Sts Sts Pe Pete ter r & Pa Paul ul Pa Pari rish sh Gua uatemal temala a Mi Missi ssion on
Guatema temala la is a s a Mexico coun untry try abo bout ut the he si size e of the he st state ate of Ohi hio. It It is s located ted in n Guatemala Cent Ce ntra ral l Ame America ca ju just st so south th of Mex exico. o.
• The popul ulat atio ion of Gua uatemal mala a is about ut 13 millio ion • 3 millio ion of these people e live e in the capital, tal, Gua uatemal emala a City • 60% of the Gua uatemala malan popul ulation ation speak Spanish sh • 40% speak one of 23 different erent indige genou nous s language guages
Sts. Peter & Paul’s Representatives April 2001 Fr. Tom, Jeff Fuetter, Jay Kayser, Norm Klass July 2002 Fr. Tom, Pat Kaple, Ruthie Hemrick, Cathy Klass, Katelyn Klass, Gillian Klass, Taryn Ruhe April 2005 Norm Klass, Dan & Deb Velasquez, Kathy Klass, (Fr. Bill Bleuth), Jeff & Brenda Alt
Th The e im impo port rtance e of of our our fi firs rst tri rip: p: • Assur ure e that our ur new p parish ish was of a small l rur ural al commu munity, ity, jus ust as Saints Peter & Paul ul. • To plant the seeds of a friendly ndly relat atio ionship hip with the families lies of our ur new si sister r parish ish. • And to make a covenan nant to hold d each other r in pray ayer, er, regul ular ar commun unica ication, ion, and accoun ountability tability for financia cial l assistan tance ce.
Break eaking ng bread d with our new friends nds.
Building relationships as we toured the community
Fr. r. Tom m pre resi sides des at the 2001 First rst Commun mmunion ion ma mass ss
The community’s need for water was ev eviden ent t to our ur tea eam as we we beg egan n to foster er this new ew re relation onshi hip. This man mus ust make e a 15 5 min walk k each day to brin ing g water r to his family ily.
Thi his s is wh s where re a fa a fami mily ly wi will l ba bathe he, , cook ook, , an and d do do wa wash shing. ng.
This natural spring is a popular site for many to gather in the morning to do laundry.
Fr. Tom blesses this newly hand-dug well for a family. The water will still need to be boiled before consumption.
After much thought and prayer we came to the understanding that beyond love, the greatest gift we could give this community would be access to clean water through the drilling of a sanitary well.
Our Covenan ant At the conclusio usion of our ur first trip in 2 2001 1 this covenan nant was dra rawn n up up a and signed d by members rs of both paris rishes hes. We made e a commit mitme ment nt to be respo ponsibl ible, e, hum umble, le, in trus ust, un unity, , frat aternity ernity, , commit mitme ment, nt, and to grow ow in f faith h and hope. e.
Upo pon re returni urning g ho home, me, we we fo foun und d our ur miss mi ssio ion ha had d ju just st be begun. n. • Out of f ma many me meeti tings ngs cam ame our r pl plan an to as ask the he pa pari rishi shioners oners of f Sts. s. Pe Peter er & Pa Paul ul Pa Pari rish sh to he help p ra raise se su suff fficient ient fu funds ds du duri ring ng the he ad adve vent nt se seas ason. on. • Through hrough the he wo work rks s of f the he Holy y Spi piri rit, t, we we we were re bl bless ssed ed at at Chr hristma stmas s to ha have ve raise ra sed d ove ver r $58,000 000 towards wards the he construct nstruction ion of f a we a well. l.
Less ss tha han one year ar fr from m our r fi firs rst vi visi sit, t, our r si sist ster r pa pari rish sh st stru ruck k clean an wat ater er at at a de a dept pth h of f 600 00 fe feet, t, with h a a flow fl ow ra rate of f ove ver r 285 gal allons lons pe per r mi minute. ute.
Our 2002 mission … Blessing of the well
Los Vados: meaning crossing the river
Padre Tomas (Father Tom) said a few words at the blessing of the well.
The local men are very proud of all the hard work they put into building the holding tanks by hand.
As a parish, we need to continue to pray for the completion of the water project. We have begun a relationship that will continue to blossom as we grow in mutual love and support. You can be assured that they are holding us in prayer and love as well. Gracias
In 2004 our parish received some pictures of the progress that was being made.
April 2005
All that they’ve accomplished!
Additional benefits:
And our project continues in friendship & community with the people of Los Vados
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