Home school for a missionary kid by Gabriel Del Castillo

 

 Living in a 3^rd world county can get kinda of tricky sometimes.

Quickly you find out 2 things; one that every moment is an opportunity to learn and secondly finding time for school looks a lot different than the normal US classroom.

The other day I learned an economic lesson as well as what the Catholic Churches calls “social Justice” and the call, we all have to defend the poor. The Church teaches that all people of all nations have the right to the supplies, martials and goods of the earth, not just the educated or the rich. It brings to mind when Jesus says: 

 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal;  but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.  

For where your treasure is, there

 your heart will be also.” Matthew 16: 19-21

Sure, man can own private property and secure and store items for his needs and for his family but that does not exempt him from helping his neighbors and the less fortunate. My mom explained to me that Thomas Aquinas an Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, Catholic priest, and Doctor of the Church taught that though it is not contrary to the natural law for man to possess and own private property and goods, but man should be careful and mindful not possess private property in such a way that hinders others and makes them suffer.

So, in other words he is saying, if man only stores up his riches and does not use his private property (riches) for the good of all man, perhaps he is not acting as Jesus desires of him.

You might ask how this lesson turned in to math and economic class well you see we were on our way from visiting Maritza and her children. Maritza is a single mom, and she is really poor. We try to visit her every week. We bring her food, and we even were able to help build her a house, because she lived in a small bamboo hut with dirt floors and no running water or bathroom. I asked how Maritza makes money, and she said that when she can find work, she works washing other people clothes by hand, or in the corn fields. I was happy to hear that until I found out how much she made.

 Maritza can easily work 9 to 10 hours in the corn fields a day and when she does, she makes 50 soles a day. That is the equivalent of almost $17 USD a day. Quickly I drew a more concern face. I asked my mother what people in the USA made and well she didn’t tell me; she told me to find out on my own. So, I did what I do best, I sent a message to my aunt and bothers and friends back in the states and asked them what they make so I could get an idea.

This is where the math comes in, I had to come up with an average salary between the people I asked from the States. Of course, I was thinking the whole entire time that If she would just let me google the average salary I would be done a lot quicker. But of course, my mom had to turn it into an opportunity to learn. But here are my figures I was given by those in the states of what they made an hour.

So here are my calculations 

$24.00 + $11.00 + $15.00 + $28.00 + $19.00 = $97.00

$97 ÷ 5 = $19.40 on average that is made per hour in the USA.

 That is a huge difference from what Maritza and others here in Peru make in an entire day!

So, after I went back to my mom with the answer to the average hourly wage in the states. She explained to me how as missionaries we are here to preach the Gospel and love people like Jesus would and that includes fighting for social justice for those who have no voice.

So what happen next? You guessed it my next lesson was to find scripture that speaks about the Preferential Option for the Poor and Vulnerable.

 

Here a simple list of the scripture I found that instructs us to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first. 

       You shall not oppress the poor or vulnerable.  God will hear their cry. Exodus 22:20-26
         A portion of the harvest is set aside for the poor and the stranger. Leviticus 19:9-10 
         The Lord hears the cry of the poor. Job 34:20-28 
         Speak out in defense of the poor. Proverbs 31:8-9  
        Don’t delay giving to those in need. Sirach 4:1-10  
         God is a refuge for the poor. Isaiah 25:4-5 
         True worship is to work for justice and care for the poor and oppressed. Isaiah 58:5-7
         What you do for the least among you, you do for Jesus. Matthew 25:34-40 

Jesus proclaims his mission: to bring good news to the poor and oppressed. Luke 4:16-21 

Blessed are the poor, theirs is the kingdom of God. Luke 6:20-23
         How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s good and sees one in need and refuses to help? 1 John 3:17-18

 

I guess you can guess what my next subject was that day! Writing and English class. You must already know that by now since you’re reading my latest assignment.

Just for fun, I want to give you all a bit of homework!

What would the world look like if everyone took at least one hour of their salary and used it for the poor?

Do you think that a family in the USA could live, or would they die if they donated an hour of their wages to the poor?

Do you believe if they did, God would reward them for their sacrifice beyond what they sacrificed?

Do you think If man lived today in the way that God created us, that the word “poor” would even exist in our vocabulary today?

 

 

** I really pray the teacher (AKA: mom) gives me an A+ on this assignment. What do you think?

“Therefore, everyone has the right to possess a sufficient amount of the earth’s goods for themselves and their family. This has been the opinion of the Fathers and Doctors of the church, who taught that people are bound to come to the aid of the poor and to do so not merely out of their superfluous goods.

Persons in extreme necessity are entitled to take what they need from the riches of others. Faced with a world today where so many people are suffering from want, the council asks individuals and governments to remember the saying of the Fathers: “Feed the people dying of hunger, because if you do not feed them you are killing them,” and it urges them according to their ability to share and dispose of their goods to help others, above all by giving them aid which will enable them to help and develop themselves.” Gaudium et Spes (Joy and Hope), § 69

Thanks for spending time to find out what its like to be as a missiuonary kid! 

Hugs and Love !!!!!

Gaberial Del Castillo 

Age:  11

Mission Post:  Cajaruro, Amazonas, Peru

 

 

 

 

May we, too, bleed and burn for souls!

My buddy, I can not love him enough! 

Hello, my beloved mission partners, family and friends,

I pray you all are well! We are doing good, despite the fact it has been raining tremendously here for the last several months. Which has been rather nice to have to cooler weather but of courses the mosquitos are out in full force and now on top of covid there now is a high number of confirmed cases of dengue fever running about.

I am truly sorry it has been a while since I sent out an update, we have really been enjoying the work the Holy Spirit has led us to, and grateful for the opportunity to serve our Lord in such a humble way.

We are supper excited to share with you how the Holy Spirit has been leading us here in the mission field. Of course It is always a challenge among us humans to remain with hearts "Wide Open" and with a "YES" on our lips, because as you know we sometimes get in the way of the Lord’s plan. But we are happy to say that we feel that the Holy Spirit has been doing an awesome job at directing us despite are thick heads and harden hearts we posses at times.

 I would like to share with you a couple of Glory stories with you. These stories though may not be a huge deal to some, however, they are every bit worthy of praise, and we recognize that the Holy Spirit had every intention in moving in the way he did, and we are so grateful that he is leading the way. 

No one comes to Adoration

When we moved to our current mission post in Oct 2019, Father Robert asked if our family would lead adoration each Thursday for the community. Of course, we said yes. After all, my family and I love our time spent with Jesus in the blessed sacrament and were very excited to lead it for our new community. Overtime though we became discouraged at the fact that no one would come to adoration despite the fact we were inviting families personally to join us. We even invited families and friends over on Thursday nights to share a meal with them in our home before adoration. But yet, each time somehow, they all managed to slip away before adoration.

Feeling defeated and like the worst missionary ever, I rested in the fact that at least Thursday night could at least be a time my family and I could spend time with Jesus. A time that was quiet, refreshing and spiritually renewing for each of us. The three of us could have this intimate time alone with Jesus which aids us in our weekly ministries with those that we journey with that are not quite ready to join us for adoration.

More than 19 months have passed and every Thursday Night we open the Church doors, and we expose Jesus in the blessed sacrament, alone as a family. Heartbroken that no one would attend, I found myself praying each Thursday for our community, and for all those we had invited over the months. As I sat there in front of Jesus each week, I begged for at least a few people to accept the invitation to join us.  I also found myself asking for forgiveness for failing to be a “good enough missionary”, and at the same time asking for forgiveness because of the “guilty” feeling I had for enjoying my family's alone time with Jesus.

5 weeks ago, as usual we were in the chapel during adoration and suddenly, I heard a group of young girls walk in. Of course, they thought they were talking quietly, but the roar of their voices drowned out soft music that was playing and attracted all our attention, instead of the blessed sacrament that was sitting in front of us. They immediately came up to me and asked if they could join us. And of course, I said yes. These girls have came back every week since. Sometimes they even bring their friends and little brothers or sisters with them. I have found myself frustrated a bit as now my quiet and intimate adoration time has now been taken away from me by little whispers and the idle movements of young jittery children scattered throughout the pews and floor of the church. But I quickly remind myself that I was the one begging for others to join us in Adoration!

These children are not your normal everyday adoration goers. They indeed are challenged by silence and stillness, but I am so grateful for the opportunity to journey with them. Each Thursday before we expose Jesus, we answer questions and explain to them a different aspect of adoration and prayer. We have also had the chance to talk to them about journaling.

Maybe it's not what I was expecting 19 months ago, however I am confident that the Holy Spirit is indeed at work in the hearts of the children, and it is an honor to walk with them as they build an incredibly intimate relationship with Jesus. 

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them;

for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.”

Matthew 19:14

This is not a picture of adoration in our chapel, it is from last weeks Procession on the feast of Corpus Christi.  But the cutie that you see is named Kendra and she is one of the many children that has started coming on Thursdays night to adoration. 

 

An example to others- becoming the salt and light

The other day, Julianna and Gabriel and I spent all day mixing sawdust and colorant for a project we are helping with in honor of the upcoming feast of Corpus Christi. It was late in the afternoon and time had gotten away from us and we had not eaten all day. We had nothing in our home and not much money, so I told Julianna to go to the small restaurant in town and buy three plates to go. The restaurant is super cheap, and I knew we could buy food for all three of us for the 15 soles (5 dollars) that we had.

When Julianna came back, she was crying with Joy, as she told me that she only bought two plates instead of three.  I asked what happened and she began to explain that Camila, one of the little girls we had become friends not too long ago, came up to her at the restaurant and she told Julianna that she was hungry and that she had not eaten all day. You see Camellia’s mother sends her out each day to sell candy, and she can not go home until she sells all of her candy. Praise God Julianna did not hesitate to buy her something to eat. As the two of them waited for their food, Camilla began to ask Julianna about why our family chose to live here in Peru and what was a missionary’s job. As they were talking a gentleman stood up from a nearby table and approached them, saying that he was listening and watching from where he was sitting. He extended his hand out to Camilla, handing her 50 soles and told her to make sure she buys food for her mother and sister before going home. Then he turned to Julianna and thanked her for inspiring him to help.

 Praise Jesus’s Holy name for perfect timing and for the witness of Julianna that inspired a stranger to join us in our journey with Camilla. Julianna could have just followed my instructions and just as easily told Camila she did not have enough to buy her food, praise God instead she decided to become the Salt and the light. And we are so thankful for the multiplication of food that day, we all were able to eat until we were full.

“In the same way, let your light shine before others,

so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Matthew 5:16

This is an old picture from March on Julianna's 18th birthday. But it is one of the only pictures I have with Camilla. She is on the bottom left in the pink shirt. 

Speaking English

Perhaps one may say that this glory story is insignificant but for us it is right alongside any other miracle Jesus has performed. Two weeks ago, we had to travel to the Migraciones office 8 hours away to pick up Julianna’s new resident card. In which presented us the opportunity to see fellow missionaries who live there. And as Gabriel said the opportunity to speak English to someone other than his mom and sister. The little things are so rewarding, even if it was just for 2 hours. What a gift it was to talk with these two saintly missionaries who call us on to become holier. This gift that Jesus had for us, renewed us and filled our hearts for many months to come.

“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”

 Proverbs 27:17

Missionary's friends JP and Soren, what awesome missionaries they are! 

Our Mother Mary

Since the beginning of May we have been teaching the children here about our Mother Mary each week. On the Last week of May we were blessed to be able surprised them with a big balloon rosary. The were smiling ear to ear and were amazed that it floated out of sight. 

 Mary said “My soul glorifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour. For he has looked upon his servant in her littleness. From now on all generations will call me blessed. The Almighty has done great things through me. Holy is His name. God’s mercy extends from age to age, to all who praise him.

 Luke 1:46-55

These children fill our hearts beyond words! 

Teaching school

Many ask or wonder what we do as missionaries. Sometimes it is hard to describe in a concrete way. It depends on the day and what hat we are wearing that day. One could easily find us in the church praying or leading a meeting just as they could find us helping an elderly person or visiting the sick and homebound. On an extremely adventurously day you might find us walking through mud to someone’s home to listen to them tell us all the reason they do not believe in God. But one of our favorites lately has been teaching school to the three children of our dear friend Maritza.  Our we teachers you ask?, well not exactly. Of course, we have no degree or education that would certify us to be. But you see the children of Peru are suffering more than ever since March of 2020. Believe it or not Peruvian children have not been back to school. The 1^st year of Covid they just cancelled it all together. This past March the government decided that school would continue but at home which makes the parents now the teachers and if they are lucky perhaps, they will receive a phone call from their teacher each week where they are given their weekly assignments. A lot of the parents here can not read or write, though that is not the case with Maritza. However, it is not easy for her to teach all three of them and work in the fields planting and harvesting crops. So we have been blessed to help them in their studies. In the picture you see Julianna and Alondra. Alondra just turn 5 and she is learning how to hold a pencil and Julianna is working with her on writing her name. 

Julianna and Alondra hard at work

Learning her name

Completed projects -  Preferential option for the poor 

We continue to work on laying cement floors here at our mission post. We are super excited about two other projects that have been completed. Both were enormous task, and we are very grateful for your prayers and financial support in completed them both. Martinez new home know has fully working electricity. Praise God. Though we had to be the, and we had to run the electric lines, as well as set post over a 600-meter span of terrain uphill all the way, they know have light. 

We received a huge donation from a very generous donor for the walls for Flor’s home.  If you remember correctly, we poured her a concrete floor and where able to build her a new roof. She has been without walls for the last serval months, and we finally were able to construct the walls for her home. She is beyond happy, and she cries tears of joy every time she talks about her new home. 

“...the universal destination of goods requires that the poor, the marginalized and in all cases those whose living conditions interfere with their proper growth should be the focus of particular concern. To this end, the preferential option for the poor should be reaffirmed in all its force.... It affects the life of each Christian inasmuch as he or she seeks to imitate the life of Christ, but it applies equally to our social responsibilities and hence to our manner of living…” Pope Benedict, Charity and truth, (no. 182).

Learning how to set post and string electric wire up a mountain! 

Jose are dear friend is helping us get electricity to Maritza's home. 

The 1st night they had power. 

Flor's new home, do you remember what it was like before?

A huge difference I must say! 

Today is my birthday and I am so grateful for the past years of my life. But more so I am grateful for all the Lord's patience's with me. For his merciful love and forgiveness he has shown me through out my life.  I am grateful to be in the midst of his restless love. 

Today on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus I  am so grateful for ALL OF YOU who support Christ's mission here in Peru. My children and I are only instruments of His love and without your prayers and monetary support we would not be able to love the poor nor seek justice for them as we do now. Today I will keep each of you even closer to my heart and in my prayers as it is for your sacrifices we remain here among the voiceless and oppressed.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. Pierced for our transgressions, hide us within your open wounds. You bled for us; you burn for us. May we, too, bleed and burn for souls through acts of love and mercy. May we love and serve you and our neighbors as you commanded us. Amen

May we Burn for Souls!  

 

Prayer request
 Email:  karendelcastillo@familymissionscompany.com

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Any amount is welcomed, you can make a onetime donation or 

become a monthly partner by donating as little as $10.00 a month. 

DonWeb Site: delcastillo.familymissionscompany.com

Missionary Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, pray for us!

 

To Love the Unlovable – Even the Witch Doctor and his Family

  

 

In the midst of the heart of the Amazon that we call our mission post and home we have been challenged as well as very blessed to have been led to an extraordinary weekly ministry. A ministry that at first,  I felt we were incapable of,  and unfit to handle,  and needless to say, it is not at all a ministry I would have chosen on my own.  However as a family we prayed and decided we could not turn down this opportunity that the Holy Spirit had led us to.  It is an evangelization project that comes with doubt, great fear, a sense of inadequacy, and a need to totally surrendered to Gods will.  

The Holy Spirit indeed led us to one of the darkest homes within our mission field. A home that has been tangled into a strong dark deep web, of lies, lack of faith, lack of love and riddled with the lies of the devil, you see the home we have been led to visit each week is the home of a well-known witchdoctor.

The home sits atop of a hill, and below it are little homes made of bamboo and tin roofs. Despite the lush and grand river which runs along the edge of the community, where in, on the other side of it has fruitful and fertile soil in which grows crops of rice, plantations of mangos and other native fruits, the land where the home sits and reigns is barren like a desert; There is an uneasy feeling among the little community in which the home reigns upon.

We applaud and honor the great concern from the locals who gave many warnings and expressed their fear for us not to minister to those who live in the home, as they voiced their many unsuccessful attempts with the family over the years. Reiterating to us, the family’s grave sin, of practicing witchcraft and the likelihood of them never wanting to convert to the true teaching of our Lord. Despite their efforts, we felt a call not to heed their warnings, instead we felt a strong urge to befriend those who live in the home.

  Leaning fully into the words of Saint Pope John Paul II, as he stated that the “Missionary endeavor requires patience. It begins with the proclamation of the Gospel to peoples and groups who do not yet believe in Christ”.  As a result, we embraced and embarked the ministry of the New Evangelization of the witch doctor and his family, who live atop of the barren hilltop because we felt, we could not let this hour of grace slip by.

  As Lay missionaries, our hearts were filled with the desire to reach the people whom were “baptized but have lost their sense of faith, or even no longer consider themselves members of the Church, and live far from Christ.” Which Pope John Paul spoke about in His Encyclical on the permanent validity of the Church’s missionary mandate, Redemptoris Missio.

We as a family have especially felt called to the people that feel they have no place in church, who feel abandon and detached from the Church due to their life of sin or their ignorance and lack of understanding of God’s unconditional love for all of man.  So with that said this family was no different and we being to feel an urgency to reach this family and to bring them to Christ.

Over the years of living here in Peru we have come to learn and see with our own eyes that many of those here in the Amazon Jungle were at one time evangelized by transient priest or religious sisters over the years, just as the witchdoctor’s family was. However, the lack of discipleship and the lack of journeying with those they introduced to the gospel, only allowed the seeds to drop on rocky soil or was devoured by birds. (Matthew 13:4) The work done was minimum at best which in return did not allow “the Church to take root” or take proper form. (Redemptoris Missio §34) 

Thus, provoking my families call to befriend and disciple the outcasted, publicly feared and certainly misunderstood witch doctor and his family. Our main goal was to befriend the family and to establish an intimate relationship with them that was Christ centered. We knew, for our desires to be successful, we had to truly focus on building authentic friendships and from that point we could than discern and determine the needs of the family as a whole and as individuals; to discover where each family member was in their life with Christ.  It would only be than that we could make the effort to speak the “Truth” of God’s love and mercy to them.

It has been close to a year and a half that we have journeying with the witch doctor and his family, of course our ministry is still on going. Over this time, we have been made aware, to be effective missionary disciples, the need to be aware of our weakness, and sloth in our own relationship with the Lord. Together as a family we have been reminded of the advice found in the book Co- workers in the Vineyard of the Lord, that prayer is the “vital source needed to bear lasting fruit within our ministry.”  

In no way could we ever disciple this beautiful family nor fight the attacks of the devil that we have come against, if we are not grounded in prayer and living in a true authentic relationship with the Lord. So, in addition to our regular prayer time each day, we now vigorously pray for guidance and pray for protection from the evil spirits who lurked within the home and surrounds the area, as we walk the twenty minutes to their home.

It is not easy, we as a family have had to overcome the urge to be forceful and refrain from going about turning and knocking over tables. As we sit in our weekly visits and bible readings with the family, many times, the witch doctor excuses himself to attend to a patient that has walked up desiring a cure for an illness. Knowing that the small animal carried in the clutches of the visitor’s hands is not meant for a payment of service, but a sacrifice to the Gods and Spirits in which the witch doctor will provoke in his ceremony. As we witness the family intertwine Catholic prayers and traditions with those of the underworld, I have personally had to learn to have more patience in my discipleship in hopes to gain the perfect opportunity from God to allow the family to experience the beauty of Christ and His Church, so they may see the goodness, and hear the truth. (Eph 4:15)

Please pray for these little ones.
They have such curiosity about Jesus and with their softened hearts may the seed continue to grow. 

We have not yet made it to the truth with all the members. Each member of the family is in their own stage and relationship with Christ, some have a softer heart than others. However, it has made us more aware of Christ’s presence among us and His holy work he is allowing to take place among this beautiful family. We have been blessed to see the fruits of our labor by gaining permission from the witch doctor and his wife to pick up three of their four children so they can accompany us to Mass. The oldest girl of the family has expressed a deep desire to learn more about the Catholic faith, so we now have started Catechism classes with her and her two younger siblings as well as three of her cousins who live in the same house.

I would have to say that the most noticeable and delightful change that has come from this ministry is the ability for us to love with the eyes of Christ. “We learn to love the Church by looking at her with the eyes of Jesus, who loved the Church and gave himself up for her”. (Eph 5:25)  I believe and I am confident that we had this love for those whom we found easy to love, for those we found in need of food or home.  However, embarrassed as I am to say, I must admit I was not sure I was capable of loving this misunderstood and feared family because at first, I saw the witch doctor and his family as a threat, as evil.  After all I am only human, and I fall into the blindness and ways of this world, and to be real honest it is a bit scary to think that they believe in spirits of other worlds and the ability to cure people with sacrifices of animals and the shedding of their blood.  

A typical store in the market that sells all kinds of supplies, oils, teas, candles, potions,
dead animals etc.. Often we will stumble across one that even sell rosaries and crosses. 

We had to let go of our fears and we had to fully embrace the essential teaching of the Church; that as the body of the Church, as a lay missionary, that it is essential to understand and love the whole mystical body of Christ even if it means loving the witch doctor and his family. It is this act of sacrifice through our ministry and witness that allows the souls of the separated and loss to know the Beauty, Goodness, and the Truth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I encourage everyone to love with the same eyes of Christ. We must not be quick to judge, and we must understand and respond to the urgent need of the New Evangelization. We must be open minded and see that not everyone has had the chance to be truly rooted in Christianity much less in the Catholic Faith.

 Yes, there are still many indigent people who live a life intertwined in the beliefs and customs of their ancestors, calling upon their many Spirits and Gods, and in the same breath, they call to the One Triune God.

If one can shutter and gasp at this notion, and wonder in disbelief how could they?; Or better yet call them “savages” or “demons” for doing so; than one must at the same time realize that their salvation and their faith rest in the hands of all the baptized members of the Church.

We should not ignore the yearning within us to journey and disciple with these less fortunate beautiful creations of God. We should recognize the duty we have to bring them to the transforming “Beauty” of our God, the “Goodness” of our Lord, and the “Truth” whispered through the Holy Spirit. We have been commanded to go forth and preach the Good News to all Nations. ( Mt 28:19)  In addition, we must realize the need to do so is urgent, we must go out to all peoples to communicate to them, and share the gift of our encounter with Christ, giving testimony of His “truth and love, joy and hope!”.

Truth be told, once we embrace our identity as missionaries, we cannot help but proclaim the Good News to all those we encounter. It is only when we take on the same heart and words of St Paul, as he said  “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel” (1 Cor 9: 16) , that we can than truly partake in the New Evangelization and win souls for Christ.

Thank you so much for your generosity and support, both through your prayers and donations to  make it possible for my family to live and serve among Jesus's beloved poor as full time Catholic Lay Missionaries.  

Prayer request
 Email:  karendelcastillo@familymissionscompany.com

DonWeb Site: delcastillo.familymissionscompany.com

Missionary Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, pray for us!