On August 3rd at 6:30PM in the Prince of Peace Community Center (Gymansium), the mission team will be holding a potluck to share the experience of the recent mission. Everyone is welcome to come and join the fellowship. We ask that you bring a covered dish and serving utensil as there will be plenty of stories, pictures and dessert to be enjoyed!
We look forward to seeing everyone there!
Eucharistic Adoration has officially started with the exposition after 5pm mass. After mass, Father Joseph reminded us all to pray for our own missionaries in Guatemala.
Today's gospel was VERY appropriate. If you missed church, check out...Luke 10:1-12, 17-20. We have 18, not 72 disciples spreading the good news and caring for the sick in Guatemala.
I'm feeling much better now, but this Saturday morning, I was suddenly wiped out with a loss of energy and an apparent stomach bug.
As the team leader, this sickness was my greatest fear as we had not quite yet built the veteran team member base to recover for me if I was unable to go. Since sickness happens quite frequently when anyone travels from home and, especially, in a developing country, the mission team has a protocol document in place for other pre-designated individuals to takeover in my absence.
Fortunately, my sickness was just for the day and Deacon Al and Susan were easily able to handle the duties for which I needed to be absent.
The day began by visiting the Hermano Pedro Hospital, which provides the indigent and society's discarded a place to receive quality medical care and attention. The hospital is run by the Dominicans with both religious brothers and sisters active in the daily administration, Many of the doctors working daily are rotated in on weekly shifts from the US (and Houston, specifically) through various organizations, such as Faith in Practice.
After the hospital tour, I felt the need to go back to the hotel and Deacon Al and Susan led the rest of the team to visit the relics of Hermano Pedro at San Francisco church as well as to do some shopping in the market.
Alas, this is were my helplessness really hit me. While the team was out for the day and I was resting in the hotel, I knew that I needed to complete some shopping to purchase items for use by the mission team back in Houston. While I was able to walk to the Central Park to purchase a phone card recharge, I had very little energy to do much else other than sleep.
Yet, when the team came to visit and check-up on me at the hotel, they generously offered to do what I could not. In one direction, Elsa, Nathalia and Victoria headed to the market to make my needed purchases there. In another direction, Errol and Alma took a jitney cab to another store to purchase all of the coffee that we need for gifts. [Their adventure was quite impressive as they took a similar jitney cab back to the hotel while carrying 70 pounds of coffee over a very bumpy cobblestone road.] These folks were saviors for me in my moment of need with nary a complaint or hesitation.
Additionally, I had everyone step in to take care of me, including Adam, Frankie and Silvia checking in on my regularly as well as Lynda making sure that I ate the right things for dinner.
While I know that I am overlooking someone else's help in my list above, I just feel that my brief illness was more than just being sick, but instead it was practical learning on being able to allow others to minister to me.
It's always a great treat and excuse to have fun when someone celebrates a birthday during the mission trip.
So with that in mind - here is to wishing you a wonderful and happy birthday, Nathis! 18 years - hard to believe!
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Other team members made sacrifices in being away while their family members celebrated a birthday. Both Lynda and Silvia / Adam missed out on a special celebration, but what a gift for them to be here in Guatemala with us.
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While Nathis's sister, Victoria also just celebrated a birthday, we will be thinking of Silvia as she celebrates her birthday in the next week.
The following entries are heartfelt notes from various team members to the community at large as well as their families.
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From Susan:
To Mike, Stephanie and Meghan,
I'm doing fine - it's very safe. Our hotel is nicer than the one we had in Corpus Christi. I'm missing you, but it's been a wonderful experience.
Love, Hugs & Kisses,
Sue (Mom)
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From Jenna:
Dear Mom & Dad,
I am fine. Camp is fun. We get to meet all kinds of new friends, eat new foods, and make crafts.
See you soon. Miss you much.
Love,
Jenna
PS - Give everyone an extra hug from me.
PPSS - Send money.
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*** Due to unforeseen technical difficulties, the above blog post was originally submitted on Wednesday, but only posted online now.
To the staff and parishioners of Prince of Peace and friends from St. Max:
This mission experience is stellar - you must come! I have experienced a love and appreciation from the Mayan people so great, that I cannot explain it. I challenge you to deepen your faith by coming to Guatemala on mission. Every person, young and old, is affected.
With the love of Jesus Christ,
Susan Gallagher
PS: We've had a lot of fun together, too!
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*** Due to unforeseen technical difficulties, the above blog post was originally submitted on Wednesday, but only posted online now.
I have been trying to post to the blog when practical, which means this time of day. I do get to sleep in tomorrow as we will start our day around 7 AM. :)
So, while I have read your emails, sleep can occur in Houston! How's that for respecting my elders? Ha!
I will try to post pictures tomorrow since we got in town late today. Yet, we are in Antigua, Guatemala, which is one of the most beautiful cities of the world.
(Those of you with spouses on the trip better be prepared to go with the next team as this is a place that you will WANT to spend time with a loved one.)
We stopped on the way for an hour in another world famous place, the market of Chichicastenago. This was something new for the team to do and the condition of the stop was that the team had only one hour to shop and sightsee (including the church). Only 2 team members were a few minutes late - and rumor has it that there are about 6 to 8 cameras that either videotaped or photographed the event. Blake and Anna should be on the lookout for this within the next couple of weeks!
Our visit to Antigua is a continuation of the mission by witnessing and praying with those being cared for at the Hermano Pedro Hospital. Additionally, we will visit many culturally and spiritually significant places during our brief stay here.
More tomorrow.
Mission work is a lot of things, including addressing the business issues that only a personal touch can address. Over the last few days, the mission team leadership has been pulled into almost a dozen meetings to discuss everything from a financial request to build acquire electrical hook-ups for 4 of the 10 computes in Plan Basico (Junior High) that are essentially inoperative without them, to discussion on how our parish community in Houston can best connect spiritually with our brothers and sisters at Sagrado Corazon de Jesus (Sacred Heart of Jesus) in Santa Cruz del Quiche.
While these meetings are often taxing marathons that require immense grace and scheduling flexibility (there is that word again!).
Yet, we have accomplished so much as a result of the business side of the mission. Importantly, each meeting was a success in terms of continuing to build our relationship with those we serve.
Glory and praise to God!
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More on this topic later, but here are some of the groups with which we met.
There were no posts on Wednesday night as the team was wiped out from ALL of the hard work the previous 5 days.
As many of you received my emails discussing the number of hours that went into this mission, I pointed out that the team is giving over 3,000 hours collectively. While this does include sleep, I want to be sure to point out that sleep has been in short supply due to how much passion the team has toward doing all of its work the best possible way and with no less than maximum effort. There have been many late nights past 12AM as well as starting our days around 5AM with only a few minutes break time in between.
And, truth be told, who wants to take a break when these kids are just waiting like there is no tomorrow to be with you and play with you.
Have you ever had a half dozen little girls in the 5th grade wait outside for you to play basketball? There is no way that you can just let them wait as you can worry about sleep and high altitude and the fact that kids can run for ever later.
Nothing quite like the team looking dead tired during prayer and reflection to know that each member gave all that they could.
I have learned from my previous mission trips about the value in a diverse mix of people in planning the team. In particular, I am always on the lookout for teenagers and young adults to join the mission team - the "ninos" (children en Espanol).
Let's be real - I may be on the lookout, but the ninos always seem to fine me through the grace of the Holy Spirit. And this team has been no different.
All four ninos on this team are people that just independently expressed an interest in the mission team (thanks, Anna!). The great thing about the ninos that respond to the call of mission is how they are completely unaware of how they are being used to provide perspective and richness to the entire mission team. Many times, due to the considerable difference in age, the ninos do not understand how much they are valued as equal team members, but by the end of the trip, this becomes ever so clear.
The other side of having the ninos on the team is how much fun they bring. I feel lucky to always connect to them and build relationships that grow into friendships over the years. (On that note, Beck & Andrea, I can't believe that I was unable to catch you for coffee before I left to GT.)
So the ninos that have affected me include, but not limited to my first little sis, Michelle, as well as Raymundo (El Presidente), Andrea K, Andrea R, Beck, and Patricio. By the way, Patrick - your two espousas are still waiting for you from last year. :) And they really do remember you!
Even better, this year, I have added four new siblings to my extended family. Being that each of these four ninos are Prince of Peace parishioners, I feel especially blessed to know that I will be able to see them all the more often. Adam and Frankie as well as "dos ninas loco" (Vicki and Nathis). They are truly my buds and my little brothers and sisters. I care for each of them so greatly that I can only be assure that the mission trip would be greatly diminished without them.
Tomorrow afternoon, I will go shopping with mi hermanos y hermanas and I'm certain that we will have a good time being one big family.
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Goofing around in Chicabracan:
Frankie should know better than to sleep on the bus! Ha!
This week, the Prince of Peace Reservation chapel has been available 24 x 7 in Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration for the Guatemala mission team. When planning for mission adoration, the mission leadership team was somewhat concerned that it would be a great feat to cover over 400 hours of prayer time from parishioners, family and friends. WHO would sacrifice to be present with Jesus at 2am? Well... I have witnessed how packed the reservation chapel is at ALL hours of the day. In fact, during the early hours of the morning, it is not uncommon to have 8 people in the presence of Jesus. A regular adorer mentioned in passing that she has never seen so many people in the chapel over this period of time. I recognized members of the Spanish speaking communities, Knights of Columbus, Parish Council, Finance Council, Living Matrimony, ACTS, SPaRC, (and more) praying together as brothers and sisters in Christ. Additionally, family members from other parishes as well as the general Prince of Peace congregation are connecting with the church via eucharistic adoration. So, WHO is sacrificing to be in the presence of Jesus at all hours of the day? YOU! It touches heart of our missionaries in Guatemala in knowing that they are so loved by their community and that what they do this week really matters. Thank you, Prince of Peace faith community, for your amazing adoration support for the mission team. It is because of your awareness and presence that the team continues to be successful, healthy and safe today. ***** Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration is the adoration of Jesus Christ present in the Holy Eucharist. In the many Churches that have this adoration, the Eucharist is displayed in a special holder called a monstrance, and people come to pray and worship Jesus continually throughout the day and often the night. Christ’s great love for us was shown when he was crucified on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and give us eternal life. He loves us without limit, and offers Himself to us in the Holy sacrament of the Eucharist. ******
Since we are nearing the half way point on the mission, I have asked the team members to provide brief notes for their loved ones and the community to read.
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From Lily:
To Charlie - "Lily says I love you. Call mother and Mom to say that I am fine."
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From Elsa:
"Mi amor, estoy bien y los extrano mucho a mis cuchis. Can't wait to see y'all. Love you. - Elsa."
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From Eusebia:
"Hello, hijos. Just wanted to let you know that all is going well. The kids have touched my heart and I've learned so much. More from them than they from me. They're wonderful. - Mom"
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From Frankie:
"I would like to say thank you to all who supported me through the mission trip in Guatemala, especially my team and my family. Because of you, I learned to be closer to God and help someone in need of a prayer or friendship. Thank you. - Francisco"
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From Lynda:
"A very special and love-filled Happy 16th Birthday to Shelby. You are my joy and I love you!!! Mike, Rebecca, and all my love ones, thank you for your prayers. Mission is wonderful! All my love. - Lynda"
This mission is a success because of your efforts and late nights. The willingness to sacrifice our personal time and everything else.
I think of you often and wish that you are here.
So before I go to bed, I am writing to say how much I love you and thank you for allowing me to devote so much of us to this.
And, the ladies (and Adam and Frankie) aren't letting me carry anything heavy so I did listen to you to avoid tearing the healing wound. :)
I look forward to seeing you on Saturday afternoon.
If you are interested in leaving a comment or words of encouragement, you have the ability to be interactive with the team.
At the bottom of each blog posting, there is the word "Comments" in green letters. Click on this word and you will be taken to another page so that you can enter in your thoughts, prayers or anything else. We will read them and be appreciative of you sharing your time with us as a co-missionary.
Peace of Christ be with you!
Let's see if pictures really are worth a thousand words. :)
(Click on the photo to see the description.)
During the stress of the mission work, we often turn to our spiritual advisor on the team, Deacon Al, as well as the parish Outreach Director, Susan.
And, well, this is what we get (everyone may want to pray harder for us - Ha!)...
I miss your physical presence here in Guatemala but I do feel your spiritual presence as I know that you are praying for me and praying for the success of our mission. Your prayers along with everyone else's prayers are being heard and answered by God. This is one wonderful and powerful experience for me - I came to minister but I am the one being ministered to by our brothers and sister here in Guatemala. My team planted a Pastoral seed today - we introduced "Prayer blankets" today, how we make them and how prayers are carried in the blankets. We also introduced the power of community prayer we visiting the sick. We went with part of the community to visit and pray with an ill gentlemen and the community feel in love with this form of prayer.My blogging time is up - PS. "love your cards" you sneaky girl. Love you.
Al
It's late from a long day and evening so this post will be short. Ha!
To all of our family and friends following along, the team is doing well and healthy. Your prayers are being felt here and we think of you often, particularly in lifting you all (and the adorers) back home up in prayer every evening.
So with that, I will listen to the wisdom of my good friends, Lynda and Jenna, to call it a night.
Peace be with you all.
This post is more for my wife (and past team members).
Even though I think that Lily (aka Wen-li = Quiche for princess) has rigged the drawing for the icon of Our Lady of Guadelupe so she can win, I actually managed to have Our Lady select me tonight for her visit.
Okay - for those who don't understand this, it's a bit of a long story. The essence is that the mission team brings an icon of Our Lady of Guadelupe on mission as the intercession of her presence has been felt in protecting the team and encouraging our success.
The story of how Our Lady found us as missionaries (and originally, through Connie and Fr. Tom of SOS) is the long part of the story for another day. I truthfully fear that I will not be able to do their stories the justice it deserves.
Yet, every evening, we have a drawing to see in which room, this blessed (by Fr. Abelardo, no less!) icon will reside for the evening and next day. The icon is very special to the team and Our Lady always seemingly finds the person that needs her icon that day.
And, let's just say that today was my day and I seemingly knew it before hand.
Thank you, Mother Mary, for caring us so greatly and sharing in the joy of being called to Christ's love.
Since I already mentioned that it's critical for the team to pack its flexibility, we had an opportunity to use some of the flexibility this morning.
Every minute of the team's day is accounted for and scheduled. This especially includes our mornings, which requires that the individual team members succumb to the overall team's movement timing. The team leaders have been very fortunate to have the team collectively be accepting to the full and orchestrated schedule that have led to few instances of tardy team members.
(Greg - in case you are reading this, I have been invoking you when we gather the team to get ready each morning and evening. I hear the words "it's okay to be on time" just as you say before our team's meetings back at work and the team hears the same from me as a result.. Thus, this time-tested phrase works on mission in Guatemala too!)
Funny thing with that the team members having to commit to being on-time, many other timing circumstances can still not be controlled.
The first instance for today was that when we were leaving to go to the school in Chicabracan, one of the drivers decided it was time to get gas for the van then, rather than before the team was picked up. 5-10 minutes lost there - hmmm, no biggie.
Yet, as we turned off of the main (paved) road to go down the gravel road into Chicabracan, I thought that everything was back on track and it was time to enjoy the beautiful scenery, hear the tap-tap-tapping sound of the molina grinding the corn, and to smell the morning glory of the countryside. Also, I got to listen to the team perfect their musical program for the afternoon.
Well, all of this "being in the moment" feelings had to be set aside when we came to a stop about a quarter of the way down the road. It turns out that men were working on building a potable water line through the area, which meant that this road was impassable. After driving in reverse, uphill for an fifth of a mile, we got turned back around (after discovering that another road option was not possible either).
We found the "right" road and made it to the school, but only 30 minutes late.
Unfortunately, by being a half-hour late, the team had to scale down and rearrange its first (full!) hour program on the fly.
The challenge for the team is that we had to remember that the task of our activity was not as important as the relationship that we were continuing. We could have easily cut-out our traditional half-hour bilingual greeting and prayer with the teachers, parents committee members, and team members. Yet, our efforts would have been hollow without the basis of a relationship.
For past mission team members, it has been close to three years since we stayed at the Hogar de Ancianos (Home for the Elderly).
[The hogar is run by the Sisters of the Incarnate Word in Houston and its purpose is to provide permanent shelter and safety to lost and neglected elderly in the Santa Cruz area. The ancianos who live at the hogar are provided a clean room, food and spiritual nourishment. The only condition for their stay is that they are not allowed to leave as they will risk being abused or taken advantage of when they go back to living on the streets. Miraculously, the vision of the hogar was conceived by an Italian nun who was killed in an auto accident. Her death served as an inspiration by her friends and loved ones to act on her vision.]
So with all of this background explained, the hogar was always a highlight for the mission team. When we were tired from a long day in the mission field, we felt such energy, love and enthusiasm from the ancianos as they were so pleased to have us there with them. Since they have no family, there are few to no visitors at the hogar. The ancianos are not lonely due to the efforts of the sisters and their assistants, yet a new face is always welcomed by the hogar's residents.
As the last time that I was at the hogar was with the July 2004 team, I truly have missed seeing friendly smiles rather than the pleasant, but sterile environment of a hotel. Thus, when Elaine and I were planning out the sequence for this year's mission team, I decided that I wanted to be selfish in bringing the team back to the hogar. The selfishness was to see my friends from days past even if it meant that there was no purpose or plan for our visit.
With blessings and good fortune, two things occurred to make the visit happen. First, one of our team members, Blake, happened to be very involved with the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and she independently mentioned that the sisters had a place in Santa Cruz that we could visit. (Little did she know of our plans...) Secondly, my wife, being very smart and organized, contacted Sister Maura per Blake and then spoke with Sister Emiriam in Guatemala. Elaine wisely organized a simple, but powerful program for our short visit. Essentially, our visit to the hogar was to be an extension of our mission theme - the ministry of presence.
I could go on and on about what happened Sunday afternoon, but essentially, the ancianos came from all over the hogar to where the room we were asked to wait in. Quickly, there were close to 25 ancianos in varying degrees of health and condition, but all of them still retained their energy and spirit. They sat with us and those, who could, spoke to us. And like she did in the past, one of my favorites, Trevie, found non-verbal ways to communicate as she is both deaf and mute. We shared some chocolate wafers before their dinner and they shared their eternal beauty.
Our biggest challenge was that many in the team wanted to sneak an anciano home with them. :) And, Blake, I will be checking your luggage to see if you did manage to sneak Trevie back to Houston.
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Pictures of our visit to the Hogar de Ancianos
Hola! or as the Mayan say, "Hah cha!"
We are half way through our first full day in Guatemala and have already enjoyed a strong sense of community with our sister parish, Sagrado Corazon de Jesus.
As always, Mass was very moving and humbling. It's hard to accept the thanksgiving from our sister parish community when we only just arrived. Yet, they have been praying for us for months now in anticipation of our arrival. So funny in that we have been doing the same for the same sense of reason. We live thousands of miles away physically and culturally at times, but we are so close in how we think and believe.
Well, this will be a short post as we will need to leave for the Hogar de los Ancianos (Old folks home for those non-Spanish speakers - Ha!). The hogar is run by the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and it is such a blessings that they are willing to welcome us to share with the ancianos.
And para mi espousa - the team is keeping me safe (no lifting!) and sound (mentally?!?). I have plenty of support to make sure that we get the gifts to the right people on time - with the exception of the decaf coffee for O'Nelly. We should remember tonight!
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All together new friends after Mass.
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Beautiful hibiscus in front of Our Lady at the church
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The new salon is finished (look at the roof!) as we used it to meet with the community leaders from the aldea. The old salon is under construction to meet the needs of the children's catechism.
For those of you who have not missioned before, the answer will slightly surprise you. Of course, you can't come to Guatemala without a passport and its helpful to have clothes, toiletries, and other personal needs. Yet, the answer to the above statement is FLEXIBILITY.
When I learned about the mission experience during my previous three trips, the SOS leadership team always reminded us of the need to be flexible. There were countless times to practice this important skill as well - when a bus would break down, luggage would not arrive to our destination, lesson plans would be lost or power would go out.
Today, the need to pack our flexibility was due to changes at the Guatemala City airport. As this facility has been under construction for quite sometime, we did not anticipate the move to the new terminal and baggage handling facility. While, this would seem to be a minor thing to adjust to, it meant quite a rearrangement to our schedule.
Since the facility change occurred just a week ago, the banks / currency exchange offices were not open and there were no bathrooms to be easily found. Being that we try to move the team through the airport expeditiously to get to our luggage, we had to go in search of a bathroom somewhere outside of the airport. After quite a bit of traffic, an Exxon station seemed to be the right calling.
Yet, we were looking to be quite a bit out of luck for currency conversions as all of the banks were closed at 1PM on Saturday, which was problematic for us again due to traffic. Luckily at our rest stop, Katok, midway on the road to Santa Cruz del Quiche, we were able to ask the right people on where to find a bank. Of course, this meant finding the bank in a small town off of the main highway with little assurances that it may be open. Success! Except then we had to convince the bank to convert $1,400 from various team members without the needed Guatemalan documentation. Success again (with a phone calls to override the system)!
So flexibility meant we were close to 2 hours late in our schedule for dinner and Communion Service / reflection. Yet, the team still worked hard to get ready for the next day by being flexible with their sleep needs.
So in everything we do,we always pack our flexibility first.
For many of us, our first day in Guatemala began on Friday morning in Houston. The anxiety, excitement and anticipation kept many of the team members from sleeping restfully the night before this new adventure began.
In some cases, team members tried to squeeze a last few moments preparing for when it was time for them to share their experiences of Christ's love with people whom they have yet to meet. (See, each team members has several specific tasks assigned to them, but what they don't know yet is that the tasks will not be completed by them alone. For their burden will be shared by their new missionary family and those they have come to serve.)
Yet, here it is - late into the evening of Saturday night. Little pitter, patter of feet hustling to and fro trying to get everything ready for the next day. Setting up our coffee for an early next morning. Preparing our snacks and condiments for Sunday's lunches. Showers trying to brush the dust of our exterior, while our insides are covered in fear of what's ahead.
The energy is present and the Presence is what has kept many of us going for the last 36 hours.
