Incredible Video from St. Francis Xavier Mission Trips

We shared with you over the summer the adventures of two St. Francis Xavier mission trips to Piura, Peru. A montage of video from both trips has been released, including interviews with the missionaries, the Peruvians they assisted and the priests who were involved with the trips. It is amazing. We dare you not to be inspired by the joy and love for God shown by those who are so poor and who live under such harsh conditions, and the gratitude that the missionaries themselves felt for this opportunity to give their time in service to others.

One Peruvian said: “After all that happened we are alive, so what we have to do is to thank God for everything.”

Registration for the 2018 St. Francis Xavier Mission Trips is now open. Available trips include a trip to Mexico for families and individuals aged 16+, and trips to Peru and the Dominican Republic for youth 16-21. Please visit the St. Francis Xavier website to learn more and sign up!

If you cannot go on a mission trip but would like to donate, you can do so online here. May God reward you for your generosity!

A few statistics from the Peru trips (totals from both trips):

46 kids aged 16-21, accompanied by 3 priests, 3 seminarians, 3 adult chaperones on each trip. Fr. Eggleston, all 3 seminarians, and 3 of those kids stayed in Peru for a whole month, working both missions.
22 bamboo houses constructed particularly for those families who were affected by the floods.
1 classroom building, similar to the houses, but slightly larger. The missionaries were told that this would be used primarily for catechism, as it was attached to the back of a village church.
16 food deliveries, each of which entailed bringing non-perishable food items (large sacks of rice, pasta, etc.) to families in need. Each delivery served about 5-6 families, so at least 80 families were assisted.
16 house blessings, for which the priests would take a missionary or two to assist as the priest would bless houses in the villages. Each of the 16 ventures included over a dozen houses.
15 Communion calls, each of which included about 10 different houses.
7 clothing deliveries, which entailed bringing 6-7 large bags of clothing to churches in the villages. The mothers were invited to select about 10 items for their families, the lines for these deliveries normally stretching out of sight.
7 stove deliveries, which entailed delivering gas stoves and propane tanks to those in need. Each delivery helped about 5-6 families.
3 trips to teach English to students at a local school.