Christmas reminds us that God is close to us in our vulnerability and our powerlessness because He knows what it is to be vulnerable and powerless. This Christmas we celebrate once again that God is with us in all our human situations and conditions. I hope and pray that you experience the Christmas Spirit of joy and peace. Here in Peru the Christmas Spirit is challenged because of the abject poverty around us. However, we rejoice with you, our benefactors. Your great outpouring of generosity is for us a sign of faith and hope. We also rejoice as we see massive efforts made this year to banish poverty. The determination to “Make Poverty History” is forged in love for those who suffer in areas like South America. All of us need to embrace sacrifice and suffering in order to help these people overcome their poverty. The Christmas story reminds us every year that we must never forget the plight of the disadvantaged and excluded, that we must respond to the needs of those who may be in distress or despair.

Thank you for your prayers for us, the missionary priests. It is you, dear benefactors, who make it possible for us to share ourselves with those who are in need in Peru. I always feel encouraged in my missionary work away from home when I receive your letters. Your generosity and unfailing support have been an enormous comfort and source of strength to me over the last year. Christmas reassures us that God is with us today. But He is always present in the kindness and generosity shown by our benefactors and our friends.

As we approach another Christmas and New Year, I would like to share with you and all our friends around the world some of our news from the last 12 months. This has been an eventful year for us here, with major work developments for all of us. A lot has happened to me during the past year. I had some special visitors: my mother, a dear old lady of 76 years, came all the way from Malta to spend a month with me among the poor. It was a wonderful experience for her, considering her age and the altitude of this place. The people here made her very welcome. Then my brother, Fr Joseph, came from Wales to help me out with my missionary work. I would like to share with you what he actually wrote to his parishioners about his experience here in Arequipa, Peru:

“I was so thrilled with the trip that I promised to go back and do some more work among the poor. I witnessed real poverty: more housing conditions, children abandoned all day by parents, elderly people abandoned in hospitals in their working clothes, women doing their washing all day in the open air, and the men hanging around frustrated looking for work.

“I saw Fr Giovanni and his team on their visits making notes and promising beds, medical treatment, doctors and food to all those living in these dreadful conditions. I travelled with Fr Giovanni to a derelict village up a mountain called Israel, to distribute hampers of food and clothes to the elderly and the children.

“I forgot to mention that he also gives bags of clothes to the poor after the weekend Masses. I felt uneasy watching the poor having their showers in the open air under the water tap. And I will never forget the little boy placing plastic bottles of water in the sun so that his family will have hot water during the day.

“I was intrigued by the presence of dogs at funerals and the Sunday Masses; they seem to be part of the furniture and nobody takes any notice of them. But I was really impressed by the reverence and silence in Church and the by way the people celebrate the Eucharist. The parish where I worked is well organised – more than ours – there are regular catechises for parents; beautiful singing during the Liturgy, 23 altar servers attending Mass on Sundays and weekdays, various Parish Groups and a large number of catechists who meet every week to deepen their own spirituality.

“I was deeply impressed with the work Fr Giovanni is doing out there. To all his supporters I can tell you without equivocation that I marvelled at what he has achieved in so short a time. I was truly amazed at what he has achieved in the last three years. Well done Fr Giovanni and congratulations and thanks to all his supporters. I left Arequipa with many happy and lasting memories; most of the people are poor but they are lovely. I love them dearly and promised them to continue to help them”. (part of the letter of my brother Fr Joseph Cefai Camilleri PhD.)

During the past year we have opened in our parish a new nursery for 40 abandoned children; they are the poorest of the poor. We give them three meals every day, and provide six mothers to look after them. We have also extended the family visits and, as you can imagine, the social cases are innumerable now. We are assisting a lot of families with food and medicines. This year alone we gave around $20,000 in medicines, used $ 10,000 for evangelisation (to buy bibles and other religious material for families and to provide formation courses for our parishioners) and spent another $15,000 on food for the poor families (providing cooked meals in our parish kitchens (comedores), in our nurseries and meals on wheels for the elderly and the housebound.

Now that I have completed another three years in Peru, it will be soon time for me to visit my family again. I am looking forward to going home next summer for a good rest and to do some more awareness work about the missions. With a bit of luck I may be able to meet some of you and thank you personally for your generosity.

I send my warmest greetings to you and your family as we approach this wonderful season of Christmas. A Happy Christmas to you all and a Happy New Year.

May the Lord bless you and your families.

Fr Giovanni Cefai Camilleri

LA TOMILLA

PERU