Photos
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Guatemala Partnership
Our gracious host was the Parish of Santa Cruz in Chiquimullilia. Santa Cruz was our home base in Guatemala, the place where we convened, prayed, and ate our meals. Padre Raul, the pastor, was our host. The people and staff there were our guides, cooked and served our meals, and hosted us in their homes for a night. We are deeply grateful for their help.
One of the first places that we visited, La Moreno was a very poor community. It formed around a farm that had been owned by a single indivdual. We were there for presentation of scholarships sponsored by CRS Metuchen that came in the form of food. We visited a clinic sponsored by St. Peters, the home of the Sanchez family who received one of the scholarships and their chapel. It is a place that awakened us to many of the issues facing the poor of Guatemala and provided many lessons
CRS Metuchen has started great work in Guatemala. The village of Juan Pablo II (John Paul II) was built by the Vatican in response to the devastation of hurricane Mitch. CRS Metuchen has been continuing work there by sponsoring a water project there. St. Peters also is sponsoring a clinic that provides medical services. We met at the clinic, saw the water project and visited the people there. We learned about the impact of infrastructure projects and water, the importance of health care and the systems by which it is delivered.
Meeting the Bishop and Seminarians
The success of our partnership will be founded on the relationships that we build and responding to the needs and vision of the people from the Diocese of Santa Rosa. We met with Bishop Bernabe and began to build our relationship, learning about the needs of the Diocese and his vision of our partnership. We also had the chance to visit a High School Seminary and learn about vocations as well as some beautiful churches.
The Parish of Santa Cruz is vast. It is centered in Chiquimullilia but also includes many remote towns and villages, many of which have their own chapels. One of the most remote areas is the village of Hawaii that is on the Pacific Coast. While there, we saw fish and shrimp farms which were just beginning as a new form of business there. We also visited the home of a parishoner and learned how many there form a living by harvesting shrimp from the canal that parallels the ocean.
Places, Architecture, and Images
Guatemala was a tapestry of places and images. Captured here are images of the cities, architecture, and places that we saw.
Delegates, Fun and the People We Met
We were there to lay the foundation of a partnership, but we did have fun! We laughed, built great friendships, and met so many great people. Here a few pictures of us all sharing that great experience.
