by Jason, Grace, Brecklyn, and AlexIn this year of mercy, we have been searching for ways to serve God’s people through personal involvement. It’s not that we couldn’t go bring a few boxes of Huggies or Cheerios to the Life Center at our church, it’s that we felt like there was something more we could do...something that would help us feel more in tune with those in need of mercy...to pop our bubble of contentedness and let us change ourselves. We had been giving out “Mother Teresa bags” to people on the street corners for over a year now. But, it was time to go a step farther. And so, when a coworker asked for donations for hygiene kits for the homeless, I asked how we could help in person. I decided to take Grace, Brecklyn, and Alex with me, with the intent that they would help out with the kits, and hopefully be able to help distribute them in one of the homeless communities in Austin. As this was a pretty daunting undertaking for a Dad and his 3 babies, I’d like to let everyone hear how the kids felt about the entire experience. Leaving home I’ll have to admit - I was a little nervous taking the kids to downtown Austin and throwing them right into the community service fire. In fact, as I stopped by Wal-Mart to pick up some soap for the kits, my mind was already thinking of ways out. It took a bit of courage to set those thoughts aside and type the address into my GPS. Preparing the bags (Grace): We prepared the bags. First, we unwrapped the the multi-packages of soap and shampoo/conditioner and lotion. Then I waited for a while until everybody came in. And then I started filling a few bags by going around the table in circles, picking things up and putting them in the bag. They also had little cards in the bags that told about the importance of water. Then, they said we had to do an assembly line. I started by putting toothpaste in the bags, but then I noticed another person doing the same job, and I saw that Brecklyn and Alex needed help bringing the finished bags to the pile. And so, I did that. There were about 30 people making bags. They worked hard. Half of them had just come from a party in the hall and they saw that there was a need for help, and so they helped. As we finished up, there was a lull while everyone organized and prayed for growth, strength, and safety. The organizers explained how we needed to stay in groups for safety, and that there would be drug use. My Dad anxiety went crazy at this point. Our kids were the youngest in the group, and something in my mind told me that I just needed to slip out the back and go home. But, I knew this was not God talking...it was my own fear that keeps me from serving God. Stop 1: ARCH ARCH (Austin Resource Center for the Homeless) is a large facility in downtown Austin that serves as a first services and shelter center for Austin’s homeless. We basically set up shop on the front steps. (Brecklyn): We gave water to the homeless. And we packaged soap and things that you wash with. We gave the things that we packaged up to the homeless too. It was hot. Very hot. One person had a big brown dog. Whenever someone came toward it, the dog stood up. At the first place there were more people. The homeless people were all sitting there. Their clothes were worn out. We gave them crackers. Most of the time they were talking to other people helping with us. When we gave water, they said “Thank you” and they were happy. (Grace): After (we) filled the bags, everyone got out of their church clothes and we started giving the homeless the supplies. It made me feel happy that we were doing something, but it also made me sad that they were in such conditions. There was trash everywhere, especially under the bridge. And it was very hot. When we handed the bags to the people, they would say “Thank you”, or “Beautiful”.- Grace (Alex): My favorite part was the music that we all sang together. Some of the homeless people sang with us. I heard Amazing Grace and If You’re Happy and You Know It. One verse in If You’re Happy was to say Amen. We sang half of the time, and in the spots between songs, we gave water bottles and bags. And I was sad about all of the people. As the crowd subsided, we were to move to another location down the road - under an overpass bridge, and away from the heavily protected shelter. Once again, my mind was racing - something was telling me that we have seen enough for the kids, and that this was a perfect opportunity to excuse ourselves. But, as we prayed, I was again told by God to stay the course. My prayer was being answered. Stop 2: Bridge (Brecklyn): At the second place, we were underneath a bridge. I couldn’t get to most of the homeless people because most of them were near the bridge’s poles and we were in the parking lot under the bridge. I am happy that I helped the people that I could. It wasn’t scary. (Alex): There were two spots where we went. We went to the homeless shelter, then we went under a bridge. And I noticed that there was this same sign that I saw that said “Tickets may hurt, but crashes kill”. This is the same sign that I see all the time when I go on the bridge to get to the doctor’s office. But I never noticed that there were actually poor people living under that bridge. I never noticed that there were actually poor people living under that bridge. As we drove home, I had a hard time speaking to the kids about their experiences. My heart ached for the lives that we had just touched. That there could be such despair and pain just one block over from the famed 6th street, and that we literally drive over these lives every time we pass through - I think Alex pretty much hit the nail on the head. I now realize that it was Satan trying to convince me to leave at just the right opportunities, that I had nearly let fear prevent our kids from seeing and touching these precious lives, just like he did to Jesus in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11).
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by Grace WildeHi, it’s me again, Grace. Today I am going to talk about one of my favorite saints, St Therese of Lisieux: the little flower of the Child Jesus. Why do I like her, you ask? Well, there are many reasons. First, GG ‘Meier planted many roses and flowers in her garden and it reminds me of the flower we are and how we make God's garden beautiful. Second, I love how she spent much of her life as a normal person at her home. But, inside it was a different place of love for our Lord and we should do the same thing. The last reason is that she is the patron saint of missionaries, and I want to be a missionary when I grow up. Therese was born January 2, 1873, to Louis and Zelie Martin in the town of Alencon. She was one of five children, Marie, Pauline, Leonie, and Celine. Not only were they a very loving and happy family, but also very religious. Zelie would go to morning mass whenever there was time. Therese also loved going to mass, and looked forward to Sundays. Louis and Zelie owned a lace business. Zelie would sew the pieces of lace together at home and Louis would take care of selling and helping the workers all around France. Even though she was very busy, Zelie still never forgot to teach Therese about her beloved faith. But, then when Therese was only 4 years old, her mom died. The family was very sad. With the help of Therese’s uncle, Louis sold there house, closed the business, and moved to Lisieux. Therese was very happy when they moved to Lisieux. She was near her favorite cousin Marie Gurin, and it was a whole new world for her. There are many orders of nuns in Lisieux and the Martins loved to visit them. But there was a convent that the Martins supported greatly. It was the convent of Mt. Carmel. The nuns were stuck in the convent praying and working all day. They are very poor so the Martins often sent needed supplies and talked to the mother or leader of the convent. When she first learned of this order she didn’t know it yet, but this order would change her life. One day in 1882 Therese’s big sister Pauline announced that she was to enter the Convent of Mt. Carmel in a few months. This shocked Therese at first but after a few days she asked Pauline if she could enter too. Pauline said that she still would not be able to see her often because she had to devote herself to God and her work. Therese also was too young since the youngest you were ever accepted was 15 years old. This saddened Therese and after Pauline left Therese became sick almost to dying. When the doctor had lost hope, Therese just sat there almost unconscious. There was only one thing left to do which was to pray. There was a statue of Mary in the room she was in. So, the family prayed to the statue on her bedside. Then something happened. She started praying with them, and she started to seem to understand what they were saying. In the next few weeks her health improved and she was better. Afterwards she said that night she saw the statue of mary smile and everything came to life again. Time passed and she still wanted to go to the Carmel. She often prayed especially to the Infant of Prague which she had a special devotion to. When she was 13 years old her oldest sister Marie left for the Carmel as well. Soon she told Louis that her wishes were the same. Then he reminded her the same thing Pauline had said long ago. “You still would not be able to see your sisters often because you have to devote yourself to God and your work. You are also too young since the youngest you could ever be accepted is 15 years old” he said. But, Therese said it was for the work of God. “But you are still too young,” said Louis. With some thought and prayer Louis supported his girl greatly in her vocation. By early 1889, Therese was finally admitted into the convent. The years after was a dream come true for Sister Therese of the Child Jesus. Soon her sister Celine and her cousin Marie were also Carmelite nuns. To make a note, Leonie entered the Visitation convent a few years earlier. Therese loved praying to the Lord and taking care of the shrine of the Infant of Prague. Sister Pauline, who had now been granted the title of Mother Pauline, thought about Therese’s time in waiting, and how good she had been in waiting. Then she thought of the ones who were not patient and knocked on their door every day. So she asked Sister Therese to write a whole document on her life from Alencon to her life in the convent. Therese obediently agreed. When she had finished The Story of a Soul with the word love, Mother Pauline was full of content. Then, the nuns began noticing Sister Therese coughing a lot, and her handkerchief was full of blood. So they called in the doctor who said she had Tuberculosis. He said that she must be very careful with her health and spend most of her time in a chair or bed. Her health worsened. On September 30, 1897 Sister Therese died at age 24. How was such a person who was cut out from the world known to the world, then become a saint? Well it is said that someone outside the convent read some of The Story of a Soul and was enlightened. In a year, the whole book was published to the world to see her great deeds. One of the most popular quotes were ones on flowers. Here is one: The splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not rob the little violet of it’s scent nor the daisy of its simple charm. If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness. Soon, the Pope was starting to beatify her, which is the first step to becoming a saint. Some of the process is finding and seeking out details in her life. Next, they found out if she was in heaven. Then, a miracle through her. After that, they sought out to canonize her by waiting for two more miracles. Finally, she was canonized in a great ceremony on May 17, 1925 by Pope Pius XI. She is the patron saint of missionaries because she sent letters and prayers to the missionaries.
Today, Oct 1, is St Therese of Lisieux’s feast day. Let us think about how to use her as a role model for our life by being obedient and patient. St Therese of Lisieux pray for us. For more info: http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=105 Saint Therese and the Roses - By Helen Walker Homan St Therese of the Child Jesus - By Rev Jude Winkler The Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux By Grace WildeHi, I am Grace. My family and I travel around the world. It is fun to travel. I love to learn about the cultures, the history, the language, and trying new food. But how did we do this? Weren’t we scared? It is true that we were scared. But we did not let fear overcome us. Fear is like a thorn in the garden. Someone steps in it and it digs deep into one's foot causing them to abandon their job in the garden and let the thorns swallow more. You have to have faith. Faith is like the flowers on the bushes that tell you that with God you can do things that you did not know you could do. So, before our adventures, we had two cars, we were homeschooled, and three times a year we went on a quick trip domestically. But one day my mom and dad talked about traveling the world. “It will cost a lot of money” said my Dad. “We would have to sell our car” said my Mom. In the end, we had faith that it would be fun and safe. We sold one car and bore our cross as a one car family. Finally, we were on our way with a big adventure in front of us. We did not let fear overcome us and had faith came as easy as 1-2-3. But, through weeks of prayer and thought we could say “We are going to travel.” |
On a MissionTwo passionate parents and their four children are excited to bring His Word to everyone in need while living a life of Gospel poverty as missionaries. They invite you to join them on a journey to encounter our global neighbors that Jesus commands us to love through works of charity and service. Archives
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