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JACKSON—After a mission trip to serve the poor in Guatemala,
those leading the Friends of Guatemala Mission hope to continue to serve
through prayer and the help of others.
The Friends of Guatemala Mission, a nonprofit organization
dedicated to serving the people of Izabal, Guatemala, was formed last year by
Olga Myers, the coordinator for over nine years of the Magnificat ministry for
women, and her husband, Roy, who live in Jackson, and by others from the
Jackson Catholic community.
Two summers ago while boating on Lake Jackson, two doctors from
St. Mary’s Church in Jackson visited the Spanish-style mission chapel,
Santa Maria del Lago, Roy Myers had built for his wife on the lakeside. Deeply
moved by the chapel that reminded them of churches in their native Puerto Rico,
Drs. Bernardo Maldonado and Gustavo Escalera asked to come back so their wives,
America Maldonado and Angela Escalera, could share the experience.
The couples, accompanied by Dr. Jorge Moreno and his wife,
Margarita, and other Hispanic friends, returned for a social and a Mass in the
chapel, celebrated by Father Milton Alvarez, CMF, spiritual advisor to
Magnificat and a native of Guatemala, and his 29-year-old nephew, a Guatemalan
priest.
After hearing of the devastation brought upon Guatemala by
Hurricane Mitch from the priests, several people expressed their desire to
serve as missionaries in this area of great need. A group was formed that would
become the Friends of Guatemala Mission.
After a reconnaissance trip by the Myers and Father Alvarez in
March 2000, where they were encouraged by the people and the bishop of the
vicariate, the Friends of Guatemala Mission worked to raise $12,000 and made
their first medical mission trip to the country in July.
Dr. Maldonado and Dr. Jorge Moreno Jr. and four nurses, Sharon
Bankston, Penny Foster, Crystal Preston and Doris Krenn, and mission staff
worked nine hours each day for one week traveling to the villages in Cayuga,
Rio Negro, Entre Rios and Puerto Barrios. They transported all the medicines
and equipment with them, even traveling in a dugout canoe.
With the help of the donors, 500 people in Guatemala were able to
have additional doctors and nurses, water while they waited for medical
treatment, electrical fans, medicines, vitamins and more up-to-date equipment
and technology to help the sick. A microscope was donated by Gene Pope, sheriff
of Jackson, to help diagnose medical problems.
“God was with us the whole trip,” Olga Myers said.
“It was so obvious his hand was on us.”
Currently, the ministry is still soliciting donations to help the
poor of Guatemala, such as a 23-year-old husband and father, who lost both of
his arms three inches below the elbow when he touched a high tension wire while
working on a job. The mission is attempting to provide financially for the man,
with the purchase of a functional prosthesis.
The mission is also trying to assist a 14-year-old boy who broke
his arm, which was later set incorrectly. The mission would like to provide the
finances for the child to undergo surgery in Guatemala City to regain use of
his arm.
The mission is assisting a 23-year-old man with kidney disease who
might need a transplant. The ministry is transferring his records to an
urologist in the United States for further evaluation.
Though the people of Guatemala are in need, Olga Myers said that
they believe strongly in God and his ability to help them.
“The faith of the people is what moves you,” she said.
“They have so little, yet they haven’t given up.”
Donations have come from the people of St. Mary’s in Jackson,
including RENEW 2000 groups, the Knights of Columbus, the Women’s Guild
and Emmaus Bible Study group, and from many merchants in the Jackson community,
who have donated funds and services. Help has also come from Christ Our Hope
Parish in Lithonia and pastor, Father Paul Flood, who raised funds through two
parish fish fries, and from the Redemptorist Fathers of Florida.
Tax-deductible donations may be sent to the Friends of Guatemala
Mission, P.O. Box 1431, Jackson, GA 30233. |
