Headed to Paita

Seventeen of our travelers have arrived in Piura and are on their way to Paita for a full day of work. They plan on setting up clinic and unloading all of the shipment containers.Some of the travelers arrived in Lima as a tourist, a few days ago, and did many touristy things and are running a a full night's rest. Others, arrived last evening, stayed in the airport all evening, and got absolutely no sleep, waiting for their early morning flight to Piura.

This picture is of the group, taking a van to Paita.

Daily Prayer - Monday, June 17

The human heart plans the way but the Lord directs the steps.” (NABRE Proverbs 16:9)

Dear Lord,

You are a good and merciful God. We thank you for helping us to all arrive safely and for getting all of our equipment here with us. We know that you have blessed our mission and are here to guide us. We ask that You are in our minds, in our hearts, and in our hands today and through this week, Lord, as we begin to embark on one of our greatest missions: serving Your people. We ask for Your forgiveness, Lord, pl

ease purify our hearts as we begin our service and our mission.

In the words of St. Therese of Lisieux, Patroness of Missionaries and Doctor of the Church: “In spite of my littleness, I would like to enlighten souls as did the Prophets and the Doctors. I have the vocation of the Apostles. I would like to travel over the whole earth to preach Your name and to plant Your glorious cross in the soil. I would be a missionary, not for a few days only, but from the beginning of creation until the consummation of the ages.”

Please be with us today, Lord, as we begin our mission work in the clinic, school, and community.

In Your name, 

Amen.

Parish Blessing

Thanks to Father Dan and St. Paul Parish for their blessing at the 9am Mass on June 9. Please pray for our missionaries this week, as they prepare for their travels.

What is the meaning of the Tau Cross

Connecting Hearts and Hands with Peru, has partnered with the School Sisters of St. Francis, a Franciscan order. The School Sisters use the Tau cross as a symbol of their order. As partners and Tau volunteers, we have done the same.

Here is the Tau cross we have chosen to wear as we volunteer in Peru. The picture below shows Father Dan blessing these Tau crosses

To explain more about the Tau cross, here are some of the excerpts taken from an article written by  Corrado Paolucci, in October, 2014.  

Ancient Origin

Tau is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet and was used symbolically in the Old Testament. It was already spoken of in the Book of Ezekiel: “The Lord said to him, ‘Go through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark upon the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over the abominations… (Ez. 9:4). The Tau is the sign placed upon the foreheads of the poor of Israel, it saves them from extermination.

It was then adopted by the very first Christians, for a twofold reason:

As the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, it prophesied the Last Day and had the same function as the Greek letter Omega as it appears in the Book of Revelation: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water without price from the fountain of the water of life … I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Rev. 21:6;22:13).

The Christians adopted the Tau, because its form reminded them of the Cross on which Christ was immolated for the salvation of the world.

What is it a sign of?

It is a concrete sign of Christian devotion, but above all it is a sign of the commitment of one’s life to following the poor and crucified Christ.

It is a sign of the awareness of a Christian, i.e. of a child of God, a child who has escaped danger, of one who has been redeemed and saved. It is a sign of powerful protection against evil (Ez.9,6).

It is a sign willed by God for me, it is a divine privilege (Rev.9:4; Rev.7:1-4; Rev.14:1).

It is the sign of the Lord’s redeemed, of the unblemished, of those who trust Him, of those who see themselves as beloved children and who know that they are precious to God (Ez.9:6).

It is a symbol of the dignity of the children of God, for it is the Cross that held Christ.

It is a sign that reminds me that I too must be strong in time of trial, ready to obey the Father, and docile in submission, as Jesus was docile before the Father’s will.

“Look at the crucifix and it will teach you everything…”

St. Francis and the cross

Because of the Tau’s resemblance to the cross, this sign was very dear to St. Francis of Assisi, so much so that it occupied an important place in his life as well as his gestures. In him the ancient prophetic sign was actualized, regained its saving power and expressed the beatitude of poverty, which is an essential element of the Franciscan way of life.

“Whenever necessity or charity required, St. Francis marked with this seal the letters he sent” (FF 980); “He began all of his actions with it” (FF 1347). The Tau was therefore the sign dearest to Francis, his seal, the telltale sign of a deep spiritual conviction that the salvation of every man is only in the Cross of Christ.

Thus the Tau, which is backed by a solid biblical and Christian tradition, was received by St. Francis for its spiritual value. The Saint of Assisi took hold of this sign in a manner so complete and intense that, at the end of his life and through the stigmata impressed in his flesh he became the living image of the Tau that he had so often contemplated, drawn, and especially loved.

This article originally appeared in the Italian edition of Aleteia. Translated by Diane Montagna. We have taken excerpts from this article to explain what the Tau represents.

Note: The Tau Cross is most commonly used in reference to the Franciscan Order and Saint Francis of Assisi, who adopted it as his personal coat of arms after hearing Pope Innocent III talk about the Tau symbol. It is now used as a symbol of the Franciscan Order.

Parish Blessing at Mass This Weekend

On Sunday, June 9, twenty-three missionaries going to Peru will be blessed at the 9am Mass. Come join them and meet them in the Gathering Space after Mass.

Please pray for the St. Paul medical team as they travel and serve the people in Paita, Peru from June 16-June 21.. God extends His love through them to the people they are serving.

Dear Jesus, Savior of the World,

Watch over your St. Paul missionary team traveling to Paita, Peru, – In difficult moments, sustain their energies and comfort their hearts. Please grace them, from Your own Heart, with the gift of humility so that they may be able to do works of our Father, through You. Join the hearts of those staying behind with Yours, and multiply our humble offerings; whether financial, in-kind donations, or prayers alone, so that God may be glorified in Peru.

Amen

The Sisters

Meet the Spindt Family

The Spindt Family have been members of St. Paul’s Catholic Church for over 15 years and service to others as a family is very important to them. They are long time volunteers with local organizations in Waukesha such as the Hope Center and the Eras Senior Network. Even though Charlie and Miranda have served with the medical missions before, this is the first time the entire family is serving together in Peru and are very excited.

Miranda “Charlie” Spindt has been a part of the Peru Outreach Ministry since 2013. This will be her third trip as the medical coordinator for the mission. She is a Physician Assistant in Family Medicine and serves as a volunteer provider at St. Joseph’s Free Medical Clinic serving the homeless and uninsured. Currently, she is the Clinical Education Coordinator and a Clinical Assistant Professor at Carroll University’s Physician Assistant Program in Waukesha. She serves St. Paul’s as a Eucharistic Minister and together with her husband Marc, as a pre-marriage FOCCUS facilitator. She loves to spend time with her family and helping the community. 

Marc is the Vice President of Service Delivery for an internet security company in Brookfield. He serves as a group leader for high school age kids with the religious education program at St. Paul’s. He is also a Eucharistic Minister and a pre-marriage FOCCUS facilitator. Marc and Charlie have been married for nearly 24 years and have two great kids together, Miranda and Nicolas. He loves to spend time with kids and is currently a coach with the Kettle Moraine Sporting Clays and Trap Team. He is looking forward to traveling to Peru to help with water filtration program and support the medical mission.

Miranda is a Sophomore at Marquette University where she is a double major studying Political Science, Economics with a minor in Spanish. She is in the Burke Scholars program where she has the opportunity to volunteer in the Milwaukee community and has become involved with the Next Door Foundation working in the pre-school classrooms. This will be Miranda’s third trip to Peru. As part of her Girl Scout Award in 2016, she helped our mission bring 50 water purification systems to help families have access to healthy drinking water. She looks forward to helping again with medical translation, the water filtration program and is super excited that she gets to share this experience with her brother Nico for the first time.

Nico Spindt will be finishing his sophomore year at Kettle Moraine’s School of Health Sciences where he is an active participant of the Lake Country Fire and Rescue Training Center’s Firefighter I workshop. He hopes to be a volunteer firefighter and EMT while he pursues a career in medicine in the future. He has been serving the homeless veteran community for many years. At the age of 10, he started a service project that he called Socks & Sole-diers, which collects new socks and gently used shoes for homeless veterans. He continues to engage the community with drives and to date has collected well over 4K pairs of socks and over 1K pairs of shoes donated to multiple local homeless outreach organizations. He raised funds to purchase sandals to donate to the mission to help decrease the spread of parasitic infections from walking barefoot. He is a member of KM Sporting Clay and Trap team, Tri-M National Honor Society and is the Student Representative for his class.

Meet Dr. Peggy

Dr. Peggy is a Family Medicine Physician and works at Froedtert in Sussex. She earned her Doctor of Medicine degree in 2002 from the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) as well as her residency at St. Michael's Hospital with MCW. 

She is known for her caring and compassionate approach to patient care. In 2010, the Wisconsin Medical Society recognized her with the 2010 Citizen of the Year Award for her commitment to the community in which she lives and her work with our team is another example of that commitment. 

She is very passionate about sharing her time and talent and serving the Lord in her community close and far. This is her second medical mission trip with Connecting Hearts and Hands with Peru. She has also done many other mission trips with other churches. She and her husband Chuck have three beautiful daughters and two dogs. She stays active with volleyball and running. She loves traveling and looks forward to serving the people in Peru. 

Meet Roseemary and Doug

Rosemary and Doug met in 2007 and have been together since. They enjoy time spent with their four children, grandchild, and many other family members and friends. They love to travel and have visited a number of countries throughout Europe, Mexico, Canada, the continental US, and Alaska. They enjoy reading, fishing, and time spent outdoors.

Douglas has a degree in Business and has spent many years in the pharmaceutical industry. HIs primary focus for 12 years was the treatment of Asthma and Allergies and later selling chemotherapy for breast, lung, and prostate cancer. Currently, he owns his own business working in the commercial trucking industry testing and treating commercial drivers for Obstructive Sleep Apnea. His passion has always been helping others which is why this mission is so important to him.

Rosemary is a bachelor’s prepared registered nurse with early education in the medical field alongside her father who was a veterinarian. In the past 29 years , her experience has included work in Cardiology, Cardiothoracic surgery, Trauma, Medical Surgical, Home care, palliative care, and hospice. She has held roles as Director of Nursing and assistant Director of Nursing in the hospital setting. Currently, she is working as a senior case manager for a level one trauma center in Milwaukee, WI. 

Rosemary has had a lifelong passion  to be involved in a medical mission and she's looking forward to serving the community in Peru. The Peru mission has been made possible by  her long friendship with her past co-worker and friend Dr. MaryAnn Papp and her spouse Dr. Louis Papp. She has been a lifelong member of St. Bernard’s Catholic Church in Watertown, WI.

Meet Sylvia

Sylvia is a Licensed Practical Nurse at the VA Hospital in Milwaukee, WI, She is currently living in Waukesha, WI with husband, Alfredo and son, Casey, She is fluent in Spanish and is very excited about her first mission trip to Peru,  and looking forward to working with a great team!

Meet Michael and Deb

Deb and Michael have been married for over 33 years and have two

children from Guatemala. They received a calling to international mission work after they heard that St. Paul Parish would be twinning with a church in Guatemala City, in partnership with the School Sisters of St. Francis (SSSF). This relationship began around 1992. During the 18-year twinning relationship, they had the opportunity to travel to Guatemala on a variety of mission trips either to the orphanage in Santa Apolonia, the clinic in San Marcos, or the church in Guatemala City. They also traveled to Guatemala in 1994 and 1997 to pick up their boys from an orphanage in Guatemala City. They both feel that the twinning relationship has helped them grow in their faith.

In 2013, St. Paul Parish explored the idea of doing God's work at St. Clare School in Paita, Peru. Deb, Lisa and Sarah traveled to Paita, Peru and felt that it would be a perfect fit for the congregation. 

Michael is proud to volunteer as a member of the Martial Arts Veterans Project (MAVP - www.themavp.com). MAVP is a team of black belts teaching martial arts and self defense to veterans at the Milwaukee Veterans Administration. They are celebrating their sixth anniversary this summer. 

This will be Deb's sixth trip to Peru and is pleased that Michael will finally  be joining her on this mission trip. 

Meet the Vavra Family

The Vavra’s are a family of six who are all very excited about going on their first medical mission trip to Peru this summer.

[From left to right: Jim, Abby, Morgan, Jordan, Denise, and Justin]

Jim has over 25 years of experience working as a podiatrist. He is part of Foot and Ankle Associates of Wisconsin and works along with ProHealth Care and Aurora. He is a father of four children and has been married to his wife Denise for 27 years. Jim has been on one mission trip before with his daughter, Abby, and is excited to embark on this mission trip as a family.

Denise was a physical therapist for about 10 years until the birth of her third child, Abby, in 2000. She enjoys volunteering and helping others; some of her time is devoted to volunteering at St. Paul Church, Catholic Memorial and Knollwood Farm. She has never been on a mission trip before and cannot wait to go to Peru.

Justin is the oldest child in the family. He is an alumnus from UW-Milwaukee, graduating with a major in computer science. He now works in IT for North Western Mutual. Aside from his work, he loves music and can play guitar, piano, bass, and ukulele. Justin has also never been on a mission trip and is very excited to go to Peru to volunteer.

Jordan is graduating from UW-Eau Claire in May and is heading to graduate school for speech language pathology next fall. Jordan is proficient in sign language and has lots of experience working with individuals with special needs. She loves volunteering and is currently volunteering at a dog shelter in Oregon while waiting for graduation this spring. Jordan has gone on a Catholic Heart mission trip before and had a blast. She loves traveling and is looking forward to Peru.

Abby is a soon-to-be-sophomore at Wisconsin Lutheran College. She played soccer and basketball at WLC her freshman year and is looking forward to playing basketball next year. Abby is a certified nursing assistant and is in the nursing program at WLC. Abby has been on two mission trips in the past and loved them. She enjoys volunteering in her free time and is excited to go to Peru to help others and gain learning experience.

Morgan is going to be a senior next fall at Catholic Memorial High School. She participates in musicals as a singer, dancer, and technology help, and golfs as well. Morgan loves to be in touch with her creative side and spends her free time painting, drawing, and creating beautiful pieces of artwork. She has never been on a mission trip before, but she is excited to go to Peru.

Meet the Weber Family

The Weber’s are returning to Peru on their second medical mission trip!

In 2016 Olivia, Lisa, and Lindsey lent a helping hand and this time around Grace, Jon, Lisa, and Olivia are going! Lisa is currently a professor at WCTC teaching Anatomy and Physiology and has 18 years of experience as a chiropractor. This will be her third mission trip as she and Olivia have gone to Guatemala and Peru on previous medical missions. Olivia is graduating in May with her Master’s in Physician Assistant studies and will be entering into an emergency medicine fellowship through Marquette. Grace is going to be a junior at the University of Illinois Springfield where she has played two years of collegiate basketball and is majoring in Business with a marketing emphasis. Jon is going to be a Senior at Kettle Moraine High School. He is currently on the trap shooting team and spends some of his afternoons tutoring math and science students.

The Webers are enthusiastic about the opportunities to help the Peruvian people, learn more about their culture, and make a lasting impact. They are excited about strengthening and deepening their relationship with God. They are also eager to use their Spanish!

Meet Nancy

Nancy is a recently retired RN. Her last job as the outreach nurse to the homeless of Waukesha County was also her dream job. Nancy’s been blessed in her life with a wonderful husband and family – 5 children and 9 grandchildren. She feels it is important to give back to those who have not been so blessed.

Nancy has traveled to Guatemala and now to Peru thru the auspices of St Paul Parish and the School Sisters of St Francis. She continues to volunteer at shelters, outreach sites and with those in need.

Nancy enjoys quilting, reading, gardening, camping, biking and spending time exploring new experiences.

Meet Drs. Lou and Mary Anne

.

Drs. Lou and Mary Anne have been married for 43 years and have three children and five grandchildren. They both served as medical officers in the US Navy. 

Lou is with Children’s Medical Group at Bluemound Pediatrics. Mary Anne worked at Froedtert and MCW as a cardiologist and now works as Cardiologist at the Zablocki VA.

They look forward to sharing their God given gifts with their brothers and sisters in Peru.

Adios - See you Next Year!

Sister Monica and Sister Paula left for their home in Peru on September 21. They will be missed...until next year!!

The Sisters accomplished a lot while they were here. Some of the major accomplishment during their visit:

• Met with the Peruvian Consulate in Chicago. They were a great help to us and provided us with the necessary information so that we could get approval to travel to Peru next year.
• Visited St. Paul School and met the new principal, Angela Gunderson, and all the teachers and students. They were able to talk with the children and tour the school.
• Talked at the Knights of Columbus Parish Breakfast
• Had dinner and a planning meeting with the team going to Peru in 2019. Parishioners Lisa and Roy served a delicious dinner. We were able to have a birthday celebration for Sister Monica, Lisa B. and Lisa W.
• Celebrated a half-day of friendship, prayer and relaxation at Holy Hill.
• Visited the Mother House; met with the international team  and met with some of the retired Sisters.
• Made a lot of new friends such as Ruth and Steve,  the first host family, and Lou and Mary Anne, the second host family. Thanks to the host families for making such delicious meals and for transporting them to their appointments.
• Enjoyed their last evening at the home of Deb and Brian. Deb prepared a scrumptious dinner for a group of 10. What a fun evening! 

Thanks to all who made their visit happen. 

Day on Lac la Belle - September 17

What a relaxing day on Lac la Belle! Judge for yourself!

• Thanks to their hosts Scott and Michelle!

Dinner and Team Meeting - September 16

Thanks to Lisa and Roy for hosting the dinner and meeting at their beautiful home in Genesee. Seventeen people took time out of their Sunday to be at this meeting. Thank you, everyone. We met to finalize the dates of travel and other details. Here are a few pictures from that day.

Sister Paula, Sister Monica, Father Dan att St. Paul Church Prior to Meeting

Knights of Columbus Breakfast - September 16

The Knights of Columbus Volunteers

The Knights of Columbus sponsored a breakfast on Sunday and invited the two Sisters, from the order of the School Sisters of St. Francis, to the parish. A PowerPoint presentation was shown and the Sisters took time to answer questions. There was one poignant question, "how can we as parishioners help you?" Sister Monica stated that the 2019 medical mission team needs vitamins, medicines and medical supplies. 

Sister Paula

Sister Paula talked about the pharmacy that is associated with St. Clare School. She graduated from school and is a pharmacist, interning at a local hospital. She is managing this pharmacy.  She had stated that all medications left at the clinic after the mission trip is over are providing medicines to the people in the community of Paita. One parishioner immediately went to the store and bought nine bottles of vitamins. Thank you!

Sister Monica and Sister Paula

Sister Monica, Steve, Ruth, Sister Paula

Sister Monica Answering a Question

Holding the Vitamins Donated by Lucille

Visiting St. Paul School - September 14

A PowerPoint presentation was shown to the children of St. Paul School. This presentation had pictures of St. Clare School in Paita, Peru and the community surrounding the school. Sister Monica answered the many questions the children had for them.  What a vibrant, Catholic Christian community! The Sisters really enjoyed their visit! Thank you for the opportunity to talk with the children!

The "Welcome Sisters" Bulletin Board

Visiting Holy Hill - September 13

Another beautiful day in Wisconsin. Holy Hill is located in Hubertus, WI. It is the National Shrine of Mary, built high atop a glacial hill. Too early in the season for the Sisters to see the color changes of the trees surrounding the church. As a challenge, the Sisters walked the 178 steps to the top of the steeple. What a view! See for yourself!

Ruth, Connie, Sister Paula and Sister Monica

Sister Monica and Sister Paula

Ruth, Sister Paula, Sister Monica and Connie