The Archdiocesan Office of Hispanic Young Adult Ministry will sponsor the second annual mission trip to El Salvador, to assist the Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus at an orphanage in San Salvador on July 2-10. In anticipation of the trip, the missionaries are collecting donations for the orphans.

The Spanish-speaking group, ages 18-30, will travel to the Hogar Inmaculado Corazón de Maria orphanage in the capital of the small Central American nation, where the group also went last year. There they will play with and bring gifts to about 80 children, teach the faith, and assist the sisters in home and area projects.

Participants are still collecting money as well as toiletries and school supplies to bring to the children and can pick up donations upon arrangement at parishes.

Persons may still sign up for the trip but must purchase their own plane ticket, as the discounted group rate is no longer available. Spanish-speaking ability is not required.

Cecilia Serna, who is of Mexican descent, participated last year with her sister and found the trip to be “unforgettable.”

“I learned a lot about the way they live over there, and I learned a lot about myself too. I realized how fortunate I am to be living here in the United States, and it was kind of shocking to find out different facts about the country itself and how the economy is over there,” she said.

Serna, who along with her sister is trying to develop a Hispanic young adult group at her parish, Good Shepherd Church in Cumming, commended the work of the Office of Hispanic Young Adult Ministry, especially for reaching out to the new immigrants in North Georgia. “Especially for the Hispanic youth, it’s very difficult because they’re out of their native country and what (the director) has done is create a place where they can find healthy things to do and get to know other youth of the same age, and it’s a healthy atmosphere. He’s really brought almost all the youth groups in the Atlanta area, and I think he’s done a great job bringing them together.”

To donate or for other information, call Serna at (770) 316-8137, Paula Cadavid at (404) 454-5595 or Leonardo Jaramillo at (404) 885-7412. Checks payable to Archdiocese of Atlanta—El Salvador may be sent to the Archdiocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry, 680 W. Peachtree St., NW, Atlanta, GA 30308-1984.

For additional program information, visit www.juvatlanta.com.