Adopt-a-Seminarian: A Bitter Sweet Story

Before our move two months ago, I prayed that we could live near our parish so that we could have our Pastor or priests interact with our family and basically be like family.  Todd and I have a strong devotion to pray for the priesthood, after all we created 40 Days for Priests, and pray that we are blessed with at least one if not many vocations!  When I grow up, I want to be like this mom who had ten children and they all became a priest or a nun and one even a Bishop!  Can you imagine that?  We pray this prayer for the vocation of my children all of the time.

Here they are with Pope John XXIII:

Ask and you shall receive:

We have had the wonderful opportunity to help a Seminarian friend of ours names Allan learn English.  He is from Brazil and needs to learn the language to be able to attend Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary this Fall.  We have been working with him for almost four weeks now.  Every weekend, Todd picks him up on Saturday mornings and Allan stays at our home all day, eats lunch and dinner with us and then he goes back to the Rectory.  Same thing happens on Sundays and on a couple occasions, we got him to come over during the week.  It has been a total honor and privilege to help this holy young man learn English and for such an amazing cause!  {By the way he blogs over at Vida Sacerdotal if you want to pay him a visit, it is in Portuguese though}

Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary

BUT he is such a handful!  He's funny, knowledgeable in the Faith, and he loves children...to us he is like having a living saint at our home.  My children simply adore him!  I think God works in mysterious ways...and His plans are so perfect.  Allan's presence in our home has been a total blessing.  I think we have been the ones to thank him for the opportunity to help him learn English and for teaching us so much more!

This week Allan leaves to Nebraska and we aren't sure when it will be the next time we get to see him.  I *know* we are all going to cry (bitter sweet tears) when we last see him this coming Thursday morning after Ascension Thursday Mass.  You see Allan has become part of our family. 

I'd like so share some pictures of our time together with him:

my kids adore him!

this was Allan's idea...just so you can get a gist of his personality :p

he really enjoyed our walk in the park/woods

St. Francis look alike :p

yes that is a seminarian in a cassock riding a skateboard down my street!

Allan sitting on our front porch

What do you think?  Can we find a better way to foster vocations with our children?  I don't think so I like this new "program" of temporarily adopting a seminarian.  :)

Allan, you will be in our prayers and missed dearly but know that you have five littles ones praying for you constantly!  We love you!

Friends, can I beg you for prayers for Allan?  Thank you!