By David Kilby|Correspondent

When this year’s 12 Catholic Medical Mission Board volunteers were given a sending forth blessing in Precious Blood Church, Monmouth Beach, Sept. 26, they were reminded of how much their missions resemble those of the original 12 disciples.  

In his homily, Father Robert Kaeding, pastor of Precious Blood Parish, emphasized how important it was to help those in need.

“You’re not volunteers when you go off,” he said. “You’re disciples. All of us are called to be disciples. When Jesus called his disciples he didn’t say to go off and go to Mass or have fundraisers. He sent them off to be disciples and to make disciples. That’s what it’s all about.”

Clare Byrne, an occupational therapist from Our Lady of Peace Parish, New Providence, said she’s always had a heart to do mission work, especially working with children with disabilities, which is what she will be doing in Kampala, Uganda.

The volunteers are leaving for their mission work within the next few months, most of them leaving in November, and will be gone for a year.

Eight of the volunteers are registered nurses, including Eric Scott Tom from Los Angeles, who said he’s always wanted to do mission work. He mentioned there really aren’t many opportunities for medical specific mission work, so when he found out about the opportunity through CMMB he seized it. He will serve his mission year in Mutomo, Kenya.

In addition to Byrne and Tom, four of the other volunteers are going to Africa. Patricia Logan of Florida will join Byrne in Uganda. Margaret Camarca of Maryland will do medical research in Mother of Mercy Hospital in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan.  Nicole Franklin of New York City, who holds a master’s in public health, will serve in the CMMB program of Zambia.

Eric Azbell of Colorado, a registered nurse, will serve in a clinic in Roatan, Honduras. Natalie Marie D’Orazio, a registered nurse from Florida, is heading to the Farm of the Child orphanage in Honduras. Mackenzie Riggs, a registered nurse from California, will serve in a primary clinic in Guimaca, Francisco, Honduras. Frances Corcorran, a registered nurse from Seattle, will travel to Trujillo, Peru.

Breana McKinnon, a registered nurse from Maryland, will be going to a location yet to be determined. Another volunteer, who asked to remain unidentified for the article, will serve in the CMMB program in south Sudan.

At the reception after the Mass of Blessing, students from Holy Cross School, Rumson, were on hand to serve refreshments to the volunteers. 

Holy Cross School has raised about $4,000 for CMMB volunteers over the past four years, said seventh-grade teacher Maryjane Gallo.

Many of the Holy Cross students are already thinking about missionary work, she mentioned.

She said despite all of the damage the New Jersey area has suffered over recent years, “It’s still important for (students) to remember the communities in need outside our borders. We’re a privileged community and it’s important for us to share good fortune.”

The 12 volunteers participated in a variety of sessions in the Stella Maris Retreat Center, Long Branch, over the week prior to the Mass of Blessing. There they learned different things about living and serving in their designated countries.