Avoiding Eye Contact & Other Ways to Kill Your Soul
Are you a good person? Yeah, me too. I’m basically a good person. Aren’t we all? Most people think of themselves as good, their particular sins somewhat excusable and insignificant, while everyone else’s are shocking and reprehensible. But in my walk with Christ, I have learned a life-changing truth…
A Personal Reflection on World Mission Sunday
This past weekend, the Catholic Church celebrated World Mission Sunday. Praise God! Please join me in praying that our family’s simple and humble witness would be enough for the people we serve in rural, Central America. We have been blessed beyond measure by God and by the beautiful people of Costa Rica. Often times, our many shortcomings are on display as well and we pray that through our weaknesses we would be made strong and that we could have the grace and courage to boast in Christ and in Him alone. Below is a brief, honest, and broken reflection on the Church’s mission, the Great Commission.
FMC Classic Post: God and a Neighborhood Cutie Competition
This is a story from my time in the Philippines in 2012. The work of a Catholic missionary is not the same as a social worker. We want to help people in not just temporary ways, but in ways that will last for eternity. We want to introduce them to the One who will stay even when we are gone….
Am I Saving My Life or Losing It?
A slum or a sacred place? An amazing thing occurred in my life yesterday. I decided to run to perhaps Costa Rica’s worst slum, La Carpio. I saw a group of people extremely removed from the rest of the country. After about 3/4 mile of along a worn down and poorly built asphalt road, I found La Carpio, home to…
Forgiveness in Prison
Every year during Benedictine College’s mission trip to the Philippines, FMC hosts a medical clinic for inmates at the Malaybalay City Jail. On Benedictine’s most recent trip, we were separated into teams: checking vitals, diagnosing, giving medicine, and praying over the inmates. I was on the prayer team.
Wan Fu Maliya
“Wan fu Maliya…” I tried my best to follow along with the rosary, but the prayers in this foreign Asian language were twisting and tangling in my mouth. Moving the beads in my hands, I looked at the faces of the people following us with their eyes. Our group was not something seen in this big Asian city every day: priests,…
Running In Costa Rica
This past fall while at Intake (our four-month missionary training), I was challenged by some friends to consider running a marathon. We found ourselves running basically every morning and our distances kept increasing. I’ve always enjoyed running but always needed a little push – even since my fourth grade PE days at Our Lady of Fatima school (shout out to fellow…
FMC Classic Post // His Ways Are Not Our Ways
[Originally posted 8/27/2015] “Are you excited to go for a run on the Great Wall?” I asked my mission partner jokingly. “I don’t know about going for a run,” he laughed, “but I am definitely excited to be here.” It was midmorning, we had just landed and both of us were really looking forward to three epic days of climbing…
Dinner with Jesus
Like most men who sincerely struggle with the baggage of an addiction, Manuel has good days and bad days. Some days are filled with great sights and sounds, the warm embraces and smiles of his local coastal town. While some days are filled with nothingness…
They Will Know
There is a certain market in Taiwan that is my stomping ground, a place that has unintentionally turned into a ministry that I truly love! I go there about three to five times a week to get the best deals on fruits and vegetables as well as see the adorable vendors. Being the only foreigner, many ask what I am doing here…
Unintended Consequences
“Consider, brothers, how you were called; not many of you are wise by human standards, not many influential, not many from noble families. No, God chose those who by human standards are fools to shame the wise; he chose those who by human standards are weak to shame the strong, those who by human standards are common and contemptible –…
Fully Alive
“I Am Nobody”
Breast Cancer – Be Gone!
As day faded into night and the celebrations for our village’s patron saint came to an end, we wandered around the plaza visiting friends. We planned to enjoy the final hours of the celebration before returning home for a much-needed good night’s sleep. We realized that God had other plans when our friend’s son rushed up and said, “My mom…
Crucible of Love
You think you’re a good person until you live in community… Then you realize you are the most selfish, vain, conceited creature on the face of the planet.
When God Calls
Sometimes God calls us to do quite simple things – like “Go and pray for a friend” or “Help your sister change her flat tire.” These things can be quite ordinary, but nonetheless they eventually reveal to us more and more, in some capacity, who the person of Christ is. Our lives so far as a family have been filled with these…
The Tale of the Free Wedding Dress
Full disclosure: This is NOT the wedding dress or the bride the story is about, but I’m not allowed to post pictures of her until the actual wedding. Fair enough. “Let’s go wedding dress shopping!” A normal statement for a maid of honour to make to a bride-to-be. But this wasn’t a normal situation. Kristi* and Annie* were Americans, working…
The Blind See
Jesus works miracles everyday; they may not always look like those in the Bible, but they are every bit as real.
