VISITORS SHARE THEIR LIVES AT MISSION

Friends and family,

We put our Campus Ministry students and Fr. Val, chaplain from Montana state University, on the Plane on Friday; we welcomed "Engineers without Borders", Carroll College Chapter, on Saturday, to our Mission of the Diocese of Helena, Montana, in Guatemala. The Engineers without Borders group  are here to do a project in our Junior, Senior High School, Asuncion; they will reinforce the walls to with stand earth quake tremors in the school library.  A very important precautionary measure.  There are two Engineers and nine students from Carroll College.

Our time with the Campus Ministry group from Montana State University was a delightful time of sharing and having fun.  They played soccer in the rain with our Clinic Team.  The score was tied; 7 to 7.  The five girls of Montana State made six of their seven goals. YEA for the Ladies!  They visited the school, Asuncion, played basket ball and hiked to the water falls near by.  They participated in several masses, including two in villages with lunches served by the communities. They spent a day in the Clinica Maxeña, learning about our health program. They went to our sustainable agricultural project in a village and worked with our team, clearing some more land for planting vegetables; a hard days work digging up some banana trees and coffee bushes.  Thanks so MUCH!

At the end of their time, we traveled to Lake Atitlan.  We stayed two days in a simple hostal, and walked about this indigenous town; the town is famous for beautiful paintings, carvings and weavings.  We crossed the lake in a Launch to another town, San Pedro, which also has many cultural sites, including a beautiful church with a huge statue of St Peter, surrounded by a gorgeous parish garden, with beautiful flowers and trees. The highlight was a mass celebrated by Father Val in the chapel, bedroom, where Father Stan Rother of the Oklahoma Diocese was assasinated by the Guatemalan Military in 1981. His case for Martydom  has been presented to Rome this past July by the Guatemalan Catholic Church.

We are blessed with the Love of these visitors who share their time, talent and treasure with us.  You can also help us by your prayers and donations.  Please donate on line at:
http://catalog.diocesehelena.org/Guatemala-Mission-c10/   NOTE FOR THE CLINICA MAXEÑA

Love sheila!

MOTHERS DAY IN GUATEMALA

FRIENDS AND FAMILY!

MOTHERS DAY in my home was always a special Holiday.  Mom loved Mothers Day and she loved receiving presents.  She used to say; BE GOOD to MOM; you will miss me when I am gone!  We certainly do but we know she is in God's GLORY with my DAD and she is at peace!.

Here Mother's Day is also special.  Moms are not expected to work this day.  I am not sure if it is a Labor Law but it is certainly has always been honored in our Clinic. Today at dawn, loud speakers, music and bombs awakened the population to the celebration.  Schools celebrate on different days but in town the new Mayor sent his workers door to door with a red rose for each mom.  There are 13,000 population so I am sure it was not all moms that received the honor of the Rose at their door.  Our kitchen and laundry workers were very gracious to work today for our guests. We are hosting 10 students of Montana State University Campus Ministry, from Bozeman, MT. and their Chaplain, Father Val.

This morning, our guests from Montana State University, and ten of our clinic workers, went to our little plot of farming land in a nearby village. This is part of our sustainable agricultural and nutrition project. This land was loaned to us by one of our workers, Maria, an auxilliar nurse in the Clinica Maxena,  to plant a demonstrative organic vegetable and herb garden. Today our intent was to prepare an extension of the adjacent land for more vegetables. It was necessary to knock down some bananna trees and remove some coffee bushes, which Maria the owner of this small plot had approved.   In 2011 we had two successful harvests of  the herb WATER CRESS or BERRO in this garden and shared the harvest with the moms and children in our nutrition class and also the Diabetic Club.  We also presented Berro in our promotion of organic foods during World Day of Hunger. We have also another demonstrative garden of organic vegetables on our Mission Property.  This project is a success and extending our garden is important with the increase hunger and need to continue to encourage the population to return to planting MOTHER EARTH!

Thank You for your prayers and donations. Send on line at for Clinica Maxeña:

http://catalog.diocesehelena.org/Guatemala-Mission-c/10

THANK YOU
SHEILA

WORK and CELEBRATION

Good evening family and friends,

It has been a very busy day in the clinic. We sent six patients to a hospital of another mission for surgeries yesterday and all but one returned today to us.  Esmeralda is in the Cancer Hospital in Guatemala City for Radiation for thyroid cancer; another will leave for Uterine Cancer and treatment possibilities Monday.   A young man is in our infirmary for acute abdominal pain and possible appendicitis.  We anticipate transferring him tonight to the National Hospital for further diagnostic exams and possible surgery.  We had to decrease our staff due to economic crisis but it seems that our patient census is increasing daily.

Tomorrow we will take a breather to come together with music of our band and prayer for a general and Pastoral meeting.  We will celebrate the day of the WORKER, or May Day as called in the United states.  In this country the day of the WORKER is a national holiday and workers did come out in many of the larger cities to protest for their rights. May 10th is Mother's day so we will honor the mothers among the workers and also our own mothers and wives.  May 3rd, the Day of the Cross, honors construction Workers; we salute our head of maintenance for 18 years, Martin Lopez. We will celebrate with tamales and pineapple drink!  We are expecting Campus Ministry students from Montana State University and Engineers without Borders, Carroll College Chapter during May; we must plan their days.  The rains are starting; our organic garden is growing; our bunnies multiplying; chickens laying eggs; malnourished babies recovering, so much to give thanks for!

THANK YOU FOR PRAYERS AND SUPPORT!!!

DONATE ON LINE AT:
http://catalog.diocesehelena.org/Guatemala-Mission-c10/
for the CLINICA MAXEÑA

BLESSINGS FROM ALL OF US.