IN THE QUIET OF THE MORNING

GOOD MORNING,

It is Independence weekend.  The Clinic is closed until Tuesday.  Monday is the BIG DAY!  There will be fireworks, crowds of people, parades of marching student, bands to accompany them, speakers, and much more. Last Night students from all local schools, started returning from Excursions, carrying the Torch for Freedom, as they entered town; the crowds awaited them with Fire Crackers, Bombs and Bands.

The Clinic built a CIVIC ALTAR in the Reception of the Clinica Maxeña and a Guatemala Flag hangs on the second floor balcony wall.  Workers speak each day, in front of the Clinic, at the Buen Vivir Booth.  This weeks talks focused on Independence Day and the Monsanto Law. Delicious organic snacks offer for small charge. Much of the food are herbs from our garden or chuck of meat, pecaya, or hard boiled egg, served also with sauce and three organic tortillas and Organic Coffee.

Our Civic Altar was dedicated to celebrating the overturning the Monsanto Law,  recently passed by Congress. This law would have taken control of the Mayans Native seeds, and herbs that never have been patented, but grow wild in the mountains and available to all.  This law would also have allowed the genetically altered seeds and plants to be promoted and available.  These native plants are nutritive, free and aid now a bit in the reality of hunger and unemployment.  Some village people do bring them to market to sell and actually this is a way of the POOR to obtain a bit of money to buy corn, if they do not have space to grow. A drought destroyed much of the corn crop and prices are rising daily for corn.

Last week, Popular Groups, Mayan leaders and followers, thousands of field workers, took to the hi ways and blocked traffic for hours. The purpose of the Protest, was to overturn the Monsanto Law, recently passed by Congress.This tactic, by the Popular Movement, is effective in Protests.  Next week they will protest again; this time the introduction of Mines and Hydro electric Plants that are destroying and occupying Mayan Land for these projects, without paying the actual owners of the land, and electricity costs continue to rise. The Mines are contaminating the water and causing more illness and poverty.

Today two clinic workers traveled to another town to purchase and bring back 500 seeding plants of AMARANTO, or BLEDO.  This plant is a native seed and grows best in a little higher altitude and is excellent for treating malnourished children.  We have a small patch of land borrowed to us by one of our worker in a mountain village,  and the clinic will plant at least 150 of these plants, on this land, for consumption in our Nutrition Project and Buen Vivir Booth. Workers will purchase the remainder of the plants at less than two dollars each plant.  This plant will then re seeds itself.

 We hope we are contributing to awakening the younger population to return to their Native Culture of eating these nutritive plants.  Now on every corner and in the villages, greasy fried chicken, french fries, Coca Cola, Tortrix and chips are very popular and choice of student populations.

Have a GOOD DAY!  Happy Independence Day to all Guatemalans and a MORE JUST WORLD.

Sheila from the Clinica Maxeña in Guatemala and Missuion Clinic of the Diocese of Helena Montana.

You can donate to our Clinic, serving the most POOR at:

Guatemala Mission
Diocese of Helena
P.O. Box 1729
Helena, MT
59624           Be sure to Note for the Clinica Maxeña.

THANK YOU.

GREETINGS OF LOVE AND GRATITUDE FROM THE CLINICA MAXEÑA

                                                                                                                  JULY 30, 2014
                                     
                                      GREETINGS OF LOVE AND GRATITUDE



DEAR FRIENDS AND FAMILY, from Our Mission in Guatemala!

The Clinica Maxeña is in its forty eighth year of service, in the parish of St Thomas Apostle in Guatemala, the Mission of the Diocese of Helena, MT. Our Diocese responded to a call by our Pope, to send Missionaries to Latin America, in 1964.

Many Missionaries, volunteers, medical teams, friends, family have visited and donated time, talent and gifts to our Mission. Many have and continue to be generous donors to our work in the Vineyard of the LORD. Campus Ministry students and their pastors come yearly to learn the culture, make friends, share faith gifts and work in our Agriculture Project and share in our Parish Junior, Senior High School.

This Month of July, the earth trembled and rains poured from the heavens. There was minimal damage in our area, from an Earthquake of 6.6 on the Richter.

Recently Refugees and Immigrants are fleeing into the United States, over the U.S., Mexican Border. There is HUNGER, VIOLENCE, UNEMPLOYMENT, and ALARMING POVERTY. Answers will not come easily. Our Health response to the critical health needs of the day is guided by PASTORAL HEALTH of our DIOCESE and by Our Faith. More and more patients come to the Clinic requesting relief of their symptoms of acute and chronic illness; many more now cannot pay. More infants are enrolled in our Nutrition Project for malnutrition.

The Clinica Maxeña has a Sustainable Agriculture Program that we continue to see as a partial solution. Land is scarce but we believe the Mayans must return more to the EARTH. Fields of Corn, Herbs and Vegetables will help ease the Hunger and it is an URGENT NEED. The Coffee Harvest will fail again because of the continued plague of a Coffee fungus, in the coastal area of our Mission.

We are reaching out to our FRIENDS and people of Faith to help us to our respond to this crisis. Any small donation is deeply appreciated.

You can send your donation to: the following address:
Diocese of Helena Montana
GUATEMALA MISSION
P.O. Box 1729 Helena, MT. 59624

PLEASE NOTE FOR THE CLINICA MAXEÑA.

THANK YOU!

Sheila McShane

EASTER JOY FROM GUATEMALA

EASTER JOY FROM GUATEMALA

April 20, 2014

Friends and Family,

Guatemala Mission                                              

I am writing this letter on Easter Sunday. Holy Week is over.  Beautiful customs, traditions, and beliefs are part of Holy Week celebrations.  The Passion and Death of Jesus is re enacted, with great drama and color, in small towns and cities, in the streets, and in churches. On Holy Thursday, families share bread with friends and strangers. Washing of the Feet of the Disciples, and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, are part of our Holy Thursday Church Services.  On Good Friday, the Passion and Death of Christ, is dramatized on the streets of every town, and in Church liturgies.  In the past, the climax of Holy Week was Good Friday.  The Church has always emphasized the Resurrection, but only recently has it become the focus of celebration here. Following Easter Vigil, images of the Resurrected Christ and Mary, the Mother of Sorrows, are carried on shoulders of Parish Youth, and come together, in front of the Church, for the “Encounter”! Images of Mary, the Sorrowful Mother, and the Resurrected Christ, bow to one another, as the youth genuflect with the images.  Bombs, music, fireworks fill the sky with glorious songs! “CHRIST IS RISEN”, IN OUR LIVES.

I want to thank you, for your generosity and caring for the POOR, in the Clinica Maxeña. I thank you for your private donations and your support of the ACA Campaign of the Diocese of Helena, MT.  Our Guatemala Mission is in its 50^th year, our “GOLDEN JUBILEE”!  THANK YOU!

Please Continue to support our Clinic                     Check out Facebook for

Donations can be sent to:                                             CLINICA  MAXEÑA

Guatemala Mission                                              Diocese of Helena

P.O. Box 1729

Helena, MT. 59624 

NOTE FOR CLINICA MAXEÑA

                                                                                               

EASTER BLESSINGS

Sheila McShane 

Diabetes and Cancer with the POOR

We are coming to the end of the year 2013.  Our Clinic was founded in 1966.  So many years have passed.  We have been present to the PEOPLE in their lives and sufferings. Our very first clinic had a dirt floor, no light or running water.  Myself and another young nurse came as Papal Volunteers for Latin America.  Our commitment was for three years...I have witnessed many changes, progress and suffering. In the year of 2014, we are witnessing, a decrease in funds for our work, as our Diocese struggles with economic issues. The Coffee harvest and salary for field workers is unjust; there is hunger and disease among the POOR.  The Diseases are more complex and costly to cure.  Diabetes is pandemic in the World. Guatemala has over 1 MILLION Diabetics, according to the newspaper report on November 14, 2013.  Cancer is also diagnosed more frequently in the Clinica Maxeña but treatment centers for the POOR do not exist.  The Clinica Maxeña also performs Papanicolau exams and has succeeded in arresting this cancer, with chemotherapy and radiation, in a few women; others have not survived, following minimal treatment provided by the Center for Cancerlogia, INCAN, in Guatemala City.  INCAN is the only CANCER CENTER in a Country of 13 Million population!  A Project for the NEEDY, of Sister Anna, ANGEL PROJECT, helps defray costs for Cancer patients of the Clinic. . Today, a special BREAST cancer patient with Lung metastasis, Maria, will be buried.  She spent the last night in our clinic with oxygen, before dying in our car, as we took her home to be with her family.
Here she stands in her kitchen, over a year ago.  The treatment did give her more time to be with her six children, for awhile longer.

Thank You for your interest in the People of Guatemala and the CLINICA MAXEÑA!