Saturday, October 26, 2019

Never ashamed




Matthew 10:32-39

Don’t Be Ashamed of Your Faith

 “If you stand before others and are willing to say you believe in me, then I will tell my Father in heaven that you belong to me.  But if you stand before others and say you do not believe in me, then I will tell my Father in heaven that you do not belong to me."

Julianna my daughter is never ashamed of her faith or her call to missions.
Wednesday our new Priests we our serving called us for a meeting in the bigger town of Bagua Grande in which they live in. To our surprise they gave us a monstrance to take, so we could expel the blessed sacrament in our home town. What a wonderful gift.
It was our day off and we had to purchase supplies while in town and could not leave it in the truck. My faithful daughter said "I will carry it into the market with us. "
"No shame at all", she said.
As we bought our supplies , she carried it with knowing that the monstrance is a showcase for Jesus. She even turned to me and asking if I thought Jesus was still present inside it, in tiny fragments?


He must have been. A store owner where we were buying balloons from, for our youth group meeting, starting crying and telling us she has cancer and that her boyfriend is cheating on her. All we could do is gasp! Knowing what was under the veil was the monstrance. We knew she was not just telling us about how she was scared to die or how sad she felt that her boyfriend is cheating. She was telling Jesus in the tiniest fragment what her heart felt. It was an awesome experience to see Jesus at work. Julianna placed the monstrance on a nearby table and laid her hands on sweet Lily and began to beg our Lord to heal her from cancer and to heal her broken heart. God is so wonderful!


Monday, October 21, 2019

From Jungles of Peru to the Heart of the Amazon





It’s been almost 2 weeks since our move to our new mission post. From the Jungles of Peru to the heart of the Amazon.  as it’s known by its inhabitants. It was a 10 hour drive through Peru and its mighty mountains, where on the other side lay await our new home,  sight unseen.

We arrived safely with the belongings that we were able to fit in our truck. Reluctant to give away what we had accumulated over the past 2 years, we found ourselves trying as hard as we could to tie and strap everything as tight as we could. I can freely say that we looked a lot like the 1970 TV series the Beverly Hillbillies.  We soon realized that not everything was meant to make the move with us. God had other plans for some of the things he so carefully provided for us while we served in the Jungle, such as our stove,  chairs and our very important baldes (plastic buckets) to hold and collect water. With a quick prayer we were given the graces which allowed us to unclutched our tight grip of these material things and walked them to our sweet neighbor, Juanita knowing that she would put them to good use in her own home. It felt good not to worry and to trust completely that God would provide exactly what we would need, again in our new mission post as we meditated on the Bible verse found in the book of Mathew 6:25-34



“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?  So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”



I often tell others there is no other place I rather be than in the mission field, because here you must rely on God and it is amazing to see him at work and to be close enough to Jesus to feel his breath. Upon our arrival,  we were welcomed with such love and anticipation it was like it was Jesus himself welcoming us, we have not experience this kind of love anywhere else but among the poor. Within moments we were handed a small, 2 burner stove top and three chairs and trashcans full of water in which someone had already thoughtfully collected for us. If all of those gifts were not enough 30 mins after our arrival a lady was at the door with a small fold out bed. She had said she heard we only had two small twin beds. I said yes that’s all we have used for two years. The three of us just sleep on two beds or we would rotate sleeping on the floor or with each other. She hastily (with a purpose) left the bed and ran off saying she was going to find us a mattress and would be back later. We were beyond blessed by Gods gifts for us. It’s not easy for us to receives gift.   It’s much easier to give than receive. However I can hear Mr. Andy a fellow missionary saying“ just let God Love you”!!!!!! With a smile we did just that!  

 The faithful women of Cajaruro (the little town we live in) are so delightful and full of Joy. Last year they raised funds to build a small one bedroom home behind the church. They explained to us that they had really no idea why they had all of a sudden decided to build a home behind the church after all these years, after all no one had told them to do it,  they just felt that it was something that they were supposed to do.  However they were quick to say “sometimes you just have to trust in God”.  They did just that, together they worked faithfully and did as God asked of them and they called on neighbors, friends and even the town’s mayor for donations and materials for the home. Little did they know that they were building the home for a missionary family! We are so grateful for their faithfulness and obedience to Gods plan. I can not help to think that they might have felt a lot like Noah as he was building the Arc, as others watch and criticized his faithfulness. 


We have not yet started any active ministries, per say. We are spending the rest of the month of October getting acquainted to our new town and its beautiful people.  We ask for your prayers for patience and for a spirit of docility , we trust that the Holy Spirit wants to leads us to those he has sent us too, we just need to be patient and allow him to guide us. We have already seen so many needs here and have had many ministries placed on our hearts and we pray that we will receive confirmation soon on the work that God is asking of us. But until than we continue to meet with our new neighbors and community. We have enjoyed playing with the children and participating in the youth group,  which currently has no one to lead them.  The entire month of October the town’s faithful pray the rosary each evening as the image of the Señor de los Milagros (The Lord of Miracles also known as "Christ of Miracles) travels throughout different homes here in Cajaruro,  it was such perfect timing for us to arrive this month, it’s created the perfect opportunity for us to join our new community each evening. It has been nothing short of Gods mighty hand in it all.   



Our new mission field is very different from our past mission post in the Jungle. In many ways, but for starters,  we have water that comes in every day for an hour. A huge change from the last two years of collecting rain water and hauling water from the river. Now when it rains in the middle of the night we just enjoy listening to the rain instead of sitting straight up from a dead sleep to run outside to collect water.  Or when we walk by the river we do not become overwhelmed by the trash dumped in it or fixated on the cow that is being butchered next to it for easy clean up,  wondering if we will get sick from using the water. Mosquitos do exist here but they do not desire to eat people alive. Our home is made of cinder block walls which have been covered in plaster with a beautiful new fresh coat of paint. I haven’t had to have Julianna chase out not even one Lizard, wasp or cockroach yet. The children and I have even learned to live with the two huge iguana lizards who lurk high above us as we walk about the hallway between the church and our tiny home. The 4 resident bats have adapted to us living here as well.  The climate is a bit cooler and most days we are greeted with a nice breeze. Further up in the mountains of course it’s much cooler. 

Our 1st days here It was hard not to feel guilty, It seemed like we were far away from the poverty and the harsh conditions we have lived in for our 1st two years of missions. Since our arrival  to our new post we have awed and marveled at the fact that clear water comes into our home through our pipes each day all though not drinking quality for us and our American immune system,  but it’s visibly crystal clear and no need to remove bugs or trash as we have had to do since our time here in Peru. It’s feels like we have the pinch me syndrome,  were perhaps we should pinch each other to make sure we are not dreaming as we find ourselves admiring the pretty plaza and the cleanliness of the church. However after nearly two weeks of living here we have begun to see the different kind of poverty that we live in now. We have been warned about traveling alone and have even been offered a police escort after the locals heard we made our way by ourselves up the mountains as we followed a prompting of the Holy Spirit in search of the pueblo that had been praying for us. As a mother I do not take these warnings lightly. I knew a bit of the violent history if the area before we came. However it is harder to digest when you find out the little girl next door, Maricielo who is 9 years old (the same age as Gabriel) is now living with her grandmother,  because her mom was killed and left dead in a rice field down the road, just 7 months ago. 
 Maricielo lost her mom less than a year ago.


 The fear that most of the locals have regarding the violence and robberies have been issued and passed on to us too serve as a warning. In response to these warnings we must faithfully and fervently pray and we must lay our lives in the hands of God. Knowing he will protect us in the same way he protecting  Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego when they were placed in the fiery Furnace (Daniel 1-3). Along with these warnings given to us we can see just a glimpse of what poverty the locals live in. Many without a strong relationship with Jesus which can create a great deal of fear among them.     



 On our way up the mountain



Amazing group of Catholics living on the mountain



The mountains in the background, home to our new mission field


As many of you may have heard Pope Francis has called together an Amazon Synod to discuss and advocate for the rights of indigenous people and their land in the Amazon region. With debates about land rights, protecting water, to protecting children from sex traffickers and slavery to the super-hot steamy topic of married Priest and the role of women within the Catholic Church in the Amazon region. Giving many laity an opportunity to have their own debates on social media and on the news about the Amazon Synod. I can tell you I have not followed the Amazon Synod as I should, the irony of it all, is as a single Catholic missionary mom living in solidarity with the poor, I just do not have the time nor the internet connection to be able to follow this amazing meeting of such Spirit led and Godly people; Whom with much prayer and desire wants to help the indigenous people and longs to find a modern way to bring the Catholic Church to them.

A lot of our work in the jungle apart from meeting material needs and just living in solidarity with the poor, was finishing the education and formation of the poor which had been started by former Priest, Religious Sisters and Missionaries who served before us. Although there were other dominations of churches they had a very small number of faithful. The Catholic faith was the dominant faith in the Jungle. For two years my children and I worked under two great missionary Priest from Spain whom had huge missionary hearts.

 My children and I now serve under two Peruvian Priest all though loving and wonderful they are a bit overwhelmed with the over 200 pueblos between the two of them. As they serve with very few religious sisters whom live in the area. The Catholic church is here but it has very much forgotten its missionary heart. It seems to be that there are cells of faithful men and women mostly in their 70 and late 80 who try to keep the religion alive but it’s just not enough. The Catholic faithful here are disappearing. The other churches in the town are filled with the towns children who eagerly and devoutly attend on Friday, Saturday and Sunday  afternoons as each of the children are assigned a sponsor from the USA which faithfully sends them material goods or money biweekly, which motivates the attendance levels. An approach that seems to be working for the leaders of the church but very much a contradiction to the saying,  Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.

Earlier this week I was sitting with a group of school kids in front of the church. All of them full of questions for my children and I. As we sat playing the 50 questions in a minute game. I heard one of the older girls who was very polite but very assertive with all her questions she had for us, say to the group “they are Catholic, they believe Christ is dead, that’s why they have Jesus nailed to the cross”.  I honestly could not catch my breath. I am not one to debate religions. I, being a convert to the Catholic Church as an adult, raised with the concept that we do not need a “church to believe in God”. I never had the knowledge of the Holy Trinity or the understanding of the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.  I owe a huge gratitude to my grandmother (a devout Catholic) in which undoubtedly prayed and petitioned the saints and angels for help,  that her granddaughter would one day enter into the fullness of the church. So hearing the young girl say that Catholics believed that Christ was dead really drove my heart to proclaim my passionate love for the Holy Eucharist and the understanding and the belief the church has of the Holy Trinity. I of all people began to defend my faith. Not merely preaching it or teaching it to those who desired to know more which I have done for over 2 decades or more,  but I was in a middle of a war with a young girl who had been obviously taught to disregard the teachings of the Catholic church; to become in a sense an enemy of the Catholic Church. She could not have been more than 10 or 11 years old, but she could recite the bible like an adult, at least better than most Catholics. I could not just let her profess lies about our faith and as much as I did not want too,  I engaged in the battle. I simply asked her if she had ever heard of the last supper and the institution of the eucharist and the words that Jesus spoke to his Disciples. As I was trembling with fear of the battle I began with the words from Matthew 26:26 “Jesus took bread and said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” I paused, and asked her if she had ever heard that part of the bible. To my confusion she said yes and then she began to recite the rest of the bible verse saying “Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.” I explained to her that very same supper that Jesus had with his disciples, we as Catholics get to partake in that very same banquet every time the Priest comes to celebrate mass with us. Than it dawned on me, that this is part of why Jesus sent my children and I here. Why the Holy spirit went before us to open the doors to this diocese that has never had fulltime lay Catholic missionaries living within its territories. It’s why the holy spirit  inflamed the hearts of the small number of faithful Catholics to build a house for us and why He spoke to each one of you to help us obtain the funds for a truck so that we can reach the further lying pueblos up in the mountains, who have already pleaded desperately for my children and I to return weekly to help teach them and their children learn about our Catholic faith. He sent us here to be a witness to so many who have been kept from the temple because of man’s deceitful lies and twisted words. To re- ignite the flame to those who have remained faithful both to the hierarchy of the church and to the true presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
Led by the spirit and high in the mountains found a town who not only welcomed us but was praying for someone from the church to come help.


We as baptized Catholic have a duty to go out and Proclaim the Gospel. To become disciples and to win souls for Christ. I understand that it would not be wise for everyone to go out and sell all their belongings and set off for a new land to proclaim the Gospel. That’s not what God wants. Not everyone was meant to sell everything included their only place to lay their heads, their beds and hit the road to a unknown land with what only fits in a suitcase like my children and I did. However I encourage each of you to pray fervently and ask yourself,  in what way does God want you to partake in this mission mandate. If He is not asking of your own life to enter into foreign missions, perhaps God is asking you to be a supporter with a sacrifice of your prayers or by supporting our families mission financially. For the love of the Catholic faith and the Mother Church, I beg you all to continue to pray for us and for the Amazon Synod. More so for an increase in priestly vocations even for my own young son Gabriel and his discernment. For our new mission post, and for my family to have strength, courage and wisdom to bring people back to Jesus and His Church. Lastly, I plead for your prayers for protection for whatever evil spirit which lurks about that wishes to harm us here at our new post.

The Church needs everyone of us to take part in the Mission Mandate. I only share this with each of you out of the extreme need of the Catholic Church and for our love of the Church and our love of the Eucharist. I beg of you to prayerfully ask yourself what it is Jesus is asking of you.

I also humbly invite you to partake in a short term mission trip to anyone of FMC’s mission posts to see what we as full time missionary do and what we are up against as we try to win souls for Christ. If you would like to visit our mission post here in Peru with my family and I for a week or two let me know, I can get you connected to those who can help you state side make a mission trip a reality for you and your family.  There is no better way to understand the great need of missionaries in this vast world we live in than to walk side by side with us in the field. Which would allow you a chance to see into the eyes of the poor and feel their heart proclaim their desires for the Catholic Church and its sacraments.

To our family, friends benefactors and prayer warriors, every step we make, we make with you in our hearts and in our prayers! We love you all and thank you for Loving the Lord as you do!

Karen, Julianna and Gabriel Del Castillo   



Walking around the top of the mountain smell better than walking into STARBUCKS, coffee plants are everywhere

 Mountain Top View with a cute little Donkey