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| Julianna Del Castillo Graduation Picture 2020 |
As we
learn from St Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter 10, we should not boast instead we
should seek humility. St Paul explains how important it is that, we do not boast of ourselves but of
what the good things the Lord has done, if we must boast it should be only of
our own weakness. “We should
not boast beyond limits but will keep within the field that God has assigned to
us, to reach out even as far as you. 2 Corinthians 10:13
I Pray
immensely, that I do not come across with folly or with a prideful heart, for
my intentions are to tell you of the great faithfulness of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
Many have
wondered about our sanity when we made the difficult decision to follow Jesus
to a foreign land in search for His most beloved poor. I really can not count how many times I
heard, “What about your children’s education?”
Even
though we as a family, said “YES” to the Lord, I cannot lie, the education of
my children, was a worry I carried into the mission field with me. However, I
had been gifted the opportunity in 2016 to read one of the founders of Family
Missions Company’s testimony in the book called , Go You are Sent, the
words Genie Summers wrote kept replaying in my heart and in my
prayers as I lamented to Christ my desires and concern of my children’s
education.
Mrs.
Summers wrote in her book the words that our Lord gave to her and to her
husband personally, as they prayed for guidance, as they were experiencing the same situation, they
too worried about the cross that their own children would bear, as missionary children,
living in a third world country.
As any
responsible parent would, Mr. Frank and Mrs. Genie Summers indeed discerned
heavily, the call they had received, to go into foreign missions and what
crosses they must bear. Worried about her son Beau’s education she entered a
time of discernment; there Genie
received comforting words from our Lord as He said “You and Frank, as parents,
shouldn’t try to protect your children from the cross. You should rejoice when
your children have the courage to pick up their cross each day and follow me. I
am building Beau’s character as My disciple.”
Mrs. Summers goes on to write about one of Franks prayer times and when
he heard the Lord tell him “Trust Me, all wisdom and knowledge comes from Me.
Beau’s education is My responsibility. I can use schools, but I don’t need
them.”
One
cannot deny the education struggles that present itself in the mission field,
it is a concern indeed, but we must remember to give those concerns and worries
to Christ, as he knowns better than anyone how to carry a cross. We must realize that the Lord is the best
teacher of all teachers! We should, as parents rejoice in the fact that our
children are willing to embrace their own cross, for the sake of His kingdom. The
testimony of both Frank and Genie Summers, that was shared in the book, of God's
goodness and love for His creation, inspired me to have trust and faith in our
Lord, as my own children followed Him
into the mission field.
The powerfulness of Christ’s words that He
spoke to the Summers, speak truth to the fact, when we give all and whole heartily
carry our crosses to follow Jesus, he pours His immense love over us. He knowns
what He is asking when He calls a person, or a family into missions, and what
sacrifices they will need to make. He knows that we leave the world behind,
friends, family, comforts, and education to serve His beloved poor. With that
said we should know that He loves us so much that He sees fit to make the
impossible possible. He as a loving Father wants the very best for his
children.
I can
not in any explainable terms, tell you how full my heart is at this time. To
the world it is nonsense, to the world it is unbelievable, as He asked us to
sell all our possession in order to become poor and to follow Him to the
corners of the earth; and due to our obedience, we were left without worldly prediction
of the future, only left with His will to be done among us, as “we are His clay
and He is the Potter” Isaiah 64:8. Which to be honest is not easy to overcome
as you need to totally trust in God alone and not of the lies of the world. It
requires one to have the willingness to allow Him to smooth all the rough edges
which at times can be painful. Once we said “Yes” our lives were in His hands, our
task is merely to sustain our obedience through prayer and to seek His beloved
poor and to love them as ourselves.
As I
testify not of my own doing, but of my faults and weakness, I urge you to hear of
the goodness of our Lord !
In our
mission schedule as a family, we allot time for school, for both Julianna and
Gabriel. Though it is on the schedule many days come and go without time to
open school books in order to study spelling words or algebra. We learned very
quickly in missions that school often comes to a halt by the knocks on the door
from someone in need, or a home visit to someone who is sick and might die
within the hour. This is the life of a missionary kid. Though we learned that
with loss time there is also time gained and glory to be given to the Lord. We
mustn’t fixate on the days that were redesigned by the best designer of all (God)
because there are many perfect school days that were created, and exists, and on those days Julianna and Gabriel are
able to get three days’ worth of school done in just one, without distractions.
With
that said, I must not keep you any longer, but I must tell you of the good, that
the Lord has done for my daughter Julianna.
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| Julianna - medical mission clinic. |
Julianna said “YES” to missions when she was
15, she had just started high school, an incredible trying time for any
teenager, as you can imagine. With her “YES”, came the responsibility of saying
goodbye to her life as she knew it in the United States. Turning away the
privileges she had as a citizen of the U.S. to live in solidarity with the poor
in Peru.
Her
desire even at a young age, was to become the hands and feet of Christ. To care
for the sick, the lonely, and the less fortunate. And somehow even though she
placed the needs of the poor before her own, she was able to finish high school
and has been giving an unfathomable opportunity to continue her education
through Connecticut’s, Holy Apostles Catholic University and Seminary. She was giving the choice to return to the
states to become a fulltime student at the college, however after much prayer
she feels called to remain in the mission field, serving those around her as a
fulltime missionary and an online college student.
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| Julianna, removing a neighbor's IV using plastic bags for gloves. |
We are
not sure how the financial aspect will work out in the future, as she attends
college while on a missionary budget; but what we do know is that with God
anything is possible. It is merely our job to remain obedient and faithful, and
to serve the poor as they are His beloved people, everything else he desires of
us he will provided in his own time and way.
We want
to encourage all of you who have heard the call to serve Christ in missions,
not to fear. The world, most certainly, will tell you it is impossible but we
pray that the testimony of Frank and Genie Summers, and within the witness of
Julianna’s own testimony, that you too, may find peace and comfort to trust in
the Lord’s call to serve His beloved poor.
We know
that “The mission of Christ the
Redeemer, which is entrusted to the Church, is still very far from completion…….
this mission is still only beginning and that we must commit ourselves
wholeheartedly to its service. It is the Spirit who impels us to proclaim the
great works of God: "For if I preach the Gospel, that gives me no ground
for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the
Gospel!" (1 Cor 9: 16) Saint John Paul II, writes of the sense of
urgent duty to repeat the cry of St. Paul and it is indeed an invation to you, to
engage in this most urgent mission to go to the ends of the earth to preach the
gospel.
Please
pray that we as a family, especially my daughter Julianna, will always “Thirst”
for Christ on the Cross. Pray that our days will be focused on the urgent need
to satiate the “Thirst” of Jesus, with every single drop of our blood, as we wish
to bring more souls to Jesus!
You my brothers
and sisters we carry in our prayers, as we try desperately try to become worthy
handmaids of the Lord.
We thank you for your prayers and your support.
Without the sacrifices made by each of you this work would be impossible.
Donations
Karen, Julianna and Gabriel Del Castillo
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