On Friday, the Peru Subcommittee and spouses had dinner with Fr. Joe, Ginet, and Freddy and then met together in the Parish Hall with invited sponsors and supporters of the mission in Peru.
We began with the Peruvians sharing their journey to helping the poor at SantÃsimo Sacramento. Fr. Joe's story covered a long time from a conversion experience in high school to eventual pastor at SS. Part of his story is here. Ginet shared a powerful story of transitioning from a teacher who had never been in a poor house in Piura to managing 1,300 sponsored families. There were some wet eyes; well at least my two. Freddy told of how he got to work at SS by Fr. Joe gradually testing his abilities. Freddy is the "ropa hombre." You have to go to Piura to understand what this means.
We then showed the video of the first St. Monica-sponsored mission trip in June. It brought back great memories, again with teary eyes.
We finished with powerful witness talks from missionaries Alice Robin, Mark Mathison, and Christopher Barry. Many asked about next year's mission trip, wanting to capture some of what they heard.
The next mission trip is scheduled from June 5 to 14, 2009.
The photos is of Christopher and Mark preparing to bring the donated crucifix into the St. Monica Chapel in the village of Los Polvorines.
No comments:
Post a Comment