Mission Veteran Writes Song for Mission of Hope
by Sr. Debbie Blow, Executive Director
July 24, 2009

North Country Mission of Hope is officially announcing that one of our Mission volunteers and travelers, Wellington Joe Lewis, has written, recorded and released a song entitled “Calling All of God’s Angels” in honor of the Mission of Hope.

Wellington Joseph (Joe) Lewis, Jr. is a father of three, a husband and a Spanish/English teacher. He believes each of us is born with a purpose to make a difference in the world. His first trip to Nicaragua, in August of 2007, transformed his world view. “This song was my way of expressing all of the feelings and energy that became bottled up inside of me. I had to say something, so I wrote this song.”

Mission #32, on Wednesday, August 5th, 2009, sang this song for the students at Colegio Nino Jesus de Praga in Chiquilistagua as part of the traditional despedida between our groups.

Click here to listen to Calling All of God’s Angels (Copyright 2009)

Calling All of God’s Angels
Written and performed by Wellington Joe Lewis
Copyright 2009

In Nicaragua, we help the sick and the poor
Built shelters, till our hands became sore
Left the land, of the free and the brave
To see how many lives we could save

Calling all of the angels
A little miracle, if you please.
We’re asking for God’s mercy
His precious children are in need.
Hey, hey, hey, we hope and we pray
We can make a difference today.
Hey, hey, hey, I’ll offer you my hand
This must be a part of God’s plan.

Went with the doctor as he made his rounds
Visited so many poor little towns.
Climbed a mountain in the pouring rain,
Laughed and smiled to cover up the pain.

Calling all of God’s angels
A little miracle if, you please.
We’re asking for God’s mercy
His precious children are in need.
Hey, hey, hey, we hope and we pray
We can make a difference today.
Hey, hey, hey, I’ll offer you my hand
This must be a part of God’s plan.

Nicaragua you’re always in my heart.
I’d do anything, just to do my part.
So many children, I wish I could hold
And thousands of people with stories untold.

Calling all of God’s angels
A little miracle, if you please.
We’re asking for God’s mercy
His precious children are in need.
Hey, hey, hey, we hope and we pray
We can make a difference today.
Hey, hey, hey, I’ll offer you my hand
This must be a part of God’s plan.
I want to make things right.
Let’s take another flight.
Calling all of the angels
Hey, hey, hey, we hope and we pray
We can make a difference today.
Hey, Hey, hey, I’ll offer you my hand
This must be a part of God’s plan.

Mission of Hope to build complex in Nicaragua
By SUZANNE MOORE
Features Editor, Plattsburgh Press Republican
July 20, 2009

PLATTSBURGH — First, North Country Mission of Hope found a place in the hearts of the Nicaraguans it helps; now, it will establish a permanent physical presence in the Central American country. The Plattsburgh-based humanitarian aid group is nearing completion of purchase of an almost 1.5-acre piece of land in Chiquilistagua, Nicaragua, where construction will soon begin on a multi-phase facility. Phase one on the project financed by the George and Shirley Moore Foundation includes a medical clinic, offices and an adult-education/meeting center.

That first phase will take the shape of an L, with phase two completing a Spanish-style building with a courtyard in the center, said James Carlin, chairman of Mission of Hope’s Land Acquisition Committee. The expansion would include dormitories for large mission groups to stay; now they are housed in a building on the adjacent compound on Niño Jesus de Praga School, but there’s no guarantee that will continue indefinitely, Carlin said.

“We have to ask (the Carmelite) nuns who run the school) every time we schedule a mission if the facility is free,” he said. As well, Mission of Hope shares the present clinic space in the compound with another medical provider and storage room for supplies has become an issue.

“For the long-term sustainability of the mission, I think it’s a good idea that we have our own facilities,” Carlin said.

Mission of Hope began exploring the possible sites for a complex of its own in February 2008, settling on this one a few months later.

“It’s right behind the (Niño Jesus) compound, convenient to water, electricity,” said mission Executive Director Sister Debbie Blow.

It also offers good access for trucks that would deliver shipping containers of mission supplies and equipment, she said.

“It’s very flat, very developable,” Carlin said. “A very nice piece of property.”

Owned by an uncle of Mission of Hope Leadership Team member Oscar Flores, the land’s price tag is $40,000. A gift totaling $100,000 from the Keeseville-based Moore Foundation will pay that and includes $60,000 for construction as well. Closing the land deal has turned out to be a lengthy effort.

“The process is a little different down there,” Carlin said. “Much more government involvement.”

“I am ready and anxious to put the $40,000 in to cover the land and ready to do the other when it’s appropriate,” said George Moore of Keeseville, who traveled to Nicaragua last June to look over the property and see the mission at work first-hand before committing foundation funds to the project. Through his foundation, and in memory of his late wife, Shirley, he already contributes to various mission programs, including Children Feeding Children, which provides meals for school kids. After seeing the poverty there, Moore and his son Phillip wholeheartedly endorsed buying the land and building the complex.

“I saw places where there was such an extreme need,” Moore said.

The mission, which has already hired two security guards to watch over the property, will pay to complete the walls surrounding it. Carlin expressed hope that the sale would be complete in time for missioners who will be there from late July to Aug. 6 to acquire the building materials for the security wall. Then, by the next big mission trip in February 2010, he said, “hopefully, we’ll at least have the security walls up and the beginnings of our building there.

“We will pay just wages, hire local labor and have our people work alongside the people there as well, so it is a joint ownership of the mission’s next phase,” Blow said.

Already, she, Carlin and other mission members can picture how the complex will facilitate efforts to improve lives in Chiquilistagua and its environs. A door will be cut into the wall between the new facility and Niño Jesus compound so the connection with that community — especially with the children — isn’t diminished. Adults earning first-responder status will enjoy indoor comfort for their classes.

“Now, they are trained in the courtyard of the present compound under a tree,” Blow said.

“I’m as excited about this as anything we’ve done,” Carlin said.

After more than 10 years of repeat missions to the area, people have come to trust the American group, but, he said, a permanent facility will reinforce the commitment. “The mission is here, and it’s going to stay here.”

July 02, 2009

PLATTSBURGH — Bill and Ginny McBride have been named honorary chairpersons of this year’s McSweeneys/Mission of Hope Golf Classic to be played on July 2 at the Barracks Golf Course. In announcing the selection of the McBrides, Tournament Chairperson Mary Mannix said: “The Golf Classic each year selects an individual(s) whose community service and love of golf exemplify the spirit we seek to celebrate with the Tournament. Bill and Ginny have an enduring commitment to our community and Bill’s love of golf is legendary. We couldn’t be happier or more honored to have had them accept this recognition of their many contributions to the greater Plattsburgh area.”

William and Virginia McBride arrived in Plattsburgh in 1970 to assume ownership of the Chevrolet dealership on US Ave.Typical of why they are being recognized, Bill and Ginny immediately jumped into various forms of civic involvement.

Bill has been a very active Rotarian, a Vice Chair of the (former) Air Base Liaison Committee, Chair & Board member of CVPH Medical Center, Chair, Clinton County Development Corporation, Director of National Savings Bank, Key Bank of Albany, Key Bank of Vermont and Chair of the PIDC.

Ginny has been significantly involved in her own right. A graduate of Albany College of Pharmacy, Ginny began working as a pharmacist at CVPH. She has also been an active volunteer with both the Medical Center’s auxiliary and Hospice. Before the base closure, Ginny was also an active member of the Wives of the Air Base Liaison Committee.

Today, the McBrides and their two sons, Brian and Bill Jr., continue to operate McBride Cevrolet-Subaru at their US Ave. location. Daughter Maureen (McBride) Enos is a pharmacist and resides in Clifton Park.

This year’s Golf Classic has recently moved from its sponsorship recruitment state to solicitation of individual players. As in the past, all proceeds go to the Mission of Hope’s “Children Feeding Children” Program that currently feeds 600 children daily in Nicaragua. Prizes in the Tournament are primarily handmade crafts made in Nicaragua.

The Tournament is unique in that it has a two-player scramble format rather than the traditional four-player format. Teams are scored in three classes — Men, Women and Mixed. Individuals will find entry forms at local golf courses and from Marty Mannix at 569-5615. The costs are $50 per person if a member at the Barracks and $75 for non-members. Their fee covers greens fees, cart, all you can eat buffet, a free gift and prizes.