a reflection from “Jesus Calling” that helps her focus and slow down during the season of Advent. ‘Much, much stress results from your wanting to make things happen before their times have come. One of the main ways I assert…

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Not Where You Go, But Who You Travel With

Editor’s Note: DCSC volunteer Julia reflects on the unexpected, beautiful discoveries she made during a work trip to Chicago. Julia touches on friendship, self discovery, and Franciscan values throughout her writing.  Work Trip in Chicago? Sign Me Up!  This blog idea comes to you by courtesy of Mrs. Nichole Petty. When my site supervisor, Dr.…

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If It’s Not Of You God, I Don’t Want It

Editor’s Note: DCSC volunteer Kate reflects on a sentiment offered by a good friend that has helped re-shape the ways she understands both herself and her relationship with God.  These are the words that a good friend and spiritual mentor of mine, BryAnna, told me to repeat to myself when my soul feels torn. When…

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Love Personified

Editor’s Note: Regular readers of the FMS blog are familiar with the reflections of FMS missioners and volunteers. Today, however, we share with you a different voice, that of Bradley Hagarty, father of first-year missioner Hannah Hagarty. While not serving overseas as his daughter is, Bradley is part of the FMS story because his story…

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The Odd Uneven Time

Editor’s note: Megan, a DC Service Corps volunteer, uses poetry to reflect on change within her present life.  I think change is so scary because it forces us to face our inner demons head on rather than hiding behind comfort. Human beings are all creatures of comfort to some extent. Some more than others, but…

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The Slow Work of God and Cooking Beans

Editor’s note: DC Service Corps associate Hannah reflects on the ways God is slowly moving through her life throughout this new beginning.  According to a recent “guess how many beans in the jar” activity at a social hosted by Catholic Volunteer Network, an average serving of beans consists of 1100 beans.  A few weeks ago,…

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A Concept: 100% Contemplation & 100% Action.. Is There a Word For That?

Editor’s note: Missioner Tim Shelgren reflects on the practice of contemplation and action and the ways this state of being has impacted his journey thus far.  “There’s no word for it in English.” This is a phrase my eldest son Troy, who lives in the German speaking part of Switzerland, often uses when he is…

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Art, Faith, Goodbyes and the Former Rich, Italian Party Boy

Editor’s Note: Missioner in formation, Megan, reflects on her journey in DC so far and the places she’s found beauty “wherever it rests.”   I have been thinking about the intersection of art and faith. I’m wearing a new set of clothes. Bought some at the Goodwill. They fit great, and I love ‘em. But…they’re a…

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God’s Language of Love

Editor’s note: Former missioner Erin reflects on her time in Guatemala and the many ways love broke all barriers during her time on mission as she readjusts to her life back in the states. After being back from Guatemala now almost three months, I have found myself taking the time to  re-read my journals, blogs,…

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Finding Harmony in God and Myself

Editor’s Note: Missioner Anna reflects on her transition into intentional, simple living as she prepares to embark on service for the next 2 years with FMS.  This idea of Simple Living within the context of Franciscan Mission Service is actually not simple at all; it’s quite complex, and I am only just beginning to understand…

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Honestly, a Continuous Work in Progress

Editor’s note: Missioner SarahJane reflects on her personal privileges and what that means while serving others in a different part of the world.  “We don’t go to the margins to make a difference. We go to the margins so that folks at the margins make us different.” “We want to bridge the gap that exists…

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No Recipe Required

Editor’s Note: DC Service Corps volunteer, Nadia Barnett, reflects on the growth she has experienced through cooking for the Casa San Salvador community. I’ve known how to cook since middle school. I’m no José Andrés but I can make myself something to eat when I’m hungry. Still, since my family tends to cook a lot,…

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Walking in Jesus’ Feet

Editor’s note: Missioner Cindy Mizes shares insights into a new ministry she has started in Kingston, Jamaica. I never imagined what it could be like walking in Jesus’ feet until I started walking along the city streets and narrow back alleys of Kingston, Jamaica handing out food and water to people living on the streets. …

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Come to the Table: Community

Editor’s note: Missioner Maggie Van Roekel begins a three-part blog series on how kitchens and cooking have become important to her on mission. In part one, Maggie shares her memories around the Carmen Pampa volunteer house kitchen table.  To some extent, I’ve always been pretty comfortable in the kitchen. Growing up, I spent a lot of…

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Seeing Clearly: Welcome to Lent

Editor’s note: Associate Director Meghan Meros introduces FMS’ Lenten blog series, “Seeing Clearly.” When do you know yourself best?   When do you see the saint—the one united with God—inside your soul?   When do you see the sinner in need of mercy and healing? Perhaps your moments of clarity come when your feet hit…

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Faith Calls Us to be Neighbors: Hospitality, Joy, Christmas

Editor’s note: Sr. Patricia D. Reid, OSF, an Allegany Franciscan for more than 50 years, serves on the Franciscan Mission Service Board of Directors. As a guest blogger for FMS’ 2017 Advent blog series, Sr. Pat shares a time when she felt welcomed into the home of a woman who didn’t own much, but “had everything.” If…

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Cooking and Community at Casa San Salvador

Editor’s note: Missioner SarahJane Cauzillo gives a glimpse of the Casa San Salvador community’s evening meal and prayer time. [unitegallery casadinner] Reflection question: How do you make mindful connections through meal time?

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Dancing (and Running) with the Spirit

Editor’s note: New missioner Stephanie Ashley Caban relates the adjustments to her fitness commitment as part of her Formation experience. I don’t always like New Year’s Resolutions, possibly because I never saw a need to make one. However, I do enjoy the concept of learning to better oneself and encourage that to be done at…

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Old Money Bag—A Voice of Simplicity from the FMS Casa Community

Editor’s note: New missioner Tim Shelgren writes a post about practicing simple living with the other members of the intentional community at FMS’ Casa San Salvador. My job is to hold currency. I have been at my job for quite some time. My once vibrant purple and yellow stripes are fading, my plastic is getting…

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Unpacking Simplicity

Editor’s note: New missioner SarahJane Cauzillo reflects on her search for a simpler and more intentional life at the start of Formation. As I stood in the living room of my parent’s home, all my clothing, shoes, books, and other various personal items strewn out around me, and an empty suitcase beside me, I asked…

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We Are Each Other’s Angels and We Meet When It Is Time

Editor’s note: Missioner Erin McHugh shares her gratitude for her host community, the Valley of the Angels School in Guatemala. I have found myself reflecting on my year and half as an FMS missioner with a song called We Are Each Other’s Angels. I played it for my family and friend before leaving for Jamaica…

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My Jeremiah Miracle

Editor’s note: Tim Shelgren, a new missioner, recalls a lesson in Franciscanism—and football—he learned from boys at a group home. As a 56-year-old American, I hear many of my peers talking about their retirement accounts and soon-to-be retirement dates. I ask myself as I prepare for Formation to be a lay missioner with FMS, am…

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The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Franciscan Simplicity

Editor’s note: DCSC member Madonna Enwe shares about a book she read about decluttering and organizing, reflecting on how it helped her learn simplicity and presence in the moment. “Life becomes far easier once you know that things will still work out even if you are lacking something.” This is a line from Marie Kondo’s…

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Meatless Meals for Lent: Homemade Tortilla Recipe for Bean Taquitos

Editor’s Note: Missioner Cindy Mizes is now in Jamaica, but she has not forgotten her Texan roots. Here she shares the recipe for homemade flour tortillas, the building blocks for many meatless Tex-Mex recipes. South Texas is where I call home and where making flour tortillas from scratch is a tradition. There is nothing better…

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Meatless Meals for Lent: Quinoa with Black Beans

Editor’s note: FMS Missioner Erin McHugh shares a gluten-free vegetarian favorite for Lent.  Since I have only been in Guatemala for about two months, I am not sure of special meatless meals they have for Lent, so I am going to share a recipe from home. In the US I am not much of a…

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Meatless Meals For Lent: Bolivian Llajwa

Editor’s note: FMS Missioner Maggie Van Roekel expands her hot sauce horizons with this staple Bolivian condiment. One thing that many people know about me is that I absolutely love hot sauce. It’s a staple for me that goes on almost anything that I eat. When I arrived in Bolivia, I was eager to try llajwa,…

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Meatless Meals for Lent: Sopa de Maní (Peanut Soup)

Editor’s Note: Missioner Aubrey Kimble has been serving in Carmen Pampa for just over a year. She shares a taste of Bolivia that can be recreated anywhere. One of my favorite traditional Bolivian dishes is sopa de maní, or peanut soup. This soup can be served with or without meat, but since the volunteers in…

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Were You There: He Provides

Editor’s note: A friend of FMS and a Franciscan-hearted individual, Elizabeth Green reflects on how her trip to Haiti with Engineering Ministries International taught her a deep lesson in God’s providential care. Children. Chickens. Roosters. Roads.   As I woke up for the first time in Pignon, Haiti, I was surprised by how pleasant these…

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Meatless Meals for Lent: Dutch Babies (Oven Pancakes)

Editor’s Note: Missioner Anna Klonowski shares a family recipe traditionally made on Fridays during Lent. Note: This recipe calls for an oven safe pan 3-4 quart capacity with sides at least 3 inches high. Ingredients 4 eggs 1 cup milk ½ teaspoon salt 1 cup flour 1/3 cup butter Instructions Preheat oven to 425°F. Melt…

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Meatless Meals for Lent: A Taste of Home – Maryland Cream of Crab Soup

Editor’s Note: Missioner Amanda Ceraldi shares some local flavor from her Maryland upbringing in a meatless meal for Lent. Above is a picture of the river near the house where she spent her summers and first enjoyed Maryland Cream of Crab soup. Anyone who knows me can attest that I have a slight obsession with my home…

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Meatless Meals for Lent: Lentils with Spinach and Ginger

Editor’s Note: Missioner Janice Smullen offers the first simple, meatless meal for this Lenten season. Her recipe is adaptable for whatever ingredients you might have handy. I prefer to eat meatless, so Lent is never a dietary problem for me. When I was in the US, I would use the recipes sent out to my…

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Oatmeal and Tomatoes

Editor’s Note: Missioner Catherine Sullivan relates how sharing a Christmas party with two of the Bolivian women who work at the Cochabamba market has brought her to a deeper recognition of the blessings of their friendship. Every Saturday in Cochabamba is market day. In the outdoor markets of the city, things are cheaper, more vendors…

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A Merry “Little Christmas”

Editor’s note: Communications Manager Kim Puchir explores the many sacred days that fall in this part of the Church calendar. Sunday’s celebration of the Epiphany may seem like a footnote to a Christmas season that is already a fading memory. Not so in certain parts of the world, including a branch of the Catholic Church. In fact,…

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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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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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Making My Money Matter

Editor’s Note: Missioner Allison Dethlefs reflects on the challenges of living on a stipend in Bolivia and how it has made her more mindful of those around her who are struggling with financial matters to a very serious degree. When we signed on with Franciscan Mission Service as missioners, we knew that while we were…

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Letting Go of Material Possessions

Editor’s Note: Programs associate Katie Rotterman shares how a commitment to pass along unused possessions led to a deeper sense of simplicity and intentionality in all areas of her life.  I’ve been on a mission to simplify my life for about a year and a half now. A key factor of  simplifying my life has been the challenge…

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Letting Go or Giving Up

Editor’s Note: Board member Sister Cathy Cahill, OSF, reflects on the comparison of letting go” during Lent versus “giving up” and the connotations that each phrase carries.  My dear Aunt Marie, a 93 year old Sister of Mercy, loves to remind me of my announcement at the beginning of my eighth Lent that I was…

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Letting Go of Taking Life Too Seriously

Editor’s Note: Development Associate Sarah Sokora shares how the precarious walk to work after a recent snowstorm led to some deeper realizations and a reminder not to take herself so seriously. The Lord often shows Himself to me in little ways: an unexpected breeze, a warm sign of peace from the little old lady at mass…

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Letting Go of What Doesn’t Belong to You

Editor’s Note: Vocations director Sr. Sheila Lehmkuhle, FMM reflects on the idea of letting go of our burdens and offering them up to God.  Sometimes, in work and life I feel inadequate and anxious. I don’t know what to do. When I was in the novitiate, I remember my novice directress telling me to take…

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The Little Things: Openness

Editor’s Note: In the latest installment of “The Little Things” series, communications associate Maria Beben explores the power of openness and the importance of recognizing that we don’t always know what’s best in any given situation.  It’s often in the moments when we throw up our hands and admit “Okay, fine. I don’t know anything and…

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Chopped Week

Editor’s Note: After going over budget on groceries one week, the Casa San Salvador community decided to take a creative approach to meal planning.  Living in a house with 12 people has been quite a unique experience, particularly in the realm of cooking. One week, the community tried a different approach to meal planning: Chopped week.…

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Would you Choose Hard or Soft?

The other day I found myself in a situation. I needed to buy toilet paper but all of the regular places to buy were closed. I was left with the option of buying really soft, really expensive toilet paper. I did what I had to do, but it was painful. Although what I had was…

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Live with Purpose

We recently finished the Easter Season with Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descends from heaven on to the disciples. The disciples start speaking in many languages and are told to go out and preach the Gospel to all people, and they do—they go to the edge of the known world to spread the message to…

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Bagels of Love

I love the food here in Bolivia. Cochabamba in particular is known for its food. There are however, a few foods I miss from the US. It’ll be some time before my next Philly Cheesesteak; hamburgers here leave a lot to be desired; and the closest I can come to a Primanti’s sandwich is trancapecho.…

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Making do

The second week of April we celebrated two confirmations in my parish. Obviously the ideal misa for confirmations and baptisms is the Easter Vigil, but in my parish we often work with what is less than ideal. My parish community is a group of around 40 men who are currently inmates in El Penal de San…

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