On December 1, two of the three packages we sent to Sierra Leone arrived. One box was missing.
Inside the boxes were the medications collected and sent by the Anglican Church Women of St. Augustine of Canterbury Anglican Church in Chico, California.
When these packages arrived, Roo was beginning to recover from the first batch of distress from this mysterious illness he has been suffering.
We thought we were on the upswing with his illness and things looked brighter.
In the missing box there was a backpack (a free gift from Staples) stuffed with worm medication and hospital strength ibuprofen.
It was disappointing that one box was missing. For the first time in many years, postal boxes have not been coming through to Freetown. Later is better than never and the boxes have now arrived. The photo below is of Lucy sporting the new backpack (sent filled with worm pills).
Recently, another box has arrived - a critical box filled with the iron tablets that Roo so desperately needs. It came just as he suffered yet another relapse with high fever.
It breaks my heart to look at Roo in these photos as I see the loss of strength and weight in him. He looks small for his age compared to the guitar.
But James reports that he is showing signs of improvement and hopefully he'll bounce back. I had fear that it was something more serious but it could very well be a severe case of vitamin and mineral deficiency. We are working to correct that.
Nazareth House makes monthly shipments of medication from Taylorsville to Freetown. We encounter tremendous needs in Sierra Leone, yet we ask that people resist the urge to donate items to this cause unless specifically requested.
But James reports that he is showing signs of improvement and hopefully he'll bounce back. I had fear that it was something more serious but it could very well be a severe case of vitamin and mineral deficiency. We are working to correct that.
Nazareth House makes monthly shipments of medication from Taylorsville to Freetown. We encounter tremendous needs in Sierra Leone, yet we ask that people resist the urge to donate items to this cause unless specifically requested.
It’s actually prohibitively expensive to export goods from the United States to Sierra Leone. Rather cash donations are preferred and greatly appreciated.
This approach benefits the local economy (local skills, labor & materials) - for example our NHA School uniforms: when the material is bought in Freetown, the seamstresses are hired to make the uniforms which keeps the Material shop in business and allows the seamstress to provide for her family. This is a win, win situation because our students get a uniform as well as others benefiting from the process. If we make the uniforms here in America and send them, they would cost much more per uniform since we'd have to pay shipping ...and the Material Shop (local business in Freetown) and the skilled laborer (Seamstress) would have not had the opportunity to actively use their trade. This allows NHA to concentrate on more immediate needs such as filling hungry bellies and medical assistance.
This is something NHA feels strongly about, it is our goal to provide the tools and opportunities that bring about the change and education for a community to rise above their current status and stand on their own. NHA doesn't want, nor does the people they serve want us to constantly be giving humanitarian aid. Our long term goal is to serve a community to the point of no longer being needed. As the community functions on their own, we can then move on to help another community, knowing the first one is self-sufficient.
"Bear one another's burdens, and so be filled with the law of Christ" (Gal. 6:2).
These are the reasons we ask for funding, rather than items - plus it also assures your tax deductible donations go directly to support needs and projects and reduces administration costs especially shipping.
We try to limit the items that we send to items necessary for survival - that which are unavailable in Sierra Leone, especially in Kabala. From time to time, we do accept donations of over the counter medications but please refrain from sending these items to us in Taylorsville without first checking with us. Contact us via the email listed on our website.
With the completion of the NHA Compound and the building contractor completely paid off we have been asked, "What's next?" There are always needs to be met, both in Sierra Leone and at the heart of our operations - St. Simeon Skete.
2012 Projects, Needs, Goals
John 16:24
Matthew 7:7
Kadijah will be delivering her baby in about 6 weeks or less. The cost for her delivery will be $500(PAID Yesterday by ACW of St. Augustine: Chico California)- Maintenance.The buildings at St. Simeon Skete (The Chapel, The Kellia and Anna House) are wood and require immediate painting and sealing this Spring. This was the wettest year in history in Kentucky and it certainly did not help the wood at the Skete. Much of the wood on the decks is warping and beginning to rot. We have received several estimates, however the best was an estimate for ALL three buildings of $15,000.
This includes power washing, the paint, the sealant and repair of deteriorating wood and the labor. For three considerably sized buildings with a lot of wood, this is an excellent quote. - Lucy, James daughter, plans to become a doctor. Considering the troubles we experience trying to find a honest qualified doctor, to see her through the schooling is one of the most positive projects NHA can set out to accomplish. To have our own resident doctor within the NHA team can mean wonders to the betterment of the village we serve. Our NHA school has not reached the level of education that Lucy already has. We add levels each year, but Lucy is far beyond that. We struggled with homeschooling but with the insufficient Internet service in Sierra Leone and no electricity in Kabala, Lucy was being held back and losing the quality of teaching she was receiving before. After much prayer and investigation we found a Boarding School in Freetown where Lucy can get the accelerated education and tailor her studies to that of becoming a physician. We have been unsuccessful in convincing American Doctors to come and live in Kabala so far, so the quicker we can get Lucy on the road to becoming a doctor the better. The cost for her education, room and board runs just at $3,000 per year. (Payments made so far this year for her school from The Millers, Kirkland, WA; St. Bartholomew's Anglican Church: Redmond, WA; L Burwell, Louisville, KY) We still owe $900
- James must travel long hours crammed in unmaintained taxis operated by dangerously careless (many times intoxicated) drivers on treacherous roads to and from Kabala to obtain the post and financial support each month. Every time he is in this situation, his life is in jeopardy. We need a car owned by NHA that James can operate and maintain in a safe manner. We don't need a large car or an expensive new car - just a safe, maintainable car. James says he thinks we can find one anywhere $6,000 to $10,000
- We are at 300 students at the NHA School today, hundreds more are wanting to attend but we do not have adequate room or teachers to support such an influx of students. To expand the school, adding more classrooms it will costs just at $17, 500. We pay the teachers $100 per month, we currently have 8 teachers. Each month it would be an additional $100 with every teacher we add.
- St. Simeon Skete of Nazareth House Apostolate is the heart from which ongoing prayer beats the life into all that we do, especially the work in Sierra Leone. Without this prayer, there would be nothing accomplished. Those in residence stand before Our Lord as intercessors for every man, the whole of mankind. They are not there because they ran away from others, but so they can become closer to others by deepening their relationship with Christ as they serve him. This is why it is important to pray for vocations for the Skete. In years past, people counted on those with vocations to hold them up in prayer as they went about the necessary duties of daily life. In India they believe that the sages that do nothing but sit in prayer, high in the mountains, are the reason the world continues. Abraham asked if the Lord would spare the cities if fifty righteous people lived there. The Lord said yes. Boldly, Abraham kept bargaining down, until God agreed not to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah if even ten righteous people lived there. God was mercifully willing to spare the cities for the sake of a few righteous people, but none lived there. Vocations of prayer such as at the skete or at monasteries are dwindling and I believe we see the results of this in the depravity of today's world. Being called to be a religious at the Skete involves community, but most importantly revolves around that person's deepening of their relationship to God. We consider the Skete "the grand experiment" - only time will tell if the life of prayer, a deepened relationship with God lived for others will find support.
In the Fall of 2010 the skete property became available. Nazareth House Apostolate had no funding, no credit and no idea how to make this happen. Nazareth House's funds are twofold - that designated for Sierra Leone and that for administration & operations of the headquarters, etc. in the States. The bulk of our funding is for Sierra Leone and these funds come in and go straight back out to tend to the needs of the mission work. We had nothing to show a banker to obtain a mortgage for the Skete. Nevertheless, we stepped out in faith and applied for a loan.There was one miracle after another miracle in obtaining the skete property and they have not stopped once we are here. After a week or so, with silence from the bank, I began to think we would be declined but gave them all that they asked for - highlighting what could be rather that what had been. I made it clear that donations for Sierra Leone must go to Sierra Leone and could not be counted towards a mortgage payment for the skete. Finally one day, the phone rang and it was the banker. He told me he wanted to talk with me about the "loan structure". I asked "what does that mean?" He told me that the loan had been approved. (Miracle) I began to cry, because there was no logical reason the loan should have been approved. The banker said "are you okay?" I replied "I am crying." "I didn't expect to be approved" The banker replied (now keep in mind this is a BANKER) "What Nazareth House Apostolate is doing is a good thing, and we want you to do it Taylorsville". 
This was a declaration that someone in the world believed it is worth the support. An organizational interest free loan was obtained for $350,000 (miracle) and the mortgage through the bank for $250,000 for a total of $600,000. So we are asking our readers to pray for another miracle that we can retire the mortgage. - There is no electricity in Kabala provided by the government or any other means. Therefore, it is necessary for the work of NHA in Kabala to obtain a generator for the NHA Compound. James has checked out the available generators in Freetown and has concluded that there is one that would do adequately for us. Its price tag is $4,500.
- We are also working to secure internet via satellite to the school and the compound. There is a little building next to the school that NHA is in the process of buying. It cost $7,000, we've paid $1,000 for it so far. Once we own the building we'd like to turn it into a small teacher's study/Internet cafe. The Cafe would charge reasonable rates for use of the Internet and proceeds would go for the benefit of the school. (Another step in self-sufficiency) I have made inquiries for donations of satellite equipment and am waiting positive response.
"Where there is no vision, the people perish (Proverbs 9:18)".
As NHA strives to fulfill the needs listed above, we continue to meet the regular monthly requirements to sustain both the life of prayer at St. Simeon Skete and the life of those struggling without food, medical care, proper sanitation, running water in Sierra Leone. Each month we pay our teachers and provide rice and medical assistance for an ever-growing number of families.
We cannot stress enough that Nazareth House Apostolate relies totally on God as he expresses Himself through our supporters’ prayers, compassion and generosity. This allows us to work together as a team, a family (The NHA Family) to reach thousands of lives by the act of prayer, love and touch.
“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
“Come and see.”
John 1:46