What Brian Francis Really Wants For His First Birthday...

What does a baby who's been blessed by the Pope really want for his birthday?  He wants to feed hungry children.  How do I know this?  Because last night I asked him at dinner and he responded by throwing all of his food on the floor -- clearly a sign that he wants it to go to others!

In all seriousness, Brian Francis has been abundantly blessed this year.  He's been kissed by the Pope in Rome, he sat where Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and he gets to grow up in the foothills of the Austrian Alps.  He has more than enough toys, clothes, and food.

While Brian Francis never has to worry whether he'll be able to eat any given day, many children do.  These children aren't living far from us or where we've traveled.  And we want to help!

It costs $19.50 to feed a child for a whole school year.

Instead of buying Brian Francis a $20 gift (and spending at least another $20 on shipping) -- please consider making a donation to Mary's Meals.  Thank you!

Click here to donate on behalf of the birthday boy!

What is Mary's Meals?

Mary's Meals provides one good meal to some of the world's poorest children every school day.  At the time that I'm writing this post -- they are feeding 1,101,206 children each day.

Mary's Meals is a no-frills charity with a simple idea that works: by providing one good meal in a place of learning, children are drawn into the classroom where they can receive an education that could one day free them from poverty.

Mary's Meals is named after Mary, the mother of Jesus, who brought up her own child in poverty.  They consist of, respect, and reach out to people of all faiths and none.

Their vision is that every child receives one daily meal in their place of education.

Why does Brian Francis want to support Mary's Meals?

Meeting Pope Francis, the Vicar of Christ, changes you.  Baby Francis has been particularly struck by Pope Francis' words on poverty:

"Poverty in the world is a scandal.  In a world where there is so much wealth it is unfathomable that there are so many hungry children, that there are so many children without an education, so many poor persons.  Poverty today is a cry."

How did our family find out about Mary's Meals?

Through a jar of peanut butter. Seriously.  Let me explain.  

I first heard about Mary's Meals years ago when my sister asked our parish priest in Iowa if he would recommend a good charity to support.  He pointed her to Mary's Meals and she was so impressed by the organization that she shared the link to our family. Although I glanced at, I wasn't moved to donate.  Later my mom shared that she had attended a conference in Iowa and one of the speakers talked about the work of Mary's Meals.  Upon moving to Austria, I began hearing more and more people talk about Mary's Meals as many of the families and students here support the charity.  First I heard one mom mention that she tries to get all of her children's clothes second-hand so that they can give the money they would have spent on clothes to Mary's Meals.  Who does that?  I remember thinking.  Then at the campus' live auction, I watched as staff members outbid one another to "buy" a jar of peanut butter (which had been imported to Austria - where you normally can't find it) for over $200 -- all money went to Mary's Meals.   Again, I thought,  Why Mary's Meals??  That $200 jar of peanut butter pushed me over the edge -- and I finally took the time to learn about Mary's Meals.  And I was blown away.  What did I find?  A simple solution to world hunger - that works!  So often I've thought, What can I really do to help starving people?  Those really, really in need?  How can I know that I'm really helping?  I found my answer with Mary's Meals.

How can you learn more about Mary's Meals?

You can read The Shed That Fed A Million Children: the Extraordinary Story of Mary's Meals that was just published last year.  It is sooooo good!  It's such a page-turner!  Honestly, I did not want to put it down.  I skipped my daily life-saving nap (while both kids are sleeping) and I stayed up late at night to keep reading....if that doesn't tell you how good it is, I don't know what will!  The children and their families' stories are heart-warming and, sadly, heart-breaking.  How it all started in Medjugorje - a place our family will hopefully visit - is incredible.  What I - we - can do to make a huge difference is life changing!

You can also watch the 30-minute video Child 31 on your computer or phone.  It is an incredibly moving short film about Mary's Meals!

Thank you!  God bless!!

The Holy Land

On our honeymoon, Brian and I made a bucket list of goals/dreams for our marriage. Among them were try a new recipe each week (haha, we've maybe tried a new one per year ;), pray the Rosary each day  (some months we have succeeded), and visit the Holy Land. I thought the last one was a huge long shot that maybe we'd do in our older age after our children were grown. But God had plans for us far grander than I could ever have imagined. So here we've found ourselves - living in Austria, taking a three hour direct flight to Tel Aviv and traveling around the Holy Land with our two precious children less than four years from when we dreamt up our list. God is good.

And that good God, in the Person of Jesus Christ, was born, lived, died, rose, and ascended into Heaven from these very places we just visited. It's mind blowing. And humbling. And hard to capture in a blog post - but I'll try. 

Nazareth 

Nazareth is the site of Mary's home and the town where Jesus lived as a child (Mt 2:23).  We visited:

The Church of the Annunciation to Mary (Lk 1:26-35).

Church of St. Joseph - where Joseph's workshop may have been. 

And the Orthodox Church built over Mary's Well.

It was also in Nazareth that Brian Francis realized he could stand up in a crib (at bedtime, of course, when we're all trying to go to sleep in one room)!

Galilee

We visited Capernaum, on the Sea of Galilee, from where Jesus launched His Ministry (Mt 4). 

The synagogue where Jesus taught (Mk 1:21-29) (what has been built over it).  

And the church built over the site of Peter's home. 

After visiting Capernaum we drove a short distance to Tabgha, to a site known as "Peter's Primacy." Here, after His Resurrection, Jesus met with His disciples (Jn 21).  The disciples were out fishing when they saw Jesus standing on the shore. Peter jumped out of the boat and swam to our Lord as the other disciples came to shore by boat. This was Peter's "awkward" or maybe over eager moment as described by Fr. Matt during our wedding homily - when he instructed us (or at least Brian) to stay awkward during our marriage.  So here we are... It was at this location that Jesus told Peter "to feed my lamb; feed my sheep." (Jn 21:9). 

Cana

We stopped in Cana, where Jesus performed His first miracle at the request of His mother, changing water into wine (Jn 2:1-11).

Bethlehem 

To get to our next stops we rode with a Palestinian taxi driver because cars from Israel (including our rental car) cannot enter Palestine. Our driver and everyone we met in all parts of the Holy Land were extremely kind and helpful - several told us they don't care what religion someone practices, they just want peace in their land and everyone's heart. 

In Bethlehem, we went to the Church of the Nativity, one of the oldest Christian churches. We went down to the Grotto of the Nativity, which marks the spot of Jesus' birth (Mt 2:1-18). Beneath the Altar there is a silver star with the Latin inscription: HIC DE VIRGINE MARIA JESUS CHRISTUS NATUS (Here Jesus Christ was born to the Virgin Mary).

We then walked up to the Milk Grotto, a cave where Mary likely nursed Baby Jesus. I prayed for all my friends/relatives with infants, those who have lost children, and those wishing to have a baby. 

Our taxi driver drove us a short distance to see the cave at Shepherds' Field (Lk 2:8).  The caves have soot marks of the fires that shepherds lit to keep warm while watching over their flocks. (Ellie loved holding up her "Star of Bethlehem" that one of the shop owners gave her and insisting I take her picture).

Judean Wilderness

He then drove us through the Judean Wilderness where Jesus spent 40 days fasting, and it is in this area that John the Baptist lived (Mt 1) and baptized Christ. We renewed our Baptismal vows at the Baptismal site on the River Jordan (Mt 3:13-17).

Jericho

From there he drove us to Jericho, the world's oldest continuously inhabited city.  

We saw the huge sycamore tree, similar to the one that Jesus spotted Zacchaeus in before he spent time with Our Lord and was converted (Lk 19:1-10).  

From Jericho we had a view of the Mount of Temptation, where Jesus was tempted by Satan in the Judean Wilderness (Mt 4:1-11).

Ein Karem

One of our mornings in the Holy Land we drove to Ein Karem, the hill country right outside Jerusalem. Here we walked to the Church of the Visitation, marking the spot where Mary visited Elizabeth and proclaimed the Magnificat (Lk 1).

We walked across the valley to the Church of St. John the Baptist stopping at Mary's Spring - the cave where John may have been hidden as a baby during the massacre of the Holy Innocents. 

At the Church of St. John the Baptist we saw his birthplace.

 We spent the longest amount of time in Jerusalem - so I will share more about that part of our trip in a subsequent post. We met up with my parents there, as they were on the Dr. Scott Hahn tour. They are now back in Austria with us (pictured here in front of St. Stephen's in Vienna) for a little visit!