A message for Mission Walk Sunday on 10/13/24, sponsored by the Orthodox Clergy Brotherhood of Greater Pittsburgh. It will benefit the mission work of the Church in Guatemala. I would like to begin with a marvelous story about a four-year-old child who awoke one night in fright. She was convinced … [Read more...]
VISION TEAM BRINGS SIGHT TO CLINIC
March 22, 2019 by · 1 Comment
Of the many miracles that Jesus performed, surely the healing of the man born blind ranks among the greatest. According to St. John Chrysostom’s interpretation, the man’s eyes were literally created with mud moistened by Jesus’s saliva and opened by washing them in the Pool of Siloam. While modern … [Read more...]
MIRACLE IN THE JUNGLE: A FAITH REBORN, A VISION FULFILLED
December 11, 2017 by · 1 Comment
On May 28, 2012, Fr. Andres Giron and I made an historic visit to the humble village of Los Angeles in the region of Ixcan. It would be the first time that Fr. Andres would meet with them on their spiritual journey to the Orthodox Church. To celebrate this special occasion, some of the village men … [Read more...]
HOLY CROSS PARISH MEDICAL/DENTAL TEAM OFFERS CARE IN GUATEMALA
July 19, 2017 by · 2 Comments
Four years ago, the first OCMC mission team to visit the Mayan Orthodox Christians in the highlands of Guatemala elicited this poignant response from the late Fr. Andres Giron: “Now we know that we are not alone.” Since that time many teams have arrived offering their musical, catechetical, medical, … [Read more...]
MEDICAL MISSION UPDATE- GUATEMALA
March 8, 2017 by · Leave a Comment
As the debate rages on in the US over medical insurance, poor people in countries like Guatemala can only dream that one day they might have some kind of medical coverage or even a doctor to see them. The scale of the crisis in the highlands of Guatemala where we have our clinic is not so much … [Read more...]
CATHEDRALS OF THE POOR IN GUATEMALA
June 16, 2016 by · 1 Comment
The experience of worshipping with the indigenous people in their small churches made of baked mud and clay or wooden planks defies description. These are the cathedrals of the poor, every bit as magnificent as the hallowed shrines of Orthodoxy in the great centers of the world. What a great mystery … [Read more...]
MEDICAL TEAM VISITS CLINIC- Alexandra Chakos
January 30, 2016 by · Leave a Comment
Life goes on in chilly, cloudy Aguacate! If you have ever flown on a plane through the clouds, you will have an idea what it's like outside of our windows in Aguacate. The village is so high up in the mountains, that clouds usually sit on it. Clouds, being comprised of water vapor, make everything … [Read more...]
THE NEW FACE OF MAYAN CHRISTIANITY
April 23, 2015 by · 5 Comments
Christianity among the Mayan Indians is undergoing a dramatic change in places like Guatemala and Southern Mexico. This shifting of religious identity is part of a larger trend that is enveloping much of Latin America. According to the Pew Research Center report, published in November of 2014, … [Read more...]
THE MIDWIVES OF AGUACATE: BIRTHING A VILLAGE
December 5, 2014 by · 1 Comment
As we approach the glorious celebration of our Lord’s Nativity in the cave of Bethlehem, the thought occurred to me that there might have been a midwife present to assist with the delivery of Jesus. Although the Holy Scriptures remain silent about this, the Orthodox Church’s iconographic depiction … [Read more...]
Video of Miracle Report in Pebilpam, Guatemala
March 22, 2014 by · 1 Comment
On March the 10th, we interviewed a woman who reported a miracle that occurred through the intercessions of the late Fr. Andres Giron. We posted an initial article a few days ago, and now we are happy to provide the video of this miracle report. I am translating for the woman as she reports her … [Read more...]
