El Salvador

Story of Deacon José González

My name is Deacon José González.  I was born on February 3, 1971 in the state of Livertad, El Salvador.  I am the 6^th child of a family of 10, including 8 sisters and one younger brother, who died from drowning in the John Day River in Oregon.  My father was Andrés González and my mother is Fredelinda López de González.

I made my First Communion and was confirmed when I was about 10 to 12 years old.  As a child I really liked going to church, and to catechism classes.  After I made my First Communion I continued to attend the classes.  I used to say that when I grew up I wanted to be a (Catholic lay) preacher like my father.  I also liked the idea of being a missionary.  When I was a kid in the 1980s we lived in the midst of a civil war in El Salvador and my mother, my sisters, my brother, some aunts, cousins and I fled to the home of an uncle who lived in the remote mountains.  My father and the husbands of my aunts stayed behind to work and once a week they brought us a weeks supply of food. 

Later we returned home so we could continue our education but my father had an accident at work, lost an eye and with complications, he was unable to continue to work.  I had to leave school to work full time and I became for all practical purposes the sole support of our household.  My father was familiar with construction and he would tell me what to do.

Sometime later in 1989 I decided to go to the United Sates for two main reasons: to find a better economic future for my family but also to get away from the civil war in El Salvador.  Young men of my age were being recruited to serve, whether for the military or the rebels.  Whichever side forced me into service I knew would require that I kill.  I didn’t want that and neither did my father want that for me and so he accepted my departure from my country in 1989. 

I arrived in the United States in 1989, living first in the area of Los Angeles and San Francisco, California and later, after 1995, in Bend, Oregon.  In 1997 I moved to the city of Portland and in 1999 I began getting really involved in St Anne Parish in Gresham, Oregon.  There I helped in various ministries as a Young Adult Group Coordinator, Minister of Holy Communion, member of the choir, First Communion and Confirmation Catechist as well as with the RCIA pre-baptismal classes and organizer of parish events, etc.

In the parish of St Anne I met my wife, Maria D. González.  We were married by Father Mike Morrissey on February 16, 2002.  We have three daughters, Emily Dyana González, born August 21, 2004, Ashley Guadalupe González, born December 11, 2005 and Ruby Giselle González, born August 28, 2011.

While I was helping with the Young Adults and engaged in other ministries Father Michael Morrissey, who was Pastor of St Anne, invited me to consider the possibility of the Permanent Diconate and after a time, counting on the absolute support of my wife, I began the process of preparation.

I was installed as a Lector at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland Oregon on October 31, 2009 by the Reverend Archbishop John G. Vlazny and on the same day I was installed as an Acolyte.  I was accepted as a candidate for ordination to the Diaconate in the Arhdioocese of Portland in Oregon on November 6, 2010.

On October 29, 2011 at 11:00 am I was ordained to the Permanent Diaconate by the Reverend Archbishop John G. Vlazny for the Archdiocese of Portland and assigned to the parish of St Anne, the same parish where I have served as a volunteer since 1999.

On May 5, 2013 I was hired by Father José Luis González, the Pastor of St Anne, as a Pastoral Associate.  I continue working there.

On May 31, 2014 I was on annual retreat in Mt Angel Oregon with the Deacons of the Archdiocese of Portland.  In silent prayer I asked the Lord to reveal his will to me, that he teach me what he wanted me to do and as soon as I finished praying Deacon An Vu, founder of the Family of St Therese, approached me and explained what the Family of St Therese does and then he asked me if I wanted to help with this project in El Salvador.  I do not remember his exact words but the idea seemed excellent to me and I felt that it was God answering one of my questions through Deacon An Vu, so I accepted with great pleasure. 

I got in touch with some people in El Salvador and formed a group and we call ourselves the Saint Matthew 25:31 group so that we remind others that we need to do works of mercy and that what we do to some of our brothers, we do to Jesus himself. The members of the group include transitional Deacon Alberto Cruz Martínez, psychologist Yeni Alfaro, small business owner Herminia López de Arias, Catechist and Preacher Vicente González, Catechist Irma Gladis Samayoa and I, Deacon José B. González.

Until now Deacon An Vu has given me a check for $1,000 every other month.  I send these funds to El Salvador in the name of Herminia de Arias.  In addition some family members and friends sponsor individuals for $20.00 a month.  At this point there are 12 persons being sponsored, for whom I receive $240 a month.  One other person is sponsored from El Salvador, making a total of 13 people who are sponsored monthly and every two months we sponsor 63 people.

I have opened an account were the sponsors deposit the money and then I transfer it to Herminia de Arias in El Salvador.  The Saint Matthew 25:31 group buys food supplies, bags them, organize themselves and distribute them on a Sunday after the Mass.  The people who are unable to go receive them at Church for reasons of health or advanced age have them delivered to their home.  Someone from the group takes a picture of each person who receives supplies.  These are sent to me and I post them on Facebook so the sponsors can see that the supplies have been delivered.

The persons receiving help are carefully selected by transitional Deacon Alberto Cruz Martínez who knows the community, and with the help of suggestions from the members of the group who are also members of the community.

When a person is selected we take their information, name, address, ID number and we keep a record.  This record is sent to me by mail and I keep a duplicate record here in the US as well.  I have a record of the names of the persons being sponsored with the name of those who sponsor them.

Once a month we gather with Deacon An Vu and some members of the Family of Saint Teresita, during which I give a report of our progress to the group, we pray, read the Gospels, and meditate and share about it.

 

the volunteers are: Herminia Lopez de Arias,Lisseth Alfaro,Yeni Alfaro;they are responsible ,but they have other people helping

in the United States I am in charge (Deacon José Gonzalez) with the help of Irma Gladis Samayoa

here is the list of Elders: Silvestre de Paz Cornejo ,Ana Maria Mendez,Maria Julia Beltran,Agustina Hernandez  Raymundo Gomez Portillo,Maria Isabel Lara,Cupertina Guardado  Dias de melendez,Petronila Vazquez , Nicolasa Hernandez Cruz,Mercedes Galdamez,Catarina Corea de Martinez,Maria Pastora Arevalo,Maria Antonia BonillaGeraldina Antonia AmayaCarmen Garcia,Doratia Morales,Maria Olimpia Cruz Vazquez,Mariano Melendez Cubias,Miguel Angel Molina Ortiz,Juan Jose Molina,Vicenta Celestina Amaya Ezquivel,José Leon Arevalo,Teresa de Jesus Recinos Valle,Paula Ayala Duran,Cruz Rivera Villalobos,Isaura Valle Ochoa,Rosario Damasia Sanchez Reyes,Rosa Mendez Perez,Lucia Campos de Rodriguez,Tiburcia Antonia Rivera Rivas,Jeus osalez Muños,Maria Margarita Juares de CentenoCastula Mejia,Jesus Castellanos,Antonio Avelar Quijano,Blanca Rosa Maradiaga,Ubaldo Mejia Mendoza,Petrona Hernandez,Maria Cruz Callejas Hernandez,Jerardo Chacon Acevedo,Juana Rodriguez,Fulgencia Avelar Cardosa,José Dominguez Velazvco,Felipa Gonzalez Mendez,Sabas Munguia Hernandez Martinez,Teresa Rodriguez,Maria Gonzalez de  Martinez,Jose Maria Salazar Ortega,Toribia Tejada,José Lopez Guerra,Maria Angela Hernandez de Vega,Felicita Melendez de Gonzalez