St. Simeon Skete, Taylorsville Kentucky USA

With St. Simeon, the God receiver, as our patron, the skete seeks to practice the ideals found in our Rule, The Thousand Day Nazareth. In simplicity and poverty, the skete embraces the struggle of inner life through the practice of the Prayer Rope.

See our website at www.nazarethhouseap.org

Donations should be addressed to: Nazareth House Apostolate, 185 Captains Cove Drive, Taylorsville, Kentucky 40071.

Important Notice: All writings, posts, graphics & photographs in this blog are the copyrighted property of (unless otherwise indicated) Nazareth House Media, a division of Nazareth House Apostolate and cannot be copied, printed or used without written permission from NHA Media, Taylorsville, KY.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Rice, rice, rice

One of the things we enjoy doing while on the ground in Sierra Leone is distributing rice to those we come across as we work our way around the villages & cities.

Its a positive situation all around. We buy the rice from local distributors - this stimulates the economy, helping the the merchants out.Once we bring the rice home and unload it, we begin to distribute to those in need. Families get a break on their food budget, some are so poor that they wouldn't have eaten with out it, others have small food and this fills bellies a little better.
We like to surprise a family, showing up with Rice when they least expect it. Otherwise, if they know we are coming, they will prepare a meal for us with what little they have and share what could possibly be all they have with us.
Of course, the families that get the rice are always happy to receive it, but its hard to explain unless you've experienced the giving in Sierra Leone. The bag of rice is nice, but the gift of the love and caring from the people who have received it is unbelievable. We always come away as the ones who have received the larger gift than a mere bag of rice.