Misioneros Del Camino

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Gary Butler
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remembered us in our low estate, for his steadfast love endures forever; who

1 INTERNATIONAL PROJECT PROPOSAL PROJECT 1301 Misioneros Del Camino Nutritional Support for Orphans and Vulnerable Children Sumpango, Guatemala It is he who remembered us in our low estate, for his steadfast love endures forever; who gives food to all flesh, for his steadfast love endures forever. Psalm 136:23, 25

2 We are a Catholic ministry that mobilizes the global Catholic Church to transform the poor and their communities materially and spiritually for the glory of Jesus Christ. Rather than create new institutions to distribute aid, we support existing ministries and churches already serving the poor. In addition to being the most cost-effective way of helping the poor, empowering these ministries allows us to support the Church s spiritual mission and its important position of leadership in poor communities. We consider every gift we receive as a precious resource from God. We direct every donation to its intended project, provide honest and accurate reports to our donors, and keep overhead costs to an industry low. We handle funds with utmost integrity and hold our ministry partners in the field to the same high standards by asking them to document costs and the impact of their outreach. We invite you to join with us as we seek to transform the lives of the poor materially and spiritually ways that please the Father and glorify him in Heaven and on earth.

Project Synopsis Description The Misioneros Del Camino (MDC) home provides nutritional support for malnourished infants and abandoned children from impoverished communities in remote mountain

3 Project Synopsis Description The Misioneros Del Camino (MDC) home provides nutritional support for malnourished infants and abandoned children from impoverished communities in remote mountain locations. Purpose To empower the ministry so undernourished youth receive a well-rounded diet, can focus and excel in academic studies, and acquire the skills that will help them pursue a better life. Location Sumpango, a town in the Guatemalan department of Sacatepéquez. Cost $61,050 will be used to supplement the cost of the MDC home s three-phase nutritional program, feeding 53 children at the home and reaching 180 in the surrounding community. Highlights The objective of MDC is to care for the orphaned, abandoned and malnourished children of Guatemala. The home provides a healthy environment, where struggling children receive love and an education. This encourages them and helps them gain the skills necessary to break the cycle of poverty that has plagued their families for generations. MDC has established a primary school and opened a neurological center for children with developmental disorders. The nutrition program is operated in three phases: 1) Urgent malnutrition, 2) Health maintenance and 3) Nutritional habits for families. MDC s current food donations are insufficient to meet all the needs of their nutritional program. The children pray, study Scripture and worship every day. 1

4 The Need Growing Pains Babies. Just hearing that word conjures up images of fat-faced, bright-eyed, giggling cherubs. Infants are a joy and meant to be joyful and in most areas of the developing world, that s exactly what they are. That s why our soul ached when we encountered the poor infants and toddlers in rural Guatemala. Too many of the babies we encountered there were frail and listless. Some of their older siblings were skin and bones from lack of proper nutrition, and those in their teens bore the marks of earlier hardships. The impact of Guatemala s extreme poverty is clear. Neglected infants and children become hardened young women and men. A dismal childhood too often births a hopeless future. But, thanks to the work of our Church, there is another way a better path to a brighter future. Inspired by Christ s love, MDC is working to break the cycle of poverty in Sumpango to bring about positive long-term change. Leonor Portela, was a Catholic widow with a heart for the poor, opened the ministry s home for Guatemalan orphans with just six children. Now, they house 53 boys and girls and affect many more through their outreach. With her powerful testimony, she secured resources for the home and was able to meet the immediate needs of the most desperate cases. But now, this dedicated Catholic mission needs our help again. Increased food costs have become a burden for Misioneros Del Camino, and the ministry is struggling to afford the expensive baby formula and nutritious foods needed to restore malnourished infants to health. The organization fears they may no longer be able to provide a well-rounded diet for the poor children raised in the home. In faith and with a spirit of optimism, MDC has turned to us for help. Cross Catholic Outreach wants to empower Misioneros Del Camino so it can continue its crucial, lifesaving work, but we need your support to reach our goals. Please help us provide a healthy environment, nutritious food, an education and love to these precious little ones in Christ s name and for his glory! You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. Psalm 32:7 2

5 Project Description Steadfast Love Mrs. Portela lost her husband when his military plane crashed into the ocean. Widowed as a new mother, she might have fallen to depression and despair, but the Holy Spirit counseled her through the hardship, and she recognized the Lord s mercy in her deliverance from pain. Instead of accepting defeat, she dedicated herself to service. One of her first missions involved delivering aid to Guatemala following a devastating earthquake. There, she felt God calling her to take another step of service, and she pooled funds from her prayer group to open the Misioneros Del Camino home. With support from devout Catholics like you, her legacy lives on in the continued work of the mission. The Misioneros Del Camino home provides a safe and healthy environment for each child to grow and heal through the love of Christ. MDC also established a primary school to ensure quality education for the kids at the home and those in the surrounding area, and it developed a neurological center for children with developmental disorders. Supporting all of these outreaches is a unique three-phase nutritional program. The first phase addresses urgent malnutrition issues and focuses on the restoration of a child s health an outreach often necessary to stabilize newly arrived infants and children at the home. The second phase is designed to maintain these nutritional benefits with well-balanced meals. In the final phase, the children and their families are taught sound nutritional habits that will continue to benefit them throughout their lives. As a truly integral mission, the Misioneros Del Camino home combines all of its practical outreach with programs to meet urgent spiritual needs of the children it serves. In fact, addressing spiritual health is a priority in their strategy to break the cycles of poverty, abuse and ignorance that have affected these children. Through daily Scripture and worship, the children learn about Jesus Christ and the Gospel of Hope. One very important aspect of the nutritional program allows the children to give thanks to God in prayer before every meal. This time of thanksgiving helps the children understand that it is God dwelling in compassionate Catholics like you who provides them with their daily bread. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:

6 Help Now! As Catholics, we know the liberating power of the Holy Spirit and the unending love of Jesus Christ. We hold to the promise in the Gospel of John that tells us: So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:36). Understanding this freedom is what fueled Mrs. Portela and drives the Misioneros Del Camino home to nourish children in both body and spirit. To continue this vital mission, they need your help. Funds are urgently needed for the yearly supplies of enhanced formula and food used to ensure the home is able to provide three nutritious, flavorful meals to the children each day. Your gift to Cross Catholic Outreach will go toward the cost of providing this daily nutritional support to impoverished children. It s an outreach that will end hunger and help reverse the negative effects of malnutrition, while the home s children gain the energy and the hope they need to pursue a better future. Your gift, large or small, will make a world of difference in the lives of these precious children! If you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. Isaiah 58:10 Our Promise to You! Proceeds from this campaign will be used to cover any expenditures for this project incurred through June 30, 2018, the close of our ministry s new fiscal year. In the event that more funds are raised than needed to fully fund the project, the excess funds, if any, will be used to meet the most urgent needs of the ministry N. Military Trail Suite 240 PO Box Boca Raton, Florida Copyright Cross Catholic Outreach. Cost-effectively written, designed and printed in-house. [cs1509][utn1602][udv1706]

Mount Carmel Primary School

INTERNATIONAL PROJECT PROPOSAL PROJECT 0379 Mount Carmel Primary School School lunches for poor children Benque Viejo, Belize By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.