Remembering Louie
This time is the only time you have to love. I realize that now because of Louie. When I met him in Camiguin, I thought he was just another boy: dirty, not the most lovable. Louie and his sister Fe had cerebral palsy, and while Fe was sweet and loved to laugh, Louie was rather stoic. He wouldn’t talk or…
The Moms that Mother’s Day Forgot
A belated Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms! This year, Sammy and the kids made my day extra special with flowers, cards, a special breakfast, and even a original song that they wrote just for me! Mothers are the ones who help us tie our shoes Who wash the dishes we use But the best part is she loves…
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…
The Naughtiest Child
Ari was the naughtiest child I had ever met. When we first met Ari (age 6) we were shocked. It was as if his concupiscence was completely in charge. He would intentionally break things while you watched; he would walk around town in his boxers; he would hit other kids in the head with rebar; he would throw rocks at adults;…
Not Too Young
“But the LORD answered me, ‘Do not say, “I am too young.” To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak.’” (Jeremiah 1:7) If you show up at Faith Camp this summer, you are going to meet a whole bunch of bright-eyed, crazy-energetic, matching-shirted young people. They won’t only be the junior high students…
Hard Bends, Dead Ends, & Beautiful memories
[Annmarie Abeyesekera recently went on a medical mission trip with FMC in Peru. These vignettes and reflections are published here with her permission.] The highlight of my mission trip would have to be the second day of the trip. We traveled to a pueblo called Tres Unidos. It was not easy arriving at the Pueblo, but it sure was a little…
A Cold Coke in Haiti
The heat of a tropical island is something that just can’t be explained. You can have someone describe it to you and tell you what it’s like, but until you are there and living it, you just won’t be able to understand it. I know this because it happened to me. Dave and Andrea, my mission partners, tried explaining the…
The Gospel of Matthew, according to Alex
[Jason and Jessica Wilde, and their children Grace (10), Brecklyn (8), Alex (7), and Chi Yu (4), recently went on a medical mission trip with FMC in the Philippines. The following post, published here with permission, is from their blog.] The dim hospital room was packed full of 15 or 20 Filipino families, each huddled around a bed or crib holding their sick…
A Healing
Prayer works. I have seen it. So much of my brain wants to explain it away, but the obvious can’t be explained away. The obvious doesn’t need explanation. In the late afternoon of the second week of November, we made a visit to a tiny community outside of General Cepeda, Mexico. We went to Oratorio Chico to pray with the…
God at Work in Mexico – Intake 2016
It was such an unbelievable blessing to be back in our beloved General Cepeda, Mexico. It is a place that is so dear to our hearts, and the place Sarah feels more at home than any other place in the world. Aside from being the place we first met and the place God set my heart on fire for missions, it…
The Davis Family – Intake 2016
Every missionary has a “call to missions” story. It’s the time in our lives when we distinctly heard God say to us, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” (Mk 16:15). We are going to share the short version of God’s call to us. Our story really has two components: our call to missions and…
The Master Has Need of It
by Maria Gehl, writing prior to moving with her husband and children to Big Woods for Intake 2016. Now that we are committed to Family Missions Company, we have spent the past few weeks working on purging possessions, preparing a garage sale, and preparing to sell the house. I have to be honest: sorting all the possessions for a family of 7…
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…
