SPEAKER_06 0:08

Welcome to Beyond the Beacon with Bishop Kevin Sweeney, a podcast of the Diocese of Patterson, New Jersey. Join us for conversations about our Catholic faith, and together let's strive to live a life of faith, hope, and love. I'm Jay Agnish, Communications Director for the Diocese, and with me is Bishop Kevin Sweeney. Thank you for joining us. How are you doing, Bishop? Oh, good, Jay. How are you? Doing well.

SPEAKER_02 0:28

Another new studio? Yeah. On the road again. Thanks to Bali Johan, who will be with us, uh, the pastor here at Resurrection for hosting us, and uh, we're excited to hear from our guests about their experience. We have two parishes represented here. Uh Resurrection hosting us, and Christina and Ken from Notre Dame and Mount Carmel in Cedar Knowles.

SPEAKER_06 0:48

So, Christina and Ken Folan, we're going to discuss uh a joint parish uh mission trip to Guatemala, uh between the two parishes, uh, and hear all about it. We have some some of the folks who go on the missions and some of the people who coordinate. So uh we're looking forward to it. Should we open it up in prayer?

SPEAKER_02 1:05

Sure, and we might uh as we pray for our families and our young people and for vocations to priesthood and consecrated religious life. Uh Ken and Christina are also mom and dad, uh dad and mom for uh Father Lucas Fullen are recently uh ordained last June, right? And uh finishing his studies now in Rome and uh hear doing well, huh? Yeah, thanks be to God. Great, great. So we place ourselves in God's presence, name of the Father, Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

SPEAKER_08 1:31

Amen.

SPEAKER_02 1:31

Amen. We pray in thanksgiving for the gifts and blessings of every day, and a special way today, we thank God for missionaries as we celebrated World Mission Sunday this past Sunday. We thank God for those who have gone from our diocese to other places to bring God's love and the good news of the gospel. And as we reflect on that missionary call today and the call to serve and to help others, we draw all our prayers together as one as we pray, as Jesus Himself has taught us.

SPEAKER_07 2:02

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses. As we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

SPEAKER_02 2:22

Amen. Our Lady Seed of Wisdom, Mother of the Church, pray for us. Saint Joseph, pray for us, St. John the Baptist, pray for us, St. Paul of the Cross, pray for us, all holy men and women, pray for us in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

SPEAKER_06 2:37

Amen. All right, so yeah, so we're here at Resurrection in Randolph, and we want to talk about the annual mission trip to Guatemala. Um, so Chris Christina, maybe you can you can start us off. So um you and Ken have been going for quite some time. Maybe you could tell us the first time you went to Guatemala, what inspired you to go and and what that trip was like.

SPEAKER_08 3:01

Well, our first trip was in 2009, and a friend of ours, her name is Judy Baker, uh, neighbor at the time. She had adopted her children from Guatemala, so that was the connection. And her very good friend, Joe Collins, um, who was the founder of the organization From Houses to Homes, that's the organization organization that we partner uh for the mission trips. Um, anyway, she was going to Guatemala to build a home. She was doing a blog every day, and uh she was sharing it daily with us. So at night she would write at the end of her day. She was a beautiful writer, and in the morning I would print out her blog, we would sit at the breakfast table and read to the children uh her blog entry, and we would end up laughing and crying just because of the level of heart and movement that she was experiencing. We could feel it. And that's when we decided this is something that we really would love to do with our children. So in 2009, we joined her and 20 other people, and we headed to Guatemala for the first time and built four houses.

SPEAKER_02 4:10

Joe Collins, you mentioned, was a parishioner at uh uh one of our parishes.

SPEAKER_08 4:14

Christ the King. Christ the King in New Vernon, yes.

SPEAKER_02 4:16

And he's passed since, but um his legacy continues. Um Ken, what was your first impression, or how did you feel when was it an idea together that you just felt we have to go or uh No, we we have the same heart.

SPEAKER_04 4:29

We want to serve, and we both agreed that would be a great trip. And the kids look forward to it too. So it was something we could do as a family while serving others. So it was wonderful.

SPEAKER_02 4:40

Did you know others in that first group that you went with?

SPEAKER_08 4:42

We just knew Judy and her family, and we did some fundraising, so we got to meet the other friends that were coming along, and we did know another family because they were local to our neighborhood.

SPEAKER_06 4:52

And so this is you're with Notre Dame of Mount Carmel, and this kind of sparked the first trip. Can you talk about that initial trip? So, how many people went on the initial trip and how did it maybe grow from there?

SPEAKER_08 5:02

Do you mean with Notre Dame of Mont Carmel?

SPEAKER_06 5:04

Yeah, like initially before the joint parishes.

SPEAKER_08 5:07

Um as we traveled a few years, I I felt strongly that this is this could be a ministry that we could bring to Notre Dame. So I showed a video to our pastor at the time, and he was very moved and said, okay, let's do this next year. And so we embarked on hopefully building one house, our family, and then getting enough volunteers to build another house. We ended up with enough volunteers to build four houses. Oh wow. And since we've gone pretty much every year, getting volunteers, we build anywhere from four houses, three, um, except during COVID, we had to take a break for three years. We did.

SPEAKER_02 5:46

But it's come back.

SPEAKER_08 5:47

It has come back, definitely has. And people were just so looking forward to re-engage. We have a lot of repeat volunteers who want to come back, and always some new ones as well.

SPEAKER_02 5:56

And you do fundraising throughout the year?

SPEAKER_08 5:59

We um target two fundraise events. Uh usually we do uh pancake breakfast at Applebee's, um, and then we do shopright bagging.

SPEAKER_07 6:09

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_08 6:10

Um, but we are also abundantly blessed by the generosity of our parishioners and our friends. They give so generously that money really is not an issue.

SPEAKER_02 6:21

Um and uh what was your first impression when when you got to Guatemala and you saw uh the conditions or the work the ahead?

SPEAKER_04 6:30

Yeah, and it's I go every year thinking I would be giving something, but you know, Bishop, there's always something that God has in place for us. And I return home in tears because of the abundance of God. And when I first went there, being a New Jersey guy, I grew up in New Jersey, I was a little skeptical because people were so nice. And but once I realized you know these people are genuinely nice, I fell in love with the people.

SPEAKER_02 7:03

The it's a particular town where you go in Guatemala?

SPEAKER_04 7:07

We stay in one town called Antigua.

SPEAKER_02 7:09

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 7:10

And then for the work, we hop on the back of pickup trucks and we're brought to surrounding towns that need help.

SPEAKER_08 7:18

And did you say that um uh a school and clinic have developed uh yes, as part of the project, uh he started with just shelter, uh was able to get enough funding to build a school, and that continues to be a thriving uh source of education for the people. So they build the homes and the children of those families can go to school for free. And it's beautiful to be. Did you say how many homes have been built since uh Oh my goodness, they have built over 2,000, way over 2,000 homes. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 7:53

Maybe you could talk about so we know one of your children is Father Lucas, and uh our one of our newly ordained priests. How many children do you have, and what was that like as a family doing this together as a family?

SPEAKER_08 8:05

Um we have three children. Uh the oldest is Mitchell, then Father Lucas, and Teresa's the youngest. It was a wonderful experience to bring them to Guatemala. Uh how old were they when Oh my goodness. I think Mitchell was entering middle school. No, not even. And they're two years apart, so two years younger, two years younger. Um it was a great experience. They were mainly focused on playing with the children. You know, they would come and help build and then they would run them play. But actually it was helpful because part of the building experience is filling block. So their little hands were really quite helpful in helping fill, you know, cement.

SPEAKER_02 8:42

That sounds really hands-on. The building is very much.

SPEAKER_08 8:46

It's completely hands-off. Yeah, so they they really loved it, and I mean we'd love to believe that it really impacted their lives forever. I think all three of them have a real heart for mission and outreach.

SPEAKER_06 8:57

Yeah, when we spoke earlier today in our pre-interview, you had talked about this mission trip as a as a point uh for evangelization. Maybe you can share share that perspective. Sure.

SPEAKER_08 9:09

Um, so I I just think I believe it was maybe Bishop Barron who mentioned it. It's been mentioned multiple times that something that attracts people who may not be connected to our faith is one, the beauty of our Catholic faith. Second is the goodness of Catholicism through works of mercy, right? And third, the truth, right? Doctrine and all of that. But that comes like a little later. Um the this outreach of this mission work is a beautiful opportunity to invite people who may not be fully connected to the church, but they're interested in the work, in the in helping people. So they come and they have an opportunity to be with us, Catholics, for a week. Um, we go to mass every morning, we pray every morning, and they hang out with us, and they realize, well, we're not that weird or you know, we're actually cool people to be around with. Yes. Um, so for example, this past year we had a group of five young adults, two had been with us the previous year, they came back and brought three more.

SPEAKER_07 10:17

Wow, awesome.

SPEAKER_08 10:18

So all of them are not terribly fully committed to the church, but I like to believe that that week had an impact in their perception for who church people are, for what our faith is, and what can be done in the name of our Lord.

SPEAKER_02 10:35

And it's uh another experience of our Catholic faith, Catholic being universal, and even the I'm sure celebrating liturgy or seeing the church in action uh in prayer in the Guatemalan community, that must be um uh Ken, you said that was would have been uh new for you, right? Your first time was when uh well go the the the liturgy, the the the community uh Guatemalan community at prayer.

SPEAKER_04 11:00

Uh um Yeah, when we pray, we pray as a group of the volunteers.

SPEAKER_02 11:05

Right, right.

SPEAKER_04 11:05

And then when we go on the work site, and actually it's where the people are living, um, there are even times when we say grace during lunch, we say it and they'll join in as well. So they there is the presence of God, I believe, when we're working, when we're mixing cement, when we're lifting blocks. You know, God always is present with us. We feel that presence. Right, right, right.

SPEAKER_06 11:30

So, how can we learn a little more? I know there's so on the parish website, there's a this video, right? And you make this video every every year?

SPEAKER_08 11:39

We do. Um we feel it's so important to come back and tell the stories. It is the stories that we share that keep the mission alive. So um I to every team that we bring, I assign a picture person, and they have to provide me with photos, and then when we come back, I just put a video together with beautiful music to share the story, and and we share that with our parishioners and whoever happens to come across yes, exactly.

SPEAKER_02 12:11

Such as um a priest you might meet in the diocese who's in catechetical work and who becomes a pastor and says, Oh, maybe uh right? Uh I think we're gonna hear about that shortly. Yeah, that your encounter with Father Johan and sharing the story uh touched his heart and uh now is uh um uh touched the hearts of uh parishioners in the new parish here in resurrection.

SPEAKER_04 12:32

And we've had other priests join as well, Father Vidalar, currently. Yes, right, right, right. And Father John Madrid when he he was our appropriate vicar. That's when we first met him, he joined us down.

SPEAKER_02 12:42

Right, right. Um now serving as a military chapter, Father. Yes, John Madrid. Yes.

SPEAKER_08 12:46

If I could say, Bishop, it it's really extraordinary when we have the blessing of having a priest with us coming to the mission. It really makes it for an extraordinary experience. Both times that well, Father Vidal has gone twice already. Father John also came with us twice, and there were always circumstances, opportunities that arose simply because they were there. Uh a number of years back with Father John, one of our workers whom we had already developed a relationship, um, he had a young baby and he asked Father John if he would baptize the baby, asked us to be the godparents, you know, things like that happen simply because we have a priest there. So, yes, for our priests, and that's why we have them.

SPEAKER_02 13:34

A lot of memorable experiences from the whole uh experience of of going and serving. Um, but when the priest, there's even some more memorable moments. Absolutely. Very much so.

SPEAKER_07 13:43

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 13:44

And experiences of grace of God's working through us as God's instruments, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 14:14

All right, good. We'll check the show notes. We're gonna we're gonna have links to this video that we referenced and some of your wonderful writing that you submitted to the beacon over the years, some articles and some photos. Um, right.

SPEAKER_02 14:25

Did I help to share this?

SPEAKER_08 14:27

Yes. Oh my goodness, it's a blessing. Blessing to do that.

SPEAKER_06 14:30

So we'll thank you for being able to do that.

SPEAKER_02 14:32

Thank you for having us. Yeah, thank you, Bishop. Thank you so much. Um we'll be talking about what might happen in the future. Oh, wonderful.

SPEAKER_08 14:39

Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_02 14:40

Great. God bless. Thanks. God bless. Thanks. Welcome back. We're back on this episode of the Beacon of Beyond the Beacon with um our missionaries who have gone to uh Guatemala and the pastor and parishioners of resurrection uh parish here in Randolph. Father Johan Garcia. Uh how many, how long now is pastor here at Resurrection?

SPEAKER_00 15:06

Yeah, it was one year.

SPEAKER_02 15:07

And going into two, right?

SPEAKER_00 15:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:09

Uh and how many years is director of the office of catechesis and faith formation now?

SPEAKER_00 15:14

Five years.

SPEAKER_02 15:15

Five years, God bless you. Um and Eric and Tyler Kalos, right? Um father and son? Father and son. Um uh other children?

SPEAKER_05 15:26

Lucas, uh, younger, uh, younger son, and uh my wife uh Basha. We all we all went together.

SPEAKER_02 15:33

Oh great, great, great. Um so um, and Tyler, you're a senior at Seton Hall Prep. Yeah, great, great. And so um maybe Father Johan, you can share with us a little bit about how you first heard from uh Christina and uh Ken uh and their experience and coming here as pastor, uh how you shared it with so many parishioners.

SPEAKER_00 15:57

Okay, yeah. Uh Christina and she shared with me about this great experience. And I said this is something that I wanted to do because mission and charity is part of our identity, and of course, you know, this kind of mission has Eucharistic dimension because we are serving our people. And Christina shared with me one time, I said I wanted to go, but every year something happened, I couldn't go, and then when I was appointed pastor, Christina came one time and shared with me the video and everything that they did in Guatemala, and I said I really wanted to do with Resurrection Parish. And Divine Providence, one of our parishers, she went with uh Christina Teen and Siron Olls. And when we had the listening days here in Resurrection, different people they said that they wanted that kind of mission. And I mentioned to this parishioner called Patty, who coordinates the whole trip, say okay, this is something that I really wanted to do. And I say, okay, let us pray, and let us ask the community, maybe there could be a land project. And we mentioned to the leaders of the parish, and they said that would be a good idea. And we offered as a land mission, was extremely successful, and our parishioners they were very generous, and this is the reason that we went, you know, to this beautiful.

SPEAKER_02 17:29

Have you and your family done anything like this before?

SPEAKER_05 17:32

No, no, and we we have a little bit of a different story on how this all came about than Christina and and Ken. So um this is our first time. I owe it all to my wife, Basha. Um, you know, one day she's like, hey, we're going. And we're going and we're going as a family.

SPEAKER_02 17:49

Did Basha hear about it from Father Yolan?

SPEAKER_05 17:51

Yeah, so she she got the information uh from uh after mass uh one one Sunday. And you know, at first, you know, I I will admit, and it's part of my like self-growing here, you know, we I was a little apprehensive. Um the kids were a hundred percent all in from the very first minute.

SPEAKER_02 18:08

Your brother was older or younger? Younger. Okay.

SPEAKER_05 18:11

Not so much a hundred percent all in, but we but after a while it it sunk in in terms of uh service. You know, it's it's more than just dedicating a couple of hours when it's good for you. And we jumped in and we dove in and we we um a little different from a family vacation at Disney World, huh? Oh well it was it was a lot different, but I would never trade it. Right, right. Um so it was a great bonding experience with the family. Uh we were doing you know God's work out there and to see the the smiles on the family that we were helping. And the interesting thing is the family was smiling no matter what. Wow, whether or not they were getting help or or not, um they they were happy. Wow. Um so yeah, it was a great it was a great experience. It was some blood, sweat, and tears. Um great bonding with Father Johan. I mean, seeing Father Johan at work mixing the the cement like with all of us. It was um you know it was great to see you know Father Johan outside of uh mass on Sundays and um also the camaraderie with uh Terry and and Patty and and and and Bill and Usha. Yeah, it was it was a great experience.

SPEAKER_02 19:27

So Tyler, maybe you can remember uh when you first heard about it, maybe like your your dad when your mom came home from church and said we're doing this.

SPEAKER_03 19:34

So actually the year before um I actually went to Ecuador for a mission trip with through my school. Oh wow. So it was like um So you were the trendsetter in the family. Yeah, so I went on the the Ecuador mission trip and my mom was like pretty jealous because she wanted to go on it, but she couldn't go. And then uh I think she came home from a mass, we came home from a mass one time, and I think they like in the announcements talked about it, and she was like, Okay, guys, we're going to Guatemala. And at first we were just like, Okay, okay. And then, you know, she kept talking about it, and we and then she started to like push us, and then we all agreed together.

SPEAKER_02 20:11

So that's great. Uh, before you went to Ecuador, had you done anything like that before?

SPEAKER_03 20:15

Um, nothing like that. No, that was my first time.

SPEAKER_02 20:18

What was the impress the experience in Ecuador like?

SPEAKER_03 20:21

The experience in Ecuador, it was also really amazing too. Um that was like my first time like um seeing like what it's like in these like other countries. Um because you don't really you don't really like think about like what what else is going on in the world. Everyone I feel like is so caught up in like their self. And then you go to these other countries and it's like a complete shock, like what other people have to go to.

SPEAKER_02 20:45

Yeah, right, right. Uh and uh um then Guatemala, what was what was that like being there with your family and then the parish?

SPEAKER_03 20:53

It was a great experience being with my family and then other people I would see at church. Uh both the experiences were like they were different and the same in their own ways. So I'm grateful to experience both of them. And how about the hard work building? How was that? Oh, it was amazing. I think I got it was like a workout every day. I got a lot stronger.

SPEAKER_02 21:11

Um were you trying to keep up with Father Johan or was he trying to keep up with you?

SPEAKER_03 21:16

I think he's trying to keep up with me.

SPEAKER_02 21:19

Father Johan, what was it like for yourself personally?

SPEAKER_00 21:22

Uh and no, I I can say that it's uh the best experience in my life in my last years as a police. Because we had the mass every single day together as a team. Then we work so hard and just you know seeing the joy of the families, even that they don't have you know much. And then after that we were very exhausted, we were looking you know for dinner, the food you know was so delicious, and the people there. They are you know so kind and and you know the faith, how they live, you know, the faith. It was an inspiration for me.

SPEAKER_02 21:56

And how many in the group from the parish went?

SPEAKER_00 21:59

Uh nine. Nine people. Yeah, because I know that people they wanted to go, but that the last week something happened. Right, right, right, right.

SPEAKER_02 22:07

Um and uh were there others as well there from the um organization that were also working? Did you meet some other people?

SPEAKER_05 22:15

Yeah, there was there was other families there, there were there were other uh participants from other parishes. Uh we met a family, um, I forget from what From what town Westfield, I believe. And they they actually just heard about Houses to Homes through word of mouth, uh, got some information uh from the internet, and just decided as a family to just go by themselves on the on their own dime, uh which was amazing. And and they had a great experience as well.

SPEAKER_02 22:45

And they met some fellow New Jerseyans. Um they did, they did. Uh Tyler, what would you say to a uh a teenager, a junior, or senior in high school who has an opportunity to do a mission trip? Um, what would your recommendation be?

SPEAKER_03 22:58

Oh, I mean like if you have if you have the opportunity to go, I would take it because uh you never know how many opportunities you're gonna get to do something like this because it's really life-changing, and I think I feel like like there's no reason why you wouldn't enjoy and take something away from it. So I feel like it's a must-do.

SPEAKER_02 23:18

Would you say your brother had a similar experience? Oh yeah, for sure. Yeah. Um and a good time to spend some quality time together as a family, huh? Yeah, absolutely. Anything that surprised you? I guess there were a few surprises. Uh Tyler, as you said, it would you different from life here, right? And delivering circumstances.

SPEAKER_05 23:35

Anything else that stood out that surprised you or I mean I I think for me, um I I've known about poverty in that in that area, but it was always from afar. Um, you know, the news or you you read or infomercials in terms asking for donations and showing pictures. But it's much different when you're when you're there and embedded with within um, you know, that that area with with the people and and seeing how they live. Um so it it really hit home. Uh so again, we I was so happy that we can contribute. I was happy that we had some contributions from the parish to kind of make this possible. And just from our parish, we were able to build two houses. And even though the houses are not necessarily uh five-story. Uh they are still.

SPEAKER_02 24:30

The family has a home, right?

SPEAKER_05 24:31

That's it. Absolutely. Going from uh where they were living to these homes that we were building from scratch was night and day. And really, you know, set the It may have always been a mansion for them, right? It it it was, and I think it got the families over the hump and gave them a kick start, um, which which was which was desperately needed.

SPEAKER_02 24:53

Anything that was uh particularly surprising?

SPEAKER_03 24:56

I mean, like I feel like um these people there, they're they're you know, they have life so much more rough than us and they're much poorer than us, but they're always like they're always like happy, they're always smiling, they're always so grateful for everything. I feel like we take for granted a lot of stuff at home. Um like you know, like uh your mom cooked like dinner you don't like or something, but then you get there and you just you see the food that they eat and they're happy eating it, and it's like wow, that's like that was shocking to me.

SPEAKER_02 25:26

Did you have some opportunity to interact with uh some of the teenagers who live there or some of the younger children? Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 25:32

So they had they had uh five or six children.

SPEAKER_02 25:36

At least. Oh, you connected with a particular family that you have about they had they had a lot of children there.

SPEAKER_03 25:41

So they had uh one teenager there that was like around 13, like my little brother's age, and then they had a bunch of younger kids, and you know, they they loved playing soccer, we would play soccer with them. We would they love playing so much. That's all they wanted to do in the UK, they just wanted to play soccer with us. That's great.

SPEAKER_02 25:58

Yeah, that's great. Um, Father Johan, are you thinking of uh heading back another time?

SPEAKER_00 26:03

Of course, yes, and we wanted to invite you to join us, and even I wanted to be so grateful to Patty because she coordinated all the details and making it.

SPEAKER_02 26:12

We're gonna hear a little bit about the or this doesn't happen without a lot of organization, right? Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 26:16

And plus, you know, Resurrection Party that were extremely generous and the missionaries.

SPEAKER_02 26:22

Right. Uh Ken and Christina talked about um evangelization and um when we have an experience of um really serving Jesus, right? As Mother Teresa would say, what we as Jesus says, what we do for the least of our sisters and brothers, so um uh serving those who are in need is an opportunity to really have an experience of the Lord and then coming back, you become an evangelizer, right? You're you you share that this is something uh definitely worth doing, right? Um and uh have you seen that in the parish that uh uh the story's been shared of those who have gone? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:55

Maybe some people already they say that they wanted to join us next year. They are waiting for the date.

SPEAKER_02 27:01

Uh-huh. We gotta be in touch about that. Um and now we're gonna hear a little bit about some of the organization, right? And uh and uh uh the help that you had uh to have the group go. Um as Jenny's gonna Jenny's gonna join us, Terry's gonna join us, I believe, right? Right, great. Well, thank you so much. God bless you. Thank you, thank you, Tyler and Eric, right? Yep, yes. Thank you. And tell uh uh your wife, your mom, uh that we said thank you for our initiative and your brother too that that that for going. Um thank you so much. Thank you. God bless you.

SPEAKER_06 27:39

Okay, we're back, and we're Father Johan's back with us, and we're joined by Terry Janosic, who's a parishioner at Resurrection and helped to co-coordinate the mission. You're uh part of the mission trip down to Guatemala. So welcome, thank you for joining us.

SPEAKER_01 27:53

Thank you. Glad to be here. Thank you.

SPEAKER_06 27:55

So, how did you uh get involved with uh with the mission?

SPEAKER_01 28:01

Just at Mass one day, and my friend Patty, who I've known many, many years, um, talked about the mission going to Guatemala. I thought, oh, that'd be something nice to do. Uh read about it in the bulletin, saw her a couple times. We seem to run into each other more often after this.

SPEAKER_02 28:17

The Holy Spirit.

SPEAKER_01 28:18

Yeah, that's for sure. Um so she talked to me a little bit more about it. I was very hesitant, back and forth, you know, a little anxious, nervous. Never done anything like this before. I have uh three children, and they've been to Louisiana, they've been to Appalachia. Oh, yeah. They do a lot of mission, and maybe it was my turn to go this time.

SPEAKER_02 28:38

So, um you had heard from them about their experiences, huh?

SPEAKER_01 28:42

Yeah, and they left it there. Right. So I started by just maybe I should update my passport just in case I decide to go. I haven't traveled in a while, so I updated the passport. And this somebody on my shoulder in my heart from above said, you need to go. There's no reason. There's no excuse. I'd love to serve.

SPEAKER_02 29:02

We we talk about community, right? And the church as as God's family and um the relationships uh, but you talk about a friendship with a fellow parishioner, and I'm sure that um gave you some encouragement to say, well, if uh is it Patty if she's going, I can, right? That those relationships help.

SPEAKER_01 29:19

It did help. We were friends many years ago through elementary school with our children, you know, haven't seen each other for years, see each other at church. Um we just clicked, got it together, and she was very comforting, and she assured us we can do this.

SPEAKER_02 29:35

We did. And a pastor, I think, uh, might say, uh, I think we can do this, uh, but knowing that I can't do it alone, right? So Father Johan, did you did you was it helped to helpful to know that you wouldn't have to do it alone, that you'd have some help with the organization?

SPEAKER_00 29:49

Of course, and especially because, you know, I am so busy with the characterical office with the parish, and I I mentioned to Patty. If you can help me, it's in your hands. I don't have time, you know, to go, you know, to all the details. She said, okay.

SPEAKER_02 30:03

Had Patty done anything like this before? Had she been on a trip, do you know? As a coordinator, I don't think so, but she went, you know, she had gone with Ken, uh with Christina, right, right, right. Uh so she jumped right in and got some help along the way.

SPEAKER_01 30:17

Beautiful yes, Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 30:18

Yeah. Um, and uh what was it like? Um was it what you expected? Uh, were the surprises? Uh what was it like being with the group of nine from from resurrection and maybe meeting some of the other volunteers down there?

SPEAKER_01 30:31

Yes, we all became a family. Our house was known as the senior house, plus father Johan. We were all the four of us, and then um I got to know the the family, uh Basha and her family, and Eric and the boys, amazing. Um much more than I expected. Uh it was so beautiful. You know, we're so spoiled here, we have everything we need. And I go down to a simple little home, a little tin house with no floors, dirt floors, children. I mean, we all have children in our homes. Um they have everything they need, food, shelter, and the happiest people I know. They were so happy and so grateful we were there.

SPEAKER_02 31:12

We don't realize how much we can take for granted, right? And uh and sometimes when we when we don't have, we can we're grateful for what we do have, right? And we see that, yeah, right, right.

SPEAKER_06 31:23

So, yeah, you'd mentioned the the family. Can maybe you could talk, so it was fellowship was a sounds like a big part of the of the experience.

SPEAKER_01 31:30

It was. We all stayed in the same hotel. And every morning on the little patio outside, Father Johan did mass. And other people in the hotel saw this. People, you know, they knew what we were doing every morning. Uh we had a breakfast, got all our gear on, hopped on our chicken bus, as they call it. Chicken bus with all the other workers, and it took us out to our um location. Um had a nice walk through town, which was not like we know town here in Morris County, you know, but it was the people were grateful, they were so loving, they welcomed us. And you know, they know what we were there for. They were so appreciative.

SPEAKER_06 32:11

What would you do during your downtime? Would there be a lot of downtime at at night and in the morning?

SPEAKER_01 32:16

Yes, every night. Um we worked mainly nine to four, nine to four thirty. Uh got back on the bus, went back to town. Uh we all headed back to the hotel, showered, but we we met for a meal every night, and we gathered together as a as our family, our Guatemalan family. Talked about our day.

SPEAKER_06 32:34

I imagine pretty exhausting after all that was a few years. It was exhausting.

SPEAKER_01 32:37

It was the earliest I've ever been to in bed that whole week. But every day was so fulfilled.

SPEAKER_02 32:42

How was the weather? Was it tropical, very warm?

SPEAKER_01 32:45

It was beautiful. Oh, yeah. I thought it would be warmer there, but like we know, it's the land of Eternal Springs. It's beautiful 70s, maybe.

SPEAKER_02 32:52

Yeah. 60s.

SPEAKER_01 32:53

We sweated a little bit from all those cement buckets, but it was beautiful.

SPEAKER_02 32:57

And um, you know, you think of it was is it uh the the founder Joe uh Collins, right? Um uh God works through different people in different ways and uh responding as we each try to do to God's call. Um we also remember um uh uh uh uh someone from the United States from the Midwest, right? Father Stanley Rothar, who uh responded to the call to serve um in Guatemala and uh um ended up giving his life um for his people there in a very difficult time in the country. Father Johan, I think you got to uh visit his uh parish uh where uh he served and really was martyred. Um uh uh tell us maybe a little bit about that.

SPEAKER_00 33:37

Okay, I think that was divine providence because uh usually two days before we book just you know to walk around, to enjoy, you know, a little bit about you know Lantigua. And Sunday, you know, I was supposed to meet my friend because when I was studying Colombia, I studied with some seminarian from Guatemala, and something happened at the last minute. I was praying, and I said, okay, I'm going to take this day just for me. Like in a spiritual retreat, and I was asking on the front desk about how you know to get and to visit the town of this blessed, and they said, no problem, we're going to help you tomorrow be in front desk 5 a.m. Oh boy. Yeah. And I said, okay, perfect. And I just went and was an amazing day. Just praying and seeing how he makes a huge difference in that place.

SPEAKER_02 34:38

And his heart is there, right? In the parish church.

SPEAKER_06 34:41

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Um I saw the movie and you did as well, right? Which was released somewhere recently. It's highly recommended for those who are.

SPEAKER_02 34:49

He's now been beatified. Is he blessed, right? Yes, yes, right. Um there's uh some competition, I think, who's gonna be the first male uh saint from the United States. Uh there's uh now blessed Fulton Sheen, Michael McGivney. There's a few uh candidates. We don't have a we have a few women who uh from the United States who have become saints, but we don't have a male from the United States who's been canonized. So Stanley could be Stanley, it could be uh Archbishop Sheen or Father McGivney, or we'll see. Um so um uh are you st have you started planning for uh next year? Is that uh Father Johan?

SPEAKER_01 35:23

You said Well, we are starting definitely would go back. And like Father said, the first two days we got there in Antigua, we were able to go around as a tourist and see the culture and the people and just appreciate what they have, and again being so grateful. Um we saw so many things there that you know we don't see here in our community. Very, very family oriented, the culture is amazing. Um they do not build homes two weeks. We were talking about two weeks of the year. Houses to homes do not build homes. Christmas week and Easter week.

SPEAKER_02 35:58

Wow. They the whole um but the rest 50 weeks uh yeah, they're building homes.

SPEAKER_01 36:03

Wow, multiple homes a week. Um yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:06

Uh and they have different volunteers all throughout the year.

SPEAKER_01 36:08

All throughout the year. Wow from all over the United States. And the one woman we met goes on her own. Uh she had a matter of fact stayed a second week. She was on our bus with us. Uh she just goes down and builds homes with them. It's beautiful.

SPEAKER_06 36:22

Father Johan, uh if I may, um I'm so curious. So as a pastor at a parish, right? So you learn about this uh awesome trip and and what it might do for your parishioners. How do you decide, like um, you know, how maybe how you discovered about it, or how you how do you decide this could be a good fit for you and some of your parishioners? Is there is that some reflection that maybe went into that?

SPEAKER_00 36:47

Yeah, no, I think so, you know, I was inspired because we I was listening, the community, when I arrived, you know, here in resurrection, and one of the feedback, they said that they wanted, you know, to do mission strips, especially for the young, you know, people. And when I was, you know, in St. Peter, I went five different times to West Virginia, to Apalachia, St. Peter and Portugal. Yeah, I always, you know. And they say I say mass, you know, for them. And I say, uh, yeah, maybe this is a great opportunity, you know, to invite, you know, the young people, teenagers. But also, you know, going out of the country is more complicated, you know. And thanks God, you know, that we have, you know, a family. But this was the start point. Because the parishioners, they were looking for something, you know, like that. And second, because in Colombia I studied with a religious community and they are missionaries. And it's in my heart. My heart is missionary.

SPEAKER_02 37:52

We're uh recording uh a few days after World Mission Sunday. Um, and we have a Pope now who's been a missionary, right? And uh he gave a beautiful message as uh it turned out he ended up leaving the hospital, thanks be to God, on the Saturday morning of before uh mission Sunday, and uh he was able to speak from the balcony this past Sunday, so we continue to pray for Pope Leo and his health, but he's certainly a good example of um living a missionary vocation, right?

SPEAKER_00 38:17

Yeah, and you know, always, you know, in my own experience, when we opened, you know, our hearts to the Holy Spirit, something happened. Because being, you know, there in Guatemala on Wednesday, the mother, you know, of the family that we were serving, she came to me and said, Are you are you a Catholic priest? Honestly, you know, really? Because you know, I was just you know wearing my wearing clothes, you gotta wear clothes. Oh yeah. And I say, Yeah, why? She said, I wanted to baptize my four children. And I say, okay, let me ask the pastor, because this is more complicated than you think. And I went, you know, to talk with the pastor, you know, just I say, he's going to say no. And he said, Obscore father, what do you need? Even if you wanted to do, you know, on the home, you had my permission, you had my blessing. And he gave me, you know, the holy oils. He gave me the book of the rite of baptism. And the last day, we had you know the opportunity to baptize the four children in the house. Yeah, the house that we built. And our missionaries, they become you know sponsors, and it was a very powerful you know, experience.

SPEAKER_06 39:32

So then you've struck up a relationship with the local parents, okay.

SPEAKER_00 39:36

And I got you know the permission. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:39

And uh, and and the volunteers and the families who are gonna be living in the house are really working together during that week, huh?

SPEAKER_00 39:45

Uh yeah, and it's part of the requirements, especially you know, the father. Right. Yeah. He need to be part of the work.

unknown 39:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:54

Father, the mother. The mother cooked lunch every day for the workers and always offered us lunch.

SPEAKER_07 39:59

Right.

SPEAKER_01 39:59

The children were there after they came home from school and they were playing with us as well. Um what father did with that baptism was just beautiful. You know, we just finished painting. Ten minutes later, he's got the altar set up inside this home that we just built for the family. It was beautiful.

SPEAKER_02 40:16

We talk about the uh domestic church, right? That every home should be a little church. From houses to homes to the the little chapel. The little chapel right there. The family, yeah. Beautiful, beautiful.

SPEAKER_06 40:28

All right, well, thank you both for your perspective.

SPEAKER_02 40:30

Thank you so much for sharing with us. And uh, we thank um Ken and Christina and uh Eric and Tyler um and uh um and Terry, thank you very much. And uh Falio and tell please all our others in the group that we're very grateful and uh we'll be uh talking further about uh what trips might happen in the future, right? So and uh tell Father Vidal, thank you as well.

SPEAKER_06 40:50

Um Bishop, before we go though, any other uh any other thoughts or reflections on any of the conversations uh that's the thing.

SPEAKER_02 40:58

I think uh Ken said um yes, we are there to help, right? We're willing to help, and uh when we do something like this, we say, Well, I'm gonna give, I'm gonna, and and that certainly happens, but as Ken said, I think so often uh we receive so much more, right? Um it is in giving that you receive, right? The prayer of St. Francis and uh I think experiences like this uh help us to realize that's those are not just some nice words and a nice prayer. But when we when we do make that effort um to give, um then we end up receiving so much um ourselves as well. So uh yeah, it's uh um it's it's it's beautiful to see faith and action and uh and and the love that Jesus calls us to to share with others uh lived out and uh and and guided by prayer and the presence of Father Johan and um uh uh leaders in in the parish and and the support, right? We we some are able to travel, some aren't able to travel, but by their prayers, their financial donations, they can, and that's how we do it together as the church and you know as the body of Christ.

SPEAKER_06 42:02

So and can I ask you what you're what you're reading lately or listening to?

SPEAKER_02 42:08

I just started um the uh there's a new biography of uh Pope Leo, the American Pope, by two authors. I'll have more to say, yeah, but it's uh it's it's really, really good. Um uh I heard the part of the interview with with one of them. Yes, Jesuitical. Yes, yes, yeah. So uh very, very good, yes, yes. And I've actually also started uh uh uh Archbishop Sheen's autobiography, uh Treasures in Clay, which I've had so heard so much about, and uh I've been meaning to organ it, meaning to order it, someone gave it to me, and uh he is just he's in addition to being so in bright and holy, uh he's also very funny, Archbishop Sheen. So um yeah, so good.

SPEAKER_06 42:48

Thanks for sharing that.

SPEAKER_02 42:49

All right. And uh it's good to be recording on opening night of the NBA. That'll help me forget about the Yankees lost a little bit. There we go. Yeah. Thank you for the weekend. Yeah, that's right, that's right. Uh so um uh that's a that's that's a good thing. Yeah, all right. My poor jets are not doing so good.

SPEAKER_06 43:11

Yeah. All right, well, we'll leave it there then. And um Thank you again. Thank you again. Thanks so much. God bless you. Thanks for the thank you all for joining us. Please subscribe, comment, and leave a positive rating. Get to know us better by following Bishop Kevin's Instagram and beyond the beacon on social media. Read the bishop's weekly column on beaconnj.org and get in touch if you have a question for the bishop or a podcast topic idea. See you next time.

SPEAKER_02 43:37

Thanks, everybody. God bless you.