President’s page
January 1, 2009

REMEMBERING 2008

As we close the year 2008, we as a Ministry want to Thank God for all the prayers that have been answered both from those who have requested prayers over the internet and those who have come in the store to sign in our book. Our prayer is that we continue to do His will for this ministry in 2009.

As we begin this new year of 2009 I am happy to report that our Officers are the same as 2008 and for the first time our Board of Directors stay the same as well.  I am very grateful for their acceptance of their positions as we allow ourselves to be transformed in our daily lives.

We are so very grateful to Patricia Gonzalez our awesome web master and friend. As I reflect on the problems at the beginning of the year prior to her taking over and look at the web site now I am still very impressed. She very methodically went through the site fixing all the problems, adding and redoing all the pages that were necessary, getting the achieves correct as well as the monthly updates that are done in a very timely and professional manner. Her artistic abilities are very obvious as she helps in the design every month. You can reach Patricia at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it if you are thinking about a new website or know anyone that is.

I could not miss taking the opportunity to thank my friend Deacon James Zakowicz, O.C.D. for his very inspiring reflections each month. We will continue to pray for him as he prepares to be ordained a Priest in May along with the possibility of his leading a pilgrimage to Viet Nam in 2009.

As a ministry we lost some really great people that will be interceding for us in heaven. We lost my son-in-law Donald, Sylvia’s niece Rose, Gene Obidinisky O.C.D. one of our past president’s of our Secular Order here in Tucson, several members of Tony’s family and many other friends.

One of the highlights of 2008 was our pilgrimage to France, Lourdes and Italy which allowed me to travel with my friend and guide Roberto. We made some really good friends on this trip which include Faith and Rick Karasch. Faith took a LOT of pictures;  some are on the front page that you see now. Even though this trip was very costly for this ministry there were many graces received from it. We were able to attend the audience with the Pope, see the incorrupt body of Padre Pio as well as be in Lourdes receiving the plenary indulgence that was available for the anniversary of Lourdes. We were able to visit Father Jose Luis, O.C.D. and the brothers in Rome again which is always a joy.

We are still struggling to pay the debt for this trip as the numbers for this trip dropped at the very last minute and really hurt this ministry financially. People do not realize that groups depend on numbers that cannot be predicted and the loss that can come is not easy. On this trip the numbers dropped to the point that I had to pay for the Priest and a hefty amount per person as well. Some have given donations to help offset the loss but not many. We are a ministry and try the best we can to handle the loss not passing it on to the pilgrims. We are always looking for ways to raise monies to pay back people that have cancelled even though they sign a contract stating their refund will come when another person signs up to replace them (sometimes like this one no one ever signs up)  or we have had to cancel a trip because of circumstances. That is why we need and depend on the generosity of our benefactors to keep us going at times like these and especially until our prayer is answered as David Galaz, our gifted prayer partner , has prayed for so long, to be debt free.

Another highlight for 2008 was when David and Caroline Galaz, Cecilia and Ruben Rodriguez (board members) myself and members of the charismatic prayer group and the youth from Santa Cruz went to the Southern California Charismatic Conference over Labor Day weekend. We met Manny, a really nice person that has become a real joyful friend and joined us in prayer for the ministry as we stay in contact with each other’s prayer groups.

We have two more people that have helped us tremendously this last year. Paula Dabbert who retired from American Airlines has been very instrumental in helping us with group air as well as her artistic talents. She is the one that designed our logo and has helped with all her creativity. When we did not have the “numbers” to use all the seats we reserved on American, she has worked with American to give us the additional time we needed to get the minimum number as well as the time to add a couple names. The end result is that we will be leaving January 14th. This trip will not make any money for the ministry but not cost us either thanks to booking as a group. We did lose money on penalties because of not filling all the reserved seats but are saving money because of the help of the other very important person that has helped us in the ministry, Gina Soto.

Gina has worked and traveled extensively in Arizona and California distributing brochures for the Cruise as well as the Mexico City trip. As we had hoped for the numbers to be able to start our new business with Roberto; however, that never came through. Gina made a contact with a Shuttle Company that will provide services for the few that want to go and it is coming together as I write this. It is obvious to us here that Our Blessed Mother is in charge (as always, not us) and we can have a very spiritual pilgrimage to see her with our small group and two Priests. Gina used all her friends and her ability to communicate in Spanish and we have it very well planned with a lot less expense.  We will not lose money on this one even with the penalties on the airlines that have been covered.  This will enable us to provide less expensive pilgrimages to Mexico City with fewer people.

Our main focus for 2009 will be to continue to focus on a larger place for the ministry. We have been very happy with the efforts of our board member Sylvia Rodriguez who was elected to be in charge of fundraising and locating the land and building.  Gina has also been trying to find a buyer for the "priceless, one of a kind, necklace" we have up for bid. She has made some contacts in Mexico and is working on some here in Tucson as well. Again our prayer to be DEBT FREE.

We have tentatively planned a Life in the Spirit seminar for the ministry and our spiritual group for the first of the year. It would be great if we had the larger center which would enable us to do spiritual things on an ongoing basis. We still have First Friday mass with Father Isaac which adds so much to our prayers for all who request them.

We are still pressing on with the advertising, including SPIRITDAILY.COM and the newspapers and flyers to get the minimum number for the rescheduled CRUISE IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ST. PAUL. We will be contacting groups to see if we can get enough to make this a reality. We will let you know of any other pilgrimages as they are scheduled. We are still booking the PASSION PLAY as well.

I wish all of you a VERY BLESSED NEW YEAR. As we pray for you, please keep us in your prayers as well.

Gayle