The three Catholic parishes in Walla Walla—St. Patrick, Assumption, and St. Francis—have long been active in the Guatemala Mission. Support for the mission can be traced back to 1982, when Beth Call organized her class at Assumption Catholic School to collect coins for a Catholic school in Nahuala. That practice continues to this day.

For many years, the Guatemala Mission received varying donations; however, in 2008, the parishes committed to supporting programs on a monthly basis. Recently, all three parishes placed designated mission envelopes in stewardship packets for parishioners.

Currently, Assumption Church supports pastoral work in Nahuala, while St. Francis and St. Patrick Churches parishes support the pastoral work in Ixtahuacan, the radio station in Nahuala, and Our Lady of the Highway Preschool in Novillero. In the past, additional funds from St. Francis Church have financed a patio for the Marian Center in Ixtahuacan, and funds from St. Patrick and St. Francis have been sent as emergency aid.

Several people from the Walla Walla parishes have traveled to the mission, including Chris, Judy, and Zac Pinney; Julianne, Isabel, and Luke Sachs; Pat and Lisa Sharkey; Donna and Joe Wujek; Amanda and Julio Morelos; and Don Schwehr. During these visits, the travelers have participated in painting projects, sorted coffee beans, taught children about dental health, visited all of the programs to gather information and pictures to share, created a video of all the programs supported by churches in our diocese, translated for other travelers, and were simply present with the people in Solola.

Further supporting the mission, representatives from Walla Walla parishes are active members of the Diocesan Guatemala Commission, assist with articles in the Guatemala Mission column of the Inland Catholic, and communicate and translate with mission members as needed.

Additionally, some parishioners sponsor families through the Family-to-Family program.

Thank you to the parishioners in Walla Walla for their continued gifts of time, talent, and treasure to the people of the Diocese of Solola in Guatemala!