He is risen!
Easter blessings to all our readers.

-- Catholic Herald staff

Mailbag

	Mailbag policy We reserve the right to edit or reject letters. Limit letters to 200 words or less. All letters must be signed. Please include your city or town of residence. Send letters to: Mailbag The Catholic Herald 702 S. High Point Rd. Madison, WI 53719-3522 Fax: 608-821-3071 E-mail: info@madisoncatholicherald.org

Many U.S. volunteers help
in developing countries

To the editor:

A few comments regarding Tony Magliano's column in the February 28 issue of the Catholic Herald [print edition only]. What he says about our government per capita spending on development for the poorest countries being last among industrialized nations may be true. And yes, we have much more than we need in terms of material wealth, but we do not give enough credit to the hundreds of volunteers that give of their time and talent to volunteer in developing countries.

My wife and I have been to Honduras three times in recent years, either working on eyeglass missions with the Wisconsin Lions or with Habitat for Humanity building houses. We are always amazed at the number of mission groups we encounter on these trips.

At the hotel in San Pedro Sula we met a group of doctors that volunteer a week of their time and talent doing cardiac surgery at the local hospital for up to 12 hours a day. At the hotel in Trujillo we talked to a group of Rotarians and young people that are spending two weeks to help build a school. We met a young man at the airport in Atlanta that was returning from a three-week mission to Jamaica where, along with other church members, he helped build small houses for the poor.

Our eyeglass mission accompanied a group called Mission Health Services that was founded by a dentist from Ohio. They have been operating a small, bare bones clinic, that they built in the small rural village of Chipagua, for two weeks each spring and fall since 1992.

Many of the same volunteers return year after year. This year both of the doctors and the dentist were from the Marshfield area. They not only donate their time and talent, but also pay for their own airfare, food, and lodging.

After a day of work we gathered with them for our evening meal. We took turns saying the prayer before dinner. One of the mission workers, a young man who worked as a pharmacist in the clinic, quoted a verse from chapter 26 of Matthew, where Christ talks about feeding the hungry and clothing the naked. He said for them it was more than a verse from the Bible, it was a way of life.

These volunteers are doing more than just throwing crumbs to the poor; they are giving of their substance, their time, talent, and finances.

Yes, we have our faults in this country, and bashing the United States is often in vogue, but credit and recognition should be given to all of the volunteers that work so tirelessly in these countries.

Dave Wagner, Edgerton