DIOCESAN NEWS
08/06/10
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Kelly experiences Saltillo ‘spiritual high’
By John Chevis
Gulf Pine Catholic
SALTILLO, Mexico — Kathryn Kelly planned to get her degree in English and become an English teacher, or so she thought, that is, until she got the calling to change her plans and serve the poor.
That calling took her to Saltillo, Mexico, to work in a home supported by Mi Casa Foundation, which takes care of neglected and abused children.
The Pass Christian native grew up on the coast and attended Our Lady Academy in Bay St. Louis before graduating from St. John High School in Gulfport.
She then enrolled in the University of Mssissippi in Oxford to pursue her degree in English.
Kelly is the daughter of Dennis Kelly and Shirley Kingston Kelly. Her mother is from Bay St. Louis and her grandmother still lives in Bay St. Louis and is a long time parishioner of Our Lady of the Gulf Church.
After Hurrican Katrina hit the coast in 2005, her family moved to Jacksonville, Fla., to work and Kathryn transferred to Flagler College in St. Augustine and graduated in 2008 with a degree in English.
After graduating from college, she just got the feeling she had to do something to serve the Lord and her fellow man in other ways.
After doing some searching, she chose Mi Casa Foundation and their home in Saltillo,”Casa Hogar.”
Mi casa foundation is based in San Antonio, Texas, and has homes throughout Mexico and three in the city of Saltillo.
“Asilo del Buen Pastor” cares for young disadvantaged girls who have been abused and offers them a future of dignity in society.
“Hogar de Ninos” cares for children whose parents are too poor to raise and support them. “Casa Hogar de los Pequenos,” where Kathryn chose to volunteer a year of her life, cares for young boys from broken homes.
She cares for up to 12 boys who reside at the Catholic home week days during the school year and stay with relatives during the summer months and weekends. Kelly has had to do just about everything at the home.
Mi Casa Foundation has week-long mission trips and the extended one-year mission, which Kathryn chose.
Kathryn had been to Saltillo a number of times doing missionary work at the Mississippi mission San Miguel with the youth group from Long Beach St. Thomas the Apostle Church and was somewhat familiar with the conditions in the city of Saltillo.
Even though she spoke no Spanish when she volunteered, it was no barrier to her success there. She quickly learned the language and is now fluent in Spanish. “You do not need words to express love and a smile goes a long way here when you do not know the language,” she explained.
“I really love my boys and we have had no problems here that have been seen in other parts of Mexico. I feel completely safe here, I go all over Saltillo and have seen no problems,” she affirmed.
Saltillo was named by Inersionista Magazine in 2006 as the best Mexican city to live in, chosen from more than 53 Mexican cities.
“I have been on a spiritual high here. It seems everything happens for a reason and there is a reason I am here. God has a plan for me. I have figured out why God wanted me here, and much more. My relationship with God has definitely changed my life.
“I have learned not only to take care of myself but my boys who need me. As my time here gets shorter, I am getting that same feeling I had last year. This is my time to serve more and more. This life of helping others is not over in July when I leave Casa Hogar. This is just the beginning of a long life of servitude,” she stated.
Kathryn still visits the San Miguel Mission when she has the time and has made trips to the ranchos with Father Benny Piovan, the pastor of the mission.
Kathryn is on Facebook and has a blog, where family and friends can follow her progress and view her photos
Visit Mi Casa Foundation online.
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