Joy of ministry.

The past two weeks I’ve had the privilege to be busy at work in my ministry. Two weekends ago, with the help of Aaron Breaux (best friend and Youth Minister at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in New Iberia) and Susanna, Sarah, and James (missionaries with FMC), I put on a retreat for the junior class at Sacred Heart in Ville Platte.  Early Saturday morning I went to confession to prepare for the retreat and I was flooded with God’s grace! With this flood of grace I went into the retreat ready to change lives! I was quickly discouraged however upon realizing that the teens weren’t pumped up for me to be there, they weren’t impressed with me. But what a blessing this turned out to be! It’s ok if people aren’t impressed with me, in fact what’s so impressive? I had done nothing to earn these teens respect or admiration, but I knew someone who did, Jesus! Jesus already poured out all of His love for these teens, it would be up to Him to reach them, and I was there only as a tool to be used by Him, a worker in His vineyard; the messenger and certainly not the message. It was a lesson in humility for all of us who were helping out with the retreat; and for me it turned out to be a great source of peace to come to a fuller realization of my being a servant of the Lord. I also left the retreat knowing that God had reached the teens, and they His plans for them were blessed and that some of the teens at the retreat would come to serve Him with their lives! GOD IS GOOD!

Then this past weekend, on Saturday night, we had our third 2010 Faith Camp reunion/Valentines Day Dance. We had a small turnout, but the group that did come was SO AMAZING! I was so blessed to be with my Faith Camp people again, they are so willing to have fun and to be surrendered to God! We danced the night away, ate, hang out, and sealed it all up with some praise and worship! How awesome is it that the people who participate in Faith Camp are able to have so much fun dancing around like crazy people and then transition flawlessly into deep prayer! I love my Faith Campers!

Then on Sunday night I went to speak to the Life Teen group about Love at Our Lady of Lourdes in Erath. I was able to talk to the guys and the girls seperately, each for about fifteen minutes, and wow. It’s amazing that when you ask God to serve Him how he pours out His blessings on you more than anyone. After speaking a girl introduced herself and asked how she can become involved in ministry, I saw a passion and a desire in her to preach the Gospel and to spread God’s Love and His Word. I pray that God will bless her in ministry and keep her busy in His service. As I left the Church to come home my heart felt like it was going to EXPLODE! I really understand what the disciples were talking about in the scriptures when they said “were not our hearts BURNING within us!” My heart was on fire, I could physically feel God’s grace and Love! I thank the Lord of my life that He has been so gracious to His servant. That as I try to lay my life down that He continues to lift my spirit and soul! Once we can cast our skepticisms and doubts aside, and open our hearts to the Love of Jesus, He sets us on fire; He permeates our lives with a true Joy that surpasses all understanding.

 

March For Life Info/Sign Up

Please consider joining FMC on our March For Life 2011 trip this January. We will be taking approximately 15 young people to march on Washington in protest of legalized abortion, and to pray that our government can make laws protecting the pre-born child. You can simply print out this picture of the flyer (or this pdf: March For Life Flyer (.pdf)) and mail it to:

FMC Youth Ministry, 12624 Everglade Rd., Abbeville, La. 70510

FMC Christmas Bash/FC Reunion #2

FMC CHRISTMAS BASH – OUR LADY OF THE BAYOU YOUTH AND RETREAT CENTER

1318 S. Henry, Abbeville, La. 70510

Come Join us on Saturday Dec. 18th for an awesome concert and food, fun, and friends! We will be having live music from AYLERON, as well as a bonfire and fellowship.

The festivities start at 5:30 and go on until 8:30 pm

 

Register Now for Faith Camp 2011!

We are now taking applications for Campers, Staff, and Disciples for Faith Camp 2011! Remember Campers and Staff are accepted on a first-come first-serve basis.

Faith Camp 2011 will be July 11th-15th

You can find the applications on Faith Camp’s Website at www.bestweekofyourlife.com

Itinerary for World Youth Day

World Youth Day 2011

Join Family Missions Company on a grand adventure of Faith and pilgrimage to Europe for World Youth Day 2011

August 8th – August 22nd, 2011

August 8th – London, England
We will be leaving from the Houston airport flying into London, England. We will be staying that evening at St. Patricks Church in Soho, London.
We will spend the day of August 9th visiting Parlement, the National Musuem in London, and Westminster Cathedral.

August 10th – Paris, France
We will taking a train from London, England to Paris, France. We will be in Paris for the day of the 10th and seeing the Eifel Tower and Notre Dame Cathedral.

August 11th-15th – Cordoba, Spain
From the 11th to the 15th we will be in Cordoba, Spain staying with parishoners of the Diocese of Cordoba participating a week of pre-World Youth Day activities in the Diocese of Cordoba.

August 16th & 17th – Rome, Italy
After the pre-World Youth Day week in Cordoba we will head to Rome, Italy to visit the Vatican and to see the Colleseum as well as the many other beautiful sites of Rome. We will staying with members of the ICCRS, the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Serivices for the Vatican.

August 18th – Assisi, Italy
After leaving Rome, before heading back to Spain for World Youth Day, we will stop in Assisi to visit the home of St. Francis for a day, and to enjoy more of Italy’s beautiful scenery.

August 19th-21st – Madrid, Spain
We will arrive in Madrid, Spain where we will meet up with the other hundreds of thousands of Catholic youth from around the world. We will be attending a mass said by the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI.

August 22nd – Head back Home
We will be taking a train from Madrid back to London and then a flight back to Houston to finish off our two-week adventure.
Cost & Planning

Cost per person $2,500
Because of Family Missions Company’s connections in Europe we are able to stay with Church Parishes and Parishoners, this reduces the cost of travel tremendously. Also this is not intended to be a five star hotel trip but an adventure and pilgrimige.
Recommended Payment Schedule*:
$500 due by November 30th (non-refundable)
$500 due by January 31st
$500 due by March 31st
$500 due by May 31st
$500 due by July 31st

*This payment plan is recommended, however we do need a minumum of $500 deposit by the end of november, and a minimum of $1,200 by the end of April. Family Missions Company does not have the funds to absorb the cost if someone drops out after April, and we need to finish paying for transportation at that time.

FMC World Youth Day 2011

Please come with us to World Youth Day this coming August in Madrid, Spain.

We will be leaving August 8th 2011. We will arrive in London that evening stay at St. Patrick’s Church in Soho, London. Then head off to paris for a couple days. After Paris we will go to Cordoba, Spain for a week to participate in some pre-WYD events in their diocese. We will then head to Rome, Italy to visit the Vatican and see the sites, and hopefully stop by Assissi, Italy on the way back to Madrid, Spain where will particpate in the WYD events! and then back to London and back home on August 22nd. ITS GOING TO BE AWESOME!

For the full 2 weeks, room, board, and transportation our price comes out to $2,500. We will be having fundraisers to try to help everyone who’s coming to raise funds for their trip. We would like to have a $500 non-refundable donation by the end of November

FMC Family Conference was a great success!

The first FMC Family Conference was a great success and a blessing to all the families who attended. It was a great time for families to come together and to spend time as a family to discern, and pray about how they can continue to grow closer to the Lord as a family. Thank you to those who attended, and we hope that this ministry continues to grow.

Family Conference Postponed!

Because the Family Conference is scheduled right before school starts many families have had other obligations and are not able to attend. We have rescheduled the Conference for September 25th. Please check you calendar and let us know if you can attend. You can call John Paul Summers at 337-356-3300 for more information. God bless everyone and we look forward to seeing you all on September 25th!

Details on the first FMC Family Conference

Our first Family Conference will be held next Saturday, August 7th at Bigwoods from 9:00am – 5:00pm. Lunch will be provided.
We will be addressing the family as a whole as well as the parents, teens, and young children separately. The day is focused on centering the family around Christ, and some of the topics covered in sessions are: Family Prayer, media in the home, how kids can serve God by being better sons and daughters, and tons more!

Please join us and let others know, we are sure that God has a lot in store for the families attending.

(We will have babysitters present so that parents can enjoy their sessions!!!)

Following God’s calling into state-side ministry for Family Missions Co.

For 14 years the children of Frank and Genie Summers, the founders of Family Missions Company, have been running a small summer camp called Faith Camp in Abbeville, Louisiana. I am the youngest of the Summers children and since I was 15 years old I have been helping to run Faith Camp, and since then faith camp has doubled in size and I have just been trying to keep up with all that God is doing. During my years of doing Faith Camp I have attended and graduated from university, married my sweetheart, and now I am preparing to be a father. After graduating from University of Louisiana at Lafayette I’ve been working as a Youth Minister at St. Bernard Church in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana.

This past year I spoke with my dad and mom about Faith Camp not just being something that their kids do, but and official work of Family Missions Company, it became abundantly obvious that this was where God was leading both Faith Camp and FMC to expand it’s outreach to the Youth, not in foreign countries but here, in Abbeville.

As I, and FMC, sought God’s will for outreach to the youth of this area the Family Missions Company Board of Directors approved with enthusiasm a year long expansion of our work in Faith Camp. It is so exciting to see the vast opportunities available to build God’s Kingdom and to involve our community even more in the work of Family Missions Company.

Just in our first year we have a lot of exciting things on the agenda, and we anticipate that God will grow our operation even more!
Here are some of the things that we feel God calling FMC to do in its first year of Youth Ministry:
- 2 Faith Camps in 2011
- FMC Family Conference: Building Kingdom Builders Aug. 7, 2010
- 1 Spring and 1 Fall retreat for teens
- A FMC lead Youth Mission Dec. 26 – Jan. 2
- Take a group to March For Life in Washington D.C.
- Take a group to World Youth Day in Madrid, Spain.

Please pray for us as we seek to expand our outreach to Youth, pray that God will be glorified and His Kingdom built!