50 YEARS OF MISSION!!

The 50th Anniversary of the Mission of the Diocese of Helena, MT. is to be celebrated on February 8, 2014.  It does not seem possible.  I was blessed to be one of the first missionaries, arriving as a lay Missionary in 1966.  I witnessed the construction of the buildings, the planting of the trees, the beginning of the Coffee Cooperative,  the beginnings of our Health Program, all part of our mission today.

There were many foriegn missionaries of the Catholic Church in the sixties.  Schools and clinics were built. We celebrated together on holidays.  We visited each others projects and shared ideas and faith.
Times changed. Most of the mission are now run by local Guatemalans. Spanish is the language most spoken and holidays now celebrated with local customs.  Many missionaries,  volunteers, visitors, friends, contributed time and talent to develop different aspects of our mission programs.  Most important donors and friends, family, and our Diocesean Mission office and parishes  contributed to make work and progress possible through donation and prayer.

The people are still very poor.  Injustice is as common as it was almost 50 years ago. Education is more available to both girls and boys and the majority of children finish primary school in public schools.
Fr Jim Hazelton contributed immensely to the reality to education in the area of our mission.  He initiated primary schools in most of the communities, where no primary local schools previously existed.  He established two successful junior and senior high schools, in Santa Maria Visitacion and Asuncion in Xejuyup, Nahuala, Solola.

The armed struggle, which terminated in a peace accord in 1996, was accredited much to Cardinal Quedzada Torruno. THERE are MORE MEDICAL CENTERS OF HEALTH of the government present in the rural area but there are NO MEDICINES!  Narcotraffic, Extorsion, Gold Mines and Hidroelectric plants are the reality of exploitation of the poor and their lands in the present reality. THE POOR ARE MORE POOR!  The violence continues. PRAY FOR US!

THE CHURCH IS VERY PRESENT!! ACCOMPANY US WITH PRAYER AND DONATION.

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TALENTED, COMMITTED WORKERS MULTIPLY RESULTS OF WEEKS ACCOMPLISHMENT!

This past week has been busy.  Many patients passed consult with our Doctor.  Preparations of wood for clinic roof has begun as more wood is ordered and brought to the Mission Property in large town trucks.  Workshop and area of Maintenance is cleaned and secured for wood arrival.

The Day of the WORKER is celebrated in our "BUEN VIVIR" Booth on MAY 1st.  Juana and Metchas, Clinic Cooks, rise early to prepare Tamalitos of the Plant Izote, which grows on our Mission Property.  Miguel Guarchaj, experienced WORKER in Sustainable Agriculture, welcomes patients to listen to Health advice, with a loud speaker, from the Buen Vivir Booth. Tamalitos quickly disappear at 2 quetzales each. Workers come out to relax for a few minutes and also enjoy tamalitos and organic coffee.  Diego Tunay brings Bamboo Baskets to the Booth to advertise them and market them.
He is a young, unemployed, Insulin dependent Diabetic, known well by the Clinica Maxeña.

A week later.

Saturday, Diego Tunay traveled with myself, and Cirilo to Panajachel.  We left him with a friend who has a beaded jewelry shop and who had agreed to teach some jewelry making to Diego. Diego was eager and quick to learn.  He was delighted as he made two rings and a necklace.  They invited him to return so to learn bracelets and other items.  Meanwhile myself and Cirilo visited the sidewalk shops and bought many beautiful Mayan craft items for my scheduled visit to my home in Montana.  I hope to be able to sell some Guatemala weavings and jewelry, hopefully at the Irish Festival in Butte, Montana on August 9, 10, and 11th.

Today six field workers left for a course at IMAP, three of them clinic workers.  IMAP is the Institute of Permaculture whose focus is sharing knowledge of Mayan Ancestral customs and organic sustainable gardening.  The Clinica Maxeña's Sustainable Agriculture team hopes to form a local Association to expand and share their knowledge with local farmers, from different communities, to work together in solidarity, to improve their lives and grow local herbs, and vegetables.  Todays course is on diversification in planting and will focus on corn fields.  The cost of the course is twelve dollars per individual; the clinic is paying the inscription for all who went with the clinic team.

Today, myself and Cirilo, the accountant, and the clinic kitchen crew will plan for the visit of Pastoral Ministry Students, from Carroll College, in Helena, Montana to our Mission; 16 students will arrive on May 13th for 8 days.

At dawn our 18 year old patient, Magdalena, left by the town ambulance, accompanied by Chico, a clinic worker, for re consult following chemotherapy.  She has a severe advanced Lymphoma on her face, covering one eye. Please remember her in PRAYER.

HAVE A GOOD WEEK!  GREETINGS FROM THE CLINICA MAXEÑA.

FOLLOW UPDATES ON FACEBOOK OF THE CLINICA MAXEÑA.  THANKS.

Sheila McShane
Director
Clinica Maxeña

Sustainable Agriculture and our "GOOD LIFE BOOTH"

Friends and Family,

We have spent a lot of energy and interest in organic gardens, promotion of nutritional food, reality of hunger in our midst, malnourished infants and children.   The Clinic has two demonstrative gardens; these gardens are used to teach and also for sharing the harvest, with malnourished children, in our nutrition project.  We do not have many answers but we realize we cannot deny the reality around us and have to look for solutions and organize.

We began to look to the EARTH for some answers a few years ago. Our interest and project of sustainable agriculture continues to grow and gain more interest.  We hope to soon form an ASSOCIATION, "LA MAXEÑA".  The center of the HUB will be our representatives of the Clinica Maxeña, of Sustainable Agriculture.  Others we hope will come from at least four other communities.  We have invited men of the fields, through our Pastoral Social Ministry, of the villages.  The objective will be to plant more family and community gardens and to work together in each others gardens to form solidarity. It is not religion based project, however, "ALL ARE WELCOME".

We also are pleased that our small booth, constructed from BAMBOO, is an effective voice to adervise our IDEAS and HOPES! "BUEN VIVIR", "GOOD LIFE".  This booth is located in front of the Clinic.  Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, clinic leaders share themes of good health and nutrition.  We have had campus Ministry students from the University assist us to clear a plot of land and prepare for planting in a nearby village.  This small piece of communal land was loaned to us by one of the Clinic Workers.

  "POCO A POCO"; " LITTLE BY LITTLE"!

We will hear reports next week, in our general Clinic meeting, of workshops of sustainable agriculture attended by three workers.  "Together we can, change our world"

The Changing Times of Mission

Friends and family,

It is a quiet Sunday. Many visitors have passed through; we hosted the Rotary Club representatives of Libby, Montana, Campus Ministry students of the University of Great Falls, and the Opthalmologist  team of Montana and California for eye surgeries in the Clinica Maxeña.  Also came Representatives from Swedish organization, AGNI.  This organization goes back to the seventies for providing monetary donation to the Clinica Maxeña.

Missionary interest for long terms is a vocation of the past. Young folk are interested in volunteering for a few months, maybe a year.  Language and culture take time to learn and appreciate.   Investment to learn a foriegn language,  provide a stipend, insurance and air fare, for short terms is beyond the Mission budget.  We are reaching our 50 years of Mission.  We know we must also look in to local talent and commitment for Mission positions.  All of this is in discussion phase.

Life in the Missions however is still a reality of poverty for the majority of Mayan Indigenous. We have made progress in education, and understanding disease and its causes. Medicine however, world wide, is BIG BUSINESS.  The wealthy have a better chance of surviving disease and living a longer life.  Although there is a socialized system with National Hospitals and Government Clinics, attention is sub standard, with little medicine available and decreased staff.  Patients will sell their land, for an operation, that is not available in the National Hospital. Cancer is not treated in the National system, although there are dedicated Doctors, who continue to fight for this HUMAN RIGHT in Health Care.

Our recent Eye Sugeries in Clinica Maxeña benefitted over 200 patients.  Many had cataract surgery free of charge, where others paid 100. dollars.  We are thankful for this service which takes place, twice a year, in the Clinic, for the last 16 years.  We are thankful to the DOCTORS AND NURSES, who use their own resources to come here, plus supplies of medicines and equipment.

As a long term Missionary, I still believe we have a place here, to share our talent and treasure, with the POOR. In 2014 we will celebrate 50 YEARS of MISSION for the Diocese of Helena, Montana.
PRAY FOR OUR MISSION OF SERVICE IN GUATEMALA.  THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND INTEREST.