Fr. Gilfrid's Words to OLPH and Holy Family

This is the translation of Fr. Gilfrids remarks during Masses on January 28-29:

Dear Father Joe, Haiti support committee members, donors, and sisters and brothers in Maryland.

Great is my joy to be with you every year in Maryland in order to strengthen the ties that exist between our sister parishes, but even more so to express my gratitude to you all. First, I want to give thanks to the Lord for all he has done for these two parishes and to put them with each other. Thank you also Lord for having put men and women of good will on my path to help me in the mission you have entrusted to me as Priest. My thanks go to all those who have combined their efforts to help the children of my parish. In particular, I want to thank Father Joe and his support team for their love for the children of Perodin. Your love, brothers and sisters, for the children of my parish inspires me many ways. Thanks to your love and your enormous efforts, I was able to educate and nourish more than 500 students from pre-school through 8th grade this year.

Whenever there is a difficult time, such as during Hurricane Matthew, you are always there to comfort us, help us get through our problems. For your fervent prayers, your donations of educational resources, food, backpacks, materials, solar lanterns and seeds for the victims of the devastating hurricane that ravaged Haiti. How could we not thank you for all these things? We thank Father Joe and the support team as well as the donors from Our Lady of Perpetual help and Holy Family. May God in his infinite love bless and keep you healthy so that He can continue to help spiritually, intellectually, socially, humanly and materially the parish of St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Perodin.

Brothers and sisters from Maryland, I would like to share my frustrations and concerns with you. During the passage of Hurricane Matthew I was afraid and I said to myself it is true that the Good God will crush this rectory with me in it and leave me in the street or collapse the old school buildings that are not strong, preventing children going to school. Fortunately, God is a God who loves his children and wants good for his children. God has heard my many prayers because he knows that you do not yet have money to help us rebuild. I continue to rely on your prayers and on your way of doing things, so that one day we can build new classrooms for students and a solid rectory so it will be nice and good to live without any fear when there are cyclones threatening Haiti.

Thank you for your love and hospitality. The children and their parents, the teachers, and the sisters greet you and thank you. May God bless you and give you back a hundred fold.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

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