Our Journey Together

Dear Family and Friends,

In January 2010 we will join Mission Doctors Association (MDA) and start a three year commitment to work in Guatemala. We will be working along side the people at a hospital called Hospitalito in Santiago Atitlan in the diocese of Sololá-Chimaltenango.

This hospital, founded by Fr. Stanley Rother in the 1960s, cares for a large indigenous Mayan population the Tz'utujil. The Tz'utujil are impacted by both disease and poverty. The hospital is in the process of being re-built by the local and international community following a devastating mud slide in 2005 that closed the doors and required that a new location be found and developed.

As many of you know, before coming to Southern Oregon, we were in Ghana with MDA for over two years as medical missionaries. We learned a lot from that experience and would like to share with you our hopes for this mission in Guatemala.

Our hope is not only to share the gifts we’ve been given with another culture, but to learn from those whose lives are so profoundly affected by the struggles of day to day living. We hope to see and try to emulate Christ in our daily lives, to live more simply, to grow spiritually and to help connect two cultures.

Each of us have been given gifts/skills that are so urgently needed by so many. We learned in Ghana that a great deal we take for granted is so acutely needed - not only food, water, clothing and health care but also organizational, financial, and educational skills.

We are asking you to join us on this mission by creating a network of support to link you to the people of Santiago. We would appreciate any support you are able to give: your prayers, your time, your talents.

We look forward to our journey together!

Peace,

Brent, Jennifer, Christopher, Elizabeth, Julianne and Nicholas
burketthoene@yahooo.com