Overseas Lay Missioners
Loaves & Fishes
Editor’s Note: Lay missioner Victor Artaiz and his mission team notice a need in the community and meet it with a collaborative project to provide lunches for students. In a recent visit to a preschool in Los Molinos with our mission team made up of local Quechuan volunteers, Maryknoll Fathers, lay missioners, and myself, we…
Read MoreLessons from Under the Sea
Editor’s Note: Lay missioner Joleen Johnson marvels at life and nature under the Caribbean Sea while contemplating this unfamiliar area of God’s creation. I was recently given a very rare opportunity: to snorkel in the sea. These are some of the thoughts, questions, and lessons that passed through while I fixed my eyes, in wonder…
Read MoreThe End is Only the Beginning
Editor’s Note: As she concludes her time serving in the US-Mexico border region, lay missioner Julia Pinto recalls an encounter with a young woman at the airport and how this encounter prompted her to reflect on how she’s grown during her time on mission. Sitting at the Tucson airport waiting for my flight, I noticed…
Read MoreGrace and Goodness Light the Way
Editor’s Note: Lay missioner Susan Sarkissian shares what Jamaican schools are like and where she notices goodness and light in the school where she serves. “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” Matthew 5:16 The Franciscan…
Read MoreRejoice with Me!
Editor’s Note: In her first FMS blog post, lay missioner Mary Liepold, OFS describes her season of formation through the lens of joy. This phase of my new life is called formation, a spiritual, intellectual, and even physical preparation for the mission ahead. My Franciscan Mission Service formation began in August of 2023, with the…
Read MoreTrust in the Midst of Change
Editor’s Note: In preparation of her move to El Paso, lay missioner Kim Wagner reflects on the various changes that she experiences on mission and how each change is an opportunity to trust in God. As I ended my shift last Thursday at The Migrant Resource Center (MRC), I gathered my belongings, said goodbye to…
Read MoreFamily Ministry in Los Molinos
Editor’s Note: Lay missioner Victor Artaiz describes how family ministry has flourished in Los Molinos, one of his ministry sites in Cochabamba, Bolivia. As I look back over the last year at one of my ministries here in Cochabamba, I am filled with gratitude for the fruits that have come from Franciscan virtues such as…
Read MoreHaving Hope in Times of Hopelessness
Editor’s Note: As she serves in the US-Mexico border region, lay missioner Kim Wagner reflects on how she finds hope during a seemingly hopeless situation. As I finish setting bowls and spoons on the kitchen counter during my shift at El Centro de Recursos para Migrantes (The Migrant Resource Center), I check my watch one…
Read MoreThoughts to My Desconocido/a
Editor’s Note: As a reflection while participating in the Migrant Trail Walk, lay missioner Julia Pinto shares what she would say to her desconocido/a–an unidentified person who passed away while migrating. June 5, 2024 The Migrant Trail Walk is an annual 75-mile journey on foot from Sasabe, Mexico to Tucson, Arizona to honor the lives…
Read MoreHolding Privilege on the Border
Editor’s Note: Lay missioner Kim Wagner recognizes a privilege that she has as a US citizen and realizes how she can use her privilege on mission at the US-Mexico border. As I leave the Centro de Recursos para Migrantes (Migrant Resource Center) in Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico after my volunteer shift, I walk along the…
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