Seeing Jesus through Mary

For the past month, as a community of Life Teen Missionaries, we have been saying a special set of prayers every day in preparation to consecrate ourselves to Jesus Christ through the Blessed Virgin Mary. I know this might sound a little odd; I myself had trouble with this at first. Mary is the mother of Jesus, but what does that have to do with me?—everything. It took me until the day before the consecration to fully understand that we are not making the Blessed Virgin Mary an idol but that she is our Mother. She is there to help guide us along our faith journey.  

On December 7th, we woke up early for a special candlelight Mass. The whole church was solely lit by small candles, which sat on the pews in front of each person. While mediating during the offertory, I closed my eyes and saw the image of the Blessed Virgin walking down the candlelit aisle towards the front of the altar, hand-in-hand with a little girl. As I looked closely, I began to realize that it was me. As we approached the altar, Jesus was welcoming his mother with open arms. Mary gave the little girl's hand to him and they all hugged. Instead of fighting and wasting energy over why I don't understand or why I need Mary to be closer to Jesus, I understood that I needed to approach it with faith like a child. To be led in reckless abandonment by my Sacred Mother to the arms of the King of Kings, her most precious Son, Jesus Christ.

Attitude of Gratitude

While reading the Gospel during Morning Prayer on December 2^nd, I scrambled to find my Bible. I began to read Matthew 15:32 – 39, The Multiplication of the fishes and loaves. I got about half way through the passage when I figured out that I wasn’t reading the right gospel for that day. Despite this, I continued to read.

While we pray The Liturgy of the Hours, we take a few moments to share how the Lord is speaking to our hearts. When we began our time of sharing, I recognized how God was clearly putting a theme in my life, that of being grateful. The reason why that passage was so fresh in my mind was because a good friend of mine had sent me a religious article on The Divine Gift of Gratitude the day before. It really placed the great value of being thankful for all the things God has already been providing for each and every day. It’s too easy to sometimes focus on the negatives and complain about the things we don’t have.

Let us follow the example of Jesus when He was faced with the challenge of feeding over four thousand of His followers with only seven loaves of bread and a few fish. Instead of complaining, like His disciples, Jesus took the bread and “gave thanks” to His Heavenly Father for what He already provided for Him. It has made me truly think about how much God has been providing for me recently in this mission year: a wonderful community, a home, a bed, warm clothes, food, and even a place to worship Him at my leisure. So instead of saying, “If only I had (Put Complaint Here) ” or “Things would get better if (Put Complaint Here),” we must try to give thanks without complaining. This is not something that will just happen overnight, but it is a choice.

Let us pray together to continually receive the grace of the Divine gift of gratitude.

Community Newsletter Oct/Nov 2010

Check out the 1st Newsletter from the Europe Mission Base Community:
https://docs.google.com/newsletter

Team Europe Sing-a-Long

LT Missions: Team Europe Sing-a-Long from JDamin Productions on Vimeo.

Since moving to Germany, we have been sending music videos back and forth with our missionary brothers and sisters at Covecrest. But this video is our latest master piece which has taken about 3 weeks to make with the little down time we have. It gives me great joy to post this on my blog and to introduce you guys to the Europe Base. Sit back and enjoy.

Gather Around the Table.

Once a year, there is a glorious occasion where family members from all over the United States travel for miles to gather around a table, break bread, and share what they are thankful for. We know this day as Thanksgiving! This is a holiday that has always been near and dear to my heart. I was a little bummed to find out that this year, I would be half way around the world away from my family in a country that doesn’t recognize this day as significant. A week before the holiday, our missionary family got together and decided that the best way to celebrate this American tradition was to open our home and invite the our whole parish community to join us.

As we prepared for this feast day, some of us became concerned with how our plan was going to work. Despite this, we trusted that God would provide and take care of everything. It turned out to be a real bonding experience for our mission family because everyone pitched in, adding their own special touch. We divided and conquered the tasks by cooking our favorite dishes, cleaning, decorating, and setting up the tables and chairs. We even cleared out the entire living room to fit three long tables, as we weren’t sure how many people to expect. As the dinner hour arrived, people started to trickle in. There were greetings and introductions being said. I was a little hesitant on my end as I don’t speak that much German. But, as I was getting drinks for people, I prayed for a Holy Boldness. I’ve noticed that this has become a theme for me this mission year, stepping outside of my comfort zone.

All of a sudden, there was a loud clinking noise from the head of the table and the room fell to a hush. Amanda began to explain that we were going to pray over the food in thanksgiving; everyone gathered around the table as she led grace in German. As we ate, it was truly amazing to see God working through each conversation. People were so accommodating and did not let language be a barrier. During conversations, everyone tried to speak the little German and English that they knew so as to try to comprehend one another.

Although I wished my family could have been together for thanksgiving, I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate and give thanks than with all the laughter, conversations and delicious food that I experienced with my new extended family in Germany. God continues to surprise me every day with the little joys in life and with the graces he bestows upon me.

Thanksgiving – The expression of gratitude, especially to God.

Divine Providence and Spicy Peppers

Lately, God has been teaching me to pay more attention to what and where he’s leading me. I like to describe it as tuning into those initial gut reactions that happen before making a decision. I’m finding that the common, everyday decisions are where it counts the most because those are the ones that get easily overlooked.

Yesterday, for our Sabbath Day, Father Roland took us to visit a historical German Castle and its surrounding town. After we came back and celebrated Mass, it was time to eat dinner. Now keep in mind that on our Sabbath days, we are usually responsible for our own meals. Most of the community likes to eat out at this restaurant called Ali Baba Kebap House and some people were planning on that for dinner.

So, once again, that gut feeling arose and it was time to make a decision. I felt as if I wasn’t suppose to eat out just because everyone else was doing it, but that I should save my mission partner’s money for another occasion. Plus, there was enough food to make a light egg sandwich. I didn’t order any food and it turned out great because for one of the first times in making that kind of decision, I felt at peace with the choice I had made.

As the night continued, everyone piled in the living room with individual boxes of pizza and we were just about to watch a movie, when something divine happened. One person in the community noticed that the restaurant had messed up their order and added spicy peppers to their pizza. It was a little too spicy for their taste buds. So, they called up the place and told them about the mishap. It turned out that the restaurant was happy to fix the order and brought the new pizza over within 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, I was sitting at the table with Pam having a delightful conversation, when I was handed a grace. There it was: a delicious, cooked-to-perfection pizza. Praise God. I love spicy peppers! I realized that God was teaching me about dependence and trust. Sometimes, it takes those small decisions in life for us to truly encounter the divine providences God so desires us to have. So be on the lookout for those opportunities, because you never know when you’ll be handed a grace.

Brace Yourself!

Just before the formation month concluded, twenty of the missionaries were sent in two 15-passenger vans to the Woodlands, TX for a Life Teen Basic Training Conference. This was a great experience and opportunity for us to pour out our love and truly be the face of Christ to new youth ministers, core members and priests. It was all about radical hospitality and relational ministry.

One of the more blessed times during the Conference was being able to stay at host homes, provided by the parishioners of the St. Anthony of Padua faith community. Not only did these families open up their homes, but they also invited us into their lives as they shared their hearts. The missionaries and Life Teen staff had very long days and would sometimes get home as late as 10:30 p.m. Despite this, our host family excitedly waited up for us as they greeted us with a smile, little snacks, and the desires to chit-chat about how the Lord was moving in our lives.

Even though I sometimes found myself physically exhausted, I awoke each day giving my all to glorify God. By doing small acts of kindness and spreading the love of Christ, I became more energized during each moment. I learned to never underestimate the Divine Power of God in any situation.

Whenever you are faced with a tough day, ask yourself, what would Jesus do? Brace yourself, and don’t be afraid to ask the Big Man for a little help. Just remember, He’s only a prayer away.

“We can do no great things, only small things with great love.” -Mother Teresa

In Case of an Emergency

On Friday October 15^th, five female missionaries, including myself, were sent out to begin God’s international Life Teen mission by traveling on British Airways to Germany. As the plane was getting ready for take off, the staff went carefully through the normal safety features in case of an emergency but this time there was a helpful animated video to go along with the procedure. I noticed that I was pretty familiar with these instructions but when it got to the part of what to do in case of a drop in cabin pressure, it reminded me of an analogy I once heard. As soon as the oxygen mask falls from the overhead cabin you must first put on your own mask before you can help those around you. Well, the same goes in our faith because we cannot give what we do not have.

It’s so important to take the time to really form a deep spiritual relationship with Christ and have right order. Even Pope John Paul II calls everyone out by saying that we must be “contemplative in action.” This can be very challenging for many in a world that is constantly in a life style of “doing.” I, myself, thought that giving and serving as a missionary would be a piece of cake, but boy was I wrong.

Just like most sports and musical instruments you also must practice, practice, practice in order to obtain better results in prayer life. Over this past month at Covecrest I’ve grown to find different ways to be spiritually filled like greeting each new day with the Lord in the St. Stephen’s chapel for Morning Prayer. There is nothing like starting the day being able to thank Him for all the ways He’s blessed my life. For God invites each of us to worship as a lifestyle and to constantly be a reservoir in order that our ministry may flow out of our spiritually. Challenge your self that you may always be in the posture of receiving the graces of God. If you live this, your faith will be contagious.

"Come to me, all who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest." - Matthew 11:28

Hallo, greetings from Deutschland!

As I live and breathe, God is truly moving through this mission every step of the way. Okay let me start from the very beginning; it’s a very good place to start. On September 13^th, I arrived at the Atlanta airport where I was welcomed by eight missionary brothers and sisters at the Atlanta Bread Company, right outside of baggage claim. It was great to know that even though most of us were complete strangers, the connection of being centered in Christ made it seem like we were already family. This made for a comfortable 2-hour ride to the Covecrest Retreat Center in Tiger, Georgia.

When we finally reached our destination it was good to hear that dinner was just about to be served. So I hauled my luggage to the cabin where I would call home for the four weeks, claimed the last top bunk by the door and went back towards the main lodge. There was where I met the rest of the Covecrest Family including the other Life Teen Missionaries, staff and families that lived there year around which totaled to 43 people.

That next morning the missionaries gathered at the St Stephen’s chapel for Praise & Worship and Morning Prayer. As we sat in the wooden pews in front of the tabernacle, I knew that God had been waiting for that moment for me to be sitting there in that very spot. That feeling was only concreted as the weeks went by during what Chris, our Missions Coordinator, liked to call “Mission Academy.” This name only caught on after last years 2009-2010 missionaries experienced the intensive training/formation month. Those periods of time were set aside to learn about scripture, how to truly be docile (listen) to the Holy spirit, how to live in community, rhythm of prayer, tapping into having a missionary heart, showing radical hospitality, and much, much more. A typical (formation) day in the life of a 1^st year Missionary looked a little like this:

6:15am – Optional recreation/ “Insanity” workout

7:30am – Breakfast (make yourself)

8:00am – Praise & Worship and Morning Prayer/ Lauds (St. Stephen’s Chapel)

9:00am – Mission Academy (upper meeting room in lodge)

11am – Holy Hour (adoration in front of the Blessed Sacrament)

Noon – Lunch

1:15pm – Missionary Academy

4pm - Intentional Free Time (Spiritual reading, praise & worship, homework, etc.)

5pm – Mass & Evening Prayer/Vespers

6pm – Dinner

7pm – Community Time (sports, games, rosary walk, etc.)

9:30pm – Night Prayer/Compline (in our cabins)

Just before the formation month concluded, twenty of the missionaries were sent in two 15-passenger vans to the Woodlands, TX for a Life Teen Basic Training Conference. This was a great experience and opportunity for us to pour out our love and truly be the face of Christ to new Youth Ministers, Core Members and Priests. It was all about radical hospitably and relational ministry. One of the more blessed times during the Conference was being able to stay at Host Homes, provided by the parishioners of the St. Anthony Padua faith community. Not only would these families open up there homes to us but also invite us into their lives and share their hearts. Due note that we had long days and would sometimes get home at 10:30 at night but still our host families would be there excitedly waiting for our arrival home to greet us with little snacks and waiting to chit-chat and talk about how the Lord was moving in their lives. Even though I was physically exhausted some days, I awoke each new day giving my all to glorify God by the small acts of kindness and spreading the love of Christ, which turned out to give me more energy to endure. Never under estimate the divine power of God.

One thing I’ve learned to appreciate over this past month at Covecrest is the gift of detachment. A gift? Yes I did mean to use that term because God gives us the opportunity to choose the graces of detachment. So what does that mean? This means to rid yourself of anything that you might unintentionally be idolizing and to be free yourself in order to be in the posture of “receiving.” This may include ipod, cell phone, internet, TV however this doesn’t mean these items can’t use at all but to be intentional with the allotted amount of time spent. It wasn’t until I realized that over the past couple years in my life the more independent I was in the culture, the more I felt enslaved by the things around me. So when I started to really live in to detachment and obedience to God is when I felt true freedom. Beware that living to glorify Christ is counter-cultural! But it’s so worth it knowing that I don’t have to worry about what’s going to happen next as long as I’m living each moment to always glorify God. For it was once told to me that the small joys and laughers life are the glimpse of the true happiness received in Heaven.

Each day I wake up and thank God for choosing me to spend a year as a missionary through Life Teen. He just never ceases to amaze me at all the things He’s already done and all the souls that He plans to transform. Praise God! Please let me know how I can be praying for you. So know that you are “blessed by the best and you are loved.” - Fr. John from Oregon.

In Christ’s Love,

Alyssa Nicole Maddock

The Calming of the Storm

1 John 4:18

The Greatest Gift

As far back as I can remember, birthdays have always been a big deal. Not only would I tell people my age in quarterly ratios but would also count down the week before my big day. It was always exciting to ask my parents for a new Barbie accessory or a new bike because that is what I thought birthdays were all about, getting tangible gifts. This year I turned 22 on the first Friday of Mission Academy in Georgia. The whole day I was greeted with warm smiles and birthday wishes, even some multi-key birthday songs in different languages. As I sat in holy hour face to face with Jesus, I kept thinking to myself, “God’s timing is so perfect that he called me to this very place, to be a missionary spending a year learning about His heart. This alone was the greatest gift!”

Exodus 14:4 “The Lord himself will fight for you; you have only to keep still.”

a note of thanks

Dear Mission Partners & Bloggers,

Thank you for your YES towards joining me on this wonderful journey and mission of God. I still am so grateful and blessed to have such a huge support system made up of all my different friends, family and faith community. This whole journey will begin in a little less than a week and the preparations for the year have been smooth. There are over 85 mission partners that will be apart, with you, on this daily journey and I was able to collected over my goal of $6500. Praise God for He provides!

Before I leave on Monday, I wanted to start a project of collecting everyone's pictures so that I can be able to set up a prayer corner in my room in Germany. I thought this was a great way to be really connect in prayer each and everyday. So please send me your pictures by Friday, 9-10-10, at noon. (email is below)

Keep tuned into this blog that I will be updating weekly, where as the newsletter emails are monthly.

alyssamaddock@gmail.com

Thank you again for joining me this year! May God bless you continually everyday. Please let me know how I can be praying for you.

Live In His Glory,

Alyssa Maddock

PS here is a little treat... one of my favorite songs

Life Teen Missionary

Dear friends and family,

I’m writing to you because I have very exciting news and want to share with you all the ways God is moving in my life. After finishing my fourth year of college this past May, I spent five weeks serving at Life Teen’s summer camp Tepeyac in Prescott, Arizona. I was part of the Summer Staff and so was called to spread the good news of Christ and be a prayer warrior. My time was spent being a fool for Christ, leading small groups, and praying in the chapel. God taught me so much this summer as I learned to simply be still and let Him love me. He has really shown me that His love for me is not based off of anything I do but who I am; I am His.

While up at camp Tepeyac I found out about an opportunity to spend next year as a missionary with Life Teen in Germany. These past couple months I have been discerning whether or not God was calling me to go but in trying to figure out what I was going to do I forgot about who I was doing it for. While considering this opportunity I found great comfort in my faith community who only encouraged me to dive deeper into my journey by reading scripture. One day I was led to read Romans 12:12, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in trail, persevere in prayer!” After that, I spent less time worried about what I was going to do and more time trying to discover the Lord and His heart.

After much prayer, I now feel certain that God is in fact calling me to spend a year as a Life Teen missionary committed to serving the needs of the church in Europe, particularly in Germany. The church is struggling and it is our goal to go and be a presence, to be the face of Christ to every person that we encounter. In a country where vocations to the priesthood have become scarce and the world seems to be prevailing, we see a need to rekindle the light of Christ.

As my friends and my family in Christ I want to invite you to be a part of this mission with me and my team. Above all I need your prayers. I would like to have 50 mission partners who will promise to pray for me and Life Teen missions regularly by offering up a weekly rosary, mass, holy hour, or other form of prayer. In return, I am committed to praying for you by name in a weekly holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament and to sending you a monthly newsletter, sharing how God is working through our prayer together. Your prayers would be the driving force making this mission happen.

In addition to your prayers another way you could contribute is through financial support. As a missionary I will be depending completely upon God’s providence. In order to cover health insurance, a small monthly stipend, a trip home, and all mission related activities I’ve been asked to raise over $6,000 for the year. Please take this to prayer asking the Lord how He is inviting you to be a part of this mission. This program will only be successful because of the kindness of God’s people such as you. While monthly contributions are preferred (because it instills a deeper sense of you joining me on this mission), you are welcome to provide support with a one-time donation. The Lord will not be outdone in generosity and will certainly bless any contribution you can make. Regardless of how much you give, please join me in prayer.

I feel so thankful to have been called to be a part of this mission and would really love to share it with you. If you'd like to receive a response card on which you can indicate how you would like to be involved please e-mail me at alyssamaddock@gmail.com along with any questions you have or if you just want to hear more. Know that I’m praying for you and your family and that I truly am thankful for all of your love and support in my life so far. May God continue to send his blessings upon you!

Live in His Glory,
Alyssa Nicole