By Elizabeth Pascual

On February 6, we left our families in Savannah to embark on a journey. We are doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, dentists, translators and lay people. We are Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and non-denominational. We are “Faith In Practice.” “Faith In Practice” is an ecumenical organization founded in 1992. As volunteers, we help the people of Guatemala through short term medical, dental and surgical missions. We demonstrate our faith by answering God’s call to serve his people.

Life is very difficult in that country for people who can work and take care of themselves. It is almost impossible for those who cannot. There is so much poverty yet so much joy. There is so much suffering. How ever, that suffering is outshone by the light in the eyes of the people. The anguish becomes hope through the miracle of God’s healing hand. We cannot remain unaffected by what we have seen. This is what brings many of us back year after year. For more information on “Faith In Practice,” go to www.faithinpractice.org.

ELIZABETH PASCUAL, a member of Saint James Parish, Savannah is a volunteer with “Faith In Practice.”

Photo by: Elizabeth Pascual. Members of “Faith in Practice” an ecumenical medical missions volunteer group from the Savannah area made a trip to Guatemala in early February. Pictured is one of the two Franciscan nuns, who are also siblings, that run an orphanage in Antigua, Guatemala for abandoned children many of whom are either physically or mentally handicapped.

Photos by: Liz Pascual Slide show