Letter from Sr. Joan about "Mission Honduras"

Sr. Mary Kay Meagher, a Family Nurse Practitioner and Assistant Professor of Nursing at Creighton University School of Nursing, joined a group of 14 persons who spent 2 weeks in Guatemala in September. This experience was provided through IXIM which a transnational ministry fostering mutually enriching Christian relationships between the people of Nebraska and Guatemala through sharing of humanity, faith, culture and resources. IXIM is the Mayan word for corn, a staple of Guatemala and a common product of Nebraska. IXIM is a co-project of the Archdiocese of Omaha and the diocese of Huehuetenango, Guatemala.

Building relationships between Nebraskans and Guatemalans is being done in several ways: providing opportunities to interact with Guatemalans living in Nebraska, mission trips and supporting pastoral initiatives of the Huehuetenango diocese in the areas of health, education, migration and pastoral formation of women.

The mission trip provides opportunities to experience another culture(part of the journey is living with a family) dialogue with pastoral teams about the reality of their situation and sharing prayer, celebrations as well as working with Guatemalans in specific diocesan supported projects: sustainable farming to decrease soil erosion, installation of clean drinking water mechanism, visiting with a community of miners engaged in very unsafe labor who receive very unjust wages and supporting a project of educating women.

Congratulations!

Sr. Cynthia Hruby received her Master of Education andCounseling in Higher Education from Wayne State College on May 6th. Sr. Cynthia serves at Wayne State College in Wayne Nebraska as a campus minister. In the picture below Sr Cynthia is being congratulated by her mother, as well as some Sisters from the Notre Dame Community. On the far left of the picture is Dr. Richard Collings, President of WSC.

At their annual fundraising dinner on April 2, the Notre Dame Sisters bestowed the Mother Qualberta Service Award on Joe and Ada McDermott, long-time friends and family of the Sisters. The Mother Qualberta award honors those who have partnered with the Notre Dame Sisters in their ministry and have made a difference in their church and in their society.

Joe and Ada McDermott have been married for 64 years. Family is very important to them, and for most of their lives they have considered the Notre Dame Sisters to be their family. Ada’s sister, Sr. Angeline Barta, ND, was a Notre Dame Sister until her death in 1996. Thus their first memories of the Sisters included taking Sr. Angeline to Wilbur, Nebraska, and other small towns to teach catechism and vacation bible school in the summer. Joe recalls that they “wore out a lot of cement” because the Sisters were always short of cars and methods of transportation. Yet they came when the Sisters called and did what was needed. It is this spirit of giving what is needed that nurtured the friendship that has continued with the Notre Dame Sisters to this day.

The spirit of giving pervades the lives of Joe and Ada McDermott. Through hard work and personal, hands-on attention, they have built up a large lawn company over the years. Yet like their friends, the Notre Dame Sisters, Joe and Ada live simply and carefully so that they may use their resources to help others. Stewardship of their God-given gifts has been their way of life. The Notre Dame Sisters have chosen Joe and Ada McDermott to receive the Mother Qualberta Service Award to honor the quiet, humble stewardship that has been their hallmark.

Fifty years ago “organic” was a word that was used only by a few. Yet for fifty years Joe and Ada have sold organic soil amendments and fertilizers along with grass seed, sod and tulip bulbs. “You have to start with the ground,” Joe tells people. This is Joe and Ada’s contribution to good stewardship of our planet.

Thirty years ago Joe and Ada first heard that there was a need for sports for girls in their area of Omaha. At first they sponsored t-shirts for a softball team, but soon they saw the positive influence that sports could have in the girls’ lives. They began to donate or subsidize room for practice to encourage the girls and the league to continue. Now the girls hold fundraisers and work hard to earn money to pay their own way, but the indoor practice areas are still in Joe and Ada’s building. In thirty years Joe and Ada have not seen any trouble, but they have seen girls learn to value themselves because of their participation in sports. Many girls involved in the sports program have received college scholarships.

Faith, parish and Church have always been important to Joe and Ada. Long-time members of Mary Our Queen parish, they have been supportive of parish activities and projects. Religious organizations and religious congregations are also important to them. Joe and Ada have partnered with many in the area to make a difference in our world. For this and for their lives of service and stewardship, the Notre Dame Sisters honor Joe and Ada with the presentation of the Mother Qualberta Service Award.

Sr Cynthia and Adrianne Svitak (student from Schuyler) pause behind the Catholic Newman collection of food items arranged on a tablecloth. Seven campus groups participated in the annual Cooperative Campus Ministry CanStruction held in the spring to collect food for the local pantry and the Haven House Shelter. The event has been held in the Student Center Atrium for the past five years during the campus Christian Emphasis Week. Adrianne served as the student coordinator with two peer ministers from CrossPoint United Ministries in Higher Education. Sr Cynthia is the president of the Wayne State College ministerial association as well as the minister for the Catholic group. (more about Sr. Cynthia's ministry)