November 2022-- Volume II, Issue 10, Florida+ | |
Supporting the Work of Mission Circle Inc | |
Welcome to the 22nd Edition | |
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Padre Alex working with one of the sisters of Missionaries of Charity and the children. | This senior receives much appreciated coffee and a sandwich as a result of our donations. | Padre supports with food, medicine, and love many people who are handicapped. | |
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"Happiness exists on earth, and it is won through the prudent exercise of reason, knowledge of the harmony of the universe, and the constant practice of generosity." --José Martí, Cuban national hero, 1853-1895
As November begins our holiday season, Mission Circle Inc. wishes you and your families joyful times. As we celebrate Thanksgiving, we want to say we are most grateful for YOU and for your support which has allowed us to continue our mission work in Honduras, Haiti, and Cuba.
We also want to give you the opportunity to help Cuba. We are no longer a ministry of St. Peter DeLand, so we are not able to host the galas as we did for several years to support our St. John Bosco parish in Cuba.
In the past two years while we have not had any fundraisers, the conditions in Cuba have worsened. We have not been able to travel there because of the pandemic and also flights to places other than Havana from the US were halted. The shortages of food, medicine, and gasoline have become even more dire.
We are able to send money and some supplies through Padre Alex's family here in the US. We have received funds from our board members and a few others to help us to continue to provide assistance. Now we would like to broaden the base of support. We are asking that you consider your ability to help and contribute as you are able. We count on the commitments many of you have made to Haitian children, so please continue those! But if you are not a regular sponsor or find you are able to help more, please remember our brothers and sisters in Cuba.
A sponsorship of $300 a year is less than $1 a day. But you can send any amount and on a schedule that works for you. Every dollar will go directly for the work of Padre Alex with San Juan Bosco parish in Las Tunas. Padre is an excellent money manager and makes every penny work hard. See directions below for sending donations.
You also might consider using the Alternative Giving form here and have your gift help those in need while honoring those you love. If you want to honor someone's memory or give a special gift to loved ones, remember our year-round Alternative Giving (Click the green words to access a form, then send your check(s) for preferred missions as described below, print the form and send it to your loved one).
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Thank you to those who have responded to the needs of the children in Haiti and the people of Honduras and Cuba! With your support, we can continue to aid our brothers and sisters. If you want to help, this is how:
To donate to any of our missions, write a check to Mission Circle Inc, and write Honduras, Haiti, or Cuba on the memo line. You can also arrange direct payment from your bank. Or you can use the newest technology--the QR code pictured here! Just point your smart phone camera at the image (square with lots of dots). When your camera recognizes the QR code, a yellow Zelle notification will pop up. Touch that link to follow directions to find your bank and create Zelle account there if you don't have one already. Donations to all missions are eligible for applicable tax deductions.
To donate to the Honduras mission: mail the check to Mission Circle Inc c/o Donna Kinney, 2218 Discovery Circle West, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442. You may also designate Women's Micro-credit Project, Water Filters, or most needed on the memo line. The Mission Circle Inc. Honduras mission is a ministry of St. Ambrose Catholic Church and sister parish to Our Lady of the Rosary in Sabanagrande, FM, Honduras. For questions about the Honduras mission, please contact Donna Kinney, 954-290-7952 or via email rdldn2017@gmail.com
To donate to the Haiti and Cuba missions write the check to Mission Circle Inc, and write Haiti or Cuba on the memo line. Mail the check to: Gini Eckert, 280 Raymore Ave., DeLand, FL 32720.
Mission Circle Inc is twinned with San Juan Bosco Parish in Las Tunas, Cuba, and the four schools of St. John Paul II Mission in Lascahobas, Haiti. For the Haiti mission, we are still requesting $150 per child, per year, or $15 per month, to continue to sponsor your child or children but will gratefully accept any amount for any of the missions. For the Cuba mission we suggest $300 per year or any amount that you choose.
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Our Six Years' Relationship with St. John Bosco Parish in Las Tunas, Cuba
By Gini Eckert
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March 28, 2016, the first Mission Circle group traveled to Las Tunas, Cuba, to meet Padre Alex and begin our relationship with his parish, San Juan Bosco. Deacon Herbie Toledo, the son of Cuban immigrants, was able to participate in the trip along with Fr. Tom Connery, Frances Sosadeeter from Parish Twinning Program of the Americas, and myself. We spent the night before our flight in the Miami home of Herbie's parents and realized they had real fears about Herbie going back to Cuba and his safety with the Cuban government.
Our work in Cuba is more difficult because of the Communist control of the country and because of our country's response to that government. I can assure you that the money we send goes directly to the people in need in San Juan Bosco and the need is even more desperate today than in 2016.
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Our first group visited several of the villages that Padre serves. This is Bartle which has a tiny, but pretty church. | Alex, a child with cerebral palsy, and his mother and brother live in a small house. This hut in the yard was their original home. | |
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On that first trip we learned a lot about Cuba, its unique situation, its great need, and the resilience of the people.
The food allotment in 2016 was a bun of bread a day per person plus a monthly bag of rice, bag of beans, a pound of white sugar, and 2 pounds of brown sugar. People are not permitted to eat beef even if they can find it. The stores had dusty, empty shelves. In 2018 there was a severe wheat shortage, so they were unable to get bread. Currently, all food and medicine are even more scarce.
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This is a neighborhood kiosk where people use coupons to get food, but it is bare of most goods. | |
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Six Years Later
by Diane Saffran
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It is September 28, 2022, and I am keeping busy waiting for the arrival of Hurricane Ian. I just heard from Padre Alex. He said that Las Tunas had mild rain from the hurricane but Havana has taken a beating. He hears from priests and religious friends about their experiences; the hurricane has destroyed almost everything in the western part of the island. They have never seen anything like it.
As for the electricity, the Cubans (including Las Tunas) have been experiencing power outages for 6 to 12 hours a day for months. Now Las Tunas and other areas are without power. He uses the word “apagon” which means “blackout.” To read more about the power situation click here: https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/hurricane-ian-cuba-suffers-as-power-outage-goes-on/
Padre says that a lot of the youth and some priests are leaving the country. He says, “We continue to pray a lot to God and to the Virgin that the Church in Cuba will continue being faithful to God and to His people in the midst of the reality in which we have had to live.” And in the midst of his own problems, he sent his prayers for us as Ian headed our way.
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Here is a group from one of the villages that are part of San Juan Bosco Parish. They made fans to try to keep cool without electricity. | San Juan Bosco church in Las Tunas was given to a family as a home before Father Alex became pastor. The Catholic Church had to build the family a home in order to reclaim the building and restore it for church use. | |
Another Observation of Conditions | |
Father Bladimir Navarro who lives in Spain was recently interviewed in the National Catholic Register. He confirms that conditions have only gotten worse since our first visit. He said that “the people of Cuba are going hungry and are in great need. It’s very sad to see how old people are selling their belongings in the streets to get the minimum to be able to buy something to eat. Or to see the long lines at the shops....Another urgent issue is the lack of medications; you can’t get acetaminophen or ibuprofen, of course not antibiotics.”
Fr. Navarro also spoke of the need to provide a listening ear to the Cuban people. His advice sounds like a description of our relationship with San Juan Bosco Parish. We hope to provide the needed food and medicine and also prayers and friendship.
To read the entire article, click here: https://www.ncregister.com/cna/priest-worst-poverty-in-cuba-is-the-lack-of-freedom
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Fr. Bladimir Navarro is from Camaguey, Cuba, not too far from Las Tunas. He is living in Madrid and founded a group there to help Cubans who are emigrating to Spain. This article tells that story:
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252479/catholics-launch-initiative-in-spain-to-help-fleeing-cubans
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Cuba
Padre Alex was able to participate in the ordination of his friend from the seminary who is now the auxiliary bishop in Havana. He also visited his brother's farm. That is his brother tilling the soil with cattle.
On Oct. 27, he wrote that conditions are still very bad, people are protesting and being arrested, and they had no Internet for a while as well as "no electricity for long hours." He is hoping we can send a suitcase of supplies.
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Honduras—
Fr. Dariusz Zerebski and Fr. James Long Hai Do, pictured here, celebrated Mass at St. Ambrose in Deerfield Beach on October 7 with the statue of Our Lady of Suyapa by the altar on her feast day. The statue was given to Mission Circle by Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in Sabanagrande.
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Fr. Ilric says, "My dear friends, I want to thank you for everything you do for my mission, St. John Paul II. Thank you for about 550 children. You help us provide food, clothes, scholarships, rent houses, maintain schools, school supplies, health care, teachers' salaries, etc."
Also Amber Rose of PeaceCycle.com has sent a newsletter and posted on Facebook that they have finally found a new home for PeaceCycle. She also says this piece which was on PBS last week gives an accurate view of the current situation:
https://www.pbs.org/video/haiti-in-crisis-1666733239/
And on Saturday, 10/29/22, there was another assassination of a prominent Haitian:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/10/29/haiti-eric-jean-baptiste-murder/
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Cuba: An American History by Ada Ferrer
Recommended by Diane Saffran
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This book is available at both Volusia and Broward County libraries in several formats and at Amazon, Thrift Books, other many other sellers.
In this space we recommend books and films that we have found that "take" us to Honduras, Haiti, or Cuba vicariously, or, inspire us for mission work. We would love to hear from you about these suggestions and your recommendations.
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A few months ago, I had to buy a new Kindle Fire so I can check out books from the library, for free of course! For my techie readers, I have found success using the Hoopla app.
I discovered an interesting title, a Pulitzer Prize winning book, Cuba: An American History by Ada Ferrer. It was published in June of this year. She is a Julius Silver Professor of History and Latin American and Caribbean Studies at New York University. She was born in Cuba, but left at a very young age with her family. It is a history, nonfiction. She chronicles Cuban history from Christopher Columbus to the Trump era. I will confess, it is long and everything is clearly documented, but the content is fascinating. I have traveled to Cuba many times, and I have had questions that now have been answered. The ties between the US and Cuba have been extensive. Did you know that Cuba sent money to help Washington at Valley Forge? Did you know that the US planned to annex Cuba as a state? What was the purpose of the Spanish American War? Did you know politicians had second homes and vacationed in Cuba in the 19th century? She shares all the details.
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We did it! Mission Circle Inc is now a 501(c)3 nonprofit and we have established a bank account! What does our nonprofit status mean for you--our friends and supporters? Two things: we can now receive tax deductible donations as Mission Circle Inc for our work in Haiti, Honduras, and Cuba. And we will not be able to request donations from anyone who doesn't live in Florida, Arizona, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, or Wyoming--but we can receive their donations. So this newsletter which includes information about how to send checks in addition to the articles about our mission countries is labeled Florida+ and is for people living in one of these states. If you don't live in a listed state, please let us know our error and we will put you on the other contact list in order to comply with all the restrictions for nonprofits.
Please continue to pray for the clergy and people of San Juan Bosco parish in Las Tunas, Cuba; Our Lady of the Rosary parish in Sabanagrande, FM, Honduras; and St. John Paul II Mission, with four schools in Central Haiti. They are praying for us.
Also, please share our newsletter with your friends and family, and tell us what you like and what you would like to see in future issues!
Our next meeting will be November 10 at 7 pm via Zoom. Please email to get the login and join us!
May God bless you abundantly.
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