“My Way of the Cross”

Reprint of a previous NHA Blog Post: 

As we are in the middle of the Lenten Season,  St. Simeon Skete/Nazareth House Apostolate shares with you this journal writing of Seraphim's:  “My Way of the Cross”.   

I see you Jesus, I walk with you Jesus...

The Nails of the Cross.  Placed in the Chapel at St. Simeon Skete during Lenten Season.

“My Way of the Cross”  (Written by Seraphim, 5 April 2005, Louisville, KY.)

     Dropped in St. Martin de Tours Church to say my Rosary and found a group already praying so Im joining them.  Its been a strange journey today.   The bus driver was out of sorts and her spirit was throughout the bus.  Her job, her cross, and it hurts. Just now a man with Downs Syndrome in his 60’s left his pew after the Rosary finished.  He was carrying a bundle of well used devotional booklets and a prayer book bound together with rubber bands.  I could tell, sense, that a life time of devotion had just passed, a Simon of Cyrene, bearing His cross by bearing his.  Could this be another station in which the Lord is developing, “my personal way of the cross?”  Perhaps in all likelihood these stations are going on all the time and it is still Jesus, we’re passing and it is He that is passing us by in His way, His “personal Way of the Cross”. 

The Crown of Thorns, The Scourging.  Placed in the Chapel at St. Simeon Skete during Lent.

     I boarded the bus again and at the next stop a woman and her daughter got on.  She had been beaten by life; her ratted, worn polyester stretch-pants over a body long worn and pushed out of shape, her teeth missing on a face  that looked as if it had been beaten in from time to time.  And her daughter?  She was a teen, concerned about her looks as most naturally are. She had on trendy “gym shoes” and dressed nicely, a covering not only for her body, but also for what she didn’t want others to know.  When they boarded the bus the mother paid the fare for both of them.  The daughter went to the back of the bus while the mother sat at the front.  I could almost hear the thought of the daughter, “I hope no one thinks I’m with her”.  I watched the mother for response - none -  she sat with dignity, not energizing the stares and ignorance of her daughter. When the stop came for them to de-board the bus, the mother inconspicuously looked to the back to catch her daughter’s eye and gave a nod, she de-boarded from the back and the mother from the front of the bus.  I thought as the stops came and went, this mother who, as it were, had holes in her hands, feet and side, her face as if someone had struck her repeatedly and she was stooped as she walked, as if someone had beaten her back. Her loved one fleeing lest someone might associate her with this embarrassment.  The mother showed no sign of hurt over this, no resignation, as if at one time there was hope, expectation that she would be accepted, loved and not an embarrassment to others. Things were just as they were, nothing was to change, or for that matter, was able to change.  Again, could this be another station, another “bus stop” of the cross? ...my own stations of the cross that God, the Holy Spirit was bringing to me?  As I thought on these things I heard three beeps of a car horn that strangely sounded like a cock crowing.

As you walk through your own life be aware that Christ continues to carry his cross in others. 

The remaining ashes of Ash Wednesday are enthroned in the Chapel of St. Simeon Skete during the Lenten Season.

...and he went a little further...

Preparing to prepare...

Like the fallen Autumn Leaves, one month blows by after another.  One Season after the next. 

The Year 2015 is drawing to an end.  

_______________________________

Thanksgiving Day 2015 has come and gone and here we are on the second Sunday of Advent.   For many, Thanksgiving Day ignites the beginning of the Holiday Shopping Season.  Frenzied and determined crowds have hit the stores on Black Friday at the crack of dawn (or earlier) in order to find that perfect gift at the perfect price.   Stampedes and suffocation headline the news as the day unfolds. 

At St. Simeon Skete, we prepare for Christmas by making the preparations for Advent.  

Click on this link: Previous blog post on Advent Wreath

We’ve dug out the Advent Candles, found our carefully stored away bells to pin up our sleeve 

http://blog.nazarethhouseap.org/2011/12/donkey-bells-and-soft-bed-for-jesus.html

 and cut up some yellow yarn.  

On Advent Sunday an empty creche & yarn (straw) is placed on table

Advent Sunday was last week, November 29.  It began a penitential time to prepare our souls - making room in the “Inn” of our hearts for Christ, the One who is the Perfect Gift that paid the Perfect price for us.   

At St. Simeon Skete, we follow The Nativity Fast, a period of abstinence and penance in preparation for the Nativity of Christ (December 25).  The fast is similar to the Western Advent, except that it runs for 40 days instead of four weeks and is observed from November 15th until December 24, inclusively. 

We live in a fast paced world in which our wants and goals are best defined by the words:  "bigger and better".  Small things are overlooked as we strive for super size, super stars, super heroes.  Little things don't seem to have much potential but, in fact, it is those "small things", "small beginnings"  and "impossible situations" that God uses to do His best work.  (Zechariah 4:10). 

At Nazareth House Apostolate we are daily reminded of God doing big with little.  

When we look back over the years of NHA in Sierra Leone we find one man with a prayer as its beginning.  

A decade and a half  later, we have a school with 300 students, a compound, a farm and are reaching more and more in the villages.  

Our accomplishments in Sierra Leone stand up along side many NGO's that have far more resources than us.  Never underestimate the potential in small things, especially when they depend entirely on God.  

Secretly,  a strand of straw (yarn) is placed in the creche representing a good deed

God could have chosen better people to do the great things of the Old  and New Testament; but he didn't.  He chose souls like Abraham - afraid to believe in the promise, Jacob, the cheat who struggles with everyone, Moses- an impatient murderer, unable to wait for God.  David, an adulterer, abusing position, perk, and power.  There was Hezekiah, the reforming king who could not quite go far enough, Peter who denied Christ - all these guys messed up - they were real, like us - bungled and botched, impossible situations... but God saw fit to use them.... and then there was a very young, unassuming, unnoticed Jewish girl from a small village that didn't do anything wrong ....    God did what He did in them and He can do it in us. 

by Christmas Morning, our good deeds will have lined the creche for the Christ Child 

So when you find yourself tempted to buy that expensive gift you really can't afford, or you find yourself adding more decorations because your neighbor's yard looks better than yours, or you just knocked someone out of the way so you'd be the one of the first ten in line to get that "hot item" ... think about the capacity in small,

 think about what we are really celebrating ... think about Love. 

The Bigger Picture

NHA Student

As Ebola looms tall, shadowing over Sierra Leone, it compels us to zero in on the disease and the horrific devastation that those who come in contact with it experience.    Facebook, Google, Unicef - many are doing all they can to get help to where it is needed.  Its a slow go.  Funds aren't released quickly or sufficiently, miscommunication,  delays, diversions,  red-tape - all represent obstructions hindering action in the war against ebola.  People of the world have and are giving, its a matter of using that money efficiently and properly to put Ebola down for good.  NHA is praying for those whose job it is to see to it that everything is coordinated, purchased, covered and used properly from the funding received. It is a difficult task.   This means that Ebola Caregivers need to be paid the salaries promised,  people in Quarantine need to be provided for,  Hospital Supplies must be distributed to where they are designated.  Right now, there is a lot of administrative debris hampering the flow of successful implementation.  There is no one entity to point a finger at, its a combination of obstacles.    The trouble is, these hinderances prevent those in need from receiving what is required to simply survive.

Child so weak from hunger, he just decided to nap on the fallen tree trunk 

There is that saying "You can't see the forest for the trees".  NHA has contended with one hurdle after another in our effort to get the Hospital Supply shipped to Sierra Leone.  With every barrier we jump over, another fence shows up - within the US and Sierra Leone.   Therefore it is time for us to step back and take a look at the Big Picture.

When you look at the big picture you see Ebola and its immediate victims but you also see the victims that aren't sick.   Sierra Leoneans are a friendly, loving people.  They normally greet each other with handshakes and hugs -but not since Ebola.   They are a social people, yet Ebola has forced them to hide into their homes, they are unable to go to their churches or mosques.   Employers are forced to close their businesses, schools are shut down.  Employment is scarce.  Food and Provision even scarcer.

NHA School Students helping distribute well water to those without 

The NHA Director and Headmaster of our school in Kabala, James Mansaray, reports that he can't keep up with the people who are hungry with no opportunities to find work or buy food.   He's been trying to give work to some of the laborers so they can provide for their families but more and more are simply asking for food.  "We need food."

NHA Students selling groundnuts and sugar to provide for their families.  

NHA has always been about the hand to hand contact of giving.  Its the way we do things.  When Jesus had his disciples feed the multitude he had them do it hand to hand.  He didn't have them deal with Governments,  Warehouses or through various Committees or Agencies.   He handed it to them. This is the one way NHA always makes the biggest impact, without fail.  The personal, intimate, face to face, heart to heart, smile to smile, eye to eye method of contact.  So as we step back to look at the broader picture, and until we have a clear picture of how to proceed,  we are responding by doing what we always do.  We pray.  And in those prayers we hear these words, "Do you love me? ...Feed my sheep." -John 21:17  

The degree of deterioration of health, strength and livelihood within the area NHA serves in Kabala due to hunger in the wake of the destructive path of ebola can no longer be ignored.   This morning NHA through the hands of James, distributed rice to 43 families!  

Some picked up at the compound and others he took it to them.  

Each person in this photo represents a separate family receiving rice. 

In one engaging simple action, the NHA Compound neighbors that came to fetch their bags of sustenance confirmed we ARE doing the right thing.  Before they would accept or touch the bags of rice - they stopped and gave glory and thanks to God for His provision.  

James said that it brought tears to his eyes.  Hungry as they were, God received thanks first, then they gathered bags of rice and went home to cook.   What's even more beautiful, is that this group of people praying together, thanking God together, are a mixture of Christians and Muslims.  Knowing there are differences between them but no divisions amongst them, they gave thanks to their Creator.   Oh! but if the rest of the world could have such unity under God.

Families walked away from the NHA Compound with their rice on their heads 

Tonight many families will be able to eat a real meal.  

Thank you all for the compassion and support and for being there for the people of Kabala.   God bless you all.    -Stay tuned... NHA has only begun its Ebola response. 

The Wait of Advent

Here we are, well into the Advent Season.  A time of preparation of our hearts, a purging of our habitual transgressions.  A time of expectation of His arrival, Our Saviour.

This anticipation, this Advent, is intensified in Sierra Leone.  As people of faith, we know we can do nothing on our own, it is our Creator that guides us through.  The villagers of Sierra Leone see this in reality in their everyday life and they have no doubt that their existence is sustained by the Almighty. Day after day, I see from those Sierra Leoneans (who are able to find an internet connection) posts on Facebook of thanksgiving to God for seeing them through the night and enabling them to see the sunrise another day.  In the midst of the current 'plague', I see  and hear from them, far more prayers of thanksgiving than petitions.  This has been going on before Ebola was a word in their vocabulary or a reality in their life and it will continue long after the disease disappears.  The villagers for the most part live off the land, they know the origin of what they receive to provide them sustenance.  So when their needs require hospital beds, medicine and supplies they have no choice but to wait for its arrival.

So as we contemplate the Season of Advent, Christmas and the New Year; as we wait in anticipation of the celebration of the meaning of Christmastide; lets bear witness to the waiting and anticipation of those in the Ebola Hotspots of West Africa who must wait and hope for that which saves them.

To give towards the NHA Shipment of Hospital Beds and Equipment desperately needed in Kabala, please CLICK HERE.  And while you are at it, won't you consider making a recurring monthly donation through this link as well?

Our NHA School in Kabala has been forced closed by the Ebola Outbreak.  All schools in Sierra Leone have been ordered closed by the Government.

Last week, James noticed some of our boy students playing along the road, getting into mischief - a very normal activity for little boys.

So James took them to the local Automobile Mechanics in the town and had them provide a little "vocational" studies.  The students loved it.

NHA has been hiring locals for odd jobs to stimulate the work force in the area.  So many shops and companies have had to shut down due to ebola.

We've suffered an outbreak of snakes taking refuge in the rocks around the school and compound.  James hired some laborers to remove the rocks in order to keep the area safe.  These husbands and sons worked very hard for us. We are very thankful for their help and they are happy to receive good pay to provide for their families.

A Note from James

Written by James B. Mansaray, NHA Director - West Africa Division; NHA School Headmaster - Kabala.

Greetings from Kabala, Sierra Leone!

It has been a long while since I last wrote on this blog. Yes, I am anxious to say a word or two as there have been so many miracles since June 16th 2014.  

James and Lucy at the chapel of St. Simeon Skete 

On that day, my dear daughter Lucy and I made a trip to the U.S.A. - most especially St. Simeon Skete in Taylorsville, Kentucky.  Lucy was visiting for her very first time and met all our NHA Board Members and many sponsors at St. Simeon Skete.  Then she met even even more sponsors as we traveled to La Grange, Georgia, West Point and then South Carolina. It was a wonderful trip and we got to see  a lot of America.

Thanks to Mama Vicki for all the hard work and long drive through thick and thin to get  us to meet a host of NHA family. I must confess, it was the best trip ever. Lots of wonderful  people I met on this trip. Wish I could name everyone individually but you know who you are and how much you mean to NHA.  And so does God. 

The miracles of this trip were everywhere but most especially in the diagnosis 

and treatment of Lucy's heart condition.  

She is now perfectly healthy and we are all so very thankful.

As my time drew nearer for the return to my beloved homeland, the deadly EBOLA disease
outbreak raised its ugly and foul head trying to control of my Country; killing hundreds and spreading rapidly like a plague. My heart was broken and I was terrified. But the question was should I let my beloved family suffer and be in danger alone and I sit back in the U.S. and enjoy more food, access easy internet and sleep in a warm bed or go and be with them? My answer was, of course, without hesitation "go be with my family". Mama Vicki and I battled a bit about this for she was worried about me going in to the Ebola's war front.  But as much as she and Seraphim worried for me, they worry for Kadijah and my kids as well.  They know that my place is with my beautiful bride and young children. But they did give me the option to stay.  

Finally the day came for my departure and I was ready for it more than anything else. 

I always cry when leaving them but this time I was smiling wanting nothing but to be on that plane and return to my homeland and my wife and kids. 

Off we go and at my first stop I noticed only a few Sierra Leoneans. These people got guts like me so am not the only one making the attempt to return to our Ebola ridden towns and villages.

In Brussels I noticed lesser people in the aircraft. I stretched my body out well on different seats -  making the aircraft mine for few hours.   Forty-five minutes before landing my eyes were drawn to the small TV in front of my seat.  

I noticed we are flying through Kindia, the home of Pa Barrie. That was an honor for me to do. 

Going home to help my family and friends be safe from the deadly disease and at the same  time seeing this noble, honorable and prayerful man’s home gave me such courage.  

I prayed and asked Pa Barrie to pray me home safe.  Seems as if he was there looking on the airplane.

Upon arrival I noticed fear in most of the people I met. I know Sierra Leoneans to be warm and always smiling with a welcoming hand to all.  This time around, the smiles were there but you could see and feel the fear.

Back again on the broken ferry. It brought to mind all the new cool boats on Taylorsville lake. The ferry  is old and scary but its all we got to take people back and forth.

Back in rainy Freetown. Excited and happy I greeted my wife and kids well with tight hugs.
The following day, we were on the road to Kabala for I learned from a friend that all movement in and out of Kabala will be stopped for it’s the only town with no Ebola case yet. Tons of people wanting to go in to Kabala that night.

From the airport in Louisville Kentucky and now back in my beloved hometown Kabala.  As we drove through the broken road down the hill to the Compound, I noticed several NHA school kids. I guess they expect me to open school for them the following day. But with the Government ban on all school openings and fears of the spread of the disease;  our students are doing their best to stay with their families at home for now till the disease is
contained.

It was easy for me to notice more suffering and difficulties amongst people in Kabala. More beggars around, and a whole lot asking for job and finding ways to help feed themselves in the midst of this crisis. More  people being asked to take leave from their jobs.  

With businesses and schools shut down employers can't pay employees.    It brings memories of our ten years war. This time the disease seems even more scary.  You don't know where it is hiding and there is no good guy or bad guy like with the rebels.  The disease just hits on anyone. 

Children receiving rice from NHA in Kabala 

As I type this, Kabala is still safe but you never know. Even without any cases of Ebola in Kabala, the disease is still taking a toll. 

Family receiving a rice distribution from James in Kabala

We cant afford it as the price of local commodities continue to take a step higher every other day. Now the word that the whole Country will be shut down for few days makes it even worse. Yesterday I had to pay more than I ever had for  bags of rice to help feed some people and getting them ready with clean water etc.

Roo, Sia & Vicki sitting on bags of rice for villagers 

No word yet on schools but we are ahead of the game, making preparations. We are repairing and fixing the school so that we will be ready to start school when the government gives the okay.  Now would be the perfect time to build the much needed expansion of the school as people are so desperate for work.  But NHA is having difficult time meeting needs now.  So we wait for the funding.  It needs to happen, there are 200 students waiting to enroll.  Education brings independence.  

Right now your NHA in Sierra Leone are doing their best to help all those around us during this Ebola Outbreak Crisis.  

We especially are trying to reach the aged and young who can't get help on their own. 

It is my pleasure to write this blog. I promise to write more from time to time. The internet is slow and intermittent so I have difficulties communicating.  Our generator has broke so charging my laptop and phone can be a chore.  But we are getting along.  We have flashlights and candles enough.  

My gratitude and love to all. Thanks being there and supporting NHA, me, my family here in Kabala and in Taylorsville, Kentucky.  Kadijah and I miss Lucy a lot but we know she is being cared for good.  Thanks for giving life back to my
people, they need you now very much.
Love ,
James.