St. Mark Denton Guatemala Mission Team

Update from Patzun, July 27, 2011

2011-07-27T21:42:00.000-05:00

We're wrapping up a very busy and productive week in Patzun. The internet connection I'm on is pretty slow, so I can't upload pictures yet, but I can assure you we've had a great time and our efforts here are greatly appreciated.

We conducted medical clinics in 6 villages and treated people as old as 89 and as young as 28 day-old twin girls. As I write this we're finishing up an inventory of the pharmacy in order for the next group to know what is here and what to bring. I'm also bringing back letters (and pictures) from the students sponsored by St. Mark parishioners. Once they're translated we'll send them to you so you can see how you're helping out with your financial contribution.

Tonight at dinner Madre told us how grateful she was for the support from the parishes in the Diocese of Fort Worth. She expressed a strong hope that St. Mark parishioners will be able to continue sponsoring students at the school, and perhaps organize our own trips to help out in various ways. (In the past our trips have always involved two or more other parishes.) Madre expressed a desire to set up an urgent care program, and told several heart-rending stories of people who have suffered and died because of the lack of urgent medical care in the remote villages the nuns serve. She also indicated that some houses need to be built (and the money raised for the materials) as well as other health and educational needs in the community. She and Sister Augustina hope to visit North Texas in November or December to meet with parishes and talk about the program.

The mission program with the Carmelite sisters in Patzun is unique. Instead of randomly organized groups coming to stay at the convent and help out, the sisters work exclusively with seven parishes in the Fort Worth Diocese. Those are St. Mark, Immaculate Conception, St. Joseph Arlington, St. John North Richland Hills, Holy Family of Vernon, St. Rita in Fort Worth and St. Frances Cabrini in Granbury. Madre prefers to develop a long-term relationship with the parishes so that she can keep them informed of the progress and needs in the 40 villages served by the convent. She also likes to get to know us and enjoys seeing people visit multiple times.

I wish you could see how grateful the nuns are for our help, and how appreciative the people are for the simple care we provide. Everyone on this trip is moved by the poverty of the people as well as their deep faith in God and their love for everyone. Hugs, kisses, and thank yous in three different languages are abundant, and the smiles of the children are unforgettable. The beauty of the countryside is surpassed only by the beauty of the Guatemalan people and the Grace of God shining down on all.

Going on mission is a sacrifice, but we cannot forget the sacrifices of missionaries who came before us. On Sunday we visited Santiago Atitlan, a beautiful city on the shore of Lake Atitlan. The lake is surrounded by 12 volcanoes, named after the 12 Apostles. In the center of town is the church where Father Stanley Rother, formerly of Oklahoma City, was martyred on July 28, 1981. His murderers have never been caught, but it is widely believed he was killed by government agents because of his support of the indigenous people during Guatemala's long civil war. The room where he was killed is now a peaceful chapel and museum. As we fly home to Dallas/Fort Worth tomorrow, people from all over the Americas will converge on the church to commemorate the 30th anniversary of his death and continue to pray for sainthood. To the people of the western highlands of Guatemala, Fr. Rother is already a saint. Seeing the sacrifice he made for the indigenous people makes our petty sacrifices on this trip pale in comparison.

Our visit here is nearly finished, but our work here is not done. The needs of these people in this region are great. However, one is always struck by their dignity, their beauty, their love of family, and their faith. As we return to our complicated lives, we will always remember and pray for the people who touched us in many ways this week.

Samra Bufkins

St. Mark Parishioner going to Patzun July 22-28

2011-07-18T14:40:00.022-05:00

by Samra Bufkins

I'm blessed to be returning to Patzun this summer. I'm the only one from St. Mark going this time, and I hope we can keep the mission program going in the future.

Jean Meehan (who has been on several Patzun trips with Fr. Tim and folks from St. Mark) and her husband John are leading a group from their parish, St. Joseph Catholic Church in Arlington. They asked me if I wanted to go with them, since they know I can only go during the summer. We'll be providing basic medical services in the villages around Patzun, and taking a load of school supplies and warm clothing to Madre to distribute to the children. We've been through formation training by the Maryknoll Mission Education Team, and are ready to do God's work with the lovely people of the western highlands.

Much has changed since Fr. Tim and several parishioners went last January. We are not allowed to carry any medicines into the country now. St. Joseph's parish raised money, and we'll be purchasing prescription meds in Guatemala City upon our arrival.

We also have to pay to check a second bag, but $25 to us is nothing, considering most of the people we'll see make $2-$3 a day. It's worth it to take needed supplies to them.

We're all trying to sneak some over the counter meds in "for personal use." If somebody in Guatemala Customs does the math they'll think it odd that we've got Ibuprofen, Benadryl, Acetaminophen, and vitamins in 500 tab bottles for a one week trip. I may have to limp and hold my head as I go through immigration! We're all carrying large amounts of basics that we plan to leave there--assuming we get them through customs OK. (I'm hoping a little fib for the greater good doesn't mean too many days in Purgatory.)

People always ask why we don't just ship stuff to Patzun. Simply put: It wouldn't get there. In developing countries infrastructure for mail delivery and shipping is poor at best--and usually nonexistent--and many pieces of mail are simply not delivered.

Another thing that has changed is the violence. National elections in Guatemala are September 11, and it seems there's an assassination, or attempted assassination nearly every day. So far they've all been targeted toward candidates and their supporters, so we still feel safe going down now. There haven't yet been any random attacks on tourists or missionaries, and we're praying that continues.

We'll be arriving in Guatemala City Friday night and staying in a hotel, because it's not safe to be on the road to Patzun after dark. Apparently bandits patrol that road at night. Saturday morning we'll get the medicines that Jean and Dr. Meehan ordered from a local pharmacy, pick up a few essentials at the local Hyper Pais store, and drive to Patzun. After that, the schedule is up to Madre, the weather, and the Holy Spirit.

If I can get an internet signal I'll update this blog while I'm there, but if not, look for pictures and a trip summary upon our return.

Please keep us, the Carmelite sisters and the Guatemalan people in your prayers as we embark on this journey.

Your Sister in Christ, Samra

Blessed are the poor, theirs is the kingdom of God. Luke 6:20-23

Some thoughts on Guatemala from Father Tim

2011-02-13T15:11:00.003-06:00

A team of missioners just returned from its mission to Guatemala. Four people from St. Mark’s parish (including me, the pastor,) along with 12 from other parishes in the Fort Worth Diocese, spent 7 days working in the Carmelite mission in Patzun. While a few of us had been there before, the majority had not.

This was a medical mission and we went to about 6 different villages (on our day off, one doctor and some other team members attended another village) and met with about 150 patients over that time. Many of the complaints were pretty low level problems, muscle aches and pains, sore throats and ear infections but a few always come forward with very serious problems: the beginning of diabetes, high blood pressure, a heart condition and the like. These are the more challenging problems since they are much more difficult to treat and follow-up on. Paula, a local indigenous woman, does follow up on the patients who are on blood pressure medications or diabetes treatment but her supplies of medicine are limited as is her medical training. I admire her commitment and willingness to try.

Guatemala is a beautiful but very poor country. (You can read more about it on the other page of this blog.) We had a very elderly woman come to the clinic with her own complaints but then said that her daughter had not gotten out of bed for 2 weeks and was very sick. A doctor, a translator and I agreed to visit her. Very poor people. The two women lived in two mud huts with a dirt floor. The sick woman met us at the door but then went back to bed. The doctor attended to her while I waited outside. As I was standing there talking with the local catechist, a man came carrying a heavy load of corn on his back. He looked desperately poor, wearing only rags. He dropped the bag of corn next to the house (he actually fell to the ground with the corn on his back) and then said something incomprehensible. The catechist told me that he cannot speak but that his name was Pedro. He called his name and he left. The catechist told me that the man had nowhere to live but stayed here with the two women, presumably helping them by gathering food from the garden. He was a startling sight for me.

We had a fun day in Santiago-Attitlan, Guatemala. It is more of a tourist town with a beautiful church, gorgeous view of the lake and a nice restaurant owned by an American couple. After a nice lunch (taquitos for me) we did some shopping for souvenirs.

We also visited the church where Fr. Stanley Rother, a missionary from Oklahoma, was shot to death in 1981. He dedicated his life to the indigenous people of Guatemala.

Fr. Tim

Photos by Bill Bufkins.

January 2011 Mission Trip to Patzun

2011-01-15T19:47:00.000-06:00

Fr. Tim along with Bill Bufkins, Chris Fouse and James Wilcox will join 12 folks from St. John the Apostle Catholic Church in North Richland Hills and St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Arlington for a medical mission to Patzun January 16--22, 1011. Check back here for updates, and keep the team in your prayers as they continue to help the people in Guatemala.

Malnutrition in Guatemala

2010-12-19T18:29:00.001-06:00

The ABC News program This Week with Christiane Amanpour featured a story on children's malnutrition in Africa and Guatemala. The Guatemala portion of the story takes place in the western highlands of Guatemala, the area where St. Mark supports the Nuestra Senora del Carmen School and the work of the Carmelite sisters at the Prophet Elias Convent in Patzun. The program, which aired Sunday, December 19, 2010, can be viewed here.

After this story aired, Ms. Amanpour interviewed Rajiv Shah, administrator of the USAID organization about the problem of childhood hunger, and what is being done to combat it in places like Guatemala. You can view that interview here.

Short video from Patzun

2010-07-09T18:19:00.000-05:00

Chad Riley, principal of Holy Rosary Catholic School and a member of the mission team, put together a short video about the June 2010 Patzun mission trip. Click here to see it.

Update from Patzun, June 27

2010-06-27T16:55:00.004-05:00

Pictured above: *Fr. Tim Thompson, Jean Meehan, *Samra Bufkins, Colleen Cargile, Chad Riley, *Phil Carosone, and Bill McNeill. Support staff for the mission are Paola and Miriam, wearing their native dress. Not pictured are Gloria Ramon and Enrique, our wonderful driver. (*St. Mark Parishioners)

The mission team has been busy since arriving in Guatemala on June 23. The team has provided basic medical clinic services to people from the villages of Camelias San Pablo, Chichoy Bajo, Xeatzan Bajo and Chichoy Alto. These villages are centered around water sources in this agricultural region where corn, beans, broccoli, beets and other vegetables are grown, some for subsistence, some for export. Many of the women supplement the family income with weaving and embroidery work on the traditional Mayan garments. The soil is rich and the patchwork fields are beautiful to look at. All farm labor is done by hand, and it's common to see men and boys walking to the fields carrying huge hoes.

In the clinics, often set up inside a village church, Jean Meehan, nurse practitioner, examines patients, and the rest of the team support her with translation, triage, and pharmacy supplies. Paola also manages an antiparasite program for children in the villages, which has proven to reduce waterborne illness in the children.

One highlight of the trip so far was the team's participation in Teacher Appreciation Day, which is a national day in Guatemala. We visited Our Lady of Carmen School in El Sitio--this is the school many St. Mark parishoners help support--and met all the teachers, the principal, and the students. After a prayer service for the teachers, a beautiful Mass for all the students and teachers was celebrated by Fr. Tim in the church next door.

Later, the students put on an entertaining show honoring all the teachers. From the littlest to the middle school, all groups were represented, and the program was a surprise for the teachers. The little ones clearly had help from the older students. There was music, dance, poetry and skits before presentations to the teachers.

After the program, the team and all the teachers returned to the convent for a special lunch in honor of the teachers. We presented them with tokens of our appreciation, and then joined them in several games. One was a Guatemalan version of dodgeball, another was an animal game involving "rock, paper, scissors" and imitating animals (sorry folks, no photos of Fr. Tim playing that one!) and finally a soccer match.

It was evident that this group of teachers is dedicated to their students, and loved by the students and parents as well. The sisters at the Prophet Elias Convent ensure the best possible education is made available to the children of the area villages. (Pictured below are members of the mission team with the teachers at the school.)

During the mission each team member discovers special talents. Phil Carosone did a fabulous job of entertaining the children by blowing up latex gloves into colorful balloons. Everyone took time out to play with the children, and we brought toys (balls, jump ropes, stuffed animals) to entertain the kids while they waited for family members at the clinic.

Today we had planned to go to Antigua for a little sightseeing, but awoke to torrential downpours and high winds, so after Mass and breakfast the team took inventory in the pharmacy and caught up on journals, reading and rest. Tomorrow is another busy clinic day, and our last full day in Guatemala.

Everyone on the team has been touched by the warmth and friendliness of the people here. Their faith is deep, and despite crushing, unending poverty they always have a smile and often a hug for us. The Mayan people in this area have suffered greatly from war and natural disasters, and they have very little economic opportunity, yet their faith in Jesus and devotion to Mary are a true testament to their strength and dignity as well as to the dedication of the many missionaries who work with them throughout the year.

We're off!

2010-06-21T22:43:00.000-05:00

The mission team is packed and ready to go. Fr. Tim Thompson, Phil Carosone and Samra Bufkins from St. Mark are hauling 200 pounds of school supplies for the children, and will be joining 6 members of St. John the Apostle Catholic Church in North Richland Hills for the mission trip. The area is recovering from Tropical Storm Agatha, which buried houses in mud, killed 150 people, caused a gigantic sinkhole in Guatemala City, and washed out roads and bridges in massive flooding throughout the region. For a while there was some question whether we would even be able to get from Guatemala City to Patzun, then it appeared we'd be hiking part of the way, but reports now are that the road is open.

Guatemala Mission Trip Scheduled for June, 2010

2010-04-20T20:41:00.003-05:00

Fr. Tim Thompson will lead a group of volunteers to Patzun, Guatemala June 23-29, 2010 to visit The Prophet Elias Convent and help the sisters with their work in the community. One focus of the mission is providing primary medical care, vitamins and anti-parasitic drugs to the local residents.

St. Mark parishoners have provided scholarships for 61 children to attend Nuestra Senora del Carmen (Our Lady of Carmen) School in nearby El Sitio. Check back here periodically for information about trip preparations as well as updates from Fr. Tim and the mission team. If you'd like to help, email the team at stmarkguatemala@gmail.com.