You never know where deacons will pop up — or what you’ll find them doing. And this item from a paper in upstate New York gives a great example:

A trip to Jamaica changed Kevin Carges’ life.

There, he saw children eating “cookies” made from mud, bouillon and butter. He met a man who, though his legs kept him from walking, would crawl toward visitors with a toothy smile. And he walked into homes that were immaculately tended but lacking in water or electricity.

Since that week-long visit with a Christian organization, back in February 2006, the Farmington man wakes every morning with the sobering realization that someone, somewhere is starving to death. And that may be someone he met in the slums of Kingston, Jamaica’s capital.

“It’s a hard thing to live with,” says Carges, 47.

Carges, with his graying hair, glasses and modest manner, seems almost overwhelmed by this knowledge, by his realization that the world can be so cruel. The father of four says he has been blessed: “I don’t think anyone has it better than I do.” That’s why, says Carges, he’s so compelled to share what he has — time, energy and resources — with the poor, whether in a Rochester soup kitchen or a Caribbean village.

As a deacon at several area Catholic churches, including St. Anne’s in Palmyra, St. Greg’s in Marion and St. Patrick’s in Macedon, Carges performs marriage and funeral services, gives monthly homilies and offers around-the-clock advice.

But it wasn’t a path he chose, he says. Even through his first few years in theology school, Carges worried he wouldn’t have time to balance his new mission with his family and business (he owns Canandaigua Quick Print, a print, design and copy shop). Over time, though, he learned to stop worrying and embrace the role, one he feels God has given him.

“I still ask ‘Why me?’ as I know my many shortcomings and will probably always have the feeling of unworthiness,” wrote Carges in an e-mail. “But I have also learned my gifts that I can share with others.”

Check the link for more.

And you can also find out more by visiting the Food for the Poor website.

Photo: Deacon Kevin Carges poses with a group of Girl Scouts in Jamaica during his trip to the country in 2006.