This view shows the cemetery on the left side of the Mission behind a 6 foot wall. The hills in the background are Mission Peek.
Old Mission San Jose
On Sunday afternoon, the parish held a big fiesta to say
As in many developing countries, tap water is not drinkable. Water-borne diseases are a major source of illness and death in Guatemala. Brayan
Jill Popolizio with CFCA sponsored child Elsa.
Marlene Kowalski with CFCA sponsored child Neyda.
Kay Tierney with CFCA sponsored child Erika.
Various groups from the parish prepared and served the meals. Most meals were served in the church hall with anywhere from 20 to 40 people. It was very moving to see people arriving on foot, by bus, or sometimes by car carrying all the food and bringing their best dishes, glasses, silverware, and tablecloths from home. Rising gas and food prices have had a huge impact on their lives, but they served their visitors like royalty. It was very humbling to see how much gave when they have so little. The parish doesn't have a kitchen, so after eating, people had to carry their dirty dishes home to wash them.
Msgr. Simas enjoyed his visit to the day care center of Villa Lobos II. The day care center has been funded by a German group that is no longer able to continue its support. The center, which is desperately needed, is in danger of closing if another source of support is not found.
The St. Joseph youth group sent an altar cloth with their hand prints to the Guatemala parish. Here, the Santa Maria del Camino youth are painting an altar cloth for St. Joseph parish.
Some members of St. Joseph parish also sponsor children through the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA), a Catholic lay organization that provides services to the poor in 25 developing countries around the world. During this visit, sponsors had the opportunity to spend time with their sponsored children.
In this photo, Bill Norwalk and his daughter Victoria (right) with CFCA sponsored teen Mario.
On their first day in Guatemala, the group visited Jessica.
She is unable to walk and is in need of a surgery, but her family is unable to afford the surgery. The family has adapted their dirt-floor, tin-roof, windowless home so that Jessica can perform physical therapy exercises at home. She lays on the dirt floor and uses pulleys connected to soda bottles filled with sand to build up her arm strength.
2008
Sister parish visit
This young man epitomizes the enthusiasm the people feel about this water project.
The municipal water is not safe to drink, but the cost of bottled water is prohibitive for many people in living in this area. Therefore, intestinal illnesses are common, and all to often lead to serious illness and premature death. This project allows people to buy a 5-gallon jug of water for 4 Quetzals (about 55 cents). The street price varies between 9-15 Quetzals.
Guatemalan women often carry heavy loads on their heads.
This family uses a wheelbarrow to carry 120 pounds of water home.
But even a 90 minute wait didn’t discourage these boys...and now they have a 40-pound jug to carry home.
On Saturday, the water system was up and running at full speed. The line was so long that people waited more than 90 minutes to get water.
Over 1,000 people attended the Friday afternoon dedication—a real testament to the need for such a project.
On April 27, 2007, we once again teamed up with Healing Waters International to dedicate a water purification system in Guatemala. This one is in Dios Con Nosotros Catholic Church in Mezquital, which is very near our sister parish (Santa Maria del Camino in Villa Lobos I). Because few people have cars, many walked long distances to come to the dedication.
