Walking with support

Missioners accompany each otehr as they journey with the people of Guyana

By Katy O’Donnell
May 2006

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On July 1, 2004, my feet first stepped on New Amsterdam soil and I have been praising God ever since.

Enjoying a time of fellowship and community. Srs. Doris MacDonell (left), Joan Missiaen (centre) and Cecile Turner (right), with Scarboro missioner Kate O’Donnell (front). With them are George and Sheila, the Muslim couple who rent an apartment in their home to Kate. New Amsterdam, Guyana.

My contact persons were Srs. Cecile Turner and Doris MacDonell of Our Lady’s Missionaries who have been faithfully walking with and serving the people of Guyana for 14 years. I would also like to mention Alma who helped me to settle in and has become a good friend.

Another of Our Lady’s Missionaries, Sr. Joan Missiaen, arrived a few months after I did and the three O.L.M. Sisters and I support each another.

We are involved in helping women at the Good Samaritan Home and visiting patients at the psychiatric hospital. It is such a joy to be a part of the people’s lives and I thank the Sisters for introducing them to me.

Sr. Joan and I worked for a time at the school for children with special needs. Together we continue to do prison ministry, along with the Missionaries of Charity and a members of the Legion of Mary. We facilitate prayer services among the prisoners and Sr. Joan has a very peaceful way about her that seems to quieten the chaos often felt in such a place. It is a joy to work with her on these occasions.

We are always mindful of the sacrifices and support of our many friends and benefactors, for without you we would not be able to continue our walk with the people of Guyana.

The Sisters have been a pillar of strength for me. I thank God for their love and support, their sense of humour and their gentleness. I am also grateful for the meals we share.

Seeing the faithfulness of the Sisters, their work, and the smiles on their faces, I am reminded of Psalm 27:13: “I believe I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”

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