The beauty of mission life is being held and moved at the whim of the Holy Spirit. God continues to guide us according to His wisdom and providence, and to prove how much better His plan is for our lives than what we could have foreseen for ourselves.
We came to Louisiana in December for Sarah and Kevin Granger's (missionary friends) wedding, fully expecting to return to General Cepeda within a couple of weeks. Well, to make a long story short... God surprised us!
Andrea had been told by an oral surgeon, who came visited General Cepeda on a mission trip every year, that she ought to see about getting jaw surgery at some point to avoid bigger problems. Well, his diagnosis was confirmed when Andrea was seen here in Louisiana by a succession of dental/oral specialists who likewise urged her strongly to receive the surgery as soon as possible. This was not easy news to swallow, especially because the course of treatment would basically necessitate Andrea's living in Louisiana for around a year and a half or so. This certainly was NOT part of our immediate plan.
We knew that this was a big change. If God intended this to happen for his missionary family, then He would have to make it clear that this was His will- otherwise it would not be something we would pursue. Furthermore, there was the seemingly insurmountable financial hurdle, for we have no health insurance, and we were looking at expenses in the range of $30,000 to $40,000. So, we prayed. This time God really surprised us.
Without ever asking for a cent, within a matter of a couple weeks God handed us the braces and the surgery for free (the benefits when God is your employer are unbelievable!). First we received a phone call from our former mission partner in General Cepeda, who was there hosting a group of American women who came annually to General Cepeda. This group, members of a larger international group for Catholic women, had become our friends in General Cepeda over the years. Apparently, my surgery came up among them as our missionary friends prayed for the Brown family during morning prayer with the group. Now, Sarah called to tell us that they wanted to information about how to help us to cover the expenses of the braces and surgery! We were floored and humbled by their generosity!! Never had we witnessed nor received such a generous offer - without ever having asked!
As we began to communicate with this generous group about the details, Andrea's oral surgeon managed to acquire her a special privilege via a personal recommendation. Andrea was referred to a special program through LSU Medical School's Oral Surgery Residency program. She was accepted as a "teaching case," which means that her surgery will be performed by a professor to instruct the interns in this maxillofacial surgery... and it will be free!
There were many other details in our discernment showing us that God was guiding us to move forward and follow Him. My intent in this posting was to Glorify God by sharing with you the especially miraculous parts of this event that has designated Abbeville, Lousiana as our next mission site.
Our directors at FMC, Genie and Frank Summers, welcomed us to live here on our mission base as missionaries on medical furlough. Here we can stay involved in mission life and the various needs and ministries of Family Missions Company. Just last night we were given the opportunity to speak as a mission family at a youth overnight hunger fast to help raise awareness about world hunger and call our youth to action! It was a very dynamic evening, and we feel God will continue to use us in similar ways. Regarding practicalities, Kevin will be seeking work of some sort to fund our food, gas, minimal rent, and family expenses (gosh - diapers are expensive!) while in Louisiana.
We are incredibly blessed by the vibrant Catholic community that we are involved in here - and have found that God is using this time to sort of "recharge" our spiritual/missionary batteries. Hmm. Maybe God does know best, huh?
We are new to this whole blog thing - but we hope this will be a fruitful way of staying in touch with all our friends and family, our partners in mission, as we continue to serve the Lord as a missionary family. May God bless you all abundantly!!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Mission Newsletter February 2009
Dear fellow missionaries,
Blessed be the Lord Jesus Christ! I pray that you are all well and that you enjoyed a very blessed Christmas and New Year. Since it has been a while since you received an update from us I wanted to write and “catch you up” a bit on what the Brown family has been up to in missions.
To begin with our family’s news, we are all doing very well. Maria just celebrated her 5th birthday, and is as sweet and wonderful as ever! She has been attending Mexican kindergarten two days a week, and I am home schooling her in English kindergarten the other days. Little Anthony turned one on August 30, and is a bumbling and busy little guy, who toddles around looking for trouble all day long. While Maria takes care of the “sugar and spice and everything nice department,” Anthony clearly has the “snakes, snails, and puppy dog’s tails” under control. Different as they are, the kids love each other a lot, and their laughter as they play together is our great joy.
This past year brought many blessings to General Cepeda, Mexico. We have had two new pastors since the previous year. The first new priest, Padre Jose, was a wonderful man to work with! He is so full of energy and zeal, and is very self-disciplined. He had been managing to reach each of the 54 ranchos for Mass at least once a month (no small feat when many of the ranchos are an hour or more away!). Unfortunately, Fr. Jose had to leave for medical reasons. However, God recently blessed us by bringing us a new shepherd, Padre Manuel de Jesus. Padre Manuel is also a very energetic, charismatic, and faithful priest, and although he is new to General Cepeda, he is already showing that God has big plans for him there!
In the Fall we were joined in the mission house by two other families for a few months. The community was a welcome blessing, and the children especially enjoyed having playmates around all the time. One of the families will continue to live in General Cepeda this year, but in their own house. We are excited to team up with them and see what God has in store for us all!
Our ministry has also been very blessed this past year. We adjusted our ministry schedule according to family needs and the wishes of our new pastor. Kevin began to take on some of the work away from home on his own in order to accommodate the new baby and home schooling. As a result, Kevin’s Spanish and preaching abilities have improved by leaps and bounds! He has lead many Communion services at ranchos that receive the Mass infrequently (with the bishop’s commissioning, of course).
We also visited two ranchos a week regularly as a family: Jalpa and Benito Juarez. Benito Juarez sort of “raised the bar” for us ministry-wise because, aside from being one of the furthest ranchos from General Cepeda, the people there are some of the least educated, most impoverished, and under-catechized that we have served. So, Kevin and I managed to tackle two class-levels each of catechesis among the kids, followed by a prayer service/Bible study for the adults. It made for a long afternoon/evening, but I pray the seeds planted will bear much fruit. Please keep this particular rancho in your prayers – they have a lot of spiritual needs.
We also continued to serve the people within the municipality if General Cepeda by alternating “door days” and “home visit days.” In this way we are able to serve both those who come to the door of the mission house seeking physical and spiritual aid as well as those who are sick and homebound. We try to bring Jesus to both of these groups of people by caring for their spiritual needs always, and their physical needs when possible. Little Maria, who is a natural “people person,” thrives in both of these ministries!
As you know, General Cepeda is the base where we receive the majority of the mission trips who come to experience mission-life through Family Missions Company. Normally, we expect about a group per month on average. This year was a little slower, but the groups we had were truly ordained by God to bless General Cepeda!! We hosted six groups this year: the Theresians, Franciscan University of Steubenville, St. Pius parish, Cypress Heights Academy, Covecrest and Arizona Lifeteen staff, and – so dear to our hearts – a group that combined a medical mission with a group from our beloved home parish at St. John’s in Westminster, MD.
The St. John’s group, which came over Thanksgiving week, was particularly special because it was a memorial mission in honor of Alexandria Kowalczyk, one of St. John’s youth who was tragically killed in a car accident last winter. We had the honor of working together with Alex’s family and other members of our parish to construct a chapel in memory of Alex, honoring her desire to work in missions. The chapel was built in a rancho called Santa Ines, a village that had long been waiting for a place to worship. The money for the chapel was raised through Alex’s family members, friends, and youth group who wanted to memorialize her in a special way. The time we spent together with the people of Santa Ines was so very blessed! We felt it was our mission to not only provide them with a physical church building, but to help foster the growth of the spiritual Church in that community as well. So, we not only worked together, but we fellowshipped with the people, and after the afternoon meal we hosted prayer services with them.
The men and youth attended to the construction of the chapel, while the women and littlest ones hosted a bilingual Bible study with the rancho women. Once they saw what was happening, some of the men of Santa Ines also joined in the construction work. Meanwhile, the American and the Mexican women, who came from backgrounds and cultures so different and far removed, learned, prayed, shared, and even cried and comforted one another in the Bible studies despite the daunting language barrier! The Holy Spirit clearly reigned in this place.
God further manifested His glory and Providence in a very extraordinary way on our last day in Santa Ines. The pastor of General Cepeda had come out to offer a special Mass to dedicate the chapel in Alex’s memory and to name it after her patron saint, St. Faustina. At the moment the Mass was about to begin, Alex’s little sister, Sarah looked up in the sky and was the first to notice a very bright rainbow directly above the chapel! Not only were we in the desert, where it had not rained in months, but we also found it unusual that the rainbow was positioned at the very pinnacle of the sky. Padre Manuel perfectly encapsulated everyone’s reaction by exclaiming in Spanish, “This is a sign from God!” The Lord brought so much comfort and healing to Alex’s family and friends through this miracle, especially to little Sarah, who at age 9 had suffered so much pain and loss.
These are the moments in which we can wonder in awe at the Lord’s providence and omnipotence. He is truly there, guiding our every step, and constantly desiring to be a part of our joys, our sorrows, and even the seemingly insignificant details of our lives. I think that the reason our mission visitors tend to see His presence so much more clearly in the mission life is because the missionary lifestyle helps to sift out the noise and clamor of the world. Mission life shows us what life is like when we are out of our comfort zone and outside of our own ability to control and remedy everything for ourselves. The mission life enables us to have a clearer vision of what God can do when we “let go, and let God.” I think, perhaps, this might be the greatest lesson that life in missions has taught our family.
Well, I guess that is a perfect place to leave off. I pray that you all be richly blessed, and that God will do powerful things in your lives and the lives of your families. Please keep in touch and let us know how you are doing!
In Christ, our Sweet Lord,
Andrea, Kevin, Maria,
and Anthony Brown
P.S. Andrea has been strongly urged to pursue a course of treatment for her jaw that includes braces and jaw surgery. Please pray for guidance and discernment as we pursue these possibilities, for they will greatly influence our mode of service in this upcoming year. We’ll keep you posted!
Blessed be the Lord Jesus Christ! I pray that you are all well and that you enjoyed a very blessed Christmas and New Year. Since it has been a while since you received an update from us I wanted to write and “catch you up” a bit on what the Brown family has been up to in missions.
To begin with our family’s news, we are all doing very well. Maria just celebrated her 5th birthday, and is as sweet and wonderful as ever! She has been attending Mexican kindergarten two days a week, and I am home schooling her in English kindergarten the other days. Little Anthony turned one on August 30, and is a bumbling and busy little guy, who toddles around looking for trouble all day long. While Maria takes care of the “sugar and spice and everything nice department,” Anthony clearly has the “snakes, snails, and puppy dog’s tails” under control. Different as they are, the kids love each other a lot, and their laughter as they play together is our great joy.
This past year brought many blessings to General Cepeda, Mexico. We have had two new pastors since the previous year. The first new priest, Padre Jose, was a wonderful man to work with! He is so full of energy and zeal, and is very self-disciplined. He had been managing to reach each of the 54 ranchos for Mass at least once a month (no small feat when many of the ranchos are an hour or more away!). Unfortunately, Fr. Jose had to leave for medical reasons. However, God recently blessed us by bringing us a new shepherd, Padre Manuel de Jesus. Padre Manuel is also a very energetic, charismatic, and faithful priest, and although he is new to General Cepeda, he is already showing that God has big plans for him there!
In the Fall we were joined in the mission house by two other families for a few months. The community was a welcome blessing, and the children especially enjoyed having playmates around all the time. One of the families will continue to live in General Cepeda this year, but in their own house. We are excited to team up with them and see what God has in store for us all!
Our ministry has also been very blessed this past year. We adjusted our ministry schedule according to family needs and the wishes of our new pastor. Kevin began to take on some of the work away from home on his own in order to accommodate the new baby and home schooling. As a result, Kevin’s Spanish and preaching abilities have improved by leaps and bounds! He has lead many Communion services at ranchos that receive the Mass infrequently (with the bishop’s commissioning, of course).
We also visited two ranchos a week regularly as a family: Jalpa and Benito Juarez. Benito Juarez sort of “raised the bar” for us ministry-wise because, aside from being one of the furthest ranchos from General Cepeda, the people there are some of the least educated, most impoverished, and under-catechized that we have served. So, Kevin and I managed to tackle two class-levels each of catechesis among the kids, followed by a prayer service/Bible study for the adults. It made for a long afternoon/evening, but I pray the seeds planted will bear much fruit. Please keep this particular rancho in your prayers – they have a lot of spiritual needs.
We also continued to serve the people within the municipality if General Cepeda by alternating “door days” and “home visit days.” In this way we are able to serve both those who come to the door of the mission house seeking physical and spiritual aid as well as those who are sick and homebound. We try to bring Jesus to both of these groups of people by caring for their spiritual needs always, and their physical needs when possible. Little Maria, who is a natural “people person,” thrives in both of these ministries!
As you know, General Cepeda is the base where we receive the majority of the mission trips who come to experience mission-life through Family Missions Company. Normally, we expect about a group per month on average. This year was a little slower, but the groups we had were truly ordained by God to bless General Cepeda!! We hosted six groups this year: the Theresians, Franciscan University of Steubenville, St. Pius parish, Cypress Heights Academy, Covecrest and Arizona Lifeteen staff, and – so dear to our hearts – a group that combined a medical mission with a group from our beloved home parish at St. John’s in Westminster, MD.
The St. John’s group, which came over Thanksgiving week, was particularly special because it was a memorial mission in honor of Alexandria Kowalczyk, one of St. John’s youth who was tragically killed in a car accident last winter. We had the honor of working together with Alex’s family and other members of our parish to construct a chapel in memory of Alex, honoring her desire to work in missions. The chapel was built in a rancho called Santa Ines, a village that had long been waiting for a place to worship. The money for the chapel was raised through Alex’s family members, friends, and youth group who wanted to memorialize her in a special way. The time we spent together with the people of Santa Ines was so very blessed! We felt it was our mission to not only provide them with a physical church building, but to help foster the growth of the spiritual Church in that community as well. So, we not only worked together, but we fellowshipped with the people, and after the afternoon meal we hosted prayer services with them.
The men and youth attended to the construction of the chapel, while the women and littlest ones hosted a bilingual Bible study with the rancho women. Once they saw what was happening, some of the men of Santa Ines also joined in the construction work. Meanwhile, the American and the Mexican women, who came from backgrounds and cultures so different and far removed, learned, prayed, shared, and even cried and comforted one another in the Bible studies despite the daunting language barrier! The Holy Spirit clearly reigned in this place.
God further manifested His glory and Providence in a very extraordinary way on our last day in Santa Ines. The pastor of General Cepeda had come out to offer a special Mass to dedicate the chapel in Alex’s memory and to name it after her patron saint, St. Faustina. At the moment the Mass was about to begin, Alex’s little sister, Sarah looked up in the sky and was the first to notice a very bright rainbow directly above the chapel! Not only were we in the desert, where it had not rained in months, but we also found it unusual that the rainbow was positioned at the very pinnacle of the sky. Padre Manuel perfectly encapsulated everyone’s reaction by exclaiming in Spanish, “This is a sign from God!” The Lord brought so much comfort and healing to Alex’s family and friends through this miracle, especially to little Sarah, who at age 9 had suffered so much pain and loss.
These are the moments in which we can wonder in awe at the Lord’s providence and omnipotence. He is truly there, guiding our every step, and constantly desiring to be a part of our joys, our sorrows, and even the seemingly insignificant details of our lives. I think that the reason our mission visitors tend to see His presence so much more clearly in the mission life is because the missionary lifestyle helps to sift out the noise and clamor of the world. Mission life shows us what life is like when we are out of our comfort zone and outside of our own ability to control and remedy everything for ourselves. The mission life enables us to have a clearer vision of what God can do when we “let go, and let God.” I think, perhaps, this might be the greatest lesson that life in missions has taught our family.
Well, I guess that is a perfect place to leave off. I pray that you all be richly blessed, and that God will do powerful things in your lives and the lives of your families. Please keep in touch and let us know how you are doing!
In Christ, our Sweet Lord,
Andrea, Kevin, Maria,
and Anthony Brown
P.S. Andrea has been strongly urged to pursue a course of treatment for her jaw that includes braces and jaw surgery. Please pray for guidance and discernment as we pursue these possibilities, for they will greatly influence our mode of service in this upcoming year. We’ll keep you posted!
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