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| The Nativity Scene: St. Simeon Skete |
From Nazareth House Apostolate,
St. Simeon Skete,
we wish you all a Blessed Christmastide.
May the Light of His Nativity be born in your every moment.
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St. Simeon Skete, Vigil of the Nativity |
NHA received several gifts to send on to our loved ones in Sierra Leone.
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| Roberta Masson gave a Christmas Gift to Matthew Drake that in turn gave to this village |
We asked for money to buy specific needs for some of the villages.
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| Solar Calculators given to the students of NHA School. |
James took that funding and stretched it to purchase the following bowls, fowl and other items for these families.
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| The villagers with their new dishes received as Christmas Gifts |
Remember, the need is not only during Christmas and other holidays... its is ongoing.
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| A family in Chico gives to a family in Sierra Leone |
Remember, poverty is unending and
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| Villager clapping & dancing with her brand new bowl as a Christmas Gift. |
conversely, compassion has no deadlines either,
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| James with a village youngster and his Candy Cane Christmas Present |
if you want to help, the time is always right.
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| Loretta Burwell provided clocks for the students at NHA School to learn how to tell time |
The Anglican Parish of St. Mark's in Portland, Oregon sent their 2nd Annual Batch of Candy Canes.
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| Its Christmas, the Candy Canes are here! |
These candy canes are the only gifts these children (and some adults) receive.
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| Thanks St. Mark's Portland, OR |
St. Mark's Parish sent two crammed full boxes, so far only one box has been delivered,
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| yummy candy canes |
but we are certain the other will arrive very soon.
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| Seems this young man couldn't even wait for the wrapper to be taken off |
In the meantime, many children enjoyed the Christmas joy of a candy cane this morning.
When the other box reveals itself, more children will enjoy.
For now we have many happy children.
St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Montgomery, AL sent several boxes full of OTC medications along with a financial donation as did St Augustine of Canterbury Anglican Church in Chico, CA. Canon Hansen and his dear wife, Giti with St. Augustine Church in Chico have been so very faithful in their support of the work in Africa.
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| Medical Supplies from St. Thomas Aquinas, Alabama |
The medications have arrived from Chico but the boxes from St. Thomas are still in transit to Freetown, Sierra Leone.
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| I slipped a bottle of Cholula for Kadijah and some dirty rice mix. |
James is expecting their arrival very soon.
Debbie King's OTC medications were shipped from the States last week and should arrive within ten days. Loretta Burwell of Louisville has been providing the NHA School with educational supplies with one shipment after another. These were all apart of the Christmas in Kabala Program.
Many others have consistently supported the work with monthly donations. We can't mention everyone in in one posting. You'll be seeing the fruit of your donations in posts on this blog very soon. There is a time delay sometimes between need, supply and receipt due to the logistics of having this huge body of water called the Atlantic Ocean in between our operational centers in Taylorsville, Kentucky and Kabala, Sierra Leone. Nevertheless, if you don't see your name mentioned in this blog today, don't worry, it will come up in the rotation as needs are filled. In the meantime, please accept our heartfelt thanks for all that you've done.
A special thank you to the Faith Family of Chico, California
for providing this village with bowls and needed dishes.
No words needed.
The photos of the smiles say it all.
You did good, Faith Family! tenki tenki (krio for thank you)
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| Roo with his new hens |
...and as for the family receiving two hens, James decided it would be good for his own family to do this. Seeing we have chickens at the skete and it is our practice of giving out eggs, James felt he should do the same, provide for the family and for his neighbors. He has two hens right now. Hopefully others will want to help him build up his chicken stock .... $25 donation buys two hens.
Thank you to Monica Grant of Champaign, IL for her gift to Fred and Sheila Krieger of Cleves, Ohio. James used her donation to purchase some rice for families that had no way to buy it for themselves.
Reuben and Debbie Chance, daughter of NHA Board Member, Liz Holt Dickson knew that the best Christmas gift they could give their mom was to send a donation to NHA for the work in Africa. This contribution has been added to the Fund for a Vehicle for NHA to use delivering humanitarian aid to the villages. We have no form of transportation at this time and must rent or borrow a car or be at the mercy of wild & reckless taxi drivers. Reuben and Debbie also provided enough for rice for a few families.
This Christmas as we celebrate our Saviour's birth in a stable - no room in the Inn - I think of this Thomas Merton's quote:
"Into this world, this demented inn, in which there is absolutely no room for him at all, Christ has come uninvited.
But because he cannot be at home in it, because he is out of place in it, and yet he must be in it,
his place is with those others who do not belong,
who are rejected by power, because they are regarded as weak, those who are discredited,
who are denied the status of persons, tortured, exterminated.
With those for whom there is no room, Christ is present in this world."
To all of our supporters, thank you for recognizing Christ in others,
and making room for Him to work in your heart - providing food when He's hungry, shelter when He's cold, help when He's sick.
And to top this Christmas Day with her own surprise and joy,
Little Miss Vicki took her first steps on this Christmas Morning.
First steps and First Candy Cane! What a wonderful Christmas
Blessings to you all. Its been a very productive year for NHA. There is so much to do, but with the supporters we have and the family it has created, there isn't anything we can't do by God's helpful hand. God bless you all.