Dear <<First Name>>,
 
 I am writing to you with some very good news indeed. But before I tell you all the details of this exciting development, please let me explain a bit about the picture and quote above.
 
 Our Mother Mary spoke these words to a young Aztec peasant boy, Juan Diego, at Guadalupe nearly 400 years ago. Mary herself appeared to give consolation that even in the midst of tragedy she will bring us peace because she brings us Jesus.
 
 At that time, the Aztecs were practising human sacrifice, but these words along with the miraculous image Mary gave them, lifted them out of their darkened pessimism and gave them the consolation and encouragement they needed to turn their hearts towards Jesus and towards peace and life.
 
 Everyday we pray a prayer to Mary to "enflame us in this darkened world to be bearers of the Light"! Our times too are dark - there are many who suffer from the pain of grief and despair. We know that today, the tragedy of abortion continues to offer false hope to young mothers who find themselves pregnant in crisis situations. Abortion offers them a peace that it can never deliver and leaves vulnerable women to suffer the grief of losing their babies often alone and in the silence of their hearts.
 
 Many families also suffer the loss of their little babies that have died in the womb or during child birth. For these families too, the experience of grief and loss is very real.
 
 The pain of losing a baby is so often hidden and it is something that many people find awkward to deal with or to express. For those suffering, there is often no special place or way to acknowledge what has happened, no formula to offer it in prayer and no memorial to honour the life of the little baby that has returned to the Lord.
 
 But the words of Mary and her appearance at Guadalupe offer us a very real opportunity! An opportunity we hope to respond to, and that you might wish to be part of, too!
 
 
The good news: 
 
 This year we have begun to work on the first stage of a very special place of remembrance - a memorial to the unborn. This will be a beautifully landscaped garden, set in the open fields with views to Mt Grey and the Southern Alps, on the property of the Beatitudes Community, just North of Christchurch in the South Island of New Zealand.
 
 This memorial will provide a place for mothers and families who have lost babies to miscarriage, abortion or stillbirth to come, to pray, to contemplate and to find real healing and peace.
 
 It will feature a beautiful carved statue of Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, holding the babies in her arms, with her words on a plaque. The life sized statue was commissioned and has been carved by an artist in Peru. It is currently being shipped  to New Zealand. Work is well underway to prepare the site for her arrival. 
 
Progress so far:
To deal with drainage and access a new road is being built to the site of the cemetery area, where the memorial is to be situated.
 
A system of irrigation is being developed to enable water to be accessible for the new plantings planned throughout the proposed new garden area.
 
The planting of new trees and shrubs is planned for autumn 2024. The estimated cost these plants and the necessary materials to provide support for the young trees and irrigation is NZD $2500

 * Specimen trees ($50) 20 needed
 * Decorative trees ($20) 100 needed
 * Compost and lime ($500)

 
 In addition, we need to build a small shelter for the statue ($1200).
Two of these are needed (one for the statue of Mary and one for a beautiful carved crucifix).
 
 * The installation of a carving and archway donated by John Paul II Centre for Life  ($1200)
 
Completion of the road and carpark estimated cost ($2000)

 We also need to upgrade our pump to get irrigation to the area ($5000+) 

We have paid for the statue and its shipping but we also need assistance with the import duties that we will be charged when it arrives. The statue is already on its way here from Peru!
 
We have made a great start thanks to the generosity of people like you!
Please help us to finish this beautiful project!

Scroll down for a sneak preview of the statue that is being made for us.