Keep in touch with our family as we serve Christ as full-time missionaries with Family Missions Company.
Bailey Family May 2016
Monday, December 8, 2014
You're Invited Wednesday Night December 10th!!!
Please join us Wednesday, December 10th, in the St. Jude Parish Hall, Wichita, KS, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm for the Bailey Family Mission Dessert Night!!! Enjoy a buffet of desserts while we share our experience of our mission in the Philippines including stories and pictures.
Thursday, November 20, 2014
St. Francis Pray for Us!
I have been thinking about writing this
blog since our sweet baby Gabriel Elijah was born. I have been
reflecting on this past year, our call to missions, our time in the
Philippines and our time here. Even before we said yes to becoming
missionaries God did a lot of work on us and our hearts to prepare us
to say yes to him.
Our family in 2013 shortly before hearing God's call to missions. |
Last year in May I traveled to Italy
with my mom. (My amazing husband stayed home with our girls while I
was gone for two weeks with my mom.) We stayed in Florence, Assisi
and Rome. For both of us Assisi was our favorite place. It was quiet,
beautiful, peaceful and more what we expected our experience of Italy
would be. I remember being so moved by St. Francis and St. Claire.
Visiting the places where they lived and prayed had such an impact on
me. It was on this trip that I found out I was pregnant with our
fifth child. I was very excited and couldn't wait to share this news
with Donovan. For some reason we didn't tell the girls right away
(which we normally do).
In front of the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi. |
Enjoying lunch and a view from Assisi. |
A statue of St. Francis in a simple church in Assisi. |
A few weeks after returning from my
trip I started spotting. This had never happened before in any
previous pregnancies and I was worried. It took the course of about a
week and it was confirmed that I had miscarried the baby at about 7
weeks. We told the girls what had happened. It's hard to explain what
a mother feels when she loses her baby. It was a very difficult time
for me. We decided to name the baby, and because of the huge impact
St. Francis had on me during my trip, we choose the name Francis
Claire.
In our prayers we began to ask Francis
Claire to pray for us and our intentions. At this point it was the
end of summer and we had been struggling as a family. We were praying
for God to show us where he wanted us. We were praying that we would
know our mission in life. Donovan was looking for a job but nothing
was being offered; we lost our baby; money was tight and we weren't
sure what we were going to do. I know that through all of this God
had a plan for us. I believe that because of the influence of St.
Francis and his witness of loving God in a radical way I was able to
say yes to God's call to be a missionary.
Saying Yes to the Lord! |
We went to Louisiana for training and
continued to ask St. Francis and Francis Claire to pray for us. We
found out we would be going to the Philippines and prepared to leave
all that we knew. We arrived in the Philippines and one week later
found out we were expecting our 6th child! God's timing is
not always my timing or what I expect. After the miscarriage I had a
fear that I wouldn't be able to have anymore children. We were open
to new life and waited. We laughed at God's timing. We realized what
a beautiful gift He had given to us. I spent my first mission being
nauseous 24 hours a day for the first 3 months. It was quite a
difficult transition into a new culture of new food and new smells
while also feeling like throwing up every second of the day. Many of
those first weeks/months I would do ministry then come home and lay
in bed. I had a lot I could offer up in prayer and a lot to ask
Francis Claire to pray for.
After our 30 hour flights we arrived in the Philippines. |
At our house in Malaybalay (wearing my nauseous bands). |
We discerned returning home to have the
baby and then prayed that God would make a way for us. In order to
leave on the airplane from the Philippines I had to have a doctor do
a sonogram and sign a paper stating it was safe for me to fly. We
went in for our sonogram less than a week before we left. The plan
was to be surprised about the baby's sex when he or she was born. But
as we looked at our sweet little baby on that monitor I really wanted
to know. Donovan still wanted to be surprised but he said if I really
wanted to know then it was ok with him. I told the doctor doing the
sonogram. “It's a girl right?” I had already convinced myself
that this baby was a girl and Felicity was always talking about her
baby sister. “No,” the doctor replied. “What!” I said. “Show
me.” I didn't believe her. We have four girls and I just thought,
of course, it's another girl. That's what we do, we make girls. Well
I saw the proof right there on the monitor and spent the rest of the
day (or maybe week) in shock. I was very excited, but yet very
surprised that I was finally having a baby boy. When Hannah (our
first child) was a baby in the womb we picked out a boy name and a
girl name before finding out she was a girl. The name we chose was
Gabriel Elijah (partly after the angel Gabriel and partly after my
cousin Gabriel who died when I was 17). Well, it took another 11
years, but now we have our Gabriel.
As we got closer to having Gabriel I
started to get nervous about the labor. My last baby, Felicity, was 9
pounds 15 ounces (and each baby was bigger than the last)! Her labor
was difficult and I had a small fear that Gabriel would be bigger
than her. Three of my four girls were born 9 to 11 days overdue
(except Catherine who came out 9 days early). I knew that the longer
he stayed in the bigger he would get. I gave these fears to God in
prayer and tried to trust in His plan for this baby and this birth.
At the Birthing Center three hours before Gabriel was born. |
We welcomed Gabriel Elijah just two
days after his due date on October 4th at 10:28 pm. He
weighed 8 pounds, 9 ounces and was 21 ½ inches long. My prayers were
answered! He was my second smallest baby. October 4th is
the feast day of St. Francis and this is the same day our baby was
born. I felt like this was another confirmation of all that God was
doing in our life. I started this journey with St. Francis almost a
year and a half ago and now on his feast day I was blessed with a
baby boy. God is so good!
A happy mama! |
The midwife checking out baby. |
Sweet boy! |
St. Francis, pray for us. Francis Claire, pray for us.
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Sunday, August 24, 2014
How Missions Has Blessed Our Family
Donovan
was interested in being a missionary at the time we married 12 years
ago, but I would not even consider it. In the course of about a year
before Intake (training), God worked on my heart and prepared me for
missions without me realizing it. After visiting Big Woods (Family
Mission Companies Home Base in Louisiana) for the first time in
August 2013 I finally heard God's call loud and clear. Our family,
including our four daughters (Hannah – 11, Catherine – 9, Grace –
6 & Felicity – 3), sold or gave most of our things away and
joined Intake just four weeks later! Only by the Grace of God was
this even possible. We saw so many blessings and confirmations of our
call to Catholic Foreign Missions through those four weeks. It was in
this surrender to the Lord in a way we had never done before that He
was able to bless our family in so many ways.
Our family in 2013 before Missions. |
We
were sent to Malaybalay, Philippines last January and lived there for
five months. We thought that we would be there longer, but have
returned recently to welcome our first baby boy Gabriel Elijah due
October 2nd.
We feel that God is calling us to continue missions after the birth
of our sweet little baby. Our time in the Philippines was greatly
blessed and we wanted to take this opportunity to share those
blessings with you. For those going into missions for the first time,
and their families, there can be an apprehension and fear of the
“what ifs.” I know all about this because I myself struggled
greatly with fear and anxiety before missions. As a missionary now
God has really released me from fear and allowed me to a freedom I
have never before experienced. Of course, I sometimes have concerns
for my family, but I am no longer paralyzed by fear and anxiety in my
daily life. Not only is this a blessing for me but also for my entire
family.
Our family at the Asia Summit in the Philippines June 2014 |
As
a missionary family we were able to learn more about Gospel Poverty.
We are always challenged by this but have seen the beauty of being
able to live with less and be willing to give away what we have (even
from our need and not just our surplus). Living among the poor and
becoming friends with them opens our eyes to God's love for the poor
in a new way. In seeing the poverty of the people we were able to see
their amazing generosity. When they have so little they are willing
to give it away, yet in the U.S. where we have so much we realized
how much we had held onto, unwilling to share with those in greater
need. It was a very humbling experience to have our perspective about
need vs. want dramatically challenged.
A few of our friends at our house for a celebration. |
Along
with the willingness to give away our things comes the deeper trust
that God really will provide all that we need. We had a reminder of
this one day while shopping in the open market where we did our
weekly produce shopping. Money was tight, we had spent much of our
stipend on unexpected things and only had a certain amount to buy our
food for the week. I knew that if I gave any of our money away in
Alms then it would be taken from our families food money. A poor
woman approached me asking for rice (a common experience when out
shopping). I took her over to the table and bought her rice and then
noticed that her flip flops were falling apart and had large holes in
them. I took her to another table and purchased a new pair of shoes
for her. That same day after returning form the market three people
(who had no idea of my earlier shopping experience) brought food to
our house. I knew that God was blessing us for our generosity and
showing me that if I just trust in Him He will always provide for us.
We were blessed by God to see how He provided a new house for this family. |
As
a family in missions we were able to spend a lot of time together as
a family doing a majority of our ministry together. We were so
blessed and strengthened as a family by our time together. We weren't
separated by work or age-segregated activities, but were able to
serve, pray and play together more than we have ever been able to do
in the past. We were also able to travel together as a family and
experience new places, food, culture and people. We even took a one
week vacation to another island.
Not
only did our family grow stronger but so did our marriage. Donovan
and I feel more united and close than we had in the past 11 years of
marriage. Now, I won't say that it was always easy but through the
challenges and blessings of a missionary life we were brought
together and grew in love and respect for one another.
Our family trip to Camiguin Island. |
I
feel like being a missionary family has allowed us to see with the
eyes of the Gospel. Scripture became so much more real and
relate-able in missions. Our eyes were opened to so much that God
wants all of us to see and experience, but that in our American life
is so much harder to see. We realized how much we were constantly
entertained and distracted in our life here. It was challenging to
step outside the comfort zone we had built for ourselves in our life
in the United States. But sometimes God wants us to be
uncomfortable. He wants us to weep with the suffering, abandoned and
weak. He wants us to see with His eyes, serve with His hands, pray
with His Holy Spirit, walk with His feet, and suffer alongside Him on
the cross. There is an intimacy and beauty that exists with God if we
allow ourselves to surrender to Him in these ways and to die to our
self.
Lindsey (our Team leader) passing out food. |
Donovan (yellow shirt) putting up new walls on a house. |
Over
and over in missions we were able to witness miracles. We saw people
hungry for God and have amazing conversions. People wanted to know
who Jesus is, they wanted to read their Bible and understand it, they
wanted to learn how to pray and teach their children. We also
witnessed healing miracles in the community around us. We saw the
power of prayer and that God does listen to us and speak to us all
the time. We were able to see Him more clearly and hear Him more
clearly than ever before. There was a woman whose abdominal growth
disappeared, a young man who had a horrible head injury and was
healed, a nine year old girl who walked out of the hospital after
being hit by a bus while riding a motorcycle, and more.
Irene and her family (Irene experienced a healing miracle). |
One
of the greatest blessings in all of this is that our children were
able to witness these blessings
along with us. They grew in their understanding and love for their
faith. They experienced life outside the American bubble and know
that there are people who need our prayers and support, but most of
all needed to know the love that God has for them. We were able to
live out Jesus' last command that He gave before ascending to the
Father,
“Go,
therefore,
and
make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit,
teaching
them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And
behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Matthew
28: 19-20.
Felicity helping prepare green beans for our guests. |
And we truly experienced what He says in Matthew 11:
28-30,
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,and I will
give you rest.
Take
my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of
heart; and you will find rest for your selves.
For
my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
Please continue to pray for us as we discern where the Lord want us to return to missions after the birth of our baby. We feel called back to the mission field and are currently praying about where He is sending us.
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Surprise! and a Family Wedding
So some of you know that we have
returned to the U.S. recently. We had a family retreat in May and
really felt that God was calling us home for a visit, to have the
baby, to share our stories & miracles about missions and to be
sent back into missions after the baby is born. We kept our return a
secret because we were going to surprise Donovan's sister Tina for
her wedding. I told only a few people (like our parents) and asked
that no one post anything about our return (that way Tina wouldn't
figure it out before we could surprise her). Thankfully she had no
idea and we had such a great time surprising her!
Jacob & Tina |
Her wedding was this past Saturday at
our home parish St. Jude in Wichita, KS. A few days before the
wedding Donovan's sister Melissa told Tina and Jacob that “Mom and
Dad have a little wedding present for you and they want you to open
it at their house.” So they came over to the house and we hid in
the garage behind a work bench. Donovan's Dad hid Felicity in a large
tote box and kept the lid open until they were walking up to the
garage. As they preceded to open the tote box I expected to hear
something, but it was quiet. Tina didn't realize it was Felicity in
the box! She was thinking to herself, “Why did they put Maggie
(Felicity's cousin) in this box?” Donovan stood up from behind the
work bench and we all followed. When Tina saw Donovan it finally
clicked and she started screaming. She gave us all huge hugs and was
very happy to have us back for the wedding!
Even though we showed up two days
before the wedding Tina invited Felicity and Grace to be flower girls
and Hannah & Catherine to pass out programs. Thankfully I had
left one fancy dress for each of the girls and they fit the wedding
perfectly! And after a few phone calls to friends they all had pretty
shoes too! The wedding was beautiful and you could just see the love
that Jacob & Tina have for each other.
A few days after the wedding we were
invited to Tony & Monica's House to have a potluck dinner with
six other families involved in missions (long-term, short-term &
support of the missions). It was so cool because the Keihl family was
there on their way back from California. It was a blessing to see
them and share time with all of the families! We were also asked to
do a talk about our experience in the Philippines at the Spiritual
Life Center next Monday (keep us in your prayers). Our family will
represent Full-time missions, some other families will talk about
short-term missions, and Jake Seymour (Diocese of Wichita's Family
Life Office Director) will talk about how to be a missionary in your
own home & community. We are excited about this opportunity to
share our stories and blessings and hope for many more opportunities
while we are back in the States. If you are in the Wichita area we would love to see you Monday night, July 28th, from 6 to 9 pm at the Spiritual Life Center. Please click here for more information and to register yourself or your family (there is no charge). We will also be at the Mid-west Catholic Family Conference from Aug. 1st - 3rd in Wichita, KS. We will have a Family Missions Company table so please come by and say hello! Click here for more information about the Conference.
Thank you to all of you who are praying
for us and for supporting our missions! Thank you to all of you who
made special donations towards our traveling expenses to return to
the U.S. Please continue to pray for our family’s discernment as we
pray about where God wants us to go into missions after the baby. We
are praying about returning to Malaybalay or going to another mission
post. Please know that all of you are in our prayers!
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Picture Blog: Our trip to Camiguin
We visited the group of missionary women on Camiguin Island. We had such a blessed time with them. The Island is beautiful, but VERY hot. We really enjoyed visiting with them and being inspired by their great missionary example.
Overlooking Cagayan de Oro, from St. Peter's Convento, where Fr. Jo brought us to eat breakfast. |
On the ferry to Camiguin Island. It took about an hour and twenty minutes. |
sweet sisters on the ferry |
Watching the boys who climb the ferries and jump into the water to pull in the ropes to tie it to the dock. |
A beautiful view of Camiguin. |
enjoying the ride |
Trying to stay cool. |
getting closer! |
Watching the cars unload from the ferry. |
Visiting with Breana and Genevieve in their outdoor dining room. |
At the waterfall for desert day. |
Sisters swimming in the soda water pool. It was so refreshing on a hot day! |
Chilin' in Daddy's hammock. |
Hannah looking at clams (6 out of 7 of the worlds species can be found in Camiguin). |
Passed out after a long day. |
Hannah & Genevieve by the ocean. |
Rebecca and Grace on the ferry back to CDO. |
A beautiful view from the bus on the way back to Malaybalay. |
One of the blessings of missionary life: more time together as a family. Thank you Jesus for this gift!
- Joshua 24: 15
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Sponsor a Student
Sponsor a Student Program
We are very excited to be working with
our mission team on an exciting new project. We have seen the great
need in our community for education. Children whose families can not
afford their school fees and school supplies drop out of school. Many
never go back and grow up to be adults who can not read or write. The
goal of our sponsorship program is to provide support for students to
continue attending school.
What grades are we looking to get
sponsors for?
- Elementary Students (K – 6)
- There is no Junior High School here & students graduate high school in grade 10. As of next year high school will be extended to grade 12. This could result in even more students not completing school.
- High School (7 – 10)
- Pre-school Students attending the Deaf School
- ALS (Alternative Learning School) for continuing education students
What can sponsorship help to cover?
- Sponsoring a student would help cover their school fees, school supplies, uniform, daily food needs, and transportation to and from school.
- For adult students in the ALS program it may also include a scholarship for their families living expenses.
How much does it cost to sponsor one
student?
- Each students need is different
- We can match you with an individual student
- OR you can donate to the general fund.
Who needs sponsorship?
- We have several students currently needing sponsorship.
- I have posted their information and picture (if available) below.
How do I sponsor a student?
- If you would like to give the gift of education to a student in need please send me an e-mail at blair1026@hotmail.com
- Name
- mailing address
- phone #
- Name of student you would like more information about
- We will contact you by e-mail.
- And begin praying for them today!
Remember that sending a student to school can be LIFE CHANGING. The cost to send a student to school in the Philippines is MUCH lower than in the United States. For some it is as little as $15 per month (for school supplies and transportation).
Please consider sponsoring a student. Perhaps you belong to an altar society, Knights of Columbus, Youth Group, College Ministry Group, Mom's Group, Book Club, etc. and you could sponsor a student as a group. Please pray for the students and for God's help in finding a sponsor.
Students waiting to be sponsored:
Name: Rhea Age: 10, female School: School for the Deaf Grade: Pre-school level 2 Needs: school tuition, food stipend, travel expenses, basic items & vitamins |
Name: Casey Age: 11, female School: School for the Deaf Grade: Pre-school level 2Needs: school tuition & food stipend |
Name: Jonah Age: 24 School: ALS Grade: High School Needs: transportation fees & income scholarship |
Name: Maricel Age: 27 School: ALS Grade: Elementary Needs: transportation fees & income scholarship |
Name: Richun Mae (pictured with her father) Age: 15 School: School for the Deaf Grade: Elementary Needs: food stipend, transportation |
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