Community
Mis Hijos – My Sons
Editor’s note: As four students from Valley of the Angels prepare to graduate, Missioner Amanda Ceraldi shares how her friendship with them over the last two years has impacted her and her time on mission. I must have said goodbye to George* at least ten times. Every time I saw him I would squeeze him…
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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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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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The Bolivian Way
Editor’s Note: In Bolivia, missioner Tom Little oversees and works in a meat packing plant on the campus of Carmen Pampa University. In this post, he shares how he’s had to adapt to a very different understanding of time and deadlines than what he was used to in the US. My main job at the…
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Communal Living and Surviving Pat
Editor’s Note: Told through stories from his time in Jamaica which highlight some of the lesser-known qualities of his friend and fellow missioner, missioner Brandon Newland reflects on the vital importance of community while on mission. A year and four months have passed on my journey in Savanna-la-Mar, so I thought it would be a…
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The Pope Francis Mission Cross in Carmen Pampa
Editor’s Note: Missioner Tom Little shares his reflections from an event at Carmen Pampa University in Bolivia that brought the community closer and allowed them to grow together in faith. Last month the community of Carmen Pampa participated in the passing of the mission cross. Pope Francis brought the cross to Bolivia during his visit last July…
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Letting Go of Our Independence
Editor’s Note: Transitional Deacon and Capuchin Franciscan Friar Br. Albert Carver reflects on his first trip to Papa New Guinea where he was struck by the importance of community and by the the strength that often comes from admitting our own limitations. As someone who was born and raised in the United States the biggest obstacle…
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Comfort and Joy: The Importance of Community
Editor’s Note:As part of our “Comfort and Joy” Advent/Christmas blog series, newly-commissioned missioner Erin McHugh shares how her experience of accompanying young people on retreats last summer gave her the strength she would need during her time of mission formation in Washington, DC. I have often found that throughout my life, I find my comfort in…
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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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Dancing in the Dining Room
Editor’s Note: Missioner-in-training Catherine Sullivan shares her experiences of community life and how living with 12 other people has impacted her. The two most talked-about aspects of our Formation are classes and volunteering. But what has been most formative for me during this process is living in intentional community. As many people know, Saint Francis…
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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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A delicious occasion
Editor’s Note: The following post was written by Nate Mortenson. Community work hours are a required contribution students make at the University of Carmen Pampa. It’s part of students’ life here. They study and work on campus when they don’t have class. Many of the students work in areas where they already are skilled. Some…
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One more year
My third year serving as a Franciscan lay missioner with FMS invited me to become rooted in my community here in Cochabamba, Bolivia. And being rooted in this community has opened my eyes to more of the complexities of the marginalization experienced by our sisters and brothers here. I desire to continue to grow in…
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Making an impression
Editor’s Note: The following post was written by Nate Mortenson. Pastoral Universitario This is the group Mary and I have been participating in since we moved to the UAC – Carmen Pampa. It’s a wonderful group—usually about 7 to 15 attend the Tuesday evening gatherings where we sing, pray and read from the bible, and…
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Millennial Lenten Reflections: Do it for the team!
Editor’s Note: The following is part of Millennial Lenten Reflections, a blog series in collaboration with Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. Short reflections on the day’s readings, written by young adults from FMS and other organizations, will be posted everyday throughout Lent. “We need to get back to basics.” It’s something you might hear a…
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New Semester Brings New Opportunities
Editor’s Note: The following post is from Mary Mortenson. The school year at Carmen Pampa University starts this week. Please keep Mary and Nate in your prayers as they begin another semester of guiding young scholars. Recently Nate and I had the opportunity to accompany a group of 8 Pastoral students (a Catholic Young-adult group)…
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Learn to play Cacho
Annemarie Barrett, missioner in Bolivia, spends much of her time gardening to help the community in Cochabamba. Surprisingly enough, she does have down time. “Cacho is a game I often play with friends here in Cochabamba,” she said, “and I loved sharing the tradition with my family as well when they came to visit.” To pass…
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Missioners begin language school
As we celebrated the Baptism of the Lord this past Sunday, signifying Christ beginning his ministry, several of our 30th class of missioners have left for their respective countries this weekend to begin their own ministries. While Jesus went to the desert for 40 days and 40 nights to reflect and pray in preparation for…
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Sharing Life
Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World.” This is not a story of an epiphany, of one overwhelming moment of clarity or a life-changing event that altered my perspective of the world. More so, this is a story of a journey, one that started slowly and continues slowly,…
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The (Not So) Joy of Cooking
I can’t cook. In theory, I am capable of cooking. I can physically put the soup in the pot, but I find it’s always a chore. There is no passion or joy in it for me. I am blessed to have grown up in a family where both of my parents are not only good…
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Carving Pumpkins
To get in the Halloween spirit, the Casa San Salvador intentional community of young adults carved pumpkins. “Being a Christian is like being a pumpkin. God lifts you up, takes you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. God opens you up, touches you deep inside and scoops out all the yucky stuff–…
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Community: A Demonstration of Love
Third-year missioner Kitzi Hendricks continues to reflect on her experience of finding community in Bolivia. “Community is a sign that love is possible in a materialistic world where people so often either ignore or fight each other. It is a sign that we don’t need a lot of money to be happy–in fact, the opposite.”–…
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Bringing Beauty to the World
Lay missioner Mary Mortenson reflects on her time with an artist cooperative in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Last year, when I was still stateside, I was exploring and working with clay almost everyday. I rented studio space from the University in Eau Claire and spent 20 to 30 hours there a week. A big part of my…
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Mission Monday: I’m Happy Here!
In today’s post, we share the joy, wonder, and happiness expressed by current lay missioner Hady Mendez at the beauty of mission service. I’m happy here in Bolivia. And even as I write these words, I’m knocking on wood because I don’t want to somehow jinx myself. I’ll admit it. I didn’t expect to be…
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Community 101: Prayer
For the next four weeks, we will feature a four part series on faith in community every Franciscan Friday: “Community 101: An Introduction to Intentional Living”! It will feature weekly contributors highlighting specific features of intentional-living in faith communities: Prayer, Listening, Sharing, and Learning to Love. Today’s post about prayer is by Paola Piscitelli, President…
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Mission Monday: Community in the Candlelight
Currently serving her third year on mission in Bolivia, Kitzi Hendricks will be sharing her experiences of community in a multi-part series that begins today as she recalls her participation in a formative faith group before she became a lay Franciscan missioner: Creighton University’s Candlelight Choir! “The world is so empty if one thinks only…
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Franciscan Friday: “The Joy of Love through Commitment”
Casa San Salvador is the intentional faith community where Franciscan Mission Service Domestic Volunteers live along with Katie Miller and James Luisi, who work at NETWORK. Today we chat with Casa San Salvador House Manager Slavka Brigantova to learn more about her faith and how it inspires her to live in community. Slavka, you are…
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Shopping for Trust
Missioner-in-training Dae Doseff’s first reflection from formation touches on what life is like in the community house where the missioners-in-training live with our volunteers and other residents. Trust is one of the most difficult things for me to do in life. Trusting myself to make good decisions, trusting that God’s plan is going to be…
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Friends on the Street
Missioner-in-training Valerie Ellis reflects on the need of those around us. I was thinking back to a time when I really needed a friend of mine to be present in my life. Because I really needed her, I was spending more time with her. It struck me that at times when I didn’t need her…
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Mission Monday: Sharing Stories in Sacred Spaces
A watercolor by Annemarie that was inspired by the women of Santa Rosa First-year missioner Annemarie Barrett reflects on the conversations she has had with the women she has come to know in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Work. More work. Children. Husbands. Cooking. Cleaning. More cooking and more cleaning. Domestic violence. Machismo. More violence. And no justice.…
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Paz y Bien: The Importance of Community
In concluding this Paz y Bien blog series, I have taken time to consider what element is the most essential to these nonviolence workshops that we have been engaging here in Cochabamba. What makes these experiences sacred? What about these workshops lays the foundation for personal and social transformation? My experience has led me to…
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Maybe We Need To Be A Little More Like Thomas
“The Incredulity of Thomas” by Matthias Stom, public domain St. Thomas the Apostle gets a bad rap for doubting Jesus’ resurrection by saying, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” But before we…
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Recommiting to a Life-Long Mission
Mission does not end with a flight back to the U.S. It does not end with the completion of a term of service or a year of volunteering. Every three years, our returned missioners from across the country gather in Colorado for three days to reflect on this fact. This weekend, our retreat centers around…
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Dig Deeper with the “I Am From” Poem
Today is departure day for students from three different U.S. universities who are participating in our second Short-Term Mission and Global Awareness Trip to South Africa. As part of their orientation and early reflection these next few days, they’ll be writing an “I Am From” poem as an ice-breaker. Associate director Mariam Mitry, who is…
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Mission Monday: Mother and Community Love
For this Mission Monday post, Missioner Annemarie shares a story of the pain of a mother’s love and the healing power of a supportive community. Missioner Annemarie with her mom before she leaves for Bolivia. In the CEB that I have come to know in the northern zone of the city, there is a woman…
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Time for some fun!
Last week we made some suggestions on how to get to know your community members. This week we add some other games to liven up your community nights! Our current community Domestic Volunteer community is settling in, sharing meals and laundry facilities. It can take a lot of work to keep a community well and…
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Community Nights and Icebreakers
This week we’ve welcomed a new volunteer into Casa San Salvador, which means it’s time for a community night! Domestic Volunteers tend to have one community night per a week following a community meal. Community nights can be spiritual exercises/discussions, social justice awareness activities, a special event in D.C., or just watching a movie. But…
Read MoreFranciscan Friday: Experiencing the Ministry of Presence
One of the hallmarks of Franciscan service is something we often refer to as the “ministry of presence” or “accompaniment.” From community gardens in Cochabamba to the slums of Nairobi to the after-school programs and homeless shelters in Washington, D.C., FMS missioners and volunteers spend their time focusing on being with people rather than doing…
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Living Solidarity: Tools for Faithful Citizenship
The theme for this week’s Walking in Solidarity Lenten Series is “Living in Solidarity: Work, Family and Citizenship.” Today we talk about some wonderful resources provided by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops that can help you understand your position as a citizen who can affect change for others. For the 2007 election, the…
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Encountering God in Community
I encountered God this year in the warmth with which the community I have here has continually expressed to me, comforting me in times of sadness, laughing with me, and sharing themselves and their cariño (affection) for me in so many ways. Sincere relationships, it is there that I experience God´s acceptance, love and beauty.…
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Discernment Part 2: Considering Mission
Last week we talked about how discernment allows you to more fully focus on, and recognize, God’s voice in your life. If you’re considering going on long-term international mission or even a full-time volunteer program in your own country, it’s important to spend time discerning where and how you’re called to serve. Discernment questions for…
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Mission Monday: They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.
Missioner Nora Pfeiffer is not the only one moving on from their community in Cochabamba, Bolivia. And saying goodbye to neighbors just makes you realize how much you appreciated the company. I find myself recently reminded of the words from the Joni Mitchell song “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t what you got…
Read MoreMission Monday: Realizing one’s humanity is a good place to start.
Finishing up her second week in formation, mission candidate Annemarie Barrett shares her initial thoughts and reflections on preparing for mission. What was the essence of the life of Saint Francis? Following his example, how am I called to live as a lay missioner? As I engage the second week of formation as a lay…
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Mission Monday: Welcome Class XXVIII!
They came by plane. They came by car. And now they are all settled into Casa San Salvador. Joining us at Franciscan Mission Service are three generous and faith-filled people from across the country. Representing their native lands, they are: Paul Heinzen: Wisconsin Jeff Sved: Pennsylvania Annemarie Barrett: Minnesota For the next 14 weeks…
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Meet Our New House Manager: Danielle
Danielle Walsh comes to us from the far distant lands of Arizona, where she grew up for most of her childhood before moving to “everywhere.” Since her teenage years she has moved around a lot, domestically and internationally, but now finds a home in D.C. working as our most welcoming hostess and House Manager. Pre…
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First Christmas in Zambia
As we wrap up the Christmas season, our missioner Sandra Bradford shares how she and her husband Bryce spent the holiday. In Zambia, they serve as high school teachers and help run the retreat center for the St. Francis Friary. Our liturgical Advent celebration was a wonderful preparation for Christmas. I made new banners with…
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Prayers for Christmas: Dreams and Goals
“My hope for the new year is that everyone I love fulfills their dreams and goals.” – Sylvia, a student worker at the pastoral juvenil vocacional in Bolivia where missioner Lynn Myrick teaches English and coordinates a film series. On this New Year’s Eve, Franciscan Mission Service certainly doesn’t believe that “old acquaintances should be forgot and…
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Sharing Our Faith Story
“We come to share our story”: FMS community coming together in prayer and reflection following our fall formation. For the FMS community, the DC Fourth of July brought the usual parades, musical performances at the Capitol Building and of course the fireworks by the Washington Monument. On July 4th, visitors traveling downtown also had the…
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