May 2010

Dear Friends and Family of Fox Valley Mission Group,

      We have been so blessed to have been involved with so many activities since our last newsletter in June.  Sit back and relax while you read about all the amazing experiences of the Fox Valley Mission Group. 

Annual Picnic, July 2009 

      The picnic took place at the home of Paul and Lou-Mae Russo.  Just as Bishop Paul from Managua, Nicaragua was ready to begin the outdoor Mass, the Lord showered us with a much needed downpour of rain.  Mass was moved indoors where over 60 people gathered as the Bishop and four priests lead us in the praise and worship of God.  After Mass, we all feasted on roast pig and an array of other delectable foods provided by group members. Pictures were shared along with the memories of the year’s past mission trips. 

Christian Appalachian Project, October 2009 

      Forty-eight volunteers left for Camp Andrew Jackson, a Christian Appalachian Project children’s camp in eastern Kentucky, on October 4, 2009. These volunteers from St. Margaret Mary Church in Neenah and the Fox Valley Mission Group worked alongside CAP volunteers repairing homes for Appalachian Mountain residents.  Gloria Grandone described the group’s work: 

      “Every morning we started the day with 6:30 Mass said by Father Mike (St. Margaret Mary Parish Priest). Then we visited over a quick breakfast and clarified our work assignments. The majority of the 16 St. Margaret Mary volunteers spent the week away from the camp working (roofing, siding, new porches built, floors torn out and replaced, new windows, etc.) on two homes nestled in the Appalachian Mountains.  Anyone not working at either home spent their days working at Camp Andrew Jackson, reroofing the very steep A-frame roofs, as well as,  siding this very large complex which is used primarily as a summer camp for Appalachian children.  Everyone worked hard.  Some may have been more skilled than others, but all contributed to the end result and to the trip experience.” 

      Those out at the work sites were lead by CAP volunteers who were the designated leaders of the job sites.  These leaders were primarily young college graduates who decided to give one to two years of service to CAP. These young people were outstanding, tireless leaders who shared their stories of what motivated them to  commit to this extended service to others. 

      Gloria Grandone explained how personally rewarding this trip was. “The most rewarding aspect of the trip was getting to know the homeowners. They were salt of the earth good people-welcoming, gracious, and very grateful for our help.  Working side by side gave us a chance to interact and share a little bit of our life stories. I think we all knew that our coming to their home was equally important on both parts.  They seemed intrigued by our lives and description of Wisconsin, the land of dairy farms, lakes, cheese, beer, cold winters and ice fishing.  We too, were intrigued by their lives in the hollow off Buzzard Road surrounded by the Appalachian Mountains.” 

Fall 2010 Trip 

      The Fox Valley Mission Group will again be traveling to Camp Andrew Jackson this year from October 24 through 30.  Contact Carl Boucher if you are interested in this service trip.  There are only 2 seats left on the bus, so if you are interested, you should call Carl as soon as possible. 
 

                                             Ayote, Nicaragua, January 2010 

Fox Valley Mission Group Medical Team 2010

By Paul Russo, M.D. 

      Our second year of providing medical care at the new Surgery Center at St. Francis Church in Ayote was inspiring. After obtaining permission from the regional medical authority, we began seeing patients with the help of our excellent Nicaraguan interpreters: Erika and Christiam, and Kay Small, our nurse from Pennsylvania.  We saw 302 patients.  We care for infants to elders. Common problems we saw were headaches and backaches – especially in women from carrying five gallon buckets of water on their heads.  Men had shoulder and back pains from using machetes all day on the farms. Other common problems included upset stomachs, urinary tract infections, scabies, impetigo, hypertension and ear infections.  We also diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis, a forearm fracture, a gunshot wound to the foot, and uterine prolapsed.

      Jerry Wallenfang, our pharmacist, was busy searching the local pharmacies for some medications which we did not have. He was on a first name basis with the owners of the pharmacies.  Jerry was able to find a year’s worth of anti-seizure medication for a young lady who suffers from uncontrolled seizures.

      Our surgeons: Dr. Barbara Schmidt from St. Paul, Minnesota and Dr. Phil Vogt from Appleton, Wisconsin, saw patients throughout the day with me.  As we identified surgical cases, they would perform “lump and bump” surgeries. Barbara and Phil performed nineteen minor surgical procedures including cyst removals, draining abscesses and removing moles.  Mike Cook, our nurse anesthetist, expertly sedated the patients who needed sedation.  We helped a local dentist sedate a young woman with mental retardation remove her top teeth which were filled with severe cavities.  Next year we plan on working on her bottom teeth.

      Near the end of the trip, Phil saw a 24 year old man complaining he could not hear out of one ear after a bomb blew up years earlier. And by the way, the man also had a hernia. (Now that is Family Practice!) On the last day in Ayote, Phil repaired this man’s hernia. Three hours after surgery, the man got on his horse and rode four hours home.

      This year we partnered with St. Norbert College to have two college students come on our mission trip. Izzy and Amanda were a big help in the clinic by rooming patients, checking blood pressures and temperatures and assisting in surgery.  They both have an interest in medical careers.

      I was impressed with the patience of the people of Ayote as many waited for hours in line starting at 6:00 a.m. until they could be seen.  The patients were appreciative of the care they received.  One mother had her young son dressed in his best Sunday clothes to be seen at the clinic. Dr. Vogt removed a cyst from the boy’s neck.

      We would like to thank all who donated to make this surgery center possible.  We look forward to providing care to Ayote in January of 2011. 

Izzy Rauguth, Amanda Muehlbauer, Paul Russo, and Mike Cook are sedating a child who was getting a cyst removed from his neck. 

Fox Valley Mission Group Teams with St. Norbert College TRIPS

By Izzy Rauguth 

      This past January’s trip to Nicaragua was an amazing experience that I will never forget. My friend, Amanda Muehlbauer and I accompanied the Fox Valley Mission Group to a little town called Ayote in Nicaragua. Amanda and I are both juniors this year, biology majors and chemistry minors at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin. We were introduced to the Fox Valley Mission Group through the St. Norbert TRIPS program.  TRIPS is an acronym for, “turning responsibility into powerful service”. The program exists to provide support financially and spiritually to students traveling across the country and abroad to serve. 

      As the trip to Nicaragua quickly approached, I did not know what to expect. I was nervous about where we would be staying, how the people of Nicaragua would be, if the people of the Fox Valley Mission Group would be welcoming, the kind of food we would be eating, getting sick from the water, among other things, but I was very anxious to discover what Nicaragua had in store for me. 

      The day of departure came and I met the mission group at Mitchell International Airport. My nerves were eased the minute I got there. Everyone was so welcoming and made me feel right at home. When we arrived in Nicaragua we crossed the street to our hotel to rest for our trip to Ayote in the morning. I couldn’t wait for the bus ride to Ayote and I sensed that everyone else felt the same way. The bus ride was a lot of fun, a little bumpy, maybe a lot bumpy, but it was a great way to see the country as we rode to our destination. After our six hour bus ride, we arrived in Ayote. I was overwhelmed by the smiling people there to welcome us; it seemed like a big family reunion for those who had been to Ayote previously. The smiles that I saw on that very first day did not fade the entire two weeks we lived in Ayote.

      The projects began right away, everyone pitched in. We were informed that our two big projects were building two houses and building the bell tower. There were a lot of other odd jobs around the church grounds that needed to be done as well. I started at the rebar station. I loved working there because the kids that hung around the church grounds bent rebar with us, and it was an opportunity to get to know them. The kids were so enthusiastic and wanted to help us with every job we were doing. Of course, we let them and they loved helping out and completing jobs. The first thing that I noticed about the children in Nicaragua was that they interact and play with each other exactly the same way that kids in America do. These kids simply live in a different place and speak a different language than American kids. They were very patient with my broken Spanish and I enjoyed laughing and playing with them. There were many different jobs to do throughout the day and I enjoyed each one of them because it was a chance to get to know the people you were working with, people from the mission and Nicaragua. People who worked on the church grounds and other people who lived around the area pitched in and were always willing to help. One of my personal favorite jobs was mixing concrete “Nicaraguan Style”. This style basically translates as, a lot of shoveling. I think that the Nicaraguan men who taught us the technique got a kick out of seeing us college girls shovel away. 

      The second week in Ayote consisted of completing the projects that we had started the week before and the medical clinic opened and was in full swing. The clinic was such a great experience. From taking blood pressures to watching surgeries, it was a blessing to learn from the doctors and interact with the people of Nicaragua. Every morning before breakfast that week, there was a long line of people waiting to see the doctors, some waited from six in the morning to six at night. It is a sobering fact that many of the people treated in the clinic could not afford ibuprofen for everyday aches and pains. I am so appreciative to the Fox Valley Mission Group for all that they do for the people of Nicaragua, and many others helped by this organization. I cannot thank those who traveled to Nicaragua enough for being so welcoming and helpful to me and Amanda. We both felt like we were in such a positive place and learned so much. 

      If I had to choose one lasting impression that Nicaragua left with me, it would have to be the abundance of faith that the people have. Many of them have next to nothing materialistically, but in faith they have so much. I believe that as a result of their strong faith, the people of Ayote are very happy and love living life. I know that this attitude definitely rubbed off on me in my 2 week stay in Nicaragua. 
 
 

Workfest at Christian Appalachian Project in Kentucky, March 2010 

      Workfest is an alternative spring break for college students that desire to spend a week doing service for families in the Appalachian Area in Eastern Kentucky.  It runs for four consecutive weeks to co-inside with the spring breaks of many different colleges from across the nation.  Approximately 400 students participate each year.

      This year three FVMG volunteers went down for a week to be crew leaders for the students.  Most of the projects involved installing new windows, doors, siding, soffits and decks/porches.  We also put on new roofs.  Other groups did repair on foundations, replaced termite infested or rotted wood rebuilt walls or did additions to homes.  The homeowners are families that usually have health problems and are unemployed.  They go through an approval process and are expected to pay back a portion of the project cost based on their ability to pay.  The labor is free.

      Besides all the work that is accomplished, I am most impressed with the attitude and spirituality of the college students involved.  Spending the week with the students gives me great hope for the future of our country. 

Annual Banquet, March 2010 

A group of more than 40 Fox Valley Mission Group members gathered at The Mariner to enjoy a delicious meal of fish and all the trimmings.  After dinner, members shared experiences from mission trips in Kentucky and Nicaragua.  Several slide shows revealed the work and fun in both places.  We were honored with the presence of Mr. John Schmidt from U.S. Oil, a financial supporter of the mission’s work.   He spent one week in Nicaragua in January with the building and medical group, and spoke highly of his experiences there.  A great big thanks went out to all those who planned our yearly banquet. 
 
 

Interesting Facts about the Fox Valley Mission Group 

1. Each year FVMG helps load semi containers bound for the Capuchin missionaries in Nicaragua.  Each container holds between 30,000 to 40,000 pounds of donated building materials, school supplies, tools, computers, shoes, and clothing.
2. So far in 2010, FVMG has delivered fourteen pallets (5500 pounds) of sheets, blankets, hospital gowns, scrubs, and children’s clothes to the Appleton rotary Club for shipment to Haiti.  We received the items from Gunderson Cleaners for shipment to Nicaragua, but decided to help the immediate need in Haiti.
3. In the last few years, FVMG has received between 2500-3000 food grade plastic pails from Create-a-Pack in Oconomowoc. Our volunteers cleaned the pails and sent approximately half to Nicaragua and the other half to Brother Regis to ship wheat in to Africa.
4. FVMG has obtained sacramental items, statues, stations, vestments, church pews, etc. from two churches that closed.  Some of the items are already in Nicaragua and the rest will be shipped this summer.
5. Del Schwaller has obtained, inspected, and repaired over 100 sewing machines that we have shipped to Nicaragua.
6. Over the past few years, we have received aprox. twenty five  300 gallon totes from Brownberry Bakery in Oconomowoc which we cleaned out to use for water in Nicaragua.  We have been filling them with shoes or stuffed animals so they are full when we ship them.  The cover is only 6" dia. and we never seem to have enough small items to fill more than two or three.  Any ideas?

In order to reach all members or interested parties of the Fox Valley Mission Group, it is important that we have your correct e-mail address or your home address.  You may send your updated e-mail address to russopl@sbcglobal.net or update your home address by calling 920-766-7966 and leaving your name and home address on our answering machine.  You may also access the newsletter at the Fox Valley Mission Group Website at www.foxvalleymission.org. 
 

Board of Directors and Officers 

President/Director       Vice President       Secretary                     Treasurer              Spiritual Director        Web Site

Carl  Boucher              Dave Klister          Mary Arnoldussen          Pat Ryan                Randy Haak Dcn.       Paula Loepfe

920-989-2015             920-766-9625       920-766-3015               920-766-1661         920-766-1661           262-569-9892 

Director / PR              Director / PR          Director/Web Site       Director                       Newsletter/Publications

Dr. Paul Russo           Gary Wolf              Dan O’Neill                  Dave Arnoldussen         Lou-Mae Russo            

920-766-7966            920-766-5801        920-766-4289             920-766-3015               920-766-7966 
 
 

Continue to keep FVMG, the missionaries and the people we serve in your prayers

What it means to be a servant

      Thanks to all who make the Fox Valley Mission Group possible.  Thanks to all who have given of their time, talents, or treasures.  We are all servants and we each bring our own gifts.  We can serve by gathering supplies, loading containers, working on mission trips nationally or internationally or by making a donation.   We are a blessing to the people we serve and are truly blessed for answering God’s call.  Why not invite someone to be part of FVMG?

“To be the greatest, be a servant”