God, Family, Friends, Ministry!!

Since my last blog post we have finally moved into our new house in Picota (even if it is only 2 doors down from the Compassionist Sisters' house, where we were living before)! Moreover, we even have internet access at home now! This is really such a blessing. It is amazing how much of our daily "business" we now take care of online, from banking to research, to skype-ing with family, to finding downloadable home school materials, etc.. I think that the web is even more of a boon for those out of the country because we can tend to our affairs and find information and materials in English that we would never have access to otherwise. So, while there can be abuses of the world wide web, I maintain that it - just like so many other forms of media and communication - can be used for much good as well.

One of my favorite uses for the internet lately is receiving my weekly informative updates about what is going on in my pregnancy! Yes - that's right!! The Browns have been blessed again and are expecting #4! We were quite surprised to find that I was pregnant, and even more thrilled that the pregnancy has been a healthy and promising one! After experiencing many miscarriages, we always hold our breath a little bit until we get out of the riskiest period. Yet, all seems to be going very, very well, and I am tickled pink to enjoy feeling each little hiccup and aquatic somersault! The doctor has prescribed a lot of rest for me because of my history, but he is also quite confident that all is well. Please keep us and our little one in prayer!

In ministry news, we continue to work with married couples and families, preparing them for various sacraments and providing adult catechesis. Our family, along with our parochial team, just finished our mission of visiting each and every house in town to invite them to parish events and to inscribe those who want to partake in sacrament preparation. You see, there is no mail system in town, and very few people have telephones. If you want to reach the people, you have to do it the old-fashioned way! While I may have felt terrified to do such a thing in the states, here it turned out to be quite a blessed experience! You see, while we Americans cringe at the sight of a stranger walking up our front walk, the Peruvians (like many 3rd world cultures) are much more inviting and welcoming. When they are at home, their front doors are literally "open" to receive whoever may wish to visit. If the door is closed, everybody knows that means they are not at home. It was our pleasant experience to find the people eager to accept us and to talk with us about our beautiful Faith! It is refreshing to be living in such culture that is still aware of the importance of friendships, neighbors, and community.

Just yesterday the parish "Comedor" (sort of like a soup-kitchen) opened its doors for the first time to feed the most impoverished children and youth of the town. In December, the parish completed a census to determine which of the households were in greatest need of help to feed their children. The comedor provides these malnourished children with the nutrition and energy they need in order to grow, study, and play as they ought. The financial relief this provides for their families will hopefully decrease the amount of pressure that parents put on their children to earn their own keep. Some children are so tired out from having to work that they cannot concentrate in school, and don't even show interest in normal, healthy play. The priests and sisters hope that the Comedor will help to address all these problems over time, as well as provide all of us missionaries with a chance to really "be Christ" His beloved children who come to eat there.

Other parishioners in town are pitching in to help with the project. This is an agricultural area, and several of the families have donated a portion of their crops to provide the comedor with fresh produce (and let me tell you - the fruits you see around here are top-quality! They would cost you a fortune in the States!). Yesterday, Kevin joined some of the other parishioners in an afternoon fruit harvest at one such farm, and their work provided today's children with oranges, papaya, different varieties of bananas, and zapotes (one of the many delicious fruits that I had never even heard of before coming to the jungle). Missionaries do not often get to see the "fruits" of their labor, but I guess this is one instance where it couldn't be avoided!!

One of Kevin's companions in the harvest yesterday was a special visitor on temporary mission from Spain. Alvaro and his wife, Juana are here for their annual three-month mission to Picota. They are quite an amazing and generous couple! We were particularly blessed to team up with them in presenting a talk at a recent retreat on the importance of a deep personal prayer life. It has been uplifting to work with another married couple, and we already treasure their friendship. As it turns out, Alvaro and Juana are also good friends of Family Missions Company's mission team that served in Cordoba, Spain a couple of years ago! It is amazing to watch the way God crosses the paths of His servants in such beautiful ways. It reminds me that borders, oceans, languages, and other such seeming-barriers are no match for God's providence and benevolence!

One last note from your missionary family in Peru is that yesterday Maria had her first day of school at the elementary school here in Picota! We prayed about it, and decided it would be a great way for her to improve her Spanish and to make friends with the children in town. Now, she will only attend 2 days a week, which works well because they only cover one subject per day here, and so she won't miss any material for her classes on the days she does not attend. The other three days of the school week I continue to home school her so that she won't fall behind in our curriculum. Learning to write in Spanish is great, but she still needs to be able to do it in English!

Well, that is all for now! Please keep us in your prayers and please stay in touch! May God bless you and your families with abundant grace.

Bringing Jesus to the Jungle

Well, it has been over two months since we arrived in Picota, Peru - we can hardly believe it ourselves! This is our first blog entry since arrival. We have had some difficulty with internet access - but bear with us! We will be moving into a house with a decent internet connection soon, and should be able to keep up with our blog a lot better. But for now, let me back up a bit and catch everybody up...

When we loaded our family into the plane on November 4, I didn't quite know what to expect. I was surprised to find myself quite nervous about our newest mission adventure, yet the Lord kept telling me to just TRUST.

Upon our arrival in the city of Tarapoto the next day, we were greeted by Fr. Francisco Granados, a missionary priest from Cordoba, Spain who also serves in Picota. Father made us feel instantly welcome, and became a fast friend. He helped us load our bags into his pickup truck, and we started our trek down the windy road that runs through the jungle along the Huallaga river, all the way to the little town of Picota. In the dark of the night, with no street lamps or artificial light, I simply sat back and enjoyed the beauty of the jungle flora, silhouetted dark against the starlit sky. The moon's reflection on the river was beautiful, and I couldn't help but feel that God was wooing my soul, once again - blessing me for following Him blindly to a strange, new place.

We arrived at the Casa Pastoral, where a missionary congregation of Compassionist sisters live and serve the community. We got out of the truck and proceeded to kiss the ground of our new mission site, following the tradition of Pope John Paul II. The sisters, who hail from Spain, Cameroon (Africa), and Peru, led us through their beautiful garden, past lush fruit trees, and under arbors of grapes. Father and the sisters had prepared us a little temporary home amidst the rooms used for retreats and other events. Father had thought of every detail - and had stocked a small fridge and shelves with everything we would need to get started. He had even bought us some pots, pans, and cooking utensils. The sisters had made up some beds, brought over some of their own dishes and flatware to use, and had prepared a vase of fresh tropical flowers from their beautiful garden. Our hearts full, and our bodies completely drained, we thanked our new friends and quickly headed to bed, excited to see our new home in the light of the next day.

The sun rises early here, and so do the people (they must do so to get a jump on the intense heat of the day!). We were still tired and groggy, but were brightened by the colors and the bounty of the garden just outside our screen windows! I think Eden may have looked something like that garden. We explored a little, and I soon fell in love with a small palm hut that serves as a Eucharistic chapel - right in the middle of the garden! What a place we had been brought to!

The Lord continued to exceed my expectations (why am I surprised?). The first time I walked into the parish church, I became certain that God truly was wooing me! For, posted on large signs hanging above the altar were two of my favorite quotes from St. Theres of Lisieux (for my sisters from Little Flowers household, the quotes were, "In the heart of the Church, I will be love," and "To draw close to Jesus, it is necessary to become very little."). Anyone who knows me will be able to understand what a huge confirmation that was for me that I was right where I was supposed to be - and that I was safe in the center of God's will. On top of all that, the name of the parish is "Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro," which means "Our Lady of Perpetual Help." That just so happens to be the name of the parish where my sister works full time as a youth minister and director of confirmation (and the parish of some of our friends and supporters). Leaving family behind in the states is never easy, and this little "coincidence" (or shall I say, this "God-incidence") made me feel as though my sister and I were linked in our work somehow.

We spent the next several days getting to know the town. We took walks around the plaza to meet people and introduce ourselves, we showed up at church events to make ourselves known and get a feel for the parish, and we went with the sisters to the market to learn a bit about the food of the area. We all agreed that the Peruvians here are an especially warm and affectionate people. Our kids especially enjoyed our occasional visits to Father's house, for he has a number of pets, including a tiny (and very naughty) monkey that he had been given at one of the jungle communities where he ministers.

Since our early days in Picota, we have had lots of wonderful experiences.

• Father took us to a breathtaking jungle waterfall for swimming and a picnic.

• Kevin joined many of the parishioners in a 2-day pilgrimage to Moyobamba for the consecration of the new cathedral there.

• I was able to help with a youth conference that included about 250 youth, some from Picota and many from remote jungle communities. I gave a chastity talk and a testimony, and also planned and led a candle-rosary, incorporating scenes from "Jesus of Nazareth" and "The Nativity" to help with the meditations. For some of the kids who came from remote villages, it was their first-ever multi-media experience! I pray that those inspiring scenes will stand out in their memories for years to come.

• Kevin and I spent two days teaching catechesis and pedagogy during a special seminar/retreat for the lay ministers from the jungle communities. The theme of the seminar was Sacrament Preparation. Father Francisco asked us to teach them about preparing couples in their communities for the Sacrament of Matrimony, especially helping them to see their newly-founded families as true "Domestic Churches," centered on prayer and the pursuit of sound spiritual formation for the whole family.

• The other missionary priest from Cordoba, Father Juan Ropero, returned from a visit to his home in Spain and has also been a blessing to us. Both of the priests here are friends of our other Cordobesan friend, Father Antonio Gama.

• We were blessed by the bishop at a special Mass that he celebrated here in Picota, and he presented us with missionary crucifixes for Mom and Dad, and medals of Our Lady of Perpetual Help for the kiddos!

• Maria joined a class of girls from the parish who were preparing a special Christmas dance to honor the newborn King. The little girls danced it before the life-size nativity scene set up in the plaza late Christmas Eve night during a celebration hosted by the parish.

• We have taught multiple preparation classes for the sacraments of Baptism and Matrimony here in town. It is such a gift to help couples get excited about starting and raising a family in the Faith!

• We have just begun to meet some of the home-bound people of Picota, and have started to make regular visits to bring Christ to His beloved poor. Doña Emilia loves singing visitors, and so our kids visited with Daddy this week, chirping away to her heart's delight!

Padres Francisco and Juan, as well as the sisters, will be away in Lima to catch up on some much needed rest until mid-February (you see, this is summer vacation for the southern hemisphere).

When they return, we will join them in a meeting about all the ministry for the year to come. The Fathers have some ideas about what they would like to add to our ministry repertoire, and so do we!

Among other things:

• we will be starting up a marriage prayer/study group to meet weekly,

• Kevin and I will tutor in an extra-curricular study-hall program the parish has begun to help children with their homework (since many parents are not educated),

• we'll be helping the priests with the start-up of a newly constructed "soup-kitchen" for the poorest of the children in town,

• and we will take our kids to play and assist at the parish's special needs school.

Please continue to keep our family in prayer - and know that you are also in ours! We hope to blog again soon within a week or two - hopefully from our new house! God bless you! Remember that we are all called to be His missionaries - wherever we are planted!

Prayers,

Andrea Brown

P.S. If anyone would like to help us get our hands on some good Natural Family Planning materials in Spanish - we would be very grateful! We need books to teach, and books to hand out (workbooks, perhaps?). The audience here would balk at anything too thick or complicated - so simple, but sound is the key. I think we will need to look for thermometers down here, since they measure in degrees celsius… but let me know if such things are available in the U.S.A. because whatever we find down here will be expensive and not made for NFP. Please comment below or email me at mrsandreabrown@gmail.com if you can help.

A New and Re-newed Mission Family

I am sure you have all heard of the “Space-Time Continuum.” Well, as most parents of young families can attest, there also exists a scientifically demonstrable theory called the “Space-Time Diminuum.” Without boring you with all the technical details of this profound subject, it will suffice to explain it as a special phenomenon that occurs when children are added to a household. Both space in the house and the amount of time that an hour lasts in that house diminish proportionally to the number of progeny accumulated within it.

While our own brood has only just now grown to include three children, the “Space-Time Diminuum Phenomenon” is running its course in our family. Time has passed too quickly to calculate, and the Browns find themselves at a loss as to where to begin updating our friends with all the events, changes, challenges, and blessings we have encountered over our two-year stay in the U.S.A.. I constantly see opportunities to blog about the miracles and revelations (both large and small) that the Lord generously bestows upon our family, and yet I have repeatedly hesitated to begin writing about them because I first want to give you the background – the context of God’s action in our lives.

And so, in order to not miss another occasion for giving Him the glory, I have resolved to bring everyone up to speed with a concise synopsis of the events that have shaped our state-side experience. For now, I will stick to the bare-bones events themselves, and as the weeks and months go by I will revisit these topics to expound upon them, fleshing out the bare bones with the spiritual elements that made them truly significant. My hope is that what God has done for us will, in turn, bless you. So, on to the nitty gritty:

· Andrea had braces put on her teeth in April 2009 in order to prepare for the ultimate goal of upper and lower jaw surgery to correct a structural problem that would cause more serious complications later in life.

· Kevin accepted a position as a bilingual Personal Banker with Chase bank in Lafayette, LA to support the family and to provide much-needed medical insurance for the surgery.

· The Browns took up residency at Big Woods Mission base in Abbeville, LA in order to live in community with other missionaries during their time in the states. This enabled us to stay connected with mission life, to help in the training and formation of new missionaries, and to participate in local and sometimes national ministry.

· Andrea and Kevin suffered the agony of two more miscarriages during their time at Big Woods, bringing the number of children awaiting us in Heaven to 6. Andrea consulted with a wonderful, mission-hearted, prolife, NFP-only OB/GYN in Lafayette to try to get to the root of the miscarriages.

· God sent a rainbow after this storm, blessing us with an unexpected and healthy pregnancy. Thérèse Regina was born to us on All Saints Day of 2010, and has been a smiling, chubby bundle of joy for us all.

· When Thérèse was 6 weeks old, Andrea finally underwent the long-awaited jaw surgery. It was no small ordeal with a nursing infant, but with Kevin’s heroic assistance and a lot of help from Andrea’s mom, she made it through the surgery, recovery, and 8-week liquid diet.

· Kevin has made two trips to South America in the last 6 months. He helped to staff two separate mission trips to the Amazon jungle of Ecuador, and also made an intense discernment trip to Peru. In Peru he visited three prospective mission sites for our family, and we are planning a family retreat to pray and discuss where the Lord is calling us to go.

Whew – well, that is it in a nutshell! We ask for your prayers as we prepare to begin a new season in our life of missions. Keep checking back to hear about our family’s “goings-on,” and most importantly, keep us in your daily prayers.

With our love and prayers,

Kevin, Andrea, Maria, Anthony, and Thérèse Brown

Our Next Mission Step

The beauty of mission life is being held and moved at the whim of the Holy Spirit. God continues to guide us according to His wisdom and providence, and to prove how much better His plan is for our lives than what we could have foreseen for ourselves.

We came to Louisiana in December for Sarah and Kevin Granger's (missionary friends) wedding, fully expecting to return to General Cepeda within a couple of weeks. Well, to make a long story short... God surprised us!

Andrea had been told by an oral surgeon, who came visited General Cepeda on a mission trip every year, that she ought to see about getting jaw surgery at some point to avoid bigger problems. Well, his diagnosis was confirmed when Andrea was seen here in Louisiana by a succession of dental/oral specialists who likewise urged her strongly to receive the surgery as soon as possible. This was not easy news to swallow, especially because the course of treatment would basically necessitate Andrea's living in Louisiana for around a year and a half or so. This certainly was NOT part of our immediate plan.

We knew that this was a big change. If God intended this to happen for his missionary family, then He would have to make it clear that this was His will- otherwise it would not be something we would pursue. Furthermore, there was the seemingly insurmountable financial hurdle, for we have no health insurance, and we were looking at expenses in the range of $30,000 to $40,000. So, we prayed. This time God really surprised us.

Without ever asking for a cent, within a matter of a couple weeks God handed us the braces and the surgery for free (the benefits when God is your employer are unbelievable!). First we received a phone call from our former mission partner in General Cepeda, who was there hosting a group of American women who came annually to General Cepeda. This group, members of a larger international group for Catholic women, had become our friends in General Cepeda over the years. Apparently, my surgery came up among them as our missionary friends prayed for the Brown family during morning prayer with the group. Now, Sarah called to tell us that they wanted to information about how to help us to cover the expenses of the braces and surgery! We were floored and humbled by their generosity!! Never had we witnessed nor received such a generous offer - without ever having asked!

As we began to communicate with this generous group about the details, Andrea's oral surgeon managed to acquire her a special privilege via a personal recommendation. Andrea was referred to a special program through LSU Medical School's Oral Surgery Residency program. She was accepted as a "teaching case," which means that her surgery will be performed by a professor to instruct the interns in this maxillofacial surgery... and it will be free!

There were many other details in our discernment showing us that God was guiding us to move forward and follow Him. My intent in this posting was to Glorify God by sharing with you the especially miraculous parts of this event that has designated Abbeville, Lousiana as our next mission site.

Our directors at FMC, Genie and Frank Summers, welcomed us to live here on our mission base as missionaries on medical furlough. Here we can stay involved in mission life and the various needs and ministries of Family Missions Company. Just last night we were given the opportunity to speak as a mission family at a youth overnight hunger fast to help raise awareness about world hunger and call our youth to action! It was a very dynamic evening, and we feel God will continue to use us in similar ways. Regarding practicalities, Kevin will be seeking work of some sort to fund our food, gas, minimal rent, and family expenses (gosh - diapers are expensive!) while in Louisiana.

We are incredibly blessed by the vibrant Catholic community that we are involved in here - and have found that God is using this time to sort of "recharge" our spiritual/missionary batteries. Hmm. Maybe God does know best, huh?

We are new to this whole blog thing - but we hope this will be a fruitful way of staying in touch with all our friends and family, our partners in mission, as we continue to serve the Lord as a missionary family. May God bless you all abundantly!!

Mission Newsletter February 2009

Dear fellow missionaries,

Blessed be the Lord Jesus Christ! I pray that you are all well and that you enjoyed a very blessed Christmas and New Year. Since it has been a while since you received an update from us I wanted to write and “catch you up” a bit on what the Brown family has been up to in missions.

To begin with our family’s news, we are all doing very well. Maria just celebrated her 5th birthday, and is as sweet and wonderful as ever! She has been attending Mexican kindergarten two days a week, and I am home schooling her in English kindergarten the other days. Little Anthony turned one on August 30, and is a bumbling and busy little guy, who toddles around looking for trouble all day long. While Maria takes care of the “sugar and spice and everything nice department,” Anthony clearly has the “snakes, snails, and puppy dog’s tails” under control. Different as they are, the kids love each other a lot, and their laughter as they play together is our great joy.

This past year brought many blessings to General Cepeda, Mexico. We have had two new pastors since the previous year. The first new priest, Padre Jose, was a wonderful man to work with! He is so full of energy and zeal, and is very self-disciplined. He had been managing to reach each of the 54 ranchos for Mass at least once a month (no small feat when many of the ranchos are an hour or more away!). Unfortunately, Fr. Jose had to leave for medical reasons. However, God recently blessed us by bringing us a new shepherd, Padre Manuel de Jesus. Padre Manuel is also a very energetic, charismatic, and faithful priest, and although he is new to General Cepeda, he is already showing that God has big plans for him there!

In the Fall we were joined in the mission house by two other families for a few months. The community was a welcome blessing, and the children especially enjoyed having playmates around all the time. One of the families will continue to live in General Cepeda this year, but in their own house. We are excited to team up with them and see what God has in store for us all!

Our ministry has also been very blessed this past year. We adjusted our ministry schedule according to family needs and the wishes of our new pastor. Kevin began to take on some of the work away from home on his own in order to accommodate the new baby and home schooling. As a result, Kevin’s Spanish and preaching abilities have improved by leaps and bounds! He has lead many Communion services at ranchos that receive the Mass infrequently (with the bishop’s commissioning, of course).

We also visited two ranchos a week regularly as a family: Jalpa and Benito Juarez. Benito Juarez sort of “raised the bar” for us ministry-wise because, aside from being one of the furthest ranchos from General Cepeda, the people there are some of the least educated, most impoverished, and under-catechized that we have served. So, Kevin and I managed to tackle two class-levels each of catechesis among the kids, followed by a prayer service/Bible study for the adults. It made for a long afternoon/evening, but I pray the seeds planted will bear much fruit. Please keep this particular rancho in your prayers – they have a lot of spiritual needs.

We also continued to serve the people within the municipality if General Cepeda by alternating “door days” and “home visit days.” In this way we are able to serve both those who come to the door of the mission house seeking physical and spiritual aid as well as those who are sick and homebound. We try to bring Jesus to both of these groups of people by caring for their spiritual needs always, and their physical needs when possible. Little Maria, who is a natural “people person,” thrives in both of these ministries!

As you know, General Cepeda is the base where we receive the majority of the mission trips who come to experience mission-life through Family Missions Company. Normally, we expect about a group per month on average. This year was a little slower, but the groups we had were truly ordained by God to bless General Cepeda!! We hosted six groups this year: the Theresians, Franciscan University of Steubenville, St. Pius parish, ­­­Cypress Heights Academy, Covecrest and Arizona Lifeteen staff, and – so dear to our hearts – a group that combined a medical mission with a group from our beloved home parish at St. John’s in Westminster, MD.

The St. John’s group, which came over Thanksgiving week, was particularly special because it was a memorial mission in honor of Alexandria Kowalczyk, one of St. John’s youth who was tragically killed in a car accident last winter. We had the honor of working together with Alex’s family and other members of our parish to construct a chapel in memory of Alex, honoring her desire to work in missions. The chapel was built in a rancho called Santa Ines, a village that had long been waiting for a place to worship. The money for the chapel was raised through Alex’s family members, friends, and youth group who wanted to memorialize her in a special way. The time we spent together with the people of Santa Ines was so very blessed! We felt it was our mission to not only provide them with a physical church building, but to help foster the growth of the spiritual Church in that community as well. So, we not only worked together, but we fellowshipped with the people, and after the afternoon meal we hosted prayer services with them.

The men and youth attended to the construction of the chapel, while the women and littlest ones hosted a bilingual Bible study with the rancho women. Once they saw what was happening, some of the men of Santa Ines also joined in the construction work. Meanwhile, the American and the Mexican women, who came from backgrounds and cultures so different and far removed, learned, prayed, shared, and even cried and comforted one another in the Bible studies despite the daunting language barrier! The Holy Spirit clearly reigned in this place.

God further manifested His glory and Providence in a very extraordinary way on our last day in Santa Ines. The pastor of General Cepeda had come out to offer a special Mass to dedicate the chapel in Alex’s memory and to name it after her patron saint, St. Faustina. At the moment the Mass was about to begin, Alex’s little sister, Sarah looked up in the sky and was the first to notice a very bright rainbow directly above the chapel! Not only were we in the desert, where it had not rained in months, but we also found it unusual that the rainbow was positioned at the very pinnacle of the sky. Padre Manuel perfectly encapsulated everyone’s reaction by exclaiming in Spanish, “This is a sign from God!” The Lord brought so much comfort and healing to Alex’s family and friends through this miracle, especially to little Sarah, who at age 9 had suffered so much pain and loss.

These are the moments in which we can wonder in awe at the Lord’s providence and omnipotence. He is truly there, guiding our every step, and constantly desiring to be a part of our joys, our sorrows, and even the seemingly insignificant details of our lives. I think that the reason our mission visitors tend to see His presence so much more clearly in the mission life is because the missionary lifestyle helps to sift out the noise and clamor of the world. Mission life shows us what life is like when we are out of our comfort zone and outside of our own ability to control and remedy everything for ourselves. The mission life enables us to have a clearer vision of what God can do when we “let go, and let God.” I think, perhaps, this might be the greatest lesson that life in missions has taught our family.

Well, I guess that is a perfect place to leave off. I pray that you all be richly blessed, and that God will do powerful things in your lives and the lives of your families. Please keep in touch and let us know how you are doing!

In Christ, our Sweet Lord,
Andrea, Kevin, Maria,
and Anthony Brown


P.S. Andrea has been strongly urged to pursue a course of treatment for her jaw that includes braces and jaw surgery. Please pray for guidance and discernment as we pursue these possibilities, for they will greatly influence our mode of service in this upcoming year. We’ll keep you posted!