By Henry W.
Reverends Ralph and Liz Groskoph invited Central New York Diocesan Bishop Skip Adams to spend lunch with students from The Family Foundation School, on Tuesday, June 9. A number of students signed up to eat lunch with the bishop, as well as ask him about his life and his work.
After lunch, Bishop Adams shared an inspirational movie regarding missions to El Salvador. The purpose of the trip to El Salvador, referred to as the Mission of Miracles, is to provide medical assistance to the locals of numerous villages around the country. The mission usually lasts one week, from Sunday to Sunday.
The first official Mission of Miracles to El Salvador was in November 2003. It was a medical mission of eight people, including doctors, nurses, and a translator. The trip was organized by the bishop’s wife, Bonnie Adams.
“It [the mission] evolved out of a relationship with Bishop Martin Barahona. We began to talk about the lack of medical care available,” said Bishop Adams. The mission provided a huge amount of medical care.
Increasingly larger teams have gone back each year to help the El Salvador locals. “Their needs are so great and there are very few physicians down there…If we want to make a difference we have to go every year,” explained the bishop.
The people in the nine local villages suffer from lasting effects of civil war and natural disasters, which cause ongoing poverty throughout the country. Bishop Adams explained that “it can be very overwhelming…but it is a very moving experience.”
He continues to go every year, with his most recent trip this past January. He expects to return to El Salvador around the same time next January. “I hope that I can continue to develop relationships [with the locals] and continue to help them,” he said.
