Love like Jesus! Is something I often say!

So, it was an honor to have yet another opportunity to love like Jesus this past Wednesday which as you know was not only Ash Wednesday (the start of Lent) but the feast day of Saint Valentine.

Which was a great reminder of the way Jesus loved us and also of what we as followers must do.

Saint Paul wrote to the church in Corinth to encourage them to “do everything in love"

He wrote "LET ALL THAT YOU DO BE DONE IN LOVE” 1 CORINTHIANS 16:14.

And that was the theme we had in our hearts. And though it may be a bit strange for Casa de Santa Maria Magdalena (for single mothers) to host a romantic Valentine's dinner and mini retreat for couples who live near the home, but we did.

With that said we wanted to honor them. To invite them to receive the sacrament of marriage, and for them to know just how important they are to our community. Their testimonies, their witness of love and sacrifice that they are for the community.

I had an opportunity after the mini-retreat to encourage them to live a radical life and to love like Jesus. Reminding them that the community is watching, that their children are watching, my own son Gabriel is watching. And the single women this home serves, along with the children are in need of a GOOD and HOLY example of love, sacrifice, marriage, and family.

So praise the Lord for the opportunity to honor them and serve these beautiful couples. Some are already close to Jesus and others far from knowing the true meaning of a marriage; but we are so blessed that by the grace of God, these couples have except the mission, and the challenge to learn to love like Jesus.

We are so grateful to announce these 11 couples have agreed to meet each week to deepen their faith, and to strengthen their marriage. As a community, they want to work towards knowing the sacrifice it is to love like Jesus. Please pray for them as they embark on this new journey.

Thank you for all of your prayers and support for us and the poor we serve.

To learn more about the mission here or to become a partner follow the link below

https://www.familymissionscompany.com/santa-maria.../

Bearing Fruit

Someone recently messaged me to tell me how great I was for being a missionary. And how they thought so highly of me. I quickly thought to myself who does this person think I am? And after the week I had of ministries, I wonder if “I” am even making a difference at all here or even worthy of being called a missionary. So of course, under my breath, I mumbled the words “They obviously have mistaken me for someone else.”

 I thought if they knew who I was, a sinner, a person who struggles daily to serve Jesus and those that the Holy Spirit puts in my path they would not have sent me such a message. There are so many needs here, from visiting the sick, and fighting for the women who have been abused, thrown away, and forgotten, to leading surrounding pueblos in the celebrations of the Word, I seem to fail at carrying the weight of it all. I fall into the temptation day in and day out, believing that “I” have a lot to do. When in reality it is Jesus who has a lot to do, and he desires me to help and to take part in His mission.

 But never the less this week has been one of those weeks where it seems I have not done much good. Maritza (one of the single mothers) that I have been helping fight for child support had a hearing this week and well it did not go as planned and justice was not in our favor as corruption and payments under the table have obviously won the Judge's heart. And my involvement has been now magnified and questioned by the opposing father and his lawyers, showing their deep disapproval of me and my desire to walk and guide my dear friend through the court process. Needless to say, it gave both of us a very uneasy feeling, which the devil decided to amplify and manipulate, making us both scared and worried for our safety.

 On top of that it has been one of those months where there have been so many financial needs here from cancer treatments to those who have no food, along with our normal ministries and alms has really had me asking myself “Who do these people think I am?”, “What more can I give, that I do not have”

 These words of discouragement came back to me as Friday and Saturday Maritza along with her children and I began the Coffee harvest. If you do not already know the coffee on the land here at Santa Maria Magdalena’s home is picked and given to Maritza to use for her children. The Harvest does not bring in much but with the proceeds, she is able to buy the extra things the children and her need.  

  However this season was proving to be a bit different, when we started with just us, we quickly realized that we were not going to be able to advance before the rain and before the ripened fruit fell to the ground and went to waste, so we had to hire 2 people to help us pick it all in order to get it all in on time. As we were picking, I was overwhelmed by what I was experiencing and the goodness of God. I have never seen the trees so full of coffee. We were able to bring in 3 times more coffee than the prior harvests and there is really no explanation other than it was a gift from above.

 So, you can imagine when I was preparing for this weekend’s ministries, I chuckled a bit and shook my head, and said “Jesus you did it once again”. I just love it when he gives me the opportunity to live in his truth and in His Holy words, confirming the fact that I am not alone and that all I need to do is stay united and trust in him. And in return, he only asks me to give my life and all he gives me to others near me and to love like him!  In short, the readings this week made me feel as if they were meant just for me, as reinsurance, as a whisper straight from Jesus's lips to my heart!

 The second reading tells us our love should not be just words and talk, it must be true love, which shows itself in action towards everyone around us. (1 John 3:18).

 Here is the passage in its entirety.

 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. 1 John 3:18-24

 The Gospel reading, I am certain most of us have heard more than a time or two, but I must say this week, I felt it really come alive.

 At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. John 15: 1-8

It is not easy to love those around us. Or to put our words in actions and deeds. To do so we must grow, and we must allow ourselves to be pruned in order to grow into the likeness of Jesus. We must have confidence and trust that when we remain united with him, when we allow him to prune us and allow him to live in our hearts that we will be able to bear much fruit. This week’s readings enhance our dependence and our need to abide and remain with Jesus if we desire to mirror his very essence to those around us.

 In closing, in response to the praise I received earlier in the week. I am no one special. I am just a person who had a life-altering encounter face to-face with Jesus and ever since it has been my mission to encounter him over and over again and the only way to do this is to follow him and to stay united with him. These encounters allow my heart to overflow with his love and goodness, so much so that it flows onto those around me. 

I just want to do what was commanded of me!

 “I” alone cannot bear any fruit. “I” alone cannot make any difference here, “I” alone have absolutely nothing to my name other than the name of Jesus which flows from my lips. “I” alone cannot win a court case, “I” alone cannot solve the needs here, or cure cancer, “I” alone cannot even meet the needs that present themselves daily to me, “I” alone cannot make a coffee tree produce 3 times the amount of coffee than past years. But remaining in Jesus, seeking his will for me daily, accepting my many limitations, and maintaining a love for him above all the comforts, marital wealth, and status of this world allows Jesus to work miracles.  After all, Jesus says “I am the vine, and you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will bear much fruit, for you can do nothing without me.” John 15:5.

 The only one worth praising here is Jesus, because as Saint Paul says “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me”. Galatians 2:20

 

May we learn to Love Like Christ! 

We love you all and we are so grateful each one of you! 

Mission Post: Santa Maria Magdalena's Home 

Caserio Santa Clara, Amazonas, Peru

Contact us with your prayer intentions, follow our blog, or make a donation at the following links.
Email:  karendelcastillo@familymissionscompany.com
Web Site: delcastillo.familymissionscompany.com
Santa Maria Magdalena's Home

Let us Praise the Lord! Alleluia, Alleluia

 

Let us Praise the Lord! Alleluia, Alleluia

 

I pray my brothers and sisters that this letter finds you well. I am sorry it has been a while since our last update.  The ebb and flow of missions oftentimes requires our full attention on those in front of us in order to serve them well, so I do pray you understand.  With that being said we are super blessed and grateful to now have a lull in our schedule and the opportunity to share with you what the Lord has been doing here. I pray that you may have a few minutes to Praise the Lord and all the good work he has accomplished here with us.

The last time I gave an update was in February so there might be a lot of ground to cover. I will try to hit the big things and pray that your imagination can fill in all the rest of the wonderful blessings and things that are happening here, even those we fail to recognize right now.  

If you make it to the end, you will be blessed with many opportunities to join the mission here! 

Enjoy! 

The End of Peruvian Migraciones

At the beginning of March, Gabriel and I finally became permanent residents of Peru. What does that mean? Well, it means we will not have to go through the yearly approval process for residency here.  Which in return allows us more time to focus on the mission Jesus has us on. We will be able to refocus the efforts we spent each year to move, push, beg, and plead with the migration office each year on the poor. We will not have to go through any new process until Gabriel turns 18. Praise the Lord for his hand in the process.  

The new school year

The children of Peru all started school the second week of March and once again we were able to love on many of the children and mothers by purchasing their school supplies, uniforms, and new shoes. Along with a set of new glasses for little Antonio. So, let's Praise the Lord for providing the funds that allowed us to do so. 

                              

         

                          

The women we have served

We have housed in the past month over 5 different single women and their children. All of these were short stays, where they found rest and comfort here at the home while they tried to navigate their next steps. One returned to their prior situation and the others moved to their family's home. Of course, we desire them to stay longer, but we are happy to have had the opportunity to love them like Jesus and we made sure they knew they could come back anytime. Praise the Lord for this home and the never-ending mercy He has for these women and their children.

Meeting with the Bishop

I had a meeting with Father Robert, the priest, who walks with me in the Home’s mission and the Bishop in late March and I was blown away at the reason he wanted to have a meeting with me. The Bishop’s 1^st words to me were “What can I, and the dioceses do for you and the home”? I was so incredibly humbled that he even thought of us and the mission here. I quickly thought to myself, that this must mean we are doing something right! After a rare pat on the back, I finally caught my breath and told him I need your priests to know we are here to help them in their pastoral duties. I also told him that somehow, somewhere there needs to be a group on the other end to help the husbands (fathers), to teach them how to love like Jesus and how to be a husband and a father.  His reply was he is in the middle of creating a new document and mission statement for the Dioceses and it marks his desire to educate, serve, and strengthen families as a whole, he said Santa Maria Magdalena’s home is part of the new mission. The Bishop then said to me “Thank you, and keep doing what you are doing, the Diocese needs you”

If you know me at all, you know that I do not tell you this to toot my own horn. But to give Praise to the Lord and to ask for your prayers even more, now than ever. It is a bit scary to be in such a place, with such a responsibility while still having doubts if this home and its mission will even survive financially. I must confess, I feel a lot like the disciples when they were in the boat amidst a storm with Jesus and when they woke him saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown! “He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” (Mt 8: 23-27) So, I beg you to please lift the home and its mission and all those it serves up to the Lord. And let's Praise the Lord for the new Bishop’s docile heart and at the fact that the Diocese of Chachapoyas Peru desires to transform and strengthen families and desires to help the most vulnerable members. (All they needed was a bit of inspiration and hope)

Podcast

Gabriel and I were asked to do a podcast for Frontiers of Faith episode, hosted by Katie Ruvalcaba and Fr. Anthony Andreassi. You can listen to it by following the link ‎: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/god-gets-it-so-right-karen-and-gabriel-in-peru/id1696335589?i=1000649273516 . Even though our internet showed its true color and was very limited on this day we Praise the Lord for what was salvaged of our interview, and it served as a great reminder that we are indeed far away, in a remote place that is not easy to stay connected.

Holy Week

 Holy Week was just a huge blessing. Holy Thursday the chapel and the home exceeded its limits. So many new faces came, and though the home and its chapel were bursting at its seams it was such a blessing to receive so many people. We started with a celebration of the word, and then everyone who came had their feet washed. Just like Jesus commanded his disciples at the Last Supper saying, “If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do”. John 13:14-15. We are honored to say that on Holy Thursday here over 85 people had their feet washed and then in return washed the feet of others. Indeed, this is loving like Christ!

                                                                       

We then sat down for a prayerful dinner as disciples. After dinner, we followed Jesus to the garden, and we sat with Jesus throughout the night until morning. Awesome enough and to my surprise most of the community stayed throughout the night.

      

         

When morning came, we prayed the Stations of the Cross together. Maritza even had the courage to help with the stations. We then returned to the home where Maritza prepared a simple but classic Peruvian dinner, for the youth group to eat while watching Chosen together.

Let us honor and Praise the Lord for such a beautiful and intimate Holy week.

Easter Sunday

Gabriel and I were not here at the home for Easter Sunday nor with the beautiful community that surrounds it, as we were called down the mountain to lead a celebration in Paraiso and Gabriel was able to lead the altar servers in Cajaruro for Sunday Mass. It was a blessing to have the opportunity to serve on such a glorious day, so Praise the Lord!

Magally 

This incredible mother and daughter of God passed away last week. Magally suffered so much in her life and she lived in an abusive situation and with a disease that was beyond what any of us could have ever imagine living through.  From my 1st months in missions here in Peru the Holy Spirit had led me to her, this woman is the reason for Santa Maria Magdalenas's home. My 1st encounter with her I knew that I was to fight for women like her.  I have shared much of her situation with you over the years and have brought many of you to her home to meet her and to encounter Jesus in her. I honestly feel I failed her at being a good friend as I wanted to bring her to Santa Maria Magdalena's home but did not have permission from her father-in-law to do so. However, at the same time feel grateful I am very confident that she is with Jesus and will never ever be abused or feel pain again. Only JOY!!!!  Please pray for her children whom she leaves behind! Let's praise the Lord for his love and his mercy for Magally and all those who serve like her. 

Gelber

Praise the Lord, Gelber was able to get to his appointment and pay for his operation in Lima. The doctor said he is confident he got everything and wants him to return for chemo in 5 weeks. It feels so amazing to love on this man and his family in this way. It is amazing how loving like Christ can change and transform people. Let's praise the Lord for the opportunity to love on him and for the financial support he has received also for the second chance he has to become the man Jesus desires him to be to his wife and children.

Needs of Santa Maria Magdalena's Home

We always want to be upfront with the needs of the home. Because this mission would not exist without faithful people like you.  We pray that sharing with you the needs of the home also is an opportunity to praise the Lord for all he has done thus far. He has done amazing things for so many people through the ministries this home provides.

 

The home's 3 most immediate needs

1.) The home's monthly operating cost is set at 3,000.00 a month. With your help and the special help of one of our amazing mission partners who took on our burden and began to spread the mission of the home and the needs to his community, we have almost reached this goal and are just shy of $1500.00 a month to reach this goal. So, let's praise the Lord together for this and pray for opportunities to share the home's mission and invite others to become mission partners, with the Lord here. Praise the Lord with me that all we need is 15 more people to partner with us at 100.00 a month to reach the home’s monthly operational goal.

Please consider spreading the news of the mission of Santa Maria Magdalena’s home to your family, friends, and church community.  Perhaps you can invite others to be a part of the mission here in Peru.

 

2.) The priest retreat is coming up on the 1^st of August.  For the last 2 years, Praise the Lord, together we have been able to gather all priests of the diocese and host a retreat for them. This year we desire to do the same. Historically the retreat has cost $5,000.00 and we expect it to be the same again this year. This allows 33 Priests to attend, pays for lodging at a local hotel, feeds them 3 meals a day, and pays for a guest Priest/ speaker to lead the retreat for 5 days. It has been a huge blessing for these priests who each, serve over 150 to 250 pueblos with some of them being a day's drive away, and who rarely have time to be filled up and spiritually replenished.  If you feel called to help, please make a note in the donation comment tab: Priest retreat.

3.) Gelber’s ongoing cancer treatment: We are trying to raise 1500.00 for his chemo treatment which will take place in Lima after he has recovered from his surgery. He is traveling back to Lima in May and will stay until he finishes the treatment, praise God we were able to get him plane tickets for this next trip, we now just need to reach the funds needed for the treatments. If you feel called to help, please make a note in the donation comment tab: Gelber. Praise the Lord for opportunities to serve him through his beloved poor!

To become a mission partner with us remember no donation is too small.  Please prayerfully consider if Jesus is asking you to partner with us in His mission here at Santa Maria Magdalena's home. You can become a partner by following the following link:  

https://www.familymissionscompany.com/santa-maria-magdalenas-home/

Let us Praise the Lord! Alleluia, Alleluia

May we learn to Love Like Christ! 

We love you all and we are so grateful each one of you! 

Daniel 3: 26-45

“Blessed are you and deserving of all praise,
    O Lord, the God of our fathers,
    and glorious is your name forever.
27 For you have shown justice in all you have done for us;
    all your deeds are true, all your ways are right,
    and all your judgments are correct.
28 You have made proper judgments
    in all that you have brought upon us
    and upon Jerusalem, the holy city of our ancestors.
By a judgment, you have done all this
    because of our sins.
29 “For we have sinned and broken your law
    in our rebellion against you;
    we have fallen short in every way.
30 We have neglected to obey your commandments
    and have failed to do what you commanded for our own good.
31 Therefore, in all the misfortunes you have inflicted upon us,
    in all you have done to us,
    you have executed proper judgments.
32 You have handed us over to our enemies,
    lawless and godless rebels,
    and to a wicked king, the most evil in the entire world.
33 “Now we cannot open our mouths;
    we, your servants who worship you,
    have become a cause of shame and dishonor.
34 For your name’s sake, do not abandon us forever
    or renounce your covenant.
35 Do not withdraw your mercy from us
    for the love of Abraham, your friend,
    Isaac, your servant, and Israel, your holy one,
36 to whom you spoke, promising to make their descendants
    as numerous as the stars in the heavens
    and the grains of sand on the seashore.
37 “For we, O Lord, have become the least of all nations,
    humiliated throughout the world in our day
    because of our sins.
38 We now have no ruler, no prophet, no leader,
    no burnt offering or sacrifice or oblation of incense,
    no place to make an offering before you and to find mercy.
39 But may we be accepted by you
    as we approach you with a contrite heart
    and with a submissive spirit.
40 As though we were presenting burnt offerings of rams and bulls
    or thousands of fat lambs,
so may our sacrifice be in your presence today
    as we follow you unreservedly,
    for those who trust in you will never be put to shame.
41 “And now with all our heart we shall follow you;
    even though we fear you, we seek your face.
42 Do not let us be put to shame,
    but deal with us in your patience
    and in your great mercy.
43 Deliver us by your wonderful deeds,
    and let your name be glorified, O Lord.
44 Let those who harm your servants be brought low;
    let them be put to shame and rendered powerless,
    and may their strength be crushed.
45 Let them know that you alone are the Lord God,
    glorious throughout the whole world.”