Thank You Letter from Fr. Guy in 2008
I am happy to greet you and to greet all the people who are friends of Gandou, especially Fr. Pascal. I hope God will continue your missionary projects when you return to your homes. I am very, very happy with this visit. Everyone in Gandou and the parish council are also happy.
I can never finish telling God thank you for the presence of St. Anthony in Gandou. The presence is like manna the people of Israel found in the desert. It is God who spoke to your hearts to come help Gandou. I thank you for the gifts you give to the parish of Gandou now: the monstrance for benediction of the Holy Sacrament, food for the school children, money for the school children (sponsorships), the generator, medicine, red chasuble for celebrating Mass, money for Mass intentions, money for the clinic, money for training midwives, money for other things, money for the people who need surgery, help for the Augustin family, and many other things.
These gifts you make to Gandou, I compare to all the gifts Abel offered to God. Like I said during Mass on Sunday, Jan 27th, the same way that Jesus called the first 4 disciples, it is how he called you to come to Gandou, it is a vocation. It is a vocation because you leave your country which is rich, which has security, you leave your families, your jobs, you leave everything to come to Haiti, a country that is suffering from many problems that many people cannot understand. It is faith that pushes you to do this, the faith of Abraham when God asked him to leave his country to go where God told him to go. It is the same way God is calling you, for you to leave everything to come to Haiti it is a true vocation. God will repay you 100 times more.
Please help me find the words to tell my thanks to the parish of St. Anthony, all the people who help Gandou with their hearts, their love, their knowledge, their patience, their prayers, their money, all that they have and all that they are. May God bless you, may he continue what he began in you.
Peter was entering the temple, there was a poor man who was sick and sitting in front of the door. While Peter was entering he said: I don’t have money, I don’t have gold to give you. But what I have I give you: In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, I tell you to get up and walk. Us too, we don’t have anything to give the friends of Gandou from Indiana, but we always pray for you. It is what we have to give. We pray that God will hear and answer our prayers for you.
God Bless you!
Fr. Guy Belange