Nicaragua
Reverse Mission Delegations
Traditionally mission work was understood as a ministry or service where the missionary gives to others--a “one-way street” from giver to receiver. The term “reverse mission” signifies that we journey with our hearts and minds open to receiving and learning from the people we encounter. Reverse mission encounters are ones in which the boundaries of givers and receivers are blurred. These encounters reflect the beauty of our mutual relationships as brothers and sisters.Delegation to Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua
Since 2000, Franciscan Sisters have participated with a group of missioners from central Minnesota in an annual reverse mission to the rain forest area of northeastern Nicaragua. There the group has developed relationships with the people of the small communities, prays with them and works with them to accomplish a task needed in their community. The Minnesotans have been able to provide a medical clinic for the last 6 years to women and children in that remote mountain area.
Father Theodore Niehaus, O.F.M. Cap., pastor of 82 mountain communities, is the local contact for the group. He is a native Minnesotan, and is a relative to several Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls, Minnesota..
For more information contact Sr. Carol Schmit at Clare's Well.
Faithful Fools Delegations to Nicaragua
After serving in Managua, Nicaragua for seven years, Sr. Carmen Barsody and the circle of Faithful Fools Street Ministry from the Tenderloin District of San Francisco, California, have continued to weave cords of relationships with the Nicaraguan people. A primary goal is to weave together the people of the U.S.A. with those of Nicaragua, who are both working for personal and social change. The Faithful Fools of San Francisco connect with the Faithful Fools of Nicaragua, and support the primary school, Colegio San Francisco de Asís, founded by Heidi Meza. This on-going relationship has also borne fruit in the development of Associate relationships with the people in the barrio.During the two-week retreat in Nicaragua, participants live with families in the impoverished barrios of Managua and in a rural community. The journey encourages deeper social analysis and an experiential understanding of globalization through active study, reflection, and personal sharing. The annual delegation of the Faithful Fools is open to those who have participated in the one-day street retreat and the seven-day street retreat in San Francisco.
For more information contact Sr. Carmen Barsody: e-mail - Faithful Fools.
The Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls, Minnesota, is a community of Roman Catholic women religious who follow the Gospel of Jesus Christ, walking in the footsteps of Saints Francis and Clare of Assisi. We welcome those who wish to join us as sister, associate, volunteer, transfer sister, friend and donor. We live lives of prayer in community and in service to the poor as we seek to build a more peaceful world and to care for the Earth. We sponsor the St. Francis Music Center and St. Francis Health & Recreation Center, both open to the public.