Could God Be Calling You?
Our Lady of Mercy is preparing for our 3rd Annual Adult Mission Trip to Guatemala in January 2027, and we invite you to prayerfully consider whether God may be calling you to go.
You do not need construction experience. You do not need to be an experienced missionary. You simply need a willing heart, a desire to serve, and an openness to encountering Christ in the people you meet.
During the mission, OLM parishioners work alongside Guatemalan builders and families to construct safe, simple homes while sharing prayer, meals, conversation, laughter, hard work, and life together.
This is more than a service project. It is an opportunity to step outside the familiar, serve our brothers and sisters, encounter Christ in a profound way, and return home changed by the people and experiences God places before you.
Interested in Going in 2027?
Whether you’re ready to say yes or simply want to learn more, we’d love to hear from you.
What Is It Like to Go on Mission?
For several days, small teams of OLM parishioners work alongside local Guatemalan builders to construct a home for a family in need. No construction experience is necessary. You will be shown what to do and work together as a team.
But building the house is only part of the mission.
You will meet the family receiving the home, experience the local community and culture, pray and worship with your fellow missionaries, and discover the joy that comes from serving side by side.
Expect to work hard. Expect to laugh. Expect to get dirty. Expect to meet people you will never forget.
Most importantly, come ready to discover what God may want to do in you while He works through you.
2027 Mission Trip
January 2027
Our Lady of Mercy will return to Guatemala for our third Adult Mission Trip, continuing our partnership with Imaginin Guatemala.
During the week, OLM missionaries will work together to build homes for families while entering into the life, faith, and culture of the communities we serve.
Who Can Go?
Adults who feel called to serve are encouraged to prayerfully consider participating. No construction experience is required. A willingness to work, serve as part of a team, and enter fully into the mission experience is what matters most.
Want to Learn More?
Contact Geri Capulong with questions or to express your interest in the 2027 Mission Trip.
Why We Go
A home provides more than shelter.
For families living in poverty, a safe and secure home can provide stability, dignity, better health, greater opportunities for children, and hope for the future.
But our mission is about more than what we build.
We go to encounter Christ in our brothers and sisters, to serve alongside them, to listen to their stories, to share our faith and lives with one another, and to allow God to transform our own hearts through the experience.
Mission is not simply something we do.
It is part of who we are called to be as disciples of Jesus Christ.
See Mission in Action
2026 Mission Trip | January 24–31, 2026
Seventeen OLM parishioners formed three service teams and built three homes for three families in Guatemala, each one a tangible sign of hope, dignity, and Christ’s love made visible. Our pastor, Fr. Michael, joined the mission trip, moving among all three worksites and working side by side with our parishioners to build the homes. Along the way, he also offered prayer, encouragement, and a shepherd’s presence as the teams worked, prayed, and shared life alongside the families they served.
Families, Homes & OLM Mission Teams
López Chacón Family • Home No. 256
OLM Mission Team: Geri Capulong, Mila Lanuza, Sharon Toschak, Nery Fejardo, Keith Baur
López Chacón Family • Home No. 257
OLM Mission Team: Gerri Frey, Kim Harris, Kathy Harris, Ann Marie Stone, Michael Jackson
Zamora Pérez Family • Home No. 258
OLM Mission Team: Mike Zenobi, Veronica Manzanares, Ruben Manzanares, Barbara Toschak, Patti Marcinko, Peg Allen
2025 Mission Trip | February 22–March 2, 2025
Twelve OLM parishioners formed two service teams and built two homes for two families in Guatemala. Our former parochial vicar, Fr. Frank Pusateri, accompanied the mission, celebrating daily Mass, working alongside the teams, and sharing Christ’s love with the families and community.
Families, Homes & OLM Mission Teams
Lazaro Lopez Family • Home No. 222
OLM Mission Team: Gerri Frey, Geri Capulong, Eric Loveless, Dennis & Julie Kiraly
Álvarez Santos Family • Home No. 223
OLM Mission Team: Fr. Frank Pusateri, Aaron & Naomi Tantaro, Veronica Manzanares, Mike Zenobi, Kim Harris
Our Mission Continues
Each home built represents a family whose life has been changed, but the transformation does not end in Guatemala.
Our missionaries return home carrying the stories, relationships, gratitude, and faith they encountered with them. Those experiences continue to shape how we see our neighbors, our blessings, our parish, and our own call to discipleship.
And now we are preparing to return.
Could 2027 Be Your Year to Go?
If something in your heart is stirring as you read this, don’t worry about having everything figured out.
Sometimes discerning mission begins simply by asking the question.
Can’t Go? You Can Still Be Part of the Mission.
Not everyone is able to travel to Guatemala, but everyone can be part of sending OLM on mission.
You can support our missionaries through prayer and help make these homes possible through financial gifts.
Your generosity helps provide the resources needed to build safe homes for families and helps make it possible for OLM missionaries to answer the call to serve.
Whether you go, pray, or give, you become part of bringing hope and the love of Christ to families in Guatemala.
Help Our Lady of Mercy send mission teams to build safe, simple homes with Imaginin Guatemala. Your generosity changes lives—one family, one home at a time.
Support the Guatemala Mission
Look for “Missions” please include the note: “For the Guatemala 2027 Adult Mission Trip.”
Trip Details
- Dates: Saturday, January 23 – Saturday, January 30, 2027
- Volunteers: Around 24 people, divided into 4 teams
- Goal: Build 4 homes for families in need
- Estimated Cost Per Person: Approximately $2,500 including home-building costs and materials, airfare, housing, ground transportation, meals with host families, worksite lunches and some spending money.
Why Your Gift Matters
Many Guatemalan families live in makeshift shelters made of cornstalks, scrap wood, or cardboard. Cooking fires are often in the same room where families sleep, and dirt floors make for unsafe, unhealthy living.
Through our partnership with Imaginin Guatemala, our mission teams build simple, safe, sustainable homes that include:
- Cinderblock walls with windows and doors that lock
- Cement and tile floors
- An outdoor covered kitchen with stove (smoke vented outdoors)
- Bathroom with shower and toilet
- Electricity for lighting and essentials
What Service Teams Do
- Work in groups of 6–7 volunteers alongside two local Guatemalan builders
- Spend four days building a home for a selected family
- Get to know the family and connect with the local community
- Experience Guatemala’s culture through optional activities such as hiking a volcano, zip-lining, visiting Maya ruins, Lake Atitlán, or a salsa dance lesson
2027 schedule: 7 days total (2 travel days, 4 building days, 3 days of cultural/mission activities).
2027 Blessing: We are praying that one of our Diocese of Joliet priests will join the 2027 team—his presence and priestly ministry will be a tremendous blessing to the team and families.
Thank You, Benefactors!
We are grateful for those whose generosity has already helped make this mission possible:
- Linda R. — donated half of her 2025 Oktoberfest 50/50 Raffle winnings toward the 2026 mission trip
- Steve & Margaret Dodd — sponsored Fr. Frank’s 2025 mission trip
If you supported last year or have already given this year—thank you. Your generosity is building more than homes; it’s building hope.
Donate Now
Your gift—of any size—helps fund materials and costs to build three homes in 2026 and offsets volunteer expenses.
👉 Give Online through OSV
Important: Look for “Missions” and in the Notes section, please write “For the Guatemala 2027 Adult Mission Trip.”
Prefer to give in person, just drop it off in the Parish Office or place in the offering basket during the weekend Masses, please be sure to indicate that it is for the Guatemala 2026 Adult Mission Trip.
About Imaginin Guatemala
Imaginin Guatemala partners with local communities to build safe, simple homes and accompany families toward a more stable future. Our parishioners work, pray, and build alongside experienced Guatemalan builders and the very families receiving the homes.
FAQs
Do I need construction experience?
No. You will work alongside experienced builders and other members of your team. A willingness to learn and work is much more important than knowing how to build a house.
What will we actually do?
Missionaries spend much of the week helping construct homes while also spending time with the families and communities they serve. Prayer, fellowship, cultural experiences, and opportunities to grow in faith are also an important part of the mission.
Is this primarily a construction trip?
No. The house is what we build. Relationship is at the heart of why we go. The mission gives us an opportunity to encounter Christ in the people we serve and in one another.
What if I’m interested but I’m not sure I’m ready to commit?
That’s completely fine. Contact Geri and learn more. Expressing interest does not mean you are committing to the trip.
How are families selected?
Local partners identify families most in need of a safe, secure home.
What does my donation fund?
Materials and construction costs for three homes, plus mission logistics.
Is my gift tax-deductible?
Gifts made through Our Lady of Mercy are generally tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law (consult your tax advisor).
Thank you for praying, giving, and sending our parishioners on mission. Together in Christ, we are building homes—and hope—for our brothers and sisters in Guatemala.
📩 Questions? Contact Geri Capulong at 847-890-3891 gericapulong@gmail.com
Are You Being Called to Go? Maybe you've never imagined yourself going on a mission trip. Maybe you've thought about it but always found a reason to wait. Or maybe something about this mission simply keeps tugging at your heart. Bring that question to prayer. Ask the Lord “Are You calling me to go?” If the answer might be yes, we'd love to help you take the next step.
Photo Highlights 2025 Mission Trip
Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.
Matthew 25:40