November Mission Trip Overview

On November 19th, five parishioners returned from a busy and productive mission trip to visit our two sister parishes in Nuestro Señor de la Agonia in Manto, and Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria in Salamá. The area within these two parish is equal to one third of El Salvador! The opportunity to visit with the people gives us the ability to advocate for them after we return to St. Elizabeth's. There are so many projects and programs that are successfully being overseen or completed, and several new projects identified while visiting our brothers and sisters in Honduras during our blessed trip!

  • We are subsudizing the construction of a rectory in a town named Guata (part of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria). Guata is in the northernmost region of the parish, so it will be a big help for a visiting priest to have a place to sleep, and the building will provide a space for the layity and other religious to meet.
  • A 200 year old church in another town of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria named Jano has a beautiful dome that is crumbling and falling apart. We hope to help the parish repair such a precious part of God's House.
  • We visitied a small church in a village named La Estancia, also part of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, where we had helped them with a new metal roof, since the old one was falling apart and leaking rain throughout the church. There we celebrated a very special Mass with the parishioners.
  • Another village chapel we visited, named Yupite, was in a town named El Rosario (also in Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria). This chapel was small, but the people so proud to have us participate in the blessing of the Chapel with them, and there were First Confessions, First Holy Communions, Baptisms, and presentations of newborns! When a priest arrives at one of the remote villages, the people celebrate as many sacraments as possible! The construction of this chapel began years ago, but the people ran out of funds to complete it, so last year we helped with a roof, floor, and a door.
  • We visited with the Carmelite sisters in Guata, who reported on the success and trials of overseeing 30 scholarships last year. Several students graduated high school, however the funds we provided were not enough to cover the expenses of travel from where they live to the nearest high school, or "Instito." The Sisters covered the remaining costs out of their stipends (we reimbursed them), and now the Mission Council will consider the possibility of increasing the amount offered per student, if our budget allows.
  • There is a mountain village named Agua Caliente in Manto, Nuestro Señor de la Agonia, that recently suffered significant damage during a strong storm, even blowing the roof off. We will hopefully be able to help them with repair costs, including a new roof.
  • The Sisters of the Presentation, also in Nuestro Señor de la Agonia, need many repairs on their currently-unusable truck in order to reach outlying mountain villages, and they need a new set of tires (desperately!) They live simply and on a very small allowance each month, so we are also trying to arrange physical, eye and dental exams for the Sisters. From where they live, it will be a two hour bus ride to get to the doctors!
  • There are two Meriendas (Milk Lines), one in Manto and the other other in a community in Nuestro Señor de la Agonia named Guarizama. We visited both, and we were delighted with their recitation of prayers and songs of worship! The number of children attending the programs swelled by at least 40 per week - we now have about 50 in Manto and 120 in Guarizama. The kitchen area in Guarizama needs some working appliances (broken stove, etc.), but other than that the programs are doing what they are designed to do - feed the children (and the volunteers) while leading them closer and closer to Jesus!
  • In Nuestro Señor de la Agonia we support another 55 scholarships. We met with several of the students and their parents, who expressed sincere gratitude for the opportunity to continue the children's education, and affirmed their continued prayers for our parish family.
  • Also in Nuestro Señor de la Agonia, a new program will begin in January of 2013. It is a tutoring program for those children who desire to spend more of their time concentrating on their education, and it will allow them access to the internet on occassion (when it is working, and always under supervision).

As you can see, we have a very active, engaged, and prayerful partnership with thousands upon thousands of people in Honduras! While there, we are always overwhelmed at the appreciation, hospitality, and countless prayers offered to St. Elizabeth's for what we are able to contribute to their parish families.