Thank you St. Ambrose parishioners! We want to give you an update on the financial support St. Ambrose is providing to our Sister Parish in San Agustin, El Salvador and tell you a little about our projects there. With your help we raised over $15,000 for San Agustin from July 2016 through July 2017. This includes $7100 from the weekly Children’s collection, $3235 from pupusa sales, $1160 from the Guadalupe Mosaic raffle, and $3500 in donations from individuals. We also received 250 pounds of donations of soap, washcloths, toothbrushes, rosaries, and religious articles for our mission trip.

     With your support St. Ambrose is able to provide $6000 in assistance to eight college students studying nursing, engineering, and law. We provided $500 for loans to local farmers. $1090 put a new roof and a floor in one family’s house, and will repair a wall in another. $1000 will establish a lunch program for the elderly, $700 provided an emergency fund to help the poor and sick. $100 provided improvements to the parish, and $1775 was provided for construction of the new church building.

    We want to thank you all for your continued support to Family to Familia and our projects in San Agustin. We remain especially grateful to the children of St. Ambrose for their continued support through the Children’s collection and St. Ambrose School. Thanks everybody.

Contact (Contacto):

Darrell  and Lorelei Matics*                             
Phone (Telefono): 301-209-8398                 Email (Correo ectrónico): 
darrellmatics@hotmail.com               

Cosette Jablonski*
Phone (Telefono): 240-485-4757
Email (Correo electrónico): 
bornoscos@hotmail.com

*HABLAMOS ESPAÑOL

Mission (Mision):

To create ties between our English and Spanish speaking communities at Saint Ambrose and promote global solidarity through our relationship with our sister parish of San Agustin, El Salvador. We connect families from our two communities here with families in our sister parish, and we sponsor projects to support the people of San Agustin.

Crear vínculos entre nuestras comunidades de habla hispana en San Ambrosio y promover la solidaridad global a través de nuestra relación con nuestra parroquia hermana de San Agustín, Usulután. El Salvador. Conectamos familias de nuestras dos comunidades aquí con familias en nuestra parroquia hermana, y patrocinamos proyectos para apoyar a las personas de San Agustín.

Activities (Actividades):   

         At (en) Saint Ambrose 

1. Cultural celebrations and parties:  Posadas,  summer barbeques                                               Celebraciones y fiestas:  Posadas, barbacoas
2. Annual parish mission trips to San Agustin with 5-15 people                                                      Misiones anuales a San Agustin con cinco a quince personas
3. Parish collections:  medicine, shoes, laptops and backpacks with school supplies for students, bags of toiletries and personal items                                                                               Colectas de nuestra parroquia: medicina, zapatos, computadoras, mochilas con articulos escolares, bolsas con afectos personales, y rosarios
4. Fund raisers:  food sales, raffles, dance, children's collection at Mass, donations from St. Ambrose Men's Club                                                                                                                              Recaudaciones:  ventas de comida, rifas, bailes, colecta de donaciones de los ninos durante la misa. donaciones hechas por El Club de Hombres de San Ambrosio

1. Projects funded by St. Ambrose:  playground,  parish kitchen,  Cyber Cafe, roofs, rectory improvements (furniture, new office, screens, drop ceilings, fans, refrigerators)  books for library at town cultural center, floor for church, construction of hermita (chapel)           Projectos patrocinados por San Ambrosio:  parquecito, cocineta, Cafe Cyber, techos de casas,  arreglamos ventanas, (dentro de la rectoria: techos, compramos abanicos, refrigeradoras, hicimos una oficina de recepcion, compramos muebles, pintamos), compramos libros para el centro cultural, pusimos piso en la iglesia, construimos una hermita 
2. Projects with Los Angelitos (handicap children): funds for hammock workshop and supplies, painting of building, planting garden, donated fans, painted banners, donated uniforms, electrical repairs, construction of cement patio and roof. Projectos con Los Angelitos (ninos con descapacidades): fondos para que ellos aprendieran a hacer hamacas, pagamos por el hilo para las hamacas, pintamos el edificio, sembramos un jardin, donamos abanicos, pintamos pantarcas grandes para desfiles, donamos uniformes, reparaciones electricas, construccion de patio y techo 
3. Sponsoring microloan program for businesses, farmers, and students                                     Patrocinamos microprestamos a negocios, agricultores y estudiantes
4. Project to feed the elderly.                  Projecto para dar alimentacion a los ancianos
5. Annual contribution to repair the home of a needy family.        Anualmente le contribuimos a una familia para el reparo de su vivienda 
6. Monetary assistance to the Sisters of MARILAM.  Ayuda monetaria anualmente a las Hermanas de MARILAM
7. Annual contribution to the Ladies of Charity. Ayuda monetaria anualmente a las Hermanas de la Caridad
8. Mission team activities:  attend daily mass in San Agustin and at remote hermitas, visit the sick to distribute communion, visit families in remote communities and pass out items collected at St. Ambrose, paint parish walls, planting around parish, help in construction of the new church, projects with Los Angelitos, shared meals with local families, outings to visit other cities and attractions, sports activities with youth group, hosted meals for our Family to Famila group, daily group sharing and prayer activity       Actividades que hacemos conjuntamente el grupo de la Mission:  vamos diariamente a misa en San Agustin y en otros cantones, visitamos a los enfermos y llevamos comunion, visitamos familias en lugares remotos, distribuimos los articulos que llevamos de San Ambrosio,  pintamos varios muros, sembramos, ayudamos en la construccion de la nueva iglesia, practicamos deportes con los jovenes, hacemos projectos con Los Angelitos, comemos con diferentes familias, visitamos otras ciudades y sus atracciones, hacemos una comida y fiesta para el grupo de Family to Familia, diariamente rezamos y compartimos juntos.

Su apoyo a la gente de San Agustin es apreciado más allá de las palabras. Queremos seguir apoyando a San Agustin en todo lo que podamos. 

Si puede ayudar de alguna manera, o tiene preguntas comuníquese con:

*Darrell & Lorelei Matics: 301-209-8398
*Cosette Jablonski: 240-485-4757
*HABLAMOS ESPAÑOL

I’d like to start by thanking Mr. and Mrs. Matics and Ms. Cosette Jablonski. None of this would be possible without their scrupulous planning. It was such a privilege to be able to visit the beautiful and vibrant community of San Agustín this summer.  Even though there was a large language barrier, the trip had a huge impact on me. My experience was similar to that of Father Charlie’s most recent visit to Central America.  Everyone in San Agustín had nothing by our standards, and yet they were happy to give us everything. The family of one of the students we help to put through school, Juan Carlos, killed and prepared 3 whole chickens for us when we visited. Even though I wasn’t a huge fan of the chicken, I later realized how huge the sacrifice was for them.  Anyone that knows me knows that I’m quite the carnivore, and for the first few days, quite selfishly, I was disappointed by the lack of meat prepared for us. Eventually I learned that meat is, for the most part, not eaten in El Salvador because of two reasons: it’s expensive, or they have to kill it. Meat is typically only eaten on special occasions, and it made me realize just how much we meant to Juan Carlos’ family. They made a huge sacrifice to thank Saint Ambrose for helping put their son through university. Many people probably don’t know what the money that is collected in the children’s liturgy collection for Family to Familia does.  It helps put several men and women through university. It allows us to prepare and distribute gift bags that brought smiles to the faces of the children of San Agustín. It allows us to visit those forgotten about, the sick, to bring tears of joy to an old lady because no one ever came to visit her. It allows this beautiful thing called Family to Familia to continue. Thank you.                                                                                                                                       -Cort McElroy
 

I'm Kaitlynn, a junior in high school, and this summer I got the chance to go on my second missionary trip to El Salvador, thanks to the anonymous person who made that dream of returning a reality. I didn't just go because it was for service hours or because I might have been expected to go; I did it because I love helping others, even though they can't pay me back. It's definitely something that you have to do for yourself, and you can't try to experience it through words. You have to be there in the moment, with an open heart.

I'm Korine, also a junior in high school, and this was my first trip to El Salvador. I would say that hearing about the trip last summer from my sister was very different from what I experienced there. It's just different when you are actually there and not at home hearing about it. The fact that I got the chance to help others who live 3,000 miles away is amazing. I made a lot of friends whom I consider family. This trip has made me realize how much I should appreciate things in my life. It also showed me that there are people in the world who have very little but will give it to you just to keep you comfortable. We also got the chance to celebrate our 17th birthday with our family and friends, a memory that we will never forget. Again thank you to the generous and kind person who made that possible. It meant a lot to us.