SMALL BUT HARD

      Sometimes the “big” things are easier than the “small” things. For example, it would probably be easier for me to die for my faith than to die to myself every day by washing the dishes after lunch! So one Wednesday, I asked the Lord to give me suffering, He gave me a TON of dishes to wash.

      Even though Samuel washed some, when it was my turn, I kept hoping something would happen, like that a mouse would run towards me so that I would have to wait until dad got it out of the kitchen. “Wait a minute,” I said to myself. “ I just asked for this, and now I'm complaining about it!” After I realized that I should be grateful to God for sending me so many dishes to wash, I started to be more cheerful. I did alright at first, but after a while I had to keep reminding myself that it would be a good sacrifice if I did it with love.      

     One of Fr. Joe's (the Catholic priest here) favorite sayings from the Bible is, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” It's true, things may seem easy, but really, they're very hard.

      Example #2: When my mom gave me an assignment for school, I wrote it in the same notebook that I had also written a letter encouraging the reader about the Catholic faith. I wanted to cut it out and put it in a bottle in the sea and hope someone would find it and read it, but my mom found it first. Father Joe had just called to ask if mom and dad could share a few words after Communion at a public school Mass the next day. You can guess what happened next. My mom said I should share that letter at the Mass. “Are you still going to share, too?” I asked my mom. I was nervous, especially if I was the only one to share. “We'll share a few words too, but I think the letter is perfect! Also, it will be more powerful from a young person since we will be talking to kids about your age.” Here was my chance, but I was nervous, I never had to talk in front of that big of a crowd like that. “Here's your chance, Meredith. You keep telling me how much you want to tell everyone how much God loves them!” mom told me. “I know, I'll at least pray about it.” I said.

Then we got a text that said we had to renew our visas that same day. “It's good you made that speech already,” dad told me. “I have to leave to C.D.O ( a city on another island) to renew our visas, and won't be able to give my talk! Just make sure you read it slowly, loudly and clearly, so that they can understand.” I felt pretty sure that I would speak, but at the end of the day, right before bed...

     “Mooooom! I'm REALLY nervous!!!!!!”

      “Don't worry about it, you don't have to read it, but it really would be better coming from a child.”

      The next morning, after my mom and I were prayed over, we drove to the school where the chairs were set up outside to serve as pews. “Mom, I'm so nervous! I'm not gonna do it.”

      “Meredith, it's ok. I would really like you to, but you don't have to-- no one is forcing you.” my mom reassured me kindly.

      “Can you say it for me?” I asked my mom hopefully.

      “It would be better if it came from you. Look,” she said, pointing to a sign hanging on a tree right in front of us. It read: “99% of failure comes from people who make excuses” I smiled, I guess God was telling me to do this. Fr. Joe called us to sit with the altar servers. “So you and Meredith are both going to speak.” he reminded us. We nodded. That, too, was a sign from God, I thought.

      After Holy Communion, we introduced ourselves and mom spoke about being home wherever God sends us, because we know He has plans for us there. She said we weren't any happier in the U.S than we are here, which is true. She told them also that the ways that the world tells us to be happy(like having more material goods and outer beauty) are not true, but that God can make us happy.

      When mom finished her talk, she handed me the microphone and I began in a shaky voice:

      "Good morning! I would like to introduce myself. I am a Catholic missionary with my family, here in the Philippines, Sagay, Camiguin. I am eleven years old. My name is Meredith, and my nickname is Mi Mi. I want to encourage you to be faithful to Jesus. Being Catholic is a special privilege! Jesus established the Catholic Church and wants all of us to follow Him and to teach others to follow Him. One of the best ways to attract people to the faith is to be an example. At school or at work you could be good to those who are not good to you. Jesus says, “Blessed are you when people hate you, reject you, persecute you, and say you are evil, all because of the Son of Man.” Never be ashamed of your faith in Jesus Christ! He is everything you ever wanted and more! I hope these words lift you up and are encouraging to you on your journey home to heaven, Thank you!"

      After we finished, Father whispered thank you to us and said that he almost cried at my message! He said he would have to give me and even Maddie more opportunities to speak. I felt encouraged because I thought I probably sounded terrible since I was shaking. I was glad I decided to read my message after all!

      Example #3: Just a few days ago, a poor lady who had come recently came again to our house. We read the Bible to her and gave her some food. Then we decided to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet, so we gave her a rosary. She thought it was for her to keep. Well, it turned out that it was my rosary that they had given her. I was sort of sad that I would have to give up my rosary, but then I saw her happy face. “This is for me?” she asked.

      “Sure!” my mom said. She didn't know it was mine. I decided to let her have it, to make her happy. Now I'm so happy, because I gave it to her.

      When we say we love God, He will challenge us to prove it in ways that are hard for us. I hope I can keep saying “yes” to all that He asks of me.

My Life As a Missionary

     The past five months of living here in the Philippines have been the most blessed moments of my life.  When my family made the choice to become foreign missionaries with Family Missions Company about a year ago (it has already been that long ago?), I didn't know what God had in store for us.  Now, I can't imagine a life of not being missionaries.

     Now that I know what it is like being a missionary-- exciting, always trusting in God for everything we need, etc., I'm laughing at myself, thinking about how scared I was to leave my friends, relatives, my State (Kansas), to live simply, and become a missionary with my family.  I remember the very first night that my mom found the website for the mission company, Family Missions Company, and told me, “Look!  Isn't this amazing?  A company that trains Catholic families to be missionaries.”  She was excited, but right when I heard that, I became upset at the idea of leaving everything and, after transferring to another State for the training, to go to an unknown country and spread God's word.  I did not really think that our family would become missionaries and I was upset anytime that they brought up the idea.  A few months later, my family and I went on a trip to Louisiana where the missionary training place is.  We were visiting there because we wanted to see how the missionaries'  lives were like.  After our stay there, I felt so much better about serving God as missionaries.  When we arrived back home in Kansas, we almost immediately started donating things that we didn't need to the second-hand stores and we even sold things that were not necessary, but what would be considered necessary to others.  Things such as our furniture, TV, computer, and when we were sure of becoming missionaries, we even sold some of our beds!  When my family and I left for missionary training last September, I was still a little nervous but I knew that we had made the right decision.

     I have mentioned before that I couldn't imagine how my life would be if I wasn't a missionary.  If I was not a missionary, what would my life be like?  Before our training in Louisiana, I did not read the Bible on my own at all, almost.  In training, I learned the real importance of reading scripture everyday.  Reading God's word daily really helps me in applying it to my own life and it gives me a good start for the day since I read it every morning before school.  Trusting in God also plays a very big part in a missionary's life.  I've learned to pray about everything and worry about nothing.  A good story to share on this goes this way... Last month, we were at the mainland, Cagayan de Oro.  We were visiting the missionaries there, Susanna and Teresa, at their apartment.  The boys were playing on the stairs behind us and were doing fine until we heard a loud boom.  We rushed over to see that my baby brother Julian (then, 16 months old) had fallen down a few stairs and landed on the floor of tile.  He wasn't crying very hard which was not normal, and when my mother picked him up he passed out.  We were all screaming, “Jesus!” and singing songs for help.  I thought Julian was dying.  While we were still praying, he woke up from his black out!  My parents took him to the hospital to make sure he was okay.  I have to admit, I had faith in God and that He would work everything out for good, but my faith wavered a little.  But God did work everything out for the better.  Julian was fine (Praise the Lord!) and  I only wish that I had had a stronger trust or faith.

     I sometimes ask myself, “Why did God choose my family to be missionaries?” Not in a bad way, but in a way of feeling that we were called out of so many people to be the messengers of God, do we really deserve everything that He's done for us?  He has:

ñ  Brought us safely to the Philippines and without trouble.

ñ  Taken care of all of our problems, small and big (for example, Julian was fine).

ñ  Given us a ton of ministry.

How can we thank Him enough or repay Him for everything?

     Even though a missionary life is, for me, the ideal life, there are still times where I don't feel very missionary spirited.  For example:  A few of my friend's from school always want to come home with me to eat at my house at school lunch break time.  I've already been looking forward to a nice,quiet mealtime with only my family and myself, to having a moment's rest, and I have already been planning to tell them stories of my morning session and want to hear their stories,too.  I can't tell my friends that they cannot come home with me, though, that would seem rude.  So, I let them come home with me but I don't always look very happy about it.  I'm learning to always be open or available to anyone who needs me.

     We waited so long to be out in the field as missionaries, and were told about how great missions is by our missionary friends.  I feel so blessed to actually experience, myself, being God's speaker.  Please keep my family in your prayers, and all of the other FMC missionaries as well.  God called our family.  Could He be calling yours?

By: Madeline Alvarez

A Poem, A Reflection, and My Missionary Brothers-- From Meredith

Jesus

By: Meredith Alvarez

I raised them up,

They brought me down

I hugged them,

They stabbed my back

I crowned them with gold and silver,

They repaid that gift with thorns

I praised them and helped them up,

They mocked me and brought me down

I thirst and suffer,

They drink and rejoice like fools

But then, they open their eyes and see what I have done for them

They beat their breasts in sorrow for their sins,

And I, the GREAT GOD forgive them.

“I AM,

THE

AGONIZING

JESUS

WHO

LOVES

YOU!" 

Reflection on Esther

About a month ago, while I was reading the book of Esther in my prayer time, I read a really awesome verse: “Since I came here, the only thing that has brought me joy is my worship of you, LORD God of Abraham.” (c:29). It spoke to me, because the past days before, I was thinking things like, “why are we here in the Philippines? I want to go home!” but when I read that, I was thinking, God has brought me closer to Him in my time here, so even if I'm here only to be brought closer to God, that's what should bring me joy!

Now, I can see that God did have plans for us, such as the youth group we have every other Sunday. It has been going very well, and I think the youth really enjoy it. We also volunteered to help at a daycare center on Mondays. I'm so glad we found a mission here!

LITTLE MISSIONARIES

Vincent, Samuel and baby Julian are great missionaries! Here are some funny examples : 

On the plane ride here, to the Philippines, my family and I were relaxing on us kids' FIRST airplane and enjoying the view, when, all of a sudden we heard little Vincent singing. “ Savior, he can move the mountains, my God is mighty to save! He is mighty to save!...” Almost ALL of the people in our section of the plane were laughing.

So even before we set foot in the Philippines, Vincent was being a good witness to others!

“Praise You, Jesus!”

One time, Vincent wanted to swim in the sea with dad and the other boys, but he couldn't find his swim shorts. He looked and looked but he still couldn't find them. After a while, it was time for his nap. He went to his bed, and when he looked behind his bed, he pulled out his swim shorts,

“PRAISE YOU, JESUS! I FOUND MY SWIM TRUNKS!!”

Ju Ju

Whenever we play the Christian music on the radio Julian gets really excited and starts dancing and sometimes even lifts up his hands to praise God! And whenever he is fussy, we turn on the music and he stops crying; he loves God and music!

Samuel

The other day, Samuel said, “In Heaven, everyone will sit on God's lap, and no one will be scrunched!”

“Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”- Luke 18:17

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My "Beautiful but Ugly" School

Monday, June 6th, I started my first day of school at the local high school (equivalent to U.S.7th-10th grade), Holy Rosary High School. The school is, as some say, 'beautiful but ugly'. The teachers and students are friendly and helpful, but the school building itself is run down and badly in need of repairs.

When we went to the school for me to be enrolled, my mom and I noticed the big puddles of water on the floors. We couldn't not notice them. It had rained the night before and the roof had leaked. We had to walk through the water and my mom almost slipped and fell, it was so bad. I instantly started thinking, “What do the students do if classes are going on and it rains?” Well, this week it rained in the morning and the back of my classroom had puddles, so we had to move our desks closer to the front. The hallway was wet and kids were sliding down it for fun. We didn't get our books until this week. The library where they were kept floods when it rains, too.

      Fr. Joe is trying to get the school roof fixed, but he must do it a little at a time, as funds allow. Another problem is that he won't be able to pay the workers enough for the work. The men will only get paid about $2 U.S. Dollars a day! Even here, this is way underpaid. My parents are starting to tithe some of our donated mission funds specifically for school repairs, but what is needed is a large amount given at once. Donations would be very helpful towards fixing the roof and other things that need repairs. Maybe one of you will feel inspired to hold a fundraiser for this cause. This could even be a youth group project.

      Father is trying his hardest to keep Holy Rosary High School open. It is important to the members of the community who volunteer their time teaching and helping to run the school in a Christian way. It is also important to me as a student. I have made new friends and some seem to need attention from me and others. I am going to start a Bible study for anyone from school who wants to come. I think that, after a few weeks, they will benefit a lot from it.

      Final Statement: Holy Rosary High School of Sagay, Camiguin Island, Philippines needs your help!!!    Thank you!!! ~Maddie

  

My God You Are (Gods ABC's)

Here is a song that my mom and I wrote,
Refrain: My God, You are A and Z
And every letter in between
You are the beginning and the end,
You fill my life within
You are my everything !
  1. A, You are amazing, B, You are so beautiful, C,You are compassionate,  D, You are my desire,  E, You are everything to me!

2. F, You are faithful, G, You are the great God, H, You are my hope, I, You are intelligent, J, You are Jesus and You are jealous for me!

3. K, You're a kind King, L You're love, loving, and lovely. M, You're miraculous, N You will never change!

 4. O, You are the only one for me. P, You are precious and the prince of peace. Q, You are quiet like a whisper. R, You are my rescuer. S, You are my savior.

T, You are talented. U, You are unbelievable. V, You are victorious. W, You are wonderful. X,  marks the spot You have in my heart. Y, You are Yahweh. Z, You are in Zion where I want to be!
 

Surprise from the Lord

      The last morning of the camp, a few hours before we were about to leave to go back to Cagayan de Oro, I realized that I couldn't find the money that my dad had given me. I looked everywhere in my bags and asked my tent mates if they had seen it. They both said no. I asked some of the staff members and they said maybe it fell out of my bag somewhere. I couldn't find it anywhere and we finally had to leave. One of the missionaries, Susanna, said that someone probably took it if I just left it lying around.

      I had never lost money before. I didn't believe that anyone took it. I thought I was just careless and should have been way more careful. Almost the whole bus ride home I felt really anxious.

     Towards the end, Theresa (a missionary) let me borrow a book called “He and i”. It's all about what God said to a lady. I read some and after awhile I came across this quote that God spoke to the woman, “Do not be anxious about things you can't fix. Offer it to me and I'll work it out.” I felt great peace come over me and I felt a lot better.

      A day later, our parents came to pick me and Meredith up to go back to Camiguin the following day. I felt anxious again and finally told them that I lost all the money dad had given me for the trip. It only equaled $20 but I felt like I was untrustworthy. They told me it was alright and I forgot about it for a little bit.

Later that night, I was taking something out of my bag. I was about to zip it up again when I felt the Lord say, “Reach in that spot and I'll give you a surprise.” I was doubtful at first but I'm so glad that I did reach my hand down in that spot.

      When I brought my hand out of the bag I was so surprised. I was staring at the 1,000 pesos Dad had given me before the camp!!! I could only stand and stare and say, “What??? What???” over and over. Then I reached into my backpack again and found a piece of my knitting project that I also thought I had lost and a bracelet that I couldn't find earlier. God really, really blessed me! I didn't even deserve it! It's very comforting to know that God is always watching over us no matter how small the problem is.--Maddie

My Goal

     Last week, Maddie and I attended a Catholic youth camp several hours away from Cagayan. We did many different activities. One of the challenges was for each team member to to shoot at least one basket each. I was one of the youngest persons in the whole camp and the youngest person in our team. After many tries, I still could not get the ball in the goal. Finally, a group of team members lifted me up so that I could reach better. Everyone crowded around to watch me.
     I tried all of the ideas I could think of to try to make a basketball goal. I kept trying but wanted to give up; the rest of the team didn't. They put me on someone's shoulders and all shouted, "Dunk it! Dunk it!" I was up so close that I just dropped the ball down the hoop. I was the last person to finish the activity.
     It was so embarrassing but I finally made it. I found this as an important lesson. Keep trying until you reach your goal: Heaven, no matter how long it takes to get there! 

A Praise Report from Meredith!!!

Two nights ago, April 12, two of my friends, MeMae and Cindy called me over. We talked for a while and then MeMae said, “Before your family came, Ricky (her 15 year old cousin who comes to play and pray in our yard everyday) told me he did not want to be a Catholic, but now he sees your family eat together, pray together and have fun together. He told me he wants to be baptized this coming May.”

“Next month?!” I asked.

“Yes. Ricky has changed a lot. He used to say a lot of bad words but now I don't even hear him say them around our house (their families live in the same house).”

Then she said that his dad is not Catholic and is away right now. His mother is Catholic, so she gave Ricky advice to talk to his father about it when he comes back.

“This school year, he would like to go to Holy Rosary High School and he would like to become an altar server like I am. Since Maddie is going to Holy Rosary he would like to go so that he can follow her example.”

“Wow, that's good!” I said.

“I'm not a Catholic either.” Cindy said. “I'm a Jehovah's Witness. My mother died when she was on a boat. My father is not responsible so I live with my sister.”

Soon my sister Maddie called me inside. I was so exited to tell my family about all that I had heard! I had never really told my family anything this exiting before, usually either my family and I found out the exiting news together, or my dad told us about it. When I got inside the house I waited until my mom was free so I could tell her the good news. Mom listened in amazement. When I was finished talking, my mom said, “What? Wow! This is a big deal!”

“And Ricky is the one who always says, “Watch your language” when the other kids say bad words.” Maddie exclaimed. “I also saw Ricky and his friend attend Mass for the past 2 Sundays. Cindy also has been praying the rosary and she came to the graduation Mass with us.”

Now we realize that the day Ricky first came here his younger cousin, Clarence James, was sick and our neighbors were trying to find a plant in the garden to lessen the fever. My dad asked if we could go with them to pray over him when they took the plant. We went with them and prayed over Clarence James. The next day, he was cured! After that, Ricky started coming over to play in our yard everyday. Maybe he saw what God had done and wanted to learn more.

I'm so glad we are showing others a good example! We didn't even know Ricky wasn't a Catholic until Memae told us. We didn't even know he was watching our example! That's why we, especially as missionaries, should always do the right thing, even if others don't, because we never know who is watching!-Meredith

Holding Onto Him

     When I was around 2 years old and my sister Meredith was just 5 months or so, I told someone, “My baby sister is so amazing! She can walk!—with Mom's help.” I was reminded of it a few weeks ago. Then I started to think that that is how our walk with the Lord is like. We can only walk with His help, by holding onto Him. He guides us where He knows is the best path and leads us away from the paths that we think are right but which are many times the wrong paths.

     If Meredith had let go of my mom and tried to walk on her own when her legs were not strong enough, she would have fallen down and gotten hurt. If we let go of God and walk where we think is the best and easiest way, we fall into sin. The good part about this, though, is that He never stops holding us up; we are the ones who let go.

     About 2 weeks ago, I was running outside. Our yard has a bunch of rocks and my foot got caught between some while I was turning a corner, resulting in a sprained ankle. Thankfully, it wasn't very bad, but the slightest movement still hurt. When I would walk in the street (I could still walk but very slowly) limping just a little, people would ask what happened. One person even thought I was permanently like that. It's the same thing as when we fall into sin just a little. We aren't happy and people can see the wrong in us. But when we hold on and let God guide us people will ask what makes us so happy. I can just picture God saying, “Look at My daughter Maddie. She can walk—with My help!”

                 

                     

“Lord, I know You will never stop being merciful to me.

Your love and loyalty will always keep me safe.” (Ps. 40:11

A Thought From Meredith

When we were on the flight to the Philippines I had this thought.  Jesus took His passion steps easiest to hardest (of course none of His suffering was easy, but some things I think were harder).  First, Jesus thought about His suffering and sweated blood because He knew how hard it would be.  Then He was scourged very badly and laughed at.  Next, He was stabbed with a sharp crown of thorns and people mocked Him.  Jesus took His cross and also fell three times before reaching Calvary.  When Jesus got there He was stripped of His clothes and nailed to His cross.  Before Jesus died He forgave those who persecuted Him.  I think we should follow these steps.  1. First think about what God is calling us to, then accept it.  2. Then, scourge all the bad habits and a few things you could do without.  3. Next, put aside all bad thoughts and judgeful thoughts (it is hard for me not to judge also!).  4. Bear your cross cheerfully each day!.  5. Strip yourself of the rest of the bad habits and everything that is keeping you from being close to God.  The final step (6.) is to crucify yourself with Jesus, offer yourself to God, and forgive those who persecute you. 
P.S. You don't have to do these things all at once.  Do each step until it's like a habit to you.
P.P.S. I really like this reading: Romans 13:8-14.  Look it up!   

Our First Blog Post

We arrived here in the Philippines on March 2 two weeks ago.  Since then we have had lunch with the Cardinal of the Philippines, met the Bishop of Cagayan de Oro, and Fr. Joe the parish priest of Sagay.  Fr. Joe has taken us to swim at the Sto. Nino cold springs, to the city of Mumbajao, and all the way back to Cagayan to get some supplies to set up our house.  We have to ride a ferry to the main island called Mindanao where Cagayan de Oro is.  On our first ferry ride my dad and Meredith prayed that we would see dolphins.  Their prayers were answered!  We all got to see at least 10 dolphins! When we arrived at the Holy Rosary High School in Sagay, Camiguin, the students performed a welcome dance for us.  The music was the Camiguin theme song.  Then we went to Fr. Joe's house where the Holy Rosary Church parishioners had our dinner waiting- a whole roasted pig, and many other delicious foods.  After our meal we went to our one room cottage that's right next to the sea.  We will be staying there until they are finished building our new house.  It will even have a real chapel inside!
We'll write more later.  God Bless!