Wherever I Go (by Jacob)

Hello! We are excited to give you an update on our lives after not writing for so long!

We have just finished two years of working in marketing with Best Version Media and pursuing my music and our family apostolate/ministry on the side. As I now devout my work entirely to music and place the family apostolate/ministry in God’s hands, I’d like to share with you:

1) A Brand New Song, ‘Wherever I Go.’ (Video and Lyrics included!)

2) Update on My Music

3) Our Small & New Apostolate

4) Our Upcoming Mission trip.

1. ‘Wherever I Go’ (Video and Pictured Lyrics)

Hit play on the video to watch me play song in St. Cecilia Cathedral in Omaha, NE.

Afterwards or during, feel free to scroll down to see the pictured lyrics 🙂 In this song, I tried to connect the beauty of creation with my personal relationship with the source of all beauty: God.

2. Music

In December of 2017, I released my first album: ‘Pray, Hope and Don’t Worry.’ The album includes 14 tracks! The CD’s core message involves the story, spirituality and/or influence of the Saints. These include St. Padre Pio (‘Pray, Hope and Don’t Worry’), St Therese of Lisieux (‘Roses’), St. Joseph (‘Joseph’), St. John (‘You Are My Friend’ and ‘Beloved’), Mother Teresa (‘You Did it to Me’), Blessed Miguel Pro (¡Viva Cristo Rey!), St. Damian of Molokai (The Greatest Leper of Molokai), and St. Faustina (The Heart of the Lord). Making the album was a journey of trust, joy, creativity, and perseverance. I am now preparing to soon record my second album, tentatively called ‘Creating Beauty’, which explores themes of childhood, marriage, parenting and conversion.

Since the release of ‘Pray, Hope & Don’t Worry’, I have been doing house and church concerts locally and regionally. Tomorrow (Wednesday September 12th), we will be visiting St. Cloud and Brainerd, MN to do five different music events! I will be sharing my music and our story at a school, parish, retreat, and two house concerts! We are being hosted by families in both cities and are looking forward to meeting old friends and making new ones. Learn more about my album, upcoming events, and more by visiting JacobRuddMusic.com.

3. Apostolate/Ministry

Calena and I have also founded an apostolate called ‘Families at His Feet‘, whose mission is to ‘cultivate the peace of Nazareth by bringing families together in prayer and fellowship.’ We have been actively doing family holy hours at two local parishes and they have been beautiful opportunities for families to spend time with Jesus in the Eucharist. Overall, I have been putting more time into music but I am still hoping to do family holy hours and family fellowship events locally and regionally. Learn more about our apostolate at FamiliesatHisFeet.com. Because of our upcoming mission trip and our focus on developing my music, we know that in the immediate future we will not be able to put much time into developing the Apostolate. As far as the greater future, it is in God’s hands! 🙂

4. Family Sojourning/Mission Trip

We are also excited for our upcoming Family Sojourning and Mission Trip to Mexico this fall! We have decided to do this pilgrimage as a prayer for the entire Church, for a renewal and strengthening of the laity and the clergy. We are excited to join Family Missions Company full-time missionaries and five other visiting families like ourselves to serve and evangelize in Allende, Coahuila Mexico for Thanksgiving week. We are also equally excited to visit friends and family along the way to share meals, conversations, and our music with the local faith communities. From the FMC website here is more info about the trip: 

Spend a week of service and evangelization in Mexico! In Allende, mission trip participants go out to share the Good News with people through their loving witness and in sharing their testimonies of God’s grace working in their lives. Previous participants have been blessed by their time in Allende and the warm welcome they receive from locals who are hungry for Jesus.

On this trip, mornings are spent engaged in Christian service, through building projects, visiting the elderly and sick, and praying with those we encounter. The whole experience is wrapped in prayer and fellowship. In the evenings, our team travels to nearby barrios (neighborhoods) or ejidos (desert communities) to celebrate Mass, hold prayer meetings, and share testimonies.

One day during the mission trip is devoted to a pilgrimage to the capital city of Piedras Negras to explore the local market and visit the Cathedral of the Martyrs of Christ the King.

A “desert day,” a time of prayer and silence with the Lord, is usually spent in the beautiful foothills of Tejocote or the desert spring oasis of Palmira, Villa Union.

As you can look below at the maps, on our way to the Mission Trip we will be stopping in Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. On November 9-11, we will be participating in the National Leaders Charismatic Conference in Dallas, Texas. We will be in Mexico from November 17-24.

After Thanksgiving, we will be stopping in Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois (See Map Below – we are still planning out our exact route) to continue our pilgrimage of fellowship, prayer and music. Our goal is to find a host family for each stop along the way and to not book a hotel. So far, the Lord has been opening doors for us to stay and to share my music 🙂 We are also hoping to travel no more than five hours in a day so as to keep the journey easy on the kids and to not travel back to back days.

We ask for your prayers and for your possible financial support. If you would like to make a donation to help support our pilgrimage and mission trip, please click ‘Donate’ tab below to open up to our family page.

-Jacob

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