A heart-felt "thank you" to all who who have continued to honor their monthly pledges towards the building of "Our Lady of Medjugorje" parish in Mitu, Colombia, and another note of appreciation to those who contribute incognito via the blue envelopes in the church!

As an update, Stage One of the "Reaching Beyond our Walls" evangelization has begun with the building of the new Parish Center/Rectory, and as of this writing, the Rectory is two-thirds complete!  Please see our story boards in each church or our individual parish websites for updated photos of the building process.

Although the new Church is of utmost importance, The Rectory is the first building to be completed and will be used for those loyal followers who travel miles on foot to attend current services in the open air.  This new parish center will offer refreshments, showers, and cots for overnight accommodations and will also be used for religious education, classes and a gathering place for the new parish as well as a home for the resident priest.

Did you know that most buildings in this Vaupes River region in the heart of the Colombia rainforest do not have walls, electricity, or internet?  The new Rectory, with its walls, concrete floors and reinforced ceilings, will also be used to house all of the building materials being gathered for the construction of the church, Stage Two of the project.

The process for building this parish is labor intensive and difficult for the modern world to comprehend.  The wood which is being harvested for the building project is carefully selected, as per Mitu tradition and culture, during a special time of the moon and is only that which is durable, pliable, easily renewable and environmentally friendly.  The wood is harvested, cut, dried and then left to cure and is treated so that insects cannot easily destroy it.  The concrete for the building is shipped from Bogota, not an easy journey, as Mitu, Colombia is only accessible by air or a boat journey of 15 days through the jungle!

To date, the good people of St. Augustine's and Good Shepherd parishes have made pledges of close to 85% of the total building project.  We have sent to the Diocese of Mitu almost 70,000 Colombian pesos (approximately $20,000) to get the project moving, and it is anticipated that another 33,000 pesos will be sent in July to finish the Rectory build.

Thereafter, additional funds will be sent to Mitu in periodic increments until the total project has been completed.

Father Victor has blueprints of the anticipated "Our Lady of Medjugorje" project should anyone care to see them, along with all budgeted costs.  As long as we all continue to make our monthly pledge payments, we should see a brand-new parish completed in 2021 or early 2022!

Once again, thank you and may God Bless you for your continued generosity, interest and support in "Reaching Beyond Our Walls" so as to enhance the lives of so many deserving people in the rainforest of Colombia.