SUMMER 2010 NEWSLETTER

“It is unworthy of a Christian Community to partake of the Lord’s Supper amid division and indifference towards the poor.” Pope John Paul II

Recent Mission Trip To Haiti:
The OLG Mission Committee recently sent down a team to Bassin-Bleu where our sister Parish, St. George, is located. Here are some excerpts from the journal of one of the members, Jessica Inabnitt.
“Arriving in Port au Prince, it is immediately apparent you are in a different place. You are welcomed with live music, singing, and dancing before you even reach baggage claim. It almost gives you a false sense you are on vacation in a resort country, however, that changes very quickly as you shuttle to baggage claim. On the shuttle ride, you are reminded of the struggles of the country by the make shift United Nations military base set up on at the airport to aide in earthquake relief. Then as you walk into what resembles a barn, you realize you have now entered customs and baggage claim. This scene still does not prepare you for what you are about to experience as you leave the airport. A fence separates you from the "real world". The fence is lined with people there to survive anyway possible. They are there to "help" you, but survive at the same time. You learn to move quickly and with purpose. It is extremely difficult not to just let them "help" you. However, how can you choose who helps you and who gets the dollar? You know every one of them has a family they are trying to support. All of this happened before we even reached our mission destination. This is the point you realize, I am one person. How can I get more help for this beautiful, desperate country? Therefore, I share my experience of Haiti in hopes that it will touch the heart of others; let them know there are ways to help. “
In our future newsletters, we will continue to provide feedback from our Haiti missionaries about their trip to Bassin-Bleu.

Special events in our Hearts for Haiti Mission
Friday, August 27: 1st Annual H4H Golf Fund Raiser
October 21-25: Father Gregory and Father Rodolphe visit OLG.

A special Hearts for Haiti thanks to all of the volunteers who helped with the Freedom Fest! It was another successful fund raiser for our mission. Special thanks to Rob Henke, Ryan Benich, and Jay Meadors for their leadership with this event!

Local vs. International Giving
A very good and fair question has been raised to the Haiti committee. “Why are we helping people in Haiti when we have people here locally who need our help?” The answers are really quite simple. First, Pope John Paul II instructed us to serve the world’s poor. Our Lady of the Greenwood’s Haiti Mission is our response to this call.
The second part of our answer may be just as important. Did you know that OLG already supports local needs? In fact, we have a number of groups dedicated to doing so. Christian Help, Disaster Response, OLG Food Pantry, The Gabriel Project, MOMS, and St. Vincent DePaul are just a few. OLG’s local support is very active and provides a lot of time, talent, and treasures for the needs of the local community.
OLG’s goal is to make the Haiti Mission as successful as our local ones.