Bailey Family May 2016

Bailey Family May 2016
Bailey Family May 2016 - Big Woods

Friday, October 30, 2015

Visits with the Bishop Day 3: Prayer Partners NEEDED!!!

Ok! This is the third and final post on visiting communities with the Bishop. Please prayerfully consider becoming a prayer partner with us to lift up these communities in prayer! We are looking for prayer partners willing to pray for one specific chapel/community on a daily basis. 

Join us in this mission.

Day Three:


Chamorro – Patron Saint: San Juan El Bautista
There are 4 families. They receive Mass once a month. The people work in dairy farms.








Children really do make the best missionaries!




Chorreras – Patron Saint: San Juan Pablo II
The community has no church building and meets in the school. They receive Mass once a month. This community is located just across the river from the Nicaraguan border. The road is very bad and difficult to travel (even more so than the roads to the other communities). The people farm and fish but don’t have a lot of work.


On the road again!
Travelling to Chorreras (the farthest community) which is
located near the Nicaraguan border.

The school building where they meet for church.

Making friends with Fr. Alvaro.

This class is converted for Mass when needed.

A view of the San Juan River and Nicaragua on the other side.

Muddy roads make travelling to and from the
community difficult for people who live here.

Moravia – Patron Saint: San Jose
This community has around 70 families.





The largest church building we visited.

Limoncito – Patron Saint: San Miguel
This community is very small and meets in a home.


Sitting with the Bishop and visiting with
some community members.

A small altar set up on the front porch of a house.

Coopevega - Patron Saint Our Lady of the Angels - Our Home Parish
Our parish has Mass once a week on Saturday evening. Fr. Julio stays in Coopevega for 4 days a week to provide Mass to the nearby communities.

Saturday evening we celebrated Confirmation for all the communities together in Coopevega. There were 25 students and about 10 couples in the marriage preparation classes.





The church was packed! People sat in chairs and stood outside.




Please pray for these communities. If you would like to specifically commit to one of these communities for the next year please e-mail me or leave a message in the comment section below. As Ms. Genie says, “Prayer is the MOST we can do!” These communities need your prayers. Join us as we support them with our prayers.

God Bless you all! Have a beautiful weekend!

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Community visits with the Bishop Day 2

Can you imagine not being able to go to Mass every Sunday? There is no daily Mass and adoration may occur once a month if at all. Until recently our family has always had the ability to attend Sunday Mass. But last week we were in Samara for language school. We arrived Sunday morning for Mass and then realized it was a communion service. It was the first time we weren't able to go to Mass and it was so strange. It really felt like we were missing something! I though about all the Masses that day that were occurring in Wichita ALL over the city at all times of the day and how many times I had taken those opportunities for granted.

Many of the communities we shared with you in our last post and the communities we will share in this and our next post are communities in this same situation. Many of them only get mass once or twice a month. There is no daily mass. These communities and these people need your prayers.

Please consider being a prayer partner to support and lift up one of these communities in your daily prayers. 

THEY NEED YOU! 
:)

Day Two:
The next day started again at 8 am as we headed out to 5 communities and 2 schools. We started first with the schools in Coopevega (where we live). Both schools are fairly small. Class sizes are around 15 - 20 students.

El Colegio de Coopevega (Coopevega High School)


 La Escuela de Coopevega (Coopevega Elementary - where the girls attend)

Here we are standing in Grace's classroom (her teacher is
on the right) with students from other classes as well.


El Carmen – Patron Saint: La Virgen de Carmen
There are about 30 families in this community. They receive Mass twice a month. Many of the families sell cheese to earn an income. One of 2 churches without electricity.






The children of El Carmen

The Bishops new friend Gabriel pointing to Jesus
on the Bishops pectoral cross. 


A common sight in Costa Rica.


Amazing views from the road


San Vito – Patron Saint: San Caralampio
This community has around 50 families. They receive Mass once a week. Many families sell cream, milk and wood.





Many of the churches are built simply with wood and cement. The floors are tile or cement. The benches are made of wood and so are the kneelers (if there are any). Of course there is no air conditioning. Some have fans and others don't. The altars are sometimes a wooden table or cement.


Our friend (and translator) Claudia from Mexico.
She is a missionary living in Coopevega
with the Missionary Sisters.


San Fernando – Patron Saint: La Immaculata
This community is very small with only 7 families. They don’t have a church building and instead meet in the school. They work on farms with palms and animals.

The sky was so beautiful that day!

The school where they meet for Mass.

A view of the river from the school.
When it rains the road is washed out and
the only way in and out of the town is by boat.

La Cascada – Patron Saint: San Miguel
This community is also small with around 8 families. They receive Mass every 2 weeks. Many are out of work. This is the 2nd church without electricity.






San Francisco – Patron Saint: San Francisco
This community has around 7 families. They work on farms with wood and animals.




All the children dressed in white for the Bishops visit
and the church was lit with candles. It was so beautiful!

This girls is growing up so fast! She is already
taller than me! Me being Blair and not Donovan
of course! ;)

Please consider being a prayer partner with us to lift up theses communities and beautiful people in daily prayer. Pray about it. Choose a community. E-mail me and let me know which one you are praying for.

And remember, there is still one more post of communities I would like to share with you.

To be continued...

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Community Visits with the Bishop Day 1 (prayer partners needed)

We recently had a wonderful opportunity to spend time with the Bishop and visit all 13 communities (and 3 schools) he has asked us to serve. Our Bishop, Jose Manuel, was ordained last year on May 17. He has been visiting all the churches and chapels in our Diocese to connect with the people (Coopevega is just one of many). We are humbled by his dedication to serve his flock in this way. This is quite the task to say the least.

Following the Bishop and the Sisters to the communities.

The kids enjoyed the 3 day adventure!


We were blessed to be able to travel along to the chapels with him and visit many of them for the first time. It was a great way to get a better understanding of where they are all located (which dirt road do we take?) and more importantly to get to meet the people of each community, learn the history of the community and to learn some of their needs. And bonus! I learned how to drive in mud and use our 4 wheel drive! It was quite the adventure!

This bridge was so bad that I chickened out and
Donovan drove across it.

Our family really enjoyed this time together. It felt like missions! Honestly we have missed feeling like we are in the middle of missions because we are still laying the foundation for this very new mission post. A lot of time so far has been finding a car, finding a house, getting things for the house, meeting people, practicing Spanish and such.

After visiting each of these small communities the Holy Spirit inspired an idea in my heart. While in Mexico we felt a strong conviction to be praying for the communities where we live and serve. We would love for you to join us in these prayers by choosing a community to commit to specifically pray for each day. Please look at the pictures and see if the Holy Spirit is prompting you to be our mission prayer partner!

Day One:

Laurel Galen – Patron Saint: San Antonio

Priceless!




Paso Real – Patron Saint: San Jose





The people prepared an amazing lunch
with a performance from the children.

Pueblo Nueveo – Patron Saint: La Virgen del Rosario

There were beautiful flowers in the church and
along the path to the church.


Bishop Jose talking with the people.

Cocobolo




Notice Gabriel in his normal Costa Rican attire!
To be continued...