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Guatemala mission society:

Formal group bids farewell after 40 years of service

After 40 years of organizing and planning events to support the missions in Guatemala, specifically the Diocese of Jalapa in the southeastern area of the country, the Guatemala Mission Society — first called the Guatemala Mission Corps — is disbanding.

Meeting this Oct. 18 for the final liturgy and luncheon at St. Nicholas Parish in O’Fallon, the members of the group shared stories of their travels to Guatemala as they enjoyed the fellowship of those who have supported the missions for these many years.

Msgr. Vincent Haselhorst served as a priest in Jalapa for six years — 1964-1970 — and was treasurer of the first credit union in Guastatoya. Twenty members each put $5.00 in to open the credit union.
Today, the credit union boasts a number of branch offices and net worth of at least $5 million.

Msgr. Joseph Lawler reminisced about driving to Jalapa after a devastating earthquake — 7.5 on the Richter Scale — in 1976 with building supplies and an eagerness to assist the people in rebuilding a community.

“We rounded up workers and bought 11 acres of property,” Msgr. Lawler said. We built 25 homes all the same size made with concrete blocks.”

Today that neighborhood continues to be called Ascension Colony.
To become home owners, people paid $5.00 a month for three years.

“People hugged us that day” we came to help them rebuild, “but they were really hugging you,” Msgr. Lawler said.
Dr. Thomas Prosser and his wife, Doris, also visited Guatemala.

Prosser remembered setting up a dental clinic and practicing dentistry the old fashioned way — “we could only do extractions,” he said.

Sue and Linus Klostermann provided a slide show of a more recent visit to Guatemala. They were impressed by the hospitality they received and the knowledge they gained from a visit of only one week.
Sister parishes have been established over the years, and relationships have been formed between parishes in the Dioceses of Jalapa and Belleville. For this reason, the support and care of parishes in Jalapa will continue to thrive in spite of the dissolution of the Society.

It is because of the Society that so many people have been supported for so many years.
A new group of people leaves for Guatemala Nov. 6 so that more people from this diocese can begin to know their sisters and brothers in Guatemala.

Some will go to Jalapa while others will travel to the north to the Petén.