It is almost time
to celebrate!
We are 21 DAYS away from the dedication mass of the chapel, and the blessing and opening of
Casa de Santa Maria Magdalena, BUT WHO'S COUNTING!
On July 22nd
at 11 pm we will host the Bishop and the priests of the Dioceses of Chachapoyas
and together we will celebrate Mass and what the Lord has done here. The priests,
I have heard through the grapevine, are very excited about the mission of the
home and all that Jesus desires of this place of refuge.
We are finishing the many small details of the main house, chapel, its gardens, and the property’s fence that will provide safety for these mothers and their children. It has really been an honor watching the Lord design this home and the chapel.
Novena to Santa Maria Magdalena
Please join us 7/13/22 as we
begin this new mission with a Novena to Santa Maria Magdalena. You can follow
the following link, https://www.praymorenovenas.com/st-mary-magdalene-novena to pray the Novena and also you may sign up
for daily reminders.
Special Mass intention
of course will be for the mothers and children that we will be serving, but we
also will include each of you, our benefactors, in the intentions during this
incredibly special mass.
A Place where heaven and earth collide
The pictures of the home and chapel and its gardens do not come close to doing them justice. The chapel was designed with no walls in order to allow the presence of Jesus to be found through the gardens, the songs of the birds, the view of the mountains, and the sounds of the river in the distance. Having no walls also symbolizes Jesus’s desire to restore and make disciples of the women and children who will encounter him there. In real life, Santa Maria Magdalena’s home is stunning, majestic, and divinely designed to move one’s soul towards our Lord and I am so grateful for each of you who have made so many sacrifices to make this become a place where heaven and earth collide.
Other Ministry News
Though the construction
of home and chapel has been the main mission that I have been writing about, I would also like to share with
you the other details of what’s been happening lately at our mission post.
We have been asked to host
once again the annual retreat for the Priest of Chachapoyas this August. We are
short roughly $1500.00 Dollars to make this happen. If we can pull together the
funds, we will be able to, rent a local hotel in its entirety. (Priests will lodge, dine, attend talks, and experience fun
activities all at the hotel), provide 3 meals and snacks for all Priests and provide a guest Priest to help lead the retreat. So please keep us in
your prayers as we continue to fundraise for this incredible opportunity to
serve our Priest here.
Gabriel is teaching English classes
on Friday!
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| Titianna and Jasmine |
Gabriel and I still celebrate the Liturgy of the word in Paraiso each Sunday, and it has been an honor to bring the Eucharist to them each week. The little remote town is about an hour away from us. And we are preparing two young ladies to receive the sacraments this year Diana who is 15 and wants to receive her Baptism, 1st confession,1st communion and confirmation and Antonella who is 14 and who desires to receive Jesus in the Eucharist for the 1st time.
And we are celebrating these three
young ladies who have been helping Gabriel altar serve for the last 3 years! Please pray for Alejandra, Kendra, and Angie
that they may continue to find true happiness in their ministry.
Maritza is going to officially move
here to the home at the end of the school year and before than in August while
the children are on break, they will be staying with us temporarily. Please
pray for her and the children as they begin preparing for their move. Also pray
for Maritza’s sweet daughter Alondra, she just had a growth removed from her
chest and the tissue was sent off to test to see if is cancerous or benign.
Please pray that Jesus may continue to Support and bless this family with the
funds they need to not only survive everyday life but also now for Alondra’s medical
care.
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| Those shoes and her gown! |
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| Waiting for surgery |
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| Martiza praying over Alondra as we wait for her to wake up from anesthesia. |
Current needs of the home and other minsitries
It is not easy being in the trenches, as you can imagine. The poverty and struggles that we experience every day in the mission field have become ingrained in our hearts and minds as long as we have been here, sometimes its all we can see all that we know. I am so thankful for our mission partners who join us by supporting everything that happens here, without you there would be NO MISSION.
"As I am just the mediator seeking to connect His people and His resources with His plan." With that said it is only right and just to share with you the needs here in the mission field because I truly believe that Jesus desires to furnish all the needs for the poor here. So once again I am asking on the behalf of our Lord and the poor here, please pray and consider making a vertical gift by moving some of your earthly gifts to your heavenly bank account.
Here is what our current fundraising needs are.
With all the initial
phases completed with the home and chapel, we are now actively fundraising for
the last phases of the construction of Santa Maria Magdalena’s home, which is
building three small one-room homes, 2 for long-term mothers and the other for
the visiting priest who will be supporting the ministry of the home. (Roughly $20,00.00
USD) We are also trying to raise the funds for 20 bunk beds for the dorms
($5000.00 USD) or at least funds to purchase 40 mattresses which we could just
place on the floor ($2200.00).
Lastly, we are trying to raise
monthly support for the operating cost of the home. Our goal is set at $2000.00
to $2500.00 per month. This will cover everything the women and their children
will need while staying with us (medical expenses, food, school uniforms,
clothing etc.) Of course, this is our initial goal, and we may need to be
adjusted as the Lord reveals more to us.
We also feel called to help supply the roofing material for the Chapel in a nearby town but of course we need your help in doing so. The community had to tear down their chapel because of the state it was in. The adobe walls were crumbling and making it terribly unsafe. Along with the Catholic Community of this town we have been pitching in with the labor as well as holding raffles to raise money. The brick walls are almost complete, and they are planning on using the old pews and altar (which are in good shape), but they are still short funds for the metal roof. The cost to purchase the metal roof is $3000.00.
Current Prayer
Request
- Please continue to pray for all those who support the mission here.
- For the mission of Santa Maria Magdalena’s Home
- For Gabriel and I, that we may not grow tired. That we may be steadfast in prayer and that we trust that the Lord hears our prayers and needs.
- Please pray for our team members Mallory and Sarah as they are currently stateside.
We love you all!
Karen and Gabriel Del Castillo
Mission post : Santa Clara, Amazonas, Peru -
Santa Maria Magdalena's Home
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