Archive for June, 2009
Holy Spirit, breathe on the CFCA community
By the CFCA Prayer Team
On June 8 and 9 the preachers and presenters of CFCA gather at our headquarters in Kansas City for our annual Preachers Conference. The conference is designed to build community, share the work being done in our overseas projects, and energize our preachers and presenters to go forth and spread the good news of CFCA sponsorship across the U.S. On June 10 the CFCA governing board will convene and work hard to give guidance and encouragement to CFCA all over the world. Please take a moment to pray for our CFCA preachers, presenters and board members.
Please pray:
Gracious God, you have created a beautiful and powerful movement in CFCA that desires nothing more than to do your will. Please surround and guide the preachers, presenters, staff and board of CFCA so that individually and collectively we may all work together to serve the poor of this world. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Blessings,
CFCA Prayer Team
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June 8, 2009 at 1:47 pm Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) Leave a comment
Bob’s notes — special report, part 1
Mission awareness trip
Guatemala, May 16-23, 2009
Colombia, May 24-June 1, 2009
Part 1
Guatemala today
While the sponsors were enjoying a beautiful day in San Lucas Toliman with their sponsored children and aging, on May 18, 2009, an American Oblate priest was killed, and an African Oblate wounded during a highway robbery near Playa Grande, Ixcan, Guatemala. Apparently the assailants wanted the van carrying the missionaries to a regional meeting of their order, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI). Bullets flew, leaving Father Lorenzo Rosebaugh, 74, dead, and Congolese Father Jean Claude wounded. In the confusion, assailants fled without the vehicle. Father Lorenzo had a long history of taking risks to aid the poor and marginalized. All of us here are deeply saddened by this tragedy.
Spontaneity and laughter
In spite of several alarming events, the sponsors on this trip to Guatemala encountered spontaneity and a great sense of humor among the people they met. The sponsors see and appreciate the need for the presence of CFCA in Guatemala, especially when they learn of the crude reality of a divided society.
On the final morning in San Lucas, Father John Goggin kindly celebrated the Eucharist. We remembered Father Lorenzo in a special way. In his homily, Father John stated, “The world can change, when people learn to walk with the poor.”
Visiting Colombia
We had one sponsored girl and one sponsored aging person who traveled overnight (Cali-Medellin) with staff member Diana to see their sponsors in Medellin. The mother of the sponsored girl, Karen, speaks with such gratitude for the program. Karen’s father was shot and killed when she was 5. Magnolia, the mother, states that thieves took his life over a motor scooter and a pair of tennis shoes.
City of the flowers
Medellin still impresses me as a very beautiful and cultural city. Coordinator Transito Hernandez informed us that there are 23 universities here. We have also been learning that Medellin now has more than 3 million people and faces serious human challenges. Only 46 percent of school-aged children are enrolled in school. After 18, the number drops to 30 percent. Those not in school are vulnerable to the many dangers of the streets. At CFCA, we are blessed with a fine central coordinating team—Transito, Martha, Monica, Luz Angela, Erika. (more…)
June 5, 2009 at 2:33 pm Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) Leave a comment
A graduation reflection
By Sheila Myers, communications writer
Sitting on the bleachers of the football stadium among hundreds of anxious family members, I watched as one-by-one, 500 high school graduates in blue caps and billowing gowns paraded down the field. It wasn’t the cool breeze giving me goose bumps on that jubilant May evening, but the thrill of watching my oldest daughter receive her diploma.
As a parent, the occasion of my daughter’s graduation is one of indescribable pride and joy. The event is a major milestone in her life, the beginning of another chapter, and marks the culmination of years of hard work.
From the day Bernadette was born, there was never any doubt that she would attend high school. This expectation—that our children will graduate from high school—is commonly shared by all the parents of my daughter’s friends. It’s probably shared by most American parents: 73 percent of American students graduate from high school.
So I wonder how the parents of CFCA students feel when their children graduate from high school. I know that even with sponsorship support, parents make painful choices so their children can stay in school. It can cost a typical household a month’s income for bus fare alone, not to mention supplies and books.
I read about Daniel, a CFCA sponsored student in El Salvador who graduated last December. Daniel was raised by his father, a single parent who struggled to keep finding work so that Daniel and his two siblings could stay in school. At one point, Daniel had to leave school to help his father earn money, but then his father made him return. Daniel walked four miles to high school every day, even in the rainy season.
Like me and my husband, Daniel’s father understands that education is important for our children’s future. We are both willing to make sacrifices so they can achieve their dreams, although I recognize the sacrifices Daniel’s father has made are far greater than ours. His effort is no less than heroic.
I hope when Daniel’s father watched Daniel receive his diploma, that he took time to savor the moment, to forget about life’s daily pressures and to feel proud that he played a part in Daniel’s success.
Read what Daniel’s father thinks about his son graduating
June 3, 2009 at 9:17 am Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) Leave a comment
Focused on his children
Daniel, 18, was first featured in the opening edition of The Scholar. Since that edition, Daniel was sponsored, graduated high school and started his journalism studies at a university. Here, his father reflects on raising his children and seeing Daniel graduate.
As told by Daniel’s father to Henry Flores, director of CFCA’s communication center in El Salvador.
My name is Daniel Ernesto, I am 46 years old and I was born in Santa Ana, El Salvador.
I have two brothers, however, we did not grow up together.
When I was little, my father decided to take me to his sister’s house to live with her because neither of my parents could take care of me. My father died when I was 2 years old, so I did not get to meet him.
My aunt did not have any children, so she gave me everything I needed. Now that I am an adult, I realize that family is more important than having everything you need. The family and the mother offer a natural trust.
My aunt was a teacher. She died when I was 19 years old. However, I was blessed to finish high school and had some extra education in electricity.
When my aunt died, and I got married, I started to work in anything that would give me some income. I did carpentry, bricklaying, etc. When you want to accomplish things, you need to put forth all your efforts. Good things are hard to get.
One of the most difficult moments in my life was when my wife left me and our three children. I stayed with the three of them. From one day to the next, I had to wash their clothes and cook for them. I remember I used to get up very early in the morning to do all this.
It was very difficult for me to adapt to my new situation as a single father, but I trusted God so much. He has never left me alone.
Raising my children was hard, but I had solid moral values. I told myself, “I have gone through this, I grew up without a father or a family, I don’t want my children to live what I lived.” My mother even told me to let her raise the children, but I told her that I was going to be their mother and father. (more…)
June 1, 2009 at 1:38 pm Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) 7 comments
