(This article was written for the Neumann News.)
“You must come down,” we first heard Father Ho Lung say during Jesus 2000. “Come work with the poor.”
Starting in 2000, Kathy and I decided to make an annual contribution to Missionaries of the Poor. We would take our Christmas budget– the money we would spend on ourselves and family, and send a matching amount to Father Ho Lung. If we spent $10 over budget, the matching amount would go up $10.
This was a great way to shop at Christmas. Every gift was also a gift to the poor.
In the fall of 2003, Father Brian, one of Father Ho Lung’s lieutenants, walked into St. John Neumann. Kathy felt like Jesus had walked into the room. He told his story of being called from his banker’s job in Jamaica to work with the poor. He told of being sent by Father Ho Lung to start a mission in the Philippines with literally a song and a prayer. Father Brian was inspirational. “You must come down. Come work with the poor.”
That night, Kathy and I decided we should go. With two little girls in school, we could not figure out how the two of us could go together. I think the Holy Spirit inspired us with a solution: I would go with our oldest, Nicole (21), and a year later, Kathy would take our son Danny (17).