‘This is my chance’

Marie-Andrée Jalbert suddenly decided, not too long ago, that she would leave the comfort of her home and her career to pursue the missionary work she'd always wanted to do.

For that reason, the 31-year-old native of Hawkesbury will board a plane - or several connecting ones, for that matter - on her way to rural Guatemala next Wednesday.

Over the course of a month, Jalbert plans to learn basic Spanish and contribute to the building of a shelter and health clinic for visiting medical professionals - including physiotherapists and dentists called in from Canada to attend to underprivileged or physically-handicapped children at a nearby school, one built by the local Andy Gump Foundation.

"I just quit my job with the government and the security of that life, searching for what was essential and what was true, what really matters in life," said Jalbert, when asked what motivated her to leave for San Antonio Huesta, Guatemala, adding, "I've always wanted to do missionary work... and this is my chance."

She will begin the voyage with two weeks of Spanish lessons and shelter, under the care of a local family in Huehuetenango. First, however, Jalbert will fly from Ottawa to Chicago, to Miami and to Guatemala City, to then be picked up by someone in town and begin the 260-kilometre northwest drive to her host family.

Jalbert said she's both nervous and excited at the many "unknowns" in her trip.

"Who's going to meet me when I land at the airport?" she laughed. "Of course, it will work out entirely different [than what I expect], but [the Andy Gump Foundation] will send someone they trust."

The trip has been in the planning stages since October, she continued, noting it was a matter of planning, organizing and saving funds.

Reverend James Douglas, of the Knox Presbyterian Church in Vankleek Hill, will himself be flying down to Guatemala to join the group on March 8. He, too, is looking forward to several weeks of building, helping in the local orphanage, and creating a network of local contacts and friends.

"It's really exciting," he said, of both the trip and the group of 10 people he'll accompany. "There's quite an age range, anywhere from early 20s to late 50s."

"The church has been supporting Dave and Brenda Godmere [of the Andy Gump Foundation] for years," he said. "I want to see [their work] first hand, hopefully coming back and sharing it with the community at large."

Speaking about Jalbert, he added, "I think it's amazing what she's doing, all by herself. [...] The foundation wants to make sure Marie gets an appreciation for the work they've done so far."

In that respect, Douglas highlighted, the young lady tripled her initial goal of collecting 700 pens and 700 pencils for local school children and will now bring down a couple thousand of each.

The reverend equally stressed the importance of the foundation's work and the investment of those behind it: "With Andy Gump, for every dollar donated you're actually getting $1.25 worth of work. And it's local people that are doing it."