Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Updates: January/February 2009

February 9, 2009
Thanks for so much work of getting our empowerment project going. As I write I collect ten eggs per day at the parish. That is great. I have started on the second  coop already preparing the pine saplings for planting in April at the height of the rains. I will have more than 25,000 saplings to distribute to all the village churches. We zeroed on 100 seedlings for a village church and ten for every catholic family. That will be the minimum. Those who can have more, they will be free. It is great work going on.

Let me share with you what happened last Sunday. I said four masses ending with a funeral mass and later anointing a sick person in the village. Yesterday I said two masses. While celebrating mass in a village church there comes a girl of twelve years with almost crippled legs in great pain. I immediately carried her to the nearest health unit for treatment. It is hard to keep seeing people so incapacitated, where I can help, I do with love. By the time I reached at the parish I was dead tired. It is great to get tired for the Lord.

My parish will be officially inaugurated on Feb. 15th. Am now very busy preparing for that day. Greet all our friends and thank them for so much good work going on. The two water cisterns are completed and I am so excited that all the projects I shared with the people are  getting done.


January 26, 2009

Last week on Monday I visited a village church and  just before mass, they brought me a young lady who was epileptic. The best I could do was to touch her, anoint her and pray. I was  30 kms away from any health facility. The people believe that this kind of disease is caused by an evil spirit. Luckily, she recovered and we went on with mass.

Then, yesterday, I said three masses and in the last mass I baptized 15 children and officiated a marriage of three couples in one mass. I was dead tired after that. Then, at 3 am my cellphone rung, it was one of my catechists who had called from a village phone his wife was in labor. I told him to wait for dawn it is not prudent to travel at night. Thank God nothing worse happened. Today I write I am in Fortportal. I brought the woman to hospital and she is in the delivery room. Writing this message gives me a bit of rest. Am having a lot of work at the parish working on the second water cistern and transferring the tree saplings from the nursery bed to the polythene bags for better growth . They should be ready for planting in mid March. I must supervise all this work.

Am glad I can do all this for Christ. Kindly thank all our friends for their generous donations to enable this work to go on. May the Lord bless you in all you are doing.


January 13, 2009
Last week I was involved in another life saving mission in my parish. Actually two missions. A middle aged man had severe malaria far way in the village. One was an elderly lady whom I had to drive to Fortportal 70 miles away to hospital. Both of them had severe malaria. The gentleman had a swollen spleen. Both of them are now back to health. It is wonderful to see. It is a perfect combination of faith and acts as taught to us by St. James. In both cases I paid what ever I could afford to pay because by themselves it was next to impossible to do a thing. Thank all the friends who are supporting our work here.


January 03, 2009
Thank you for so much you were able to do since we met. I think we have achieved a lot. I can understand that the economic hardships are making people more cautious about their spending and donating. I wish to appreciate every bit everyone has contributed towards the cause of my parish.
 

Now am resting a bit and organize myself and plan for the official opening of the parish on 15th Feb. It is 30 kms from the two mother parishes. The people cannot wait to have their own parish. Am getting the women’s group organized  and they are eager to  do something  in order to uplift themselves and their families. I have the nursery bed for pine trees of about 25,000 seedlings. Next week I will prepare another seed bed with the same number of  seedlings. These will be ready for this seasons planting in March. Each of the 25 village churches must plant one hectre which makes 1200 seedlings. Some (seedlings) will not make it in the first season but many will make in the second season of September.