Faith In Practice

Description

Faith In Practice is committed to serving the poor of Guatemala through short-term medical mission trips that take an integrated approach to care that strives to reach those in the greatest need.

The mission of Faith In Practice is to improve the physical, spiritual, and economic conditions of the poor in Guatemala through short-term surgical, medical and dental mission trips and health-related educational programs. Their mission is based on an ecumenical understanding that as people of God they are called to demonstrate the love and compassion that is an outward sign of God’s presence among us. Faith In Practice’s life-changing medical mission is to minister to the poor, while providing a spiritually enriching experience for our volunteers.

History

For years, the Franciscan brothers had been feeding and caring for the homeless in Antigua, Guatemala, but had no permanent home or sufficient space to meet the growing need. In prayer and unshaking belief in God’s providence and under the leadership of Franciscan Brother Guillermo Bonilla, they petitioned the City of Antigua to allow them to move into the abandoned national hospital that had been destroyed in the 1976 earthquake.

On September 21, 1983, their prayers were answered and the brothers moved into the Obras Sociales del Santo Hermano Pedro’s current location in Antigua, accompanied by 8 abandoned children. Supported by local Antigua families, they continued their work to provide food and shelter to those in need and to realize their dream of providing basic healthcare for the poor living in the surrounding areas. But, the operating rooms remained in disrepair with little, if any, working medical equipment.

In 1991, while studying Spanish in Antigua, Todd Collier met Brother Guillermo and began volunteering at Las Obras, identifying great needs there. When Todd asked Brother Guillermo if he would welcome a surgical team to volunteer at the Obras, Brother Guillermo responded ‘yes’.

With that ‘yes’ and in response to God’s calling and to Jesus’ admonition in Matthew 25 to minister to the least of these, Todd returned to Houston and organized the first surgical team to Antigua in 1993. Joe and Vera Wiatt and others assisted Todd in this effort to bring a team of 9 to the Obras. Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church and Memorial Hermann Hospital System in Houston, Texas provided early support and continue to be instrumental to this mission.