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Please receive my cordial and affectious greetings, hoping you are enjoying the many blessings of our Lord.  The reason for my letter is to express my sincere thanks for the support and for granting me the scholarship, which was very helpful throughout the last year for my Computer Science degree.  It covered the school’s monthly payments as well as school supplies, food, and school bus fees, as I was commuting all the way to the Technical Institute of Mixed Industries, Guastatoya. I would also like to let you know I feel very happy because, without a doubt, this is a big accomplishment for me.  With God’s help, my family’s and yours, today I can say I am a professional.  I honored the memory of my mom, since she was unable to be with me physically, but she was in spirit, from Heaven and in my heart. Thank you so much for everything. May God bless every single one of you generous people!   

 

Thank you to everyone who has continued to support the collection for our Sister Parish in Guatemala or who has even made extra donations!  Fr. Baltazar and the other priests there have been very eager to pass on their gratitude for your generosity and to convey what an impact it is making.  The city where our sister parish is located, Guatatoya, has had cases of COVID-19, but so far everyone from the parish has recovered.

Since the start of COVID-19, we have sent an additional $3000 to our sister parish (beyond what we usually send) to help provide food for families that have lost work and income due to COVID-19.  This food is parceled out and distributed since they can no longer run their soup kitchen due to COVID-19 health restrictions.  To feed a family of 4 down there costs about $80/month.  This purchases the basics:  corn, beans, flour, sugar, and vegetables.  Some families also supplement their diet by raising chickens, allowing them eggs and, occasionally, meat.  Our sister parish is also supplying some toys to children who are restricted to being at home and need something to play with.  

In other news, their parish medical clinic is still running for those in need, but most other activities related to their parish life have been suspended due to current government health restrictions.  Additionally, for our Scholarship students down there, they are using the money for their transportation costs to pay for those families to have internet for virtual learning instead.  And, thankfully, they have been getting rain and are about to have the harvest--since they live in an arid area, the occasional rains they get are literally life-giving water for them.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support for the people of our sister parish!

Fun facts:  the Spanish word for "harvest" is "cosecha" (co-SAY-cha), for "rain" is "lluvia" (YOU-via), and for "toy" is "juguete" (who-GAY-tay).

As the graduate with the highest GPA, Juan Hernandez leads other graduates as he carries the Guatemalan flag.

Scholarship recipient, Ilson Estrade, graduated as the top student in class of mechanics.

Ilson Estrade with his 80 year-old grandmother, his cousin and brother, who are both scholarship recipients. They dream of someday owning a mechanical business together.

St. Clare Parishioners with Scholarship Recipients who have graduated from high school and tell us they are working for a better Guatemala.

79 year-old, Mercedes, is one of the farmers starting a coffee economic development project.

Coffee seedlings from seeds planted May 2011.  The farmers hope to plant the seedlings in May 2013.