Thanksgiving Soccer Tournament and End-of-Year Solicitation

Actually, it has nothing to do with Thanksgiving, but it is held this week- so none of the Americans working at NPH got to head home to celebrate it with their families :(  But it was a great week for the kids, and for all of us. Young men and women from five of the homes (Mexico, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala) met here in Guatemala (it was our year to host) for the seventh annual soccer tournament. Finances have been extremely tight at NPH, but a generous donor came through and paid for the travel of the teams and other costs related to the event so that it could take place. The cost of bringing in the kids from Bolivia, Peru, Haiti and the Dominican Republic made their participation this year too expensive.

It was a great week for all of the kids, and especially for those here in our house who had the privilege of hosting the event. Lots of planning went into it, and the games were well played. I have never played soccer in my life, but have watched a lot of it since arriving in Guatemala (it is the principal free time activity of the kids). Those living at NPH are often invited to consider those with whom they live as members of their “extensive family.” This family extends even to the kids living in the other eight NPH homes. And so this is really seen as an annual family event, and the kids are thrilled to meet their confreres from other homes in the NPH network.

Those coming from Nicaragua and Mexico drove the furthest. The Mexican team needed almost three days to get here, and problems at the border with paperwork for their bus meant that they needed to leave it there, and rent other transportation to take them the final ten hours or so to our home. For the Nicaraguans, it was about a twenty-four hour ride, and they were happy when they arrived at 4am. The ride for the Hondurans was almost as long, but those from El Salvador only needed about seven hours. All arrived on time, and kids and adults camped out wherever we could find space. It was a tight fit, but that just added to the “coziness.”

The week kicked off with a Mass for everyone, and each day began at 6:30am with a voluntary Mass, attended by 120+ of the kids. Each day saw eight games- four men’s and four women’s games, and after dinner each night we had some kind of cultural event.  Meals that featured food from the various cultures represented here.
 

This all followed a workshop in El Salvador which I attended, which brought together those working in the religion departments from six of our homes. It was a wonderful opportunity for those of us carrying the torch of the Gospel to share stories and strategies, and to spend time praying and reflecting together. While NPH does not have a formal affiliation with the Catholic Church, it is run as a Catholic organization and I was edified to see the commitment and focus among the priests, nuns and catechists who gathered for this workshop.

News on the chapel? Unfortunately, the architect who had been working with us free of charge got too busy to continue with us. We made it through the schematic design phase, and so know more or less what we hope to build. The two university students from NPH who are studying architecture are anxious to pick up the ball and run with it, and have assured me that they will be hard at work on the construction documents during their upcoming Christmas vacation from school.

This will be my last blog post before Christmas- so I would like to take this opportunity to thank all who have followed my journey this past year. Special thanks go out to those who have made contributions to the chapel fund. We have in hand just about $100,000, with a pledge from Project Hope at St. Anne Church in Barrington for an additional $20,000. This takes us to within $80,000 of what I hope to have by the end of this year. If you are reading this and have not yet made a contribution to this important project, I invite you to click here or on the link above “I Want To Help You Build This Chapel,” and see the instructions there for donating. Gifts of $1000 or even $500 will go a long way towards helping to make a permanent prayer and worship space for the kids here a reality.

Whether your support comes in the form of prayers or dollars, or both- please be assured of my prayers for you as I celebrate Mass with the kids here on Christmas Day!