Perseverance in Prayer

As many of you know already, we have been fostering our son for two and a half years now and have ridden many emotional roller-coasters during that time.  At times, we wondered just where God was.  Was He even listening to our prayers?  Had He noticed the pain and heartache in our lives? 

It was tough especially this last year and a half.  Each time we got close to what seemed like the end of the ride, we were put on a new roller-coaster.  Each one more loopy than the one before.  Each one leaving our stomach in more knots than before. But each time we got off, we were so much stronger than when we got on---stronger in our marriage, stronger in our love for our son, stronger in our faith.  Things never seemed to go the way we hoped and prayed for, but always seemed to work out in the end.  But we continued to worry and fret and not trust God completely.

A few weeks ago, I sat in the courthouse literally all day waiting again for the termination of parental rights trial to be over.  Once again, we started out on a roller-coaster bright and early at 9:00 am.  It was a good thing that I hadn't had coffee or breakfast, or else it would have come up.  By mid morning, my emotions couldn't take the ups and downs and craziness anymore.  I went outside for some air and to call my prayer partners to give them an update on the newest stunt.  That was when I spotted the Cathedral steeple towering over the building across the street from the courthouse.  I knew the only person that would be able to fix this was Jesus himself.

I walked across the street only to find that the church was locked.  In tears, I walked around trying every door I could find.  I had no luck getting inside, but then I looked up and saw a statue of Our Blessed Mother in a small garden near a side entrance.  I sat down on the sidewalk next to her and cried out to her.  She was a mother, too.  She would understand my plea and could bring it to her Son for me.  Jesus had listened to her and followed her prompting at the wedding in Cana even though it "wasn't his time."  He performed a miracle at her request and changed water into wine to help that family in need.  I needed a miracle, and I knew she would hear my plea, mother to mother.  She would ask him to help my family in our time of need just as she did in Cana.

So there I sat for a half hour or so, pleading with Mary to intercede for us.  I asked her to plead with Jesus to take care of this case once and for all and to send me some comfort.  Suddenly, the wind began to blow ever so gently across this small courtyard garden.  I felt the loving peace and embrace of the Holy Spirit and knew that all would be fine, maybe not today, but one day, in God's time.  I had to trust Him completely.  I thanked Mary for listening, thanked the God for sending the Holy Spirit to comfort me, and slowly got up.  I walked around the church building to find yet another statue of Our Lady.  One more plea wouldn't hurt, so I knelt down there at the grotto and prayed one last time for Her intercession.

I returned to the courthouse to find that there hadn't been any update since I had left, but I still felt that peace.  I sat down to read the book that I had brought, Full of Grace by Johnette Benkovic.  I was behind in my reading for my women's prayer group and thought that I would catch up today while I sat in waiting.  I opened up to the bookmarked page to find that it marked something that I had already read not where I had last ended.  As I skimmed the page, I knew why my book mark was in this particular spot.  It was all about perseverance in prayer.  That was what our last meeting was about.  I remembered how comforting that last meeting and video presentation was to me after leaving the courtroom devastated last month.  Here it was again.  Those same words there to comfort me again. 

As I began to reread this part, I began to see my own story on the pages. Once again the Holy Spirit led me to what I needed to hear.  I felt more at peace than ever before.  "Why does God delay in answering our prayer?"  I could see each reason given in the book played out in our situation.  Increased humility, increased sensitivity, increased gratitude, increased patience, increased sorrow, increased love, and increased faith.  The next part was about the importance of thanking God in our times of trials.  Thank Him for this long, heart-wrenching trial was the urging in my heart. 

So, there I sat thanking God for the two years of struggles, pains, frustrations, and heartache that came with this case.  And as I thanked Him, I began to see exactly how He had used this "trial" to grow my faith and the faith of my family.  I saw how much we had all grown over the last few years as we battled for what was "best" for this child.  I saw how my love for Him and our son had changed over the course of the two and a half years.  I saw how this child had changed, how he had grown, and how his faith in God had increased a hundred fold also.  I saw how He had changed us.

For all this, I began to praise God from the depths of my soul which ended up being the very next thing in my book--praise Him at all times especially in times of trial.  All those tears shed, all the doubts, all the sufferings was exactly what our family needed to get to where we are today.  I knew this in my head all along, but now I knew and felt it in my heart and soul.  It was one of those very profound "Ah, Ha!" moment.  There was a Charismatic prayer meeting going on inside my heart and head!  I never proclaimed so many "Alleluia! Praise the Lord! and Praise you, Jesus!" in all my life!

At that moment, a worker came through the doors with the paperwork needed.  This was going to be the day!  And it was!  Our prayers had been heard and were answered all in God's time.     

What Almost Destroyed Our Marriage

Dark Secret #2 & 3 Revealed 

With all the talk about the HHS Mandate and the "pill" lately, I've seen lots of Facebook posts, read lots of articles, and viewed lots of video testimonies that question the Catholic Church's stand against the "pill".   I've really felt called to share my story, but hadn't because it's very personal.  But a few months ago, I had a dream in which my entire story was written out for all the world to see.  I actually saw it being typed out before my eyes.  So, I prayed and then typed it out, but could never click the "Publish" button.

A few weeks ago I felt the calling to share my story again when I saw it sitting in my list of posts "unpublished".  I ignored it.  A few days later, I picked up my husband's Knights of Columbus magazine and began to browse the articles.  I found one that literally brought tears to my eyes.  It was one on the "unmentioned" side effects of the "pill." As I read each one, I began to cry more and more.  It was my story! It was our life!  It described everything I had gone through and everything I had put my family through.  Again, I felt the urge to share my story, but again ignored it. 

This past Sunday, I entered our church parish to find a Natural Family Planning framed poster on the altar in front of the ambo. Immediately, I thought of this blog waiting to be shared.  Then our pastor  told us that it was Natural Family Planning week and that his homily would be on Humanae Vitae.  He shared how the Church shepherds had failed for so long to teach the truth of this document and that he would be changing that.  Then he shared a little of his personal testimony.  It was at that point that I knew I had to finally click "Publish."

So, here is my story of how the pill almost ruined my life, my marriage, and more importantly my soul.

My story begins back in high school.  I was the last one in my circle, probably my class, to officially enter into womanhood.  It was great and not so great at the same time.  Most of the time I just pretended that I had gotten "it", because I wanted to fit in.  Once I finally did get "it", "it" was horrible!  I had the worst time every month.  I started getting  headaches, the worst cramping you could possibly imagine, terrible backache, and irregularity that had me constantly worrying about when "it" would come again.  I often missed days of school laying on a heating pad.  Finally, my mom decided to take me to a "female" doctor who was actually a man. Ick!

After my examination, this doctor wanted to talk to me "alone" in his office.  He gave me the option of two different "kinds" of medication.  One was the "pill".  He explained that this one would help my monthly issues the most and protect me from other "things." (Wink. Wink.)   Well, I opted for the one that would relieve my symptoms the most.  I left out of there and got my prescription filled ready to have a "normal" life.  Little did I know, I wouldn't have a normal life again for many, many years.

Fast forward five or six years, I'm married and ready to begin my family.  I get off of the "pill" and nothing.  Month after month, no baby.  A year goes by, no baby.   Several months in a row, I went in to my doctor's office after having a positive pregnancy test only to have the blood work come back negative.  I was completely devastated, but still did not fully understand what was happening.  I was told that this is "normal" after being on the "pill" for so long.  What? No one explained this to me EVER!

After another year of no successful pregnancy, I decided to see another doctor, a specialist.  This one informed me all about what prolonged use of the "pill" does to your body.  He explained that the egg was being fertilized, but that it wasn't attaching to the uterus because my hormones were out of whack and weren't allowing implantation. I was so mad that no one had ever explained this to me before and so devastated that I had lost so many little blessings.  But I still didn't realize the full reality of what had been happening---my own body had been aborting my babies. (Yes, the pill has an abortifacient effect.)

Fast forward again five years, we have three beautiful children and instructions from my new "Catholic" doctor NOT to have any more kids due to the three high risk pregnancies.  This doctor had tried to convince me to have my tubes tied after baby number two, but really tried  hard with baby number three.  I continuously refused to allow that to happen.  The doctor moved in on my husband making him fear that he could possibly lose his wife or the next baby if we were to conceive again.  Again, being young and naive and thoroughly exhausted from all the issues we were having with our newborn daughter's health, we gave in, and my husband had the procedure done. 

Once again the horrible periods came, the gut wrenching cramping, the horrendous back pain, and awful irregularity that I had as a teenager.  This time I ended up in the hospital with a ruptured cyst on my ovary.  Again, I was told the best thing for my problem was to go back on the birth control pill.  But I was "so lucky this time.  They had come out with a pill that eliminated your cycle for months at a time!  Medicine had advanced so much since I last took the "pill".  They were much safer now."  Once again, I, desperate and still somewhat naive, bought it hook, line, and sinker.  I knew that I would never be able to conceive again anyway and the only "problem" it seemed to cause in the past was not being able to conceive.

It wasn't long before I started noticing some of the "unmentioned" side effects.   My mood swings were swinging so quickly that I felt I was on a merry-go-around. My migraines began again and were worse than ever before.  I was no longer attracted to my husband and wanted nothing to do with him---physically.  Everyone and everything was against me, rubbed me the wrong way, and made me miserable.  No one knew the horrible roller coaster I was on except my husband and kids.  They began to tip toe ever so gently around me which made me more irritable and angry.

I sunk into a deep depression and just wanted to hide out in my room all day and night.  I remember laying in bed trying to figure out a way to end my life without really committing suicide---car accident was the only thing I could come up with.  I even remember asking God to just have me go off a bridge or something. I really feared that I could one day get to the point of hurting myself or someone around me.  I felt as if there was a different person living in my body and in my mind.  I knew I needed to get out of this "funk", so I prayed and prayed for God to show me the way.

One night after a horribly emotional day, I called my sister-in-law, and we began to talk.  As we talked, I shared how "out of control" I felt.  As I talked, she kept saying, "Me too." She and I began to compare stories and realized that we had all the same "symptoms".  Finally, we learned that we had both been put on this new "pill" for medical reasons about the same time.  I got off the phone and began researching this new "pill".  I found tons of chat rooms, forums, support groups, etc. all full of women talking about this same "out of control" feeling I was experiencing.  I checked the pharmaceutical website next----NOTHING!  That was the last day I took the "pill."

 I continued to research and read over the next few months.  I continued to learn all about the "unmentioned" side effects of the "pill"---mood swings, headaches, hormonal shifts, depression, anger, blood clots, stroke, cancer, etc.  I began to look back at my life.  My migraines, depression, and extreme moodiness began in high school (first began taking the pill), worsened in college/first year of marriage (switched to a new improved pill), and came back after third child was born (began the new only have a period every few months pill).  It all began to make sense and fit.

Then I began to look at our society and realized that this little "pill" was probably the cause of so many failed marriages, broken homes, abusive homes, and the absolute fall of family life in our society.  The Catholic Church was right and had predicted this way back in 1960---contraception would be the downfall of family values and society.  It would lead the way to so many other sinful acts---sexual promiscuity, abortion, adultery. 

Over the next few months, I slowly began to feel like myself again, but really didn't even know who I was.  I had been on this roller coaster of a ride since high school.  I had a lot of self-discovery to do.  For most of my life, I was either on the "pill" or pregnant, so I had no idea what "normal" for me was.  Neither did my husband.  It took a year or two for us to figure it all out and fall in love with one another again, but things still weren't perfect.  There was still something eating away at my soul and causing intimacy issues in our marriage. 

A few years later, I attended a continuing education class on Sexuality and Morality to be able to continue to teach religion at my school.  It was in this class that I learned so much about my body, my hormones and pheromones, and about God's plan for sexual intimacy.  During this time, I was also reading a lot about Theology of the Body.  God's plan for human sexuality, marriage, and intimacy was the Truth I had been searching for.  It was then that I realized what was still missing in our marriage---our openness to receive children.

Even though we both had confessed this many, many times to many different priests and both knew we had been forgiven by God long ago, we still hadn't forgiven ourselves for making such a hasty and uninformed decision.  It was hard for us to work through this no matter how hard we tried.  Something always felt missing.  Something always felt wrong.  We had always planned on having a large family, and I continued to imagine the kids that should have been running around our home causing chaos with the others.

I desperately wanted more children---the children God had intended for us to have.   I began to make this my plea to God everyday numerous times a day.  My husband and I began to discuss this more and more.  We wanted to make up for the mistake that we had made.  We wanted assurance that we had been forgiven.  That's when God began to call us to be foster/adoptive parents.  We once again are able welcome children into our home and family.  This is one of those ways that God turns a bad decision into something positive.

Another positive that can come from all the misery is if just one of you reading our story makes a choice to stop using contraception.  If we can help just one couple from making the mistakes we have made, then it was all worth it.  I challenge each of you reading this to do your own research and to pray fervently for our Lord to lead you to make the right decisions for your marriage, but more importantly for your soul and the soul of your spouse.

The only reason the "pill" did not destroy our marriage was because through it all we kept turning to God in our trials.  We continued to attend Mass even when we didn't think we were worthy.  We continued to beg for His help when things seemed hopeless.  We continued to stand by our vows even when we didn't want to.  I thank God everyday for my husband and the strength and courage God gave Him to stand by my side as Satan tried to destroy our family as he has so many others. 

Here's a link to the KC article What They Didn't Tell You in Sex Ed by Alton J. Pelowski.  This was the article that summed up about 16 years of my life.  It helped both me and my husband better understand that awful time in our life even though we had left it behind many years ago. 

Here's some links to the Church's teaching on contraception.  Even if you aren't Catholic, read it with an open mind.  It makes sense.  Just look at the world around us and see for yourself.

• Humanae Vitae
•  Church Teaching on Birth Control
•  Theology of the Body

Here's a link to information on Natural Family Planning. (It's not just for Catholics!)  Read about it.  It's not that hard to do and now there's an App for even that!

My last blog was about accepting God's challenge.  This was not an easy challenge for me.  It was one of the hardest things for me to publish.  I pray that you accept the challenge---inform yourself and seek the truth.  That is our biggest regret---we didn't inform ourselves.


Update:
Here's another great article: http://www.myfemininemind.com/2012/07/things-your-doctor-may-not-have-told_25.html


BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE NEW ENDING TO THIS POST: http://forbetterrworse.blogspot.com/2015/07/how-did-that-happen.html

Challenge Accepted

Once again we packed up and headed out for the week.  We've been doing that A LOT lately.  Last summer after traveling with the swim team every weekend, we vowed that "Next summer, we are staying put!"  Yeah, well that didn't seem to be in God's plan for us.  I can imagine him laughing as we said that last summer knowing what He had planned for our family this summer.  It seems that each time we say "not", we end up "doing" a 100 fold.  God had already led us on a mission trip to Mexico, a mission trip to New Orleans, and to North Carolina for three baptisms and a marriage blessing.
 
This past week was spent in Abbeville with the Family Missions Company.  The two boys attended their week long camp called Faith Camp aka Best Week of Your Life.  I signed up to be a Kitchen Mom/Runner for the week, and the girls tagged along as my "helpers."  Travis came to meet us each day after work and was a Dad on Patrol at night after lights out.  We stayed at Our Lady of the Bayous, an old Dominican convent that FMC now owns and uses as a retreat center.

Even though we were behind the "scenes" most of the time, we did get a glimpse of the spirit filled week.  It was amazing to see this camp, mostly run by teenagers and very young adults, in action.  It was awesome to witness those faith filled young people leading the junior high kids closer to Christ each day.  Adoration on Wednesday evening was very emotional for me as I literally watched some of these kids transformed by Christ right before my eyes.  By the end of the evening, every kid was on their knees with eyes fixed on Christ and singing praises from the depths of their hearts.

On Friday, I was able to hear some of the middle schoolers testimonies before they left.  It was so wonderful to hear the young girls speak about now knowing their true beauty and not the fake beauty society demands from them and about embracing modesty.  The young boys also touched my heart when they got up and spoke with passion about having met Jesus during the week and learning how to pray.  Some of the leaders of the camp then reminded each one of them that they had been challenged that week and that they had accepted that challenge.  They were once again challenged to bring their spirit filled high into the world and not let the world lead them astray.

As I sat and pondered all that was said, I thought about the challenges God has been setting before me and my family.  I wondered if I was truly ready to accept them completely and totally.  I didn't have think very long.  The next speaker was the camp coordinator.  In his challenge to the parents, he confirmed and reaffirmed everything that we had been praying about, everything we felt in our hearts, and everything we wanted for our family.  I knew that I had accepted the challenge long ago.

Shades of Grey & Magic Mike

Dark Secret #1 Revealed 

Disclaimer right from the start:  I AM NOT JUDGING ANYONE THAT HAS READ THESE BOOKS OR HAS GONE TO SEE THIS MOVIE.  Several years ago, I would have been able to loan you my copy of the book and would have been sitting next to you at the movie.

God has changed me so much in what seems like such a short time, but I know He has been hard molding my mind and forming my conscience all along.  And I know that He's not finished with me yet, because I'm still not a perfect Christian.  I fall many times in my daily life, but each time I do, He picks me up, dusts me off, and shows me a better way.  Each time I come out realizing how much more vigilant I have to be in today's world.

Several weeks, maybe months ago, I started seeing lots of Facebook posts about this new book 50 Shades of Grey.  I mentally noted that title on my to-read list for later.  As time went on, that title began popping up everywhere.  A fellow Catholic blogger had written a review on it, so I clicked on over to get a preview of what I'd be reading when my life slowed down.  I was appalled to see it referred to as "mommy porn."  Surely, this couldn't be the book that was sweeping the nation.

So, what do you do when you want information---Google it.  And so the search began.  I skimmed so many articles, so many reviews.  With each review, I felt more sick to my stomach.  My heart ached for these women.  I continued to think surely this isn't as bad as it looks.  I was deeply concerned for all the souls of the women, especially my friends, who had read or were reading this.  So, I talked to one of our local priests about this book.   He confirmed that it was indeed as bad as the reviews I had read made it out to be.  My first reaction was, "What is wrong with all my friends? Do they not care about offending God?"

Then the Holy Spirit gently reminded me.... Umm...Twlight?  Yep, I had been there and done that before.  I had even pointed out the "good and virtuous storyline about saving virginity until marriage" and had ignored the fact that it had aroused lustful thoughts in my mind.  And so I prayed for forgiveness for myself and enlightenment for others. 

Just as the 50 Shades statuses began to disappear, the Magic Mike ones began to show up.  And guess what I did.  Yep, Googled it.  Immediately, images from my bachelorette party came to mind, and I felt sick all over again.  It was an evening that I had managed to block from my mind for sometime now.  It was a night that I had felt uneasy about from the moment it was mentioned to me, but at that time in my life I was caught up in trying to please and impress everyone else but God.  So, I went along to watch the male dancers with a group of my bridesmaids.

From the moment we walked in, I felt dirty and ashamed, but not enough to leave or speak up.  It wasn't anything a few drinks couldn't take care of.  I wasn't even a big drinker, but I drank a lot that night trying to get over my embarrassment.  Based on the pictures from the night, it must have worked.  By the end of the night, I was obviously having a good time and partaking in the activities.  But those pictures made me sick to my stomach when I saw them days later, but I played along with all the laughter and fun of reminiscing.  Then I buried them deep in a box in the attic the first chance I got and buried the memories deep in the back of my mind for many years.

A week or two after my "party", it was my future husband's turn.  His groomsmen and friends were taking him out for his bachelor party.  The feeling in my stomach was not nearly as sickening as the one in my heart.  I did not want him to go.  I begged him not to, but I looked more like a hypocrite at that point than a concerned fiancee.  I told him how I felt when I thought of him looking and lusting after another woman.  I knew that he understood, but again we were young, naive, and living for approval from the world.   He left with his friends, and I cried myself to sleep that night.  I knew deep down that this was NOT how we were suppose to start our life together.  

Years later when moving, I came across the box and the pictures.  The sick feeling came over me again.  But by this time in my life, I was realizing that the world was so wrong and so misleading about what is good and acceptable.  I had also come to know what a loving and forgiving Father we had.  I was able to confess my sin with true sorrow to God, and then I vowed to avoid the "near occasion of sin."  I then burned the photos and prayed that the copies others had never surfaced again or just miraculously disappeared off the face of the Earth. 

For years, I had not thought of that night nor those photos, but seeing the first few seconds of the Magic Mike movie trailer had stirred up all kinds of emotions including that awful shame.  I once again begged God's forgiveness for the times in my life that I had offended Him and asked Him to help lead my friends and family out of the darkness of the world into the light of Christ like He had led me.   He then challenged me to be that light.  Whoa!

This morning I opened my computer and browsed through the articles on the online version of the National Catholic Register, and came across yet another article regarding 50 Shades.  I had stopped reading them, but something impelled me to read this particular one. I skimmed the article not finding anything intriguing, but I happened to find a link to another one in the comments.

The link was to a blog written by Sr. Helena Burns, a sister belonging to the Daughters of St. Paul, an order dedicated to spreading God's Word through media.  She is also a teacher of Theology of the Body and that was what caught my attention!  Theology of the Body is the pure and simply Truth about human sexuality.  TOB is what opened my eyes as to why I felt dirty and ashamed for so many years.  It's what opened my eyes to this particular verse, “If a man looks at a woman lustfully, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” –Jesus (Matthew 5:28).

TOB really changed my way of thinking about myself and the others around me, so I had to see what this nun had to say.  After reading her VERY long, but very truthful, blog about Magic Mike and 50 Shades, I posted it on Facebook immediately and then immediately deleted it.  I felt the Holy Spirit move in my heart to share my story first---to be the light that others can relate to.

Many times I have felt the urge to post about 50 Shades or Magic Mike or to post a link to an article that I felt spoke the Truth about both of these, but each time I feared offending my friends or starting a debate war on FB which is something I absolutely hate to see on people's pages.  I wish people could read other people's viewpoints and then pray about it if it offends you or doesn't match your views.  If you think theirs is wrong, then pray for them to see the Truth or for you to see their side more clearly.  Arguing on Facebook, it not going to make them "See the Light."  You catch more flies with honey.

Anyway, after that, I felt called to write this blog not to condemn those who have read or watched these, not to judge anyone, but to challenge you to pray about the things the world is constantly bombarding our lives with.  It is so easy to get caught up in the hype of the newest fad whether it be books, movies, fashion, etc.  The evil one loves sneaking into our lives when we aren't vigilant and desensitizing us to his evil ways.

So, now that I've shared one of my dark secrets for the world (ok, my little world of 12 followers),  here's the link to Sr. Helena Burns blog Hell Burns: Magic Mike.

I do want to leave you with a quote from her blog (in case you don't actually read it).   This really stuck out to me and rings so true for me.  It's something I am desperately trying to I instill into my two daughters' heads and hearts early on even though I'm praying that they will both be nuns. :)

"Who are the “sexiest” men alive? Family men. They are hidden deep within families. They are men who love their wives and children fundamentally, freely, fully, faithfully and fruitfully."

How God Speaks to Us

God is very faithful and will always tell you what He wants you to hear, we just have to be open to what He says and how He sends His message.  For our family, he has to use a wide variety of ways because we aren't always open to his subtle ways.  Sometimes He has to get creative.  Many of you have heard or read about our "billboard" from God to become foster parents, our "flyer" from God to go a mission trip, my "text message" from God calming my fears regarding our son. Lately, He has been trying to tell us something, but we can't quite seem to get the clear message.  Our ears and eyes are open; we just haven't opened up our hearts to completely yet. 

During our family mission trip to Mexico, we began to seriously ponder whether our family was being called to be full time missionaries and decided that we would pray about it more when we returned home.  The first Sunday back in our home parish, we were reminded of that promise when the the gospel was proclaimed. (Matthew 28: 16-20)  "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations...."  I looked up at Travis, and we got the giggles. This was the verse we had heard many times during our trip.  We knew that was our reminder to pray about being missionaries.

Since then we have been praying individually and as a family about what God is calling our family to do.  After several weeks of prayer, there's no doubt we are being called to a mission of some kind. We have all had the word mission or missionary come up numerous times in our daily lives even when not in prayer.  We have been led to pick up random prayer cards, read random books, or randomly open the Bible to find things such as:  "follow me, proclaim the Gospel to all nations, feed my sheep, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, trust in the Lord, etc."

While trying to figure out what all these subtle things were trying to lead us to, I received an email from www.praymorenovenas.com.  St. Anthony's feast day was approaching, and the email was inviting me to participate in a novena to St. Anthony.   I knew that St. Anthony had interceded for me many times when I had lost something.  I hadn't lost anything, but I decided to specifically asking for his intercession regarding our family's mission.  After all we were "lost" about what we were to do.

This is what I read on St. Anthony's feast day, the day after the novena ended.

These two readings definitely confirmed that God was going to be calling us to something new once again.  I think He likes turning our life upside down when we get too comfortable.  It's His way of calling us into a closer relationship with Him. But this still didn't quite confirm the whole foreign mission thing for us.  So, we continued to pray for another more specific sign. 

A week later during our weekly family Holy Hour at the Adoration chapel, my husband who normally just reads his Bible during our hour, picked up a random book off the shelf and began to read it.  He kept looking my way and grinning, so I leaned over to see what he was reading.  The book was called Six Ways to Pray from Six Great Saints.  It began with the story of St. Francis of Assisi and how he gave up all to follow God's call to be a missionary.  It went on to talk about how each of these saints prayed to know God's will and how they gave up everything to bring Christ to others.  And so we began to pray harder.

The next week our family was torn between two different events on the same night.  One was at our home church parish.  The other was at the Family Missions Company in Abbeville.  We debated back and forth trying to figure out where we were "supposed" to be.  At the last minute Travis decides that we need to attend the Catholicism session at our home parish.  The kids were a little disappointed.  They feel that we are being called to be missionaries and think the more we go to FMC the more convinced Dad will be.

I try to reason with them and tell them that if we are to be missionaries then we must know our faith.  That this was in His plans for us tonight.  That we had to be open to whatever He was calling us to do even if it wasn't to be foreign missionaries.  We drive over to the Church hall still discussing what God is calling us as a family to do.  I said a quick prayer upon arriving for God move in all our hearts and for us to be open to what we will hear and learn.  

We were each given a prayer card that we would all say together for the opening prayer.  We didn't pay much attention to it until Father began and we read the first line aloud.   Immediately, we began to smile.  Remember that reoccurring verse?  "...proclaim the Gospel to all the nations."  Chuckling followed as we read aloud "...mission guided by the Holy Spirit..." and "so that we...might be worthy missionaries...".  The chuckles then turned into giggles as we continued with "make us valiant witnesses...help us to communicate to others the joy we have received...permit us to be humble, but not fearful..."  The uncontrollable giggling came when we read "St. Therese, Patroness of Missionaries, Pray for us!"

Yes, we know this doesn't necessarily mean pack up, sell everything, and become foreign missionaries.  But in light of all of our prayers and recent conversations especially the one we had just had before arriving at this event, it sounded like it was written just for our family at that moment. And so we began to pray more fervently about our family's mission.

This weekend our parish church had a relic of Blessed Mother Teresa and a large exhibit of her life in the parish center.  After praying during Mass for her intercession to know what our family's mission is, we were able to go up and venerate her relic.  I once again prayed for a clear answer to what God has been calling our family to do.  We crossed the street to view the exhibit and naturally found poster after poster talking about her call to missions, her missionary journey, and the people she ministered too along with numerous quotes that spoke right to my heart.  I had read her story before and seen many of the pictures numerous times, but this time it made my heart race with excitement and fear.  And standing in front of the giant missionary poster I begged God for another sign.

Later that same evening we headed to our family Holy Hour.  This time the spirit led me to read Ruth.  I began reading about how Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah's husbands all died.  I look over at my husband and then at Jesus.  Umm....I'm not liking this scripture.  But I continued on to read how Ruth followed Naomi to a foreign land instead of heading back to her own country where she would have been "more comfortable."  I began to think about how she would have felt going to a foreign country.  She surrendered her own comforts to care for her mother-in-law.  Her willingness to surrender to the unknown and sacrifice for another, led her to become an ancestor of the Messiah.  This, of course, led me right back to thoughts of how foreign missionaries are called out of their country to put others first and how blessed they are in return for following God's call.

So, once again, before the Blessed Sacrament, I begged for more "signs" for me and for my husband.  I begged for a clear answer for myself and for him.  Again, I heard, "Feed my sheep."  And again I asked, "What sheep? Where are they? Who are they?" as the doorbell rang signaling our hour was up.  We left and headed for The Rocket Drive Inn for our traditional Sunday night ice cream.  I checked my phone messages and opened up Facebook while waiting for my dipped cone.  This is the first picture I see on Facebook. 

Anyone know where this was taken?  I'm pretty sure it's the sheep I'm suppose to feed! God is so humorous at times especially when we don't listen well!

My Spiritual Journey

I grew up the oldest of four and the only girl. I had many responsibilities growing up that led me to become a “take charge” and “get it done” kind of person. Everywhere I went, in everything I did, I took charge and got things done---in my marriage, at my job, in my community. I was the go-to person. I was the one that rarely said, “No,” and still am to some degree, although, I'm getting better about what I say "Yes" too.

I love helping people. I love finding solutions to problems. I love “fixing” things, making them better or easier for myself or others. But over the course of my 30 something years, I have discovered that there are many things in life that I am unable to “fix”, unable to find solutions for, unable to make easier. It took me a long time to convince myself that I couldn’t do it all, and I sometimes still need reminding.

My first major reality check was when one of my brothers got into drugs and then trouble with the law. I was married and living three hours away. I felt helpless. I had always tried to take care of my brothers. They called it being “bossy”. I called it protecting and loving them. Having no control over that situation was very hard for me, but there was nothing I could physically do. Nothing I could say or do that would “fix” him, nothing I could say or do to make it easier for my parents, nothing I could say or do to stop it from happening again….nothing but pray and give it to God. This was the beginning of my spiritual journey as an adult.

Throughout the next few years, my faith grew as I continued to learn that there were lots of things I couldn’t do on my own. I tried. I always tried to do things my way first. It would have been easier to just give things to God first, but I always tried to take care of things myself. Then when things didn’t work out or got worse, I then turned it over to God and asked for help. Sometimes I gave it to Him and then took it back many times before I actually let go, and let Him. It amazed me each time how His plan always worked out much better than my original plan, but I still had trouble letting Him take care of things right from the start.

My second major reality check was when my youngest daughter was born with medical problems that required lots of surgeries. Again, I had no control over this. I couldn’t fix it and make it better. It was hard for me to watch her suffer. But by then, I had figured out that God would be the only way to see us through this. I had to give it to God and let him take care of her. During the first three years of her life, she had over 20 surgeries: laser ones and reconstructive ones. I had to quit my job. We lost our house. We could barely care for her much less the other two toddlers we had at home. So, once again, I had to give it to God and let him take care of her and us. We made it through this very difficult time, and once again came out stronger than ever in our faith.

Once life seemed to calm down, I went back to work and back to all the things I loved doing…helping, volunteering, organizing, leading, fixing, etc. After a few years of trying to take care of everyone and everything and trying to make all the things I was involved in just perfect, I realized that I was tired and overly stressed and that this stress was overflowing into my family life. I tried different things to try to “fix” the problems that were creeping into to my home, my family, and my marriage. And after lots of talking and praying, we began to make changes in our lives.

I slowly began giving up positions on various boards and committees I was on. We slowly began limiting our kids’ extra-curricular activities which had slowly taken over our lives. We slowly began cleaning out our lives of clutter and unnecessary distractions. This was very hard for me, but I knew God was calling me to slow down and let go of the steering wheel. I panicked to think about whether the person that took my place would “know what to do” or be able to “do it the right way”. I felt I needed to let things go, but my strong-willed personality just couldn’t seem to actually “let it go.” I struggled with this for quite some time before I eventually listened to God's call.

After lots of prayer, I finally realized that things would still go on without my help and involvement and that my way was not the only way. As I let go of these things and started asking God to help me see what was really important in life, our life began to drastically change. The more we took ourselves “out of the world”, the more peaceful our lives became. Things continuously got better, less stressful. The kids seemed to behave better because we weren’t running around from here to there. Our marriage seemed to take on a new “honeymoon” feel. Our home life was just all around better, and our faith life grew drastically.

But as things began to work themselves out and continuously improved around us, we began to desire more change. I felt that I was being called to something greater than just doing away with a few extra activities. As I prayed, I continued to feel the call to simplify our lives even more. We began ridding our lives of worldly things that were not helping our journey to Heaven. We began to de-clutter our house and as we did, our lives began to de-clutter. Without the distractions of the world, we were able to become closer to God. We became closer to each other. When we began to truly trust God and His plan for us and truly put Him first in our lives, things just fell right into place for us.

About this time in our life, we were approached for the 100th time to attend a Faith Renewal. Instead of saying we can’t because we have x, y, and z going on, our calendar was clear. My husband and I attended together, and it was truly a “renewing” weekend for us. We had confirmation after confirmation that we were on the right path and that God was calling us to continue this change in our lives. We left the weekend more confident about the decisions we had made. The timing was just perfect for us.

In the year after the renewal, we continued to pray and follow God’s call to be “in the world and not of the world.” We continued our faith journey by making our Cursillo that same year and truly dedicating ourselves to learning more about our faith and following Christ instead of the world. This was tough especially when others around us thought we were nuts when I quit my job, pulled my kids out of school, and began homeschooling. It’s hard to follow Christ’s plan because it is so radically different from the world’s plan for us, but we have never been so blessed in all our life. We have never felt more at peace than we do now even when trials come our way, they are much easier to deal with know that God will be there to take care of us because we are following his call.

I’ve also learned that God doesn’t let you be “comfortable” for too long. He continuously challenges us to go above and beyond. Sometimes it’s very hard to accept what He’s asking us to do. Just recently we were called to take our family including the four kids to Mexico on a mission trip. If anyone watches the news, you’ve heard what Mexico is like. We don’t watch it, but people were more than happy to tell us about all the horrible things going on. But we felt the call so strongly that we just had to trust that God would take care of us. So, off we went last month to Mexico for 10 days with our four kids. It was the most blessed week of our life. And we if had not trusted God’s will for us, we would have missed out.

Our life isn’t perfect now. We still have struggles and trials. As a matter of fact, we are in the middle of one of the biggest trials of our life. We are in the process of trying to adopt of foster son and just learned that after 2 ½ years that it may never happen for us. At first I was devastated, I questioned God as I usually do and then was reminded of all the other obstacles that have been put in the way of this adoption and how each obstacle was overcome and how much better our situation was afterwards. And so I gave it to Him one night through all the tears and haven't thought about it much since.

I don’t understand His plan, I usually never do, but I’ve learned that He always has one and His is always better than mine. I just have to let go, and let Him handle it. That doesn’t mean I’m not still worried or anxious, because I’m human. I’ve gathered all my prayer warriors to give me extra peace and comfort, but I know deep down He knows best for all of us. I just have to trust in Him.

The song below is a song I discovered a few years ago when I was really struggling with the normal stresses of life. Many nights I’d play it over and over to remind myself that I was not in control and that I had to lay it down and give it to God.

Lay It Down by Needtobreathe

Another Mission Trip

Well, after returning from our family Pentecost Mission Trip in General Cepeda, Mexico, I had one week to rest up and then pack up again.  This time I was helping our youth director chaperone a group of 29 on a youth mission trip/youth retreat in New Orleans called Alive in You.

Every summer for the past 12 years or so, we have brought a group from our parish to one of the Steubenville Conferences.  It was always a very fun and faith-filled weekend, but in the past few years our numbers began to dwindle.  Our youth director decided that we needed a change, and after receiving an Alive in You flyer and checking out the website, we both agreed that this looked like the change we wanted.

So last Tuesday I left behind my husband and kids, we loaded up about 24 teens, 3 moms, 1 grandma, and a priest, and headed down to New Orleans for 6 days.  We arrived at the St. Clement of Rome school and unloaded our bags---suitcases, sleeping bags, and air mattresses.  We found our PreK classroom and began blowing up all the air mattresses.  I am NOT a fan of air mattresses, so I rolled out a camping mat and my new sleeping bag. I had forgotten my pillow along with many other things!  (Last minute packing = failed)

Wall to wall girls & air mattresses (29 to be exact)

We then headed out to check out the shower trailers.  Because we were staying at an elementary school, there were no showers.  The Alive in You crew had ordered shower trailers for us to use.  Of course, I had forgotten to bring a bathing suit to shower in, so I prayed that the trailer had individual stalls and was not an huge open area.  Answered prayer #1!   The showers really weren't that bad and had private stalls!  God does love me!

We were blessed again with our assignments.  We worked at the Museum of Art in their Sculpture Garden in the mornings pulling weeds under this nice shady tree.

And cutting down some overgrown "marsh grass looking stuff".

Father Jeff was determined to get it all cut.

Our afternoon assignment was cleaning and more weeding at the Sisters of the Holy Family Convent.   Our crew jumped in and followed all of Sister Anne's orders without blinking an eye.  Some continued outdoor work in the sisters' gardens.  Others followed Sister upstairs to the bathrooms and began cleaning the tubs, showers, floors, walls, and toilets without any complaint.  Another group spent the entire afternoon cleaning the numerous windows on all three floors and wiping down all the blinds in the three story convent.  These kids did these tedious and unpleasant jobs for three days without any grumbling, but rather with a lot of joyful singing and beautiful smiles!

A group of window wipers

The best part of working at the convent was getting to know the sisters.  It was so wonderful to sit down with them and listen to their stories.  (I'd say the average age of the sisters had to be at least 70!)  They were so happy to have all these young ladies and a few young men around the convent.  They especially liked baby Molly!   It was so good for these young teens to see the joy in these women who had given their entire lives to Christ and His Church. 

Sr. Josephine loved wheeling around chatting with the kids.

Identical twin sister Sisters

After three days of hard work, these Sisters decided to do something for us.  Before we left on Friday afternoon, they made fresh homemade shrimp po-boys and had some local men boil crawfish for us.  There was one other group working there with us from Florida, and they wanted to give them a taste of "real" Louisiana cooking.  All 70 of us were treated to a half of a shrimp po-boy and a quart sized bag of boiled crawfish.  They were so excited to be able to do something for us after we gave the convent a good ole' fashioned Spring cleaning.

Our evenings were spent having crazy themed dinners, competing in crazy competitions, listening to testimonies, and singing praises to God. 

One of our teens leading the rosary

Stache Bash Dinner

One of the competitions

The best part of the evening was our late night "family" talks.  Some of our teens were asked to give their testimony to their own peers.  They all stepped up without batting an eye.  They gave their "witness" talks which got the conversations rolling.  It was really awesome to hear how these teens stepped up and out of the normal high school drama.  Teens talking about attending Adoration when they have problems, not following the crowd, standing up for what it right, depending on the Eucharist for strength---was so amazing to hear.  It gave me hope.

On Saturday, we had some free time to spend enjoying the sights of New Orleans.  Our group decided to do a pilgrimage to Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos' shrine at St. Mary's Assumption Church.  I had first heard of Father Seelos at a retreat a few years back and had prayed to him many times for his intercession for family members' healings.  I was anxious to go and find our more about him and to ask for his help once again.

His story was amazing and really touched me.  The stories of the known miracles and the beatification process were also captivating.  The church and its history was just as beautiful as the stories.  We all had a chance to pray to Blessed Seelos and the crucified Jesus for whatever was on our hearts.  It was such a blessed morning.

Afterwards, we headed down to the Riverwalk for some lunch, beignets, ice cream, and fudge!  We ended the day with Adoration.  The conference ended Sunday with a closing Mass which I missed because I got up very early and headed home to surprise my husband and kids on Father's Day.  The look on their faces when they woke up to mine was priceless!

Pentecost Mission Trip: Day 8 & 9

The Trip Home

The final night we gathered in the courtyard for a skit and to give our final thoughts on our week.  I ended up volunteering to go first because I felt like I was getting sick.  I shared my answers to the three questions we were given earlier for Desert Day (see Day 7).  Yes, I cried through my answers.  Then my youngest gave me her paper and asked me to read her answers for her which in turn gave the other kids an idea!  Except for our oldest, he gave his answers himself.  I was very proud of how much they seemed to have grown this week.  I was able to sit through my husband's sharing and a few others before my stomach began to rumble and rumble!

I remained in the bathroom hugging the toilet for the majority of the evening.  I don't think that I had ever vomited so much at one time in my life.  I couldn't imagine riding in a car the next day for 18+ hours, but I was glad it was me and not one of the kids or my husband.  I prayed and puked for hours.  Our oldest came in several times to check on me and see if I needed anything.  He was very worried after all the stories he had overheard people tell us about getting sick in Mexico.

Once the sharing ended and my husband came to see about me, he immediately went back downstairs for help.  He brought back a nurse that was on the trip with us.  He had brought one of the teens to the hospital earlier in the week for vomiting and dehydrating.  The doctor had given him an extra vile of medicine.  I agreed to let him give me a shot.  I didn't even ask what it was!  I was miserable!  I finally quit throwing up at some point during the night and prayed that no one else would get it before we got home.

The next morning I woke up feeling better, but not great.  My husband and the boys loaded up our car as the girls cleaned up our room.  Then we all said our good-byes and loaded up.  It was one of the hardest places to leave.  It's funny how these people, this town had snuck into my heart and had become such a huge part of my soul in just nine short days.   I was sick to my stomach, but it wasn't the same as the night before.  I also felt as if I had this huge hole in my heart.  I felt like I did when I drove away from my mom and dad's that first time after getting married.

We hit the road and didn't stop until we were almost at the border.  We stopped for a bathroom break and to exchange passports.  Everyone was swapped around in various vehicles because one of the suburban's AC had gone out while we were in General Cepeda.  There wasn't anyone in the town who could fix it, so some of the forty-two "rockstars" on our trip volunteered to ride without AC.  Isaac was one of the first ones to volunteer to ride in that vehicle.  Whether it was just to get away from his "embarrassing" parents for awhile or get away from his "annoying" sisters, I was still proud of him.

We arrived at the border and crossed back with little to no trouble at all.  (FYI:  It is harder to get back in to the US then it was to get out.  The inspections were much more thorough!)  We stopped for lunch after crossing and praised God for a smooth crossing.  I still wasn't feeling well and couldn't decide if it was the sadness or the stomach bug, so I opted for a Gatorade.

The rest of the journey was uneventful except for all the laughing and singing in the backseat!  We had three giggling little girls and two giggly teenagers!  We played all kinds of games over the walkie-talkies with the other cars.  Of course, we won them all!  (And I'm ready next time for the Saint's ABC game!  I've found a "Y" saint!)  All was well until we reached Houston at about 10 pm.

One missionary needed to be dropped off in Houston at one location, and someone had to return the rental van to another location.  We split into two different groups when traffic got so bad that some of us missed an exit.  We decided to all meet at the rental van place.  We got separated from our group when we tried to On Star the rental place and took a wrong turn.  We ended up at the wrong rental place.  We were at the one south of Houston and everyone else was at the one north of Houston.  So back to I-610 we went laughing as we passed the same hospital with the giant neon cross on the front for the third (or fourth) time.

We eventually decided to just head East and meet up at Denny's for a midnight snack which was actually supper!  As all the other vehicles arrived, we realized that we had all passed the giant neon cross many times that night.  We had all just spent over two hours circling Houston.  I'm pretty sure we were all delirious because no one seemed upset about it even though we were all anxious to get back home and shower!!

It was great to sit down and have one last meal together anyway.  Our laughter continued to grow as the waitress began bringing one meal out at a time, sometimes bring several dishes that didn't belong to anyone sometimes bringing out a meal to someone that had already been one of the first ones to eat.  We spent just as much time in that Denny's as we did circling Houston.  Finally, we all climbed back into our correct vehicles for the last stretch home.  The kids slept, and I tried to keep Travis awake.

We finally arrived home about 2:30 am completely exhausted and opened our door to the most wonderful surprise.  Our awesome friends had hung a huge welcome sign and left fresh flowers on our table, cleaned our house, mopped the floors, and left a casserole in the fridge with baking instructions attached for the next day.  (Later, we found a weeded garden too!)

 

It was then that I remembered how blessed I was to have such kind, loving, and giving friends in my life back home.  This wonderful gesture of friendship refilled that spot in my heart that felt so empty the previous morning when I had to leave a part of it behind in General Cepeda.

Pentecost Mission Trip: Day 7

The Final Day

I woke up Thursday morning feeling a little sick and very melancholy.  I wasn't quite ready for that day to be my last in General Cepeda.  I didn't want to go home.  I wanted to stay there indefinitely.  My kids felt this way too.  I'm pretty sure Travis did too, although, he wouldn't admit it.  We gathered for our last breakfast, our last morning prayer, and our last work day send off as a community.

Isaac was feeling a little sick too as was about a third of our group. Many were sick either vomiting or coughing and fever.  We let him stay and go back to bed, and then we headed out to our work details.  Travis and Philip headed back to put the finishing touches on the roof that they had worked on all week.

Some of the roofing crew

The girls and I went on another painting detail.  This time we got to paint a house lime green---the girls' favorite color.

 

I was able to spend some more time with a wonderful FMC missionary named Dana whom I had become very fond of during this trip.  She and I were able to share more of our stories with each other as we painted side by side once again.  She is truly an awesome woman of faith that I admire and learned so much from.

The shade in the picture above was the only shade around.  We took turns painting in that spot and resting in the little spot around the corner.  At one point, I had lost the girls and noticed that there weren't any kids around.  I found them sitting in the lady's house watching Dora the Explorer.  The lady had come out to check on us and had invited the kids inside to cool off. 

 
Later, we were invited over to one of the FMC Mexican missionary's house for some ice cold Coca-Cola.  Rita and her family lived right across the street from where we were painting and had invited us to come over for a little break.  We sat and enjoyed our drinks and toured her very nice home.  Then headed back to finish the painting. 

After finishing the painting and praying with the woman of the house, we headed back to the Mission House to pack our picnic lunch.  Marta had made a ton of sandwiches, bagged cookies, and had fresh fruit waiting for us.  We each grabbed our food, our Bible, and our journal and headed out for Desert Day.  I had heard about Desert Day at Wednesday night Formation and in reading the FMC missionary blogs.  I was looking forward to experiencing this for myself.

We all piled into the vans and headed out to an orchard (not the one we visited the previous day) to sit quietly with God for a few hours. The six of us sat under a pecan tree and had our picnic lunch as a family; then everyone grabbed their Bible and journal and headed off to find their own tree.  Of course, Isaac chose the one next to the horse.

We had each been given three questions to meditate on:
      1.  What blessed you the most on this trip?
      2.  What will you take with you?
      3.  What will you leave behind?

 As I sat under the pecan tree and looked out into the orchard, I saw what had blessed me the most, what I'd take with me in my heart, and what I'd have to leave behind---the people!  I had the same answer for all three questions.  I was so blessed by the friendships I had made on this trip---this community of missionaries and the people of General Cepeda and the surrounding ranchos. I was going to be taking a piece of all of them home with me, yet having to leave so many behind. 

I had just spent the most amazing week of my life with a group of amazing missionaries ministering to some amazing people. How could I leave this and go home to my "ordinary" life?  How could I go back to the "comforts" of home?  How could I put aside the warmth that I had felt every time we gathered for meals or prayers?  How could I go back to our everyday routines?  How could I.........?

God was definitely stirring up something in my heart.  For the past two years, He has been preparing us for something.  We never exactly knew what it was, but knew He was calling us to simply our lives, to make drastic changes for something.  Could this be what He had been preparing us for?

The horn of the suburban sounded interrupting my thoughts and signaling that we had fifteen minutes left of Desert Day.  As I gathered up my Bible, journal, and water bottle, I noticed that sheep had moved into the area where we were.  And the tears began to well up again...

This journey began with sheep many months ago with the words "Feed my Sheep" (see this previous blog), then this video had been sent to me (pay attention at the 1:55 mark), and now the trip was closing with a herd of sheep grazing near me on the final day of our trip.  I couldn't help but smile, laugh, and cry!  How awesome is our God!


Day 8 & 9

Pentecost Mission Trip: Day 6

Pilgrimage to Saltillo, the Ranch, & Adoration

On Wednesday, we loaded up and headed to the nearby city of Saltillo to attend noon Mass at the Cathedral and visit the Miracle Chapel there.

It was just before noon when we arrived at this beautiful church.  Just after noon, a little very old man hobbled his way onto the altar and checked to make sure everything was in place.  I took him to be the caretaker.  The "Mr. Jimmy" of the Cathedral that made sure everything was just perfect for Father.  Then he disappeared behind the altar, and a few minutes later he reappeared wearing the violet colored "skullcap".  He was the Bishop!  He was going to be our celebrant.  This was awesome, but I was even more blessed when he kissed the altar and then came our way before beginning Mass.

He began at the front pew shaking each person's hand.  He welcomed each one of us personally as we kissed his ring.  I watched in awe as he did this for all 60+ people in our group as well as all the other Mexican Mass participants there.  This was so heartwarming to witness especially when visiting a foreign country.  He was truly persona Christi.

After Mass, we toured the Catherdral for a few minutes taking in all the smaller altars, chapels, confessionals, and prayer rooms.  Everything was absolutely exquisite.  

Seven years ago one of the families in our group had visited the Miracle Chapel which is located next to the main chapel.  They had prayed for a baby that doctors had suggested be aborted due to birth defects that the child would have.  After refusing, the mother gave birth to a little girl that wasn't expected to live very long.  From what I heard, she's a beautiful little girl now that is bringing so much joy to her family.  One of the ladies returned to the Miracle Chapel to return a pin that would be placed on the wall signifying the miracle that occurred.

After Mass, we gathered on the Cathedral steps for the official group picture.  I had seen so many of these pictures on the FMC website, on FMC missionary blogs, and on Facebook pages.  I couldn't wait to be in one of these official pictures in front of the Cathedral in Saltillo.  Here we are with our awesome group!

We stopped on the way down to pray with a guy in a wheelchair that was selling gum, candy, etc. at the foot of the Cathedral steps.   I later learned that this was this particular guy's spot, and he had become a friend of the FMC Missionaries.  Whenever a missionary group came to town, they always took time to get him something to eat and drink and to pray with him.  I later learned that some of our young missionary guys had taken him across the street to the restroom before Mass.  These boys had paid for him to use the restroom, undressed him, helped him on to the toilet, and had stood in the stall holding him up while he used the restroom.  These boys were truly Jesus to this man!

We had reservations for lunch at a restaurant in a hotel several blocks away.  Our group of 60+ walked through the streets of Saltillo stopping occasionally to give a few pesos to the homeless on the streets.  We arrived at the hotel to find the elevator was out, so we all headed up six flights of stairs.  Again I thought I'd never make it, remember I had climbed a mountain the day before?  My legs didn't hurt except climbing or going down stairs.  My upper thighs ached with every step.  I laughed all the way up as I struggled with one of the Mexican women that was with us---she was 7 months pregnant and giggled through the whole journey.

Finally, she and I made it to the top.  Our group filled up the entire dining room.  The view was absolutely gorgeous. 

After lunch, we boxed up our leftovers that we would hand out to the hungry, homeless on the streets.   The look on the face of the woman Emily gave her box too was pure love.  Something that we usually forget at the restaurant or leave in the car had made someone's day.  We then headed out to the market place which is similar to the French Market in New Orleans.  The kids all spent their souvenir money, and we bought a few blankets to leave at the Mission House.

Then we set off to find that one convenience store that sold Dr. Pepper!  Coca-cola is HUGE in Mexico.  People walked around town drinking it out of two liter bottles the way we drink them from cans.  It was always funny to see.  My husband was craving  Dr. Pepper and had definitely earned it on the mountain climb the day before.  I found the store very quickly and bought my wonderful hubby three of them!   He deserved them all, but he gave one to one of the missionaries that was also craving a Dr. Pepper.

It was then time to meet the group to head back to General Cepeda.  We had one more stop before going back to the Mission House.  A rancher that was friends with FMC's founders had come to the Mission House earlier that morning and invited us to stop at his ranch on our way home.  A group with little ones returned to the Mission House while the other half of us stopped in to see his place.  It was awesome.  We drove down his long driveway through his beautiful pecan tree orchard to his ranch-style house.

He showed us his pure white "Holy Spirit" doves that he raises and told us all about his ranch.  He has sheep which give him "poop" to fertilize his pecan trees.  He talked about his worm farm and then showed us into his home.  The kids were impressed by his ginormous swimming pool.

Everyone wanted to swim, but we had to get back for Jesus!  We were having Adoration in the courtyard of the Mission House that night under the stars.  I absolutely LOVE outdoor Adoration.  We all piled back in the vans and headed back for our evening PB & J and coffee milk supper.  Then gathered in the courtyard to Adore Christ.

It was so peaceful!  We all poured out our hearts to Jesus that evening and allowed Him to fill us so that we could continue to be His hands and feet on Earth.  The night was so perfect that many didn't want to leave after Adoration.  Some followed Christ back to the chapel and continued their prayers.  Some just slept right there in the courtyard under the stars.  It was such a perfect end to another awesome day in missions!

Day 7