Thank You! Bulletin Article: 1-19-14

Having come back to Duluth after our ten days in Ghana, my heart is filled with gratitude.  This trip was nothing short of life changing for the twenty-five of us who went and would not have been possible without your prayers and support. 

Think about the good we were able to do!  We brought seventeen suitcases of school, church and medical supplies, toys, balls and other special requests for my four friends.  We hand delivered the letters and Christmas gifts from our school children for their pen pals.  Thanks to three major donors we were able to fund a Marian shrine refurbishment, chapel in the countryside and a water purification project that will provide clean drinking water to an entire community.

Perhaps the greatest gift we brought was ourselves.  Throughout our fundraising process we heard a common question—why not send money directly to Africa instead of paying for our plane tickets, room and board?  (Again, thanks to some generous folks we did send $15,000 directly to the priests and projects!)  Having chipped in $500 a piece, we raised $47,000 to cover our expenses through a variety of fundraisers.  We heard over and over again the gratitude of the people of Ghana not only for the financial contributions, but also for our presence and for making the 6,000 mile trip.  The relationships and connections formed during our time in the Navrongo-Bolgatanga diocese was most the most appreciated by the people and that gift is thanks to your generosity.

If you haven’t already, check out our facebook page—St. John’s Duluth Youth Group.  Here we posted daily updates, pictures, video and are currently putting up particular God-moments.  Also, my homilies during the trip can be found on my blog—frbensbible.blogspot.com.

Finally, we would like to invite you all to a slideshow presentation to share more.  This will take place after the 10:30 Mass on February 2^nd at St. John’s and after the 9:00 Mass on February ? at St. Joseph’s.

Thanks again for your generosity and may God bless you for all you did to make our time in Ghana successful, safe and productive.  As we represented you in Ghana, carrying you in our hearts and prayers, we pray that this trip will continue to bear fruit in our parishes, inspiring us to serve those in need.