Answering God's call to holiness and mission

There are wonderful examples of God's work all around us, and in this vein, I would like to share a little tidbit about Erika, a friend of our family. We have watched her grow from a lovely teenage girl into a wonderful woman with a missionary’s heart. It has been her ambition for quite a few years to follow God’s call to do missionary work in poorer countries, to serve as Blessed Mother Teresa would say, “the poorest of the poor.”

Because of the gift her blog, Summons of a Wayfarer, I have gotten to follow her on the journey from her feeling God’s tug at her heart, through her narrowing down the missionary organizations, all the way up to her current status. She is preparing to go to Thailand as a member of the organization, Heart’s Home.

I am so grateful to Erika for sharing her journey with us. She has introduced us to this beautiful Catholic organization I never knew existed. The basic mode of operation of this organization is its residency in a neighborhood. The missionaries live very simply among the people they serve and will not turn down requests for help from anyone. The witness of their holy lives is their evangelical tool.

It’s exciting to see a young person so profoundly living out Lumen gentium, Vatican II’s document on the Church. This lay apostolate is putting into practice what the authentic spirit of Vatican II is urging. “On all the laity, then, falls the glorious burden of toiling to bring the divine offer of salvation ever more and more into the reach of all men of all times and all over the world. They must have every path opened to a whole-hearted personal participation, as their strength and the needs of the time allow, in the saving work of the Church," (LG, 33).

Please remember Erika in your prayers as she lives out her 18-month commitment in Thailand. She is leaving behind family, friends, the comfort of familiarity and air-conditioning (in Bankok, the hottest city in the world) to answer God' call to serve. In addition to prayers, Erika still needs sponsors. Our family is sponsoring her both through prayer and a monthly offering. Please consider her mission in your Lenten sacrifice.