Guatemala Outreach

ALL IN THE FAMILY  Guatemalans and volunteers from Notre Dame of Mount Carmel Parish in Cedar Knolls at the closing ceremony after the volunteers had completed building homes for four families last month.

CEDAR KNOLLS  This past August, with the support of their faith community, the Guatemala Outreach ministry of Notre Dame of Mount Carmel Church here completed its mission of building four more homes (for a total of 16 built on behalf of their parish since 2014) for four families in the village of Sumpango, Guatemala.

The volunteers joined hands with From Houses to Homes (FHTH), an organization dedicated to strengthening family unity and community harmony in Highland Guatemala through the building of houses and the provision of medical care and education.

Each home is 13 by 19 feet, made entirely of concrete block, with cement floor, corrugated metal roof with a skylight, metal door with lock, and a metal‐framed window with glass. The home is painted inside and out with colors chosen by the family. On the closing day (fifth work day), each of the groups shared a closing celebration where a representative from the ministry handed the keys to their home to a family member.

The 24 Notre Dame missionaries covered their airfare, meals and lodging expenses. Each volunteer is also asked to make a $500 donation to FHTH for the cost of materials to build the home. Through the generous support of their faith community, the ministry was able to offset a significant portion of those donations; and in this Year of Mercy they were blessed with additional financial support which allowed them to further extend God’s grace by sponsoring the education of a child for one year at the FHTH Kemna’oj school and to also purchase two pieces of much needed equipment for the organization’s clinic.

As expressed by one of their missionaries, “We cannot begin to express how deeply touched and grateful the people of Guatemala are for these graces which represent the extended hand of Jesus through the love, prayers and financial support of our faith community.”

For those involved — FHTH members, recipient families, and missionaries — it is clear that much more than homes are being build; the shared week’s journey represents a personal transformation that strengthens faith and offers memories and relationships to last a lifetime. As stated by one of the teens who participated in the mission, “Funny thing about Guatemala, you go with the intention of changing lives but you don’t realize until afterward that it’s your own life that changes.”