FROM THE DIRECTOR…Dear Fellow Missionaries, Last month you read that I have the awesome task of replacing Fr. Don Bramble, O.P. as director of the Dominican Mission Foundation. Truly I am in awe of the generosity of so many that makes possible the support of our missionaries. This issue of Missionaries in Action is a letter from Bro. Raymond Bertheaux, O.P. thanking you for your gifts such that the Clinica Santo Domingo in Guatemala City could be up and running since being vandalized and decimated just a few months ago. My heartfelt thanks to you. I come to you with nearly 25 years as a priest in the Western Dominican Province. My assignments have been split between parish work and campus ministry. Most recently I finished four years serving at St. Andrew's Newman Center in Riverside, California. One of my tasks each year was to take a group of college students on an Alternative Spring Break to our Dominican parish in Mexicali. Some time I will tell you the story of moving rocks and trash from the site that became one of the churches. A parishioner at the Newman Center gave me great encouragement for this work when he heard that I had been assigned as director. He promised to be a bit more generous with his monthly gift if I sent him a personal note. So Bernie, if you are able, please this month send in a little more! Blessings, |
A THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY[Editor's note: In June Bro. Raymond Bertheaux, O.P. told
us of a robbery and asked for your assistance. Your generosity was overwhelming. This
month he writes a thank you note. He begins with the last paragraph of the June
newsletter.] "At the sound of the doorbell, 656 pounds of "float" (bearing the image
of the Dead Christ) and our sins, came down upon our shoulders. The weight seems to still
be there of the Dead Christ. Can you good people reading this lend a shoulder to cry on, a
shoulder to lean upon?" (Missionaries in Action, June 2002 - Vol. 29 No. 6.) You stepped into our place. You wiped away our tears and took upon your shoulders the weight of our burden - the elderly, single-mothers, widows, and children in need of medical attention. I informed the ladies of all your generous donations … just over $7,000.00! There was silence. Some brought their hands over their mouths in utter astonishment. Then one by one, they knelt down and in their way of spontaneous prayer, they were blessing your names to Our Savior and Our Lady. Some were wiping away tears of joy, even Dr. Julio Estrada, all because you wonderful people showed your solidarity. Through your generosity the weight of the awful robbery that took place at the Clinic of Santo Domingo this past Lent has been lifted.....Continue >>> |
