Merry Christmas!

Well Christmas has come and gone and now we are getting ready for New Years!
It seems I have so much to tell since my last blog entry so lets see if I can limit it to the high lights.

First, lets talk about our diesel van. We now have a gas station with a diesel pump. Unfortunately a few weeks ago his pump broke. So we go see a wonderful man who has drums of diesel fuel in his back yard, and a garden hose. You pull in, tell Phil how much you want and he puts the hose into one of the drums, sucks on the hose and drains out the fuel into a 5 gallon bucket. Then he puts the bucket on top of the oil drum and sucks on the hose again, syphoning the 5 gallons into your gas tank. He does this over again until your tank is full and he knows how much to charge you. A pretty simple operation - until - he says he's leaving for the Christmas/New Years holiday and will be gone for 2 weeks. Thus eliminating our last source of diesel for what will be a very busy time. So I fill up the van, then bring down a 10 gallon gas can and fill that too, hoping it will get me through 2010 and Phil's return. We'll come back to this one.

With Christmas falling on Friday it creates a four-day liturgical series. Thursday night we rejoiced with the Christmas Vigil Mass at the US Navy base, then drove to Cargill Creek for the Christmas Midnight Mass. We started with an hour of carols at 11, then the Eucharistic Service for our Midnight service, followed by the 40 minute drive home. It was 2:30AM when we hit the hay, only to leap out of bed at 7 to grab a bite to eat and prepare for the 8:30 Christmas Mass at Dawn here at St. John's, then drive back to Cargill Creek for the 11:15 Christmas Mass During the Day. We finally crashed at home after our 4th different Christmas liturgies, with 4 different sets of readings and 4 homilies (phew!)
BUT
With Friday's Christmas liturgies done, it was time for the Saturday/Sunday weekend liturgies so we hit the ground running and did it all over again for the weekend.

After our last Sunday service I talked to one of our members whose daughter had just had a baby. One of the things we see alot here is that there are alot of grandparents raising their grandchildren. Their children live on Nassau or Grand Bahama, for work, but when they have babies they return home and leave the babies with their parents so they can go back to work. Ginni and I had gotten to know this family and that this would be the 8th grand-child in their house and none of them have been baptized. With the mother still home with the newborn this was an ideal time to visit so we said we'd come visit on Tuesday (I'll finish that story in a minute).

We headed home, but first we stopped off in Man-O-War Sound and did the first of our sick calls. This first stop is with a sweetheart of a woman. She is in her 90's, blind, and while she can be confused sometimes, she was on top of her game this weekend. We talked a long time before we started to pray and, after she had recieved communion and our prayer was over she gave me a big hug. Feeling my belly she said, "O Faddah, you be da big mahn, Faddah", then turning to Ginni she says, "Sistah been feedin you, Faddah, O yes, Sistah been feedin you". Everyone just about fell on the floor laughing.

From this stop we went to our next, another elderly woman who we've been visiting for several months. In her 80's this woman had just lost her son to cancer and she wanted to talk a bit. During this conversation we found out she had 18 children, 11 girls and 7 boys. When her husband died she was left with quite a mob to raise on her own, but she did it. With the death of her son she has now lost 5 of her 18 children. She'll take the ferry to Nassau on Wednesday to attend the funeral, our prayers will be with her.

Leaving her we finally were headed home to crash - but that's when we had the flat tire. A flat should not be a big deal, but a flat in a 15 passenger Mitsubishi van does bring a level of excitement. For starters, I discovered the lug nuts were screwed on, and then secured with super glue (only kidding, but you get my point). To get them off I literally had to stand on the handle of the lug wrench and then jump up and down until it moved - for all five lug nuts. Once loose, the next step was to jack up the car. (Did I forget to say that Ginni stayed in the van during all this to pray). To jack up the car Mitsubishi, in its wisdom, gave us a teeny tiny hydraulic jack. To reach the axle I ended up lying on my back (still in my Sunday best by the way) and reach past the muffler to position the jack - then slowly - s l o w l y - the jack began to actually move upwards. Eventually the jack reached the axle and the van began to rise. I slid out from under the van, took off the tire, put on the spare, re-fastened the lug nuts - all was well. Except how do you make this jack go down? Things that make you go hmmmmmm.

I could see a little nob on the side of the jack that looked like it fit into the notch in the jack handle, so I reach under the car (after lying on my back once more), and twist the little nob. Instantly all the air in the jack is released and with a rather loud hissssssss, the car lowers to the ground. A bit too quickly for me since I was still lying on my back under the van. Now I know for next time.

So we get home and put our feet up and try to find out how the Patriots are doing. I needed the good news of their victory after BC's loss in the Emerald Bowl.

Today is Tuesday - remember the newborn baby? So after all the driving on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day the van has 1/4 tank of fuel so I carry my 10 gallon gas can from the garage to the van and drain half of it into the van. I sure hope I can stretch this out till Phil returns. Then Ginni and I drive back to Cargill Creek to meet the new baby. When we pull into the yard the other kids run out to meet us and lead us into the back yard. There is a small fire smoking up the yard to keep away the bugs. Its burning in an old tire rim and right now coconut husks are smoldering away.

I meet grandma, who is sitting on a bucket. "How have you been?" I ask "I've been very sick, I fell onto the rocks and hurt my shoulder - they took me to the Navy Base to get X-Rays but nothing is broken. I've been hurt for 4 weeks and nobody has come to see me." Well that wasn't the best way to start but we talked, and my VNA nurse-wife was simply wonderful with her. Meanwhile I met the cutest little 1 month old baby girl ever. The kids and mom all got a kick out of my picking her up and cradling her and rocking her - despite her very full diaper.

We talked about the delivery, her little tiny fingernails, her long eye lashes, the kids in a big circle all around Faddah. (Its funny, they call me Deacon and Faddah interchangably, and Ginni is either Sistah or Miss Ginni). Finally we asked the question and I was SO relieved that she decided that THIS baby would be baptized. Then I asked, "and what about all these?" gesturing to the other 7 kids. Here it was grampa's turn to speak "Yes, Deacon, we want all of them to be baptized". Alleluia!

So mommy eventually gets her baby back and takes her inside to clean her up and I pull out a pad and with the grandparents help we get the names, ages, grades, and parents of all 8 kids. Most parents were unmarried, some had several fathers, one set of 3 all had the same father who, we learn, was brutally murdered on Nassau. At one point Ginni said, "We should contact all their parents and get permission" and Grandpa takes control, "Dey left their chill'un wit us, we have no way to contact dem, WE are raising these chill'un, WE be de guardians, WE want dem baptized". It was powerful. It was a moment I'll remember for a long time.

All of the kids were bright-eyed, energetic, enthusiastic kids. I explained baptism to them, and to the grandparents and the eagerness with which they look forward to this was infectious. I am just so happy that this entire family will come forward at Mass in a few weeks and 8 kids from one family, from age 11 to 2 months, will be baptized. What an expression of faith, what a witness to the parish, what a Christmas present!

Enough for now - but there is more to tell - next time I hope to have a few pics of the manger scene outside of the church and the cross atop the church, now encircled with Christmas lights. The story of my climbing on the roof for that one is 'interesting'.

Movie Night!

One of the things we are beginning to realize is that whenever there is a school vacation there is not too much to do on our island. Lots of our parishioners are planning to go to the US or Nassau for Christmas. (Chistmas on Nassau is dominated by Junkanoo - think Caribbean mardi-gras)

Well we decided to try something new and have movie night at Church.

We had brought a view DVDs with us and one of them was THE NATIVITY so we scheduled a movie night! Wed at St. John's and Thur at Christ the King.

I moved our TV from the rectory into the church, set up the DVD player, and we were ready to go. Ginni baked cupcakes and I picked up a case of soft drinks for 'intermission' and we were ready to go.

We had about 15-20 at St. John's and it seemed to be a hit, after the movie we talked about it a bit and for most of our parishioners seeing a movie like this was a real treat. Christ the King was a hit as well but the audience was dramatically different. We had 17 children and 20 adults - of the 17 children, 10 were there with no parents - and when I say children, I mean 5-10 year olds.

This is a PG movie because of some violent scenes (slaughter of the innocents for example) and I made a point of explaining things so it worked, but I was amazed at the number of unaccompanied children. Especially since for some of those in the more remote parts of the island we provided transportation.

Imagine pulling up to a house, honking, and have 5 little kids run out with no adults. When you ask "Are your parents coming?" the response is, "No Deacon, dey be off". Translation - no, they are off the island, meaning these kids are left alone without parents until they return, the oldest 11 year old being in charge.

Ginni sat with one crew of kids to make sure they stayed still and I was in the back with another crowd. All in all they were pretty well behaved.

Next time we do this we'll show NARNIA and have a more child-specific video for this audience.
Till next time.

Christ the King pic

A few blog entries ago I described the celebration of the Feast of Christ the King that we had at our church of the same name. In that post I described the decorations inside the church and I have just recieved a pic from that event that I thought I would share.

The front of the altar is encircled with fresh fruit and veggies that were given to parishioners, plus a banner in front of the altar reading 'Feast of Christ the King'.

Those of you reading this from St. Timothy's in Norwood may recognize the Book of the Gospels on the altar. When St. Tim's 'upgraded' we were blessed to recieve this glorious gift and its been put to good use ever since.

Swimming with the hogs

One of our parishioners told us a story on Sunday I thought you'd enjoy.
She was swimming in Fresh Creek, right in front of her home, when she heard something behind her. She turned and there was a hog, swimming along with the current, coming right at her.
She made a bee line for the shore and, beating the hog, ran into the house and called her husband.

By that point the hog had reached shore and had walked into their back yard. When it started rooting around in her flower beds she didn't know what to do. It was then that the wild dogs (known here at potcakes), who had been chasing the hog, also reached shore. Around and around the backyard they went until the hog dove back into the creek and headed back to the shore the chase had started on.

I should explain for the Bostonians reading this that Fresh Creek is not fresh, but salt water flowing in and out with the tides with a very strong current. It is just about as wide as the Merrimack River and wild hogs here pretty much never leave the bush, much less enter someones back yard.

Suffice it to say, when the hog (with dogs paddling in hot persuit), finally reached the distant shore, her husband arrived to chase the hog away. Together they watched the chase continue on the other side of the creek as the exhausted dogs gave up and porky won his freedom.

She told me the next time she was going swimming she was going to look both ways before jumping into the creek.

RCIA and Christ the King

Those of you who know me from the States know that I taught RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) at St. Timothy's in Norwood. Over the years it has been a source of great joy to see people converting to Catholicism and being a part of that as they come closer to Jesus by coming closer to His Church.

When we first arrived on Andros there was one man here in Fresh Creek who had made the decision to join the church but had been waiting for several years for someone to be here and teach him. We also met someone on the AUTEC Base who had been considering converting and, after talking with him, he too decided to begin formation. Not to be outdone, a woman in Cargill Creek approached me and said her grandchildren had moved in with her and they had never been baptized - could I do it. Well the grandchildren are 17 and 18 and, rather than a simple infant baptism, at that age, RCIA is more appropriate as they make the journey to the adult decision to join the church.

So - over the past year and a half these 4 people have been learning about the church. The teens, as part of our Confirmation program; the adults meeting with Ginni and I weekly. As we get closer to Easter (when they will recieve the Sacraments) the RCIA program has a 'Rite of Welcoming or Rite of Acceptance' where the individual stands before the community and confirms their intent to go forward, and their sponsors, with the community, confirm their willingness to help them on their journey.

Well, a few weeks ago was the Feast of Christ the King and we did the Rite on that Sunday - in 3 different churches. At AUTEC, Kenny and his wife came forward and the community was all grins as Kenny, with his wife at his side as sponsor, affirmed his intention to continue formation towards reception of the Sacraments. At St. John Chrysostom it was Moses, with his wife by his side, who was welcomed with applause. Finally, at Christ the King, our two teenagers bravely came forward with their grandmother. Here too the church errupted in applause but this was especially powerful because it was also the Feast of Christ the King.

To celebrate their patron parishioners had decorated the church building with balloons from the rafters, a banner in front of the altar, and a huge pile of fruit and vegetables before the altar as well, symbolizing how God had blessed us over the past year.

After services were finished the fruit and vegetables were distributed among the people and we all marched to the end of the street where there are some tiki huts, benches and tables. The women of the parish had cooked up a storm and there was ham, chicken, peas and rice, macaroni salad, macaroni and cheese, soft drinks, punch, and the list goes on and on.

Everyone had a great time but the highlight for me was eating raw sugar cane for the first time in my life. The children were surprised to hear I had never eaten 'cane'. A little girl handed me what looked like a 4" piece of bamboo and all the children gathered round. One of the ladies came over with a knife and split it down the middle (not something offered to the kids who basically gnawed through to the middle). The technique as pretty simple, just take this piece of wood and bite out the sweet center piece. So I take bite - my front teeth digging into the wood (call it cane if you want, but basically its wood). I dig out a good-sized chunk and once I have it in my mouth I suck on it, then nibble on it to break it down a bit, then chew on it - and yes, its kind of sweet, but basically I now have a mouthful of splinters.

I smiled, handed my 4" piece of cane back, told everyone how good it was, but that I'd rather have a lollipop. I ended up spitting my splinters into a bush and rinced out my mouth with a Diet Coke to get rid of the fragments.

All in all the celebration was a great success and to bring 4 people closer to full communion with the Church was a joy.

Till next time.

CCD and the Hot Wire

So Ginni is back in the US and I am teaching her CCD class of 4th graders. The lesson this week is about the beatitudes. The book we are using focuses on being happy, using the format of the beatitudes "Happy are the ... For they shall ..."

So, I ask the kids to write down three people they know who are happy - and why.
They all start writing away, except one. This is an 'active' boy who can't sit still, can't stop talking, and typically can't focus on the task at hand.

Eventually they get that first task done and I ask the next question, if you could have anything in the world that would make you happy what would you want? Again, they all start writing away, except one. As he acts up and distracts the others I'm getting a bit short on patience but finally they're all done and I have them read some of their ideas.

There are the obvious answers like, I wish I had a million dollars. Then there are the child-like ideas like, I wish I could fly. Then we get to the hyper-active trouble making kid. "I wish I wouldn't get beaten with the hot wire." Just like that - spoken with no excitement, no embarrasment, as if it was the most natural thing to be beaten with the hot wire and his wish was that he wouldn't get beat.

Coming from Boston, with all the child-abuse sensibilities filling me I begin wondering what child advocate group I need to call. When the class is over they all leave and I start setting up for the High School kids that come next. One of the volunteers that comes for that class is someone who is actually a teacher so I pull her aside and tell her about the hot wire. She shakes her head and looks at her feet and says, "You know Deacon, corporal punishment is allowed in the schools here. In fact its encouraged."

The public school teachers here are empowered to beat the children who act up. A paddle is something teachers have in the classroom. Clearly they don't use the hot wire, that's something he experiences at home. My volunteer told me that a few months ago a member of Parliament had written an editorial in one of the newspapers asking the question 'Should corporal punishment be eliminated in the schools?' He put forth his argument and for the next few days he was ripped up and down by just about everyone. 'Who do you think you are? Are you better than God? The bible says spare the rod and spoil the child - are you better than the bible?' It just went on and on for days and eventually he simply dropped the idea as being extremely unpopular.

I can recall during last year's CCD program I mentioned that the kids were difficult to control to a few parents and their immediate response was 'Well beat them, Deacon - if they don't behave beat them'.

Clearly we are not beating them - but equally clear is that beating the children who act up is part of the Bahamian culture. Eliminating the beating with a hot wire, however, is something I need to look into.

Till nex time.

Yet another murder

Saturday morning at 6:30 the phone rings. Its someone from our church in Cargill Creek telling me that one of my parishioners sons was shot last night in Nassau. He tells me she will be trying to catch a morning flight and it might be good if I could be there.

I wash up, throw on some clothes and head to the Andros Town airport. The airport in the early morning is a busy place. The terminal is one 30'x30' building with several small airlines and a few charters who seem to all schedule thier morning flight to Nassau from 7-7:30.

I know the family car and, scanning the parking lot I know they haven't reached here yet so I wait in the van, hoping to catch them before they go inside. Eventually they arrive and she is clearly overcome with grief. We hug a long time as her husband unloads the luggage. Her mother is also with them for the trip to Nassau.

I should explain that her son is from a prior relationship. He is not the son of her current marriage. As her husband unloads the luggage and she and I hug, amid wails of grief, people begin to come over and gradually word spreads throughout the airport. Everyone knows her, everyone knows her son, and the shock of his being shot gives way to compassion.

People help her into the terminal, her husband buys the tickets, her cries and tears fill the small building. I wipe her tears, and gradually am able to lead her outside for some privacy. She is unable to talk but I begin to calm her down a bit reminding her how God has worked in her life in the past, how He has been with her in tough times before, and how He will be with her through this as well. All the time she is nodding, agreeing, but the tears will not stop and all we can do is hold on another.

Her husband and mother join us and he asks the mother for her money so he can buy her ticket too. Its then she tells him she has no money. In the midst of all the caos his face fills with disbelief. He looks at his hands and knows there isn't enough money for 3 tickets, and helplessly he looks at me. I open my wallet and have $30 - the ticket is $50. In the crowd surrounding us is a man who also lost a son to a shooting in Nassau not 4 months ago. "What do you need?" he asks, seeing me with my wallet open and the look of despair on the husbands face, and a $20 bill is added to the kitty.

Back to the counter goes the husband to buy the 3rd ticket, and knowing we have time I start steering her to the church van so she can have some privacy while we wait for the plane. Half way to the van people come streaming out of the terminal calling us. Rather than having them wait for the flight we had tickets for, the airline gave the money to one of the charter flights whose plane was loaded and ready to go. The charter was holding the plane so they could get off as soon as possible.

Ten minutes later they are on the plane, the door closes, and the plane starts moving - literally before they reach their seats I think.

That night the details appear on the news. An altercation in a Nassau night spot - words are said, and its over - but then he returns with a gun.

In the year we have been here 4 men from Andros have been killed on Nassau. This young man came from a family that doesn't have much. He served as an altar boy and as a youngster he was bright and one of his teachers noticed. With some effort she was able to work with him and helped him win a scholarship to a college in the US. When he returned to the Bahamas, he started work and his future looked bright.

There are no words for the mother of this man. Her grief and pain are real and it will take her quite some time to deal with the loss of her son.

Please keep her in your prayers, and mention Ginni and I in those prayers as we will be ministering to her long after the funeral and burial.

Veteran's Day Cheerleaders on Andros

Hello Again - well we have been here over a year now - time flies!
Last year there was a different OIC (Officer in Charge) and the AUTEC Navy Base I support and the Veteran's Day ceremonies were really quite minimal. So - this year I made a point of offering to do a Non-denominational Veterans Day Service in the Chapel. From what I hear there were discussions about the offer at the base but, we have a new OIC now and they decided to do their own thing. It actually was wonderful.

At 7:30, during the Flag Raising, a color guard with sailors in dress whites was present. The chaplain of the base VFW post did an opening prayer, the OIC spoke, the bugle sounded, and the flags were raised with much solemnity while everyone stood at attention. All in all it was quite impressive.

What I didn't know was that, as part of the weekend-long celebration the cheerleaders for the Jacksonville Jaquars were on the base. The night before they performed at the baseball field (an event I missed), and they were there for the flag raising. The OIC made an interesting announcement during his remarks related to the cheerleaders. It seems that the night before one of them had confided to him that she had just joined the Navy and would be reporting for basic training at the end of the football season!

Well, after the flag raising this gave every sailor on the base a reason to talk to her and she was instantly the most popular cheerleader on their squad!

On a different note - one of the wives of a civil engineer on Base is also the Chapel Coordinator for the Base. She does a great job of coordinating the facility among all the various groups that us it. Well her hubby has taken a new job and they'll be leaving the Base at the end of the month. As she packs she needs to clean out her cupboards and asked if I would take some of the extra food she had in her cupboards. Well - there is no such thing as extra food for a Bahamian so I ended up collecting 3 good-sized boxes of food!

After sorting frozen stuff from dry goods, and sorting out the opened and unopened boxes, I was able to put together alot of things to give to the poorer members of our Churches. Boxes of grits, intant oatmeal packets, candy, pasta . . . One family of 8 living in a two-room shack was very thankful for what I could give them and they really need it.

Last year AUTEC donated a large food basket to me for Christmas that we pretty much gave away to families in need. With the economy the way it is I hope they repeat that generous offer. Its one thing to give a family money - its something else for them to get a food basket. Even staples like grits are very welcome, but seeing meat (like a can of tuna or a tin of corned beef) is very prized and they can't thank you enough.

With that said, Bahamians are very generous themselves. We have had women give us home made breads, and wonderful home made tarts (I love the coconut, Gin prefers the pineapple). One man even rides to the church on his bike with a plastic bag hanging from his handlebars - inside the bag will be two dinners, home made bahamian fish dinners with rice in a great sauce.

Anyway - charity here goes two ways - us to them and vise versa (See how they love one another is very real here).

Till next time.

Catching up on the news

Well I am surprised to see my last post was in OCT - time flies!

Where to begin. Well, for starters, if you have read the blog for awhile you know that one of my responsibilites is the US Navy AUTEC base, where I serve as the Catholic Chaplain for the Catholics on base. This ministry is a bit different in that I am serving a US population which includes sailors, civil engineers, contractors, and their families. Weekend liturgies can be 7 people or 37 depending upon what is happening on the base. Companies send in technicians to test new products all the time and when that happens the population can swell.

There is a part-time Chaplain, employed by the Navy, that serves the Protestants on the base. He is a great guy but only there every other weekend. Consequently, if any emergency happens mid-week, I get the call.

We recently had a Chapel Council Meeting - basically this is like a Parish Council but it includes representatives of all denominations, and Navy personnel. This is a pic of the current council.

All really wonderful people with hearts as big as all outdoors.

Parish life is busy as ever - particularly busy now since Ginni has left for a month of nursing back home. She needs to take her Hospice Certification Test once again so she has much to do. It will make for a lonely November. If all goes well I might get to fly home Thanksgiving week and be there Mon-Fri. I can't miss the weekends though, covering the 3 churches is always a priority.

CCD is running full tilt - we've started slow because we have had a few Bahamian holidays that interrupted things. Columbus Day in the US is Discovery Day here - after all Columbus did land here and it is a major holiday. The schools also had a mid-term break which also interrupted classes for a week. Right now we're on schedule again and, with Ginni gone, it is very challenging. Ginni and I have done tons of educational things prior to coming here, but its been primarily with adults, doing children is a whole different kettle of fish.

Speaking of kettles of fish - Peter, our maintenance man/groundskeeper has been very generous giving us fish he's caught. Typically they are small 'fryers', but this past week he came by with a whole tupperware container of cooked fish in a sauce - delicious. "Deac - Ya Gotta taste some Bahamian food mahn!" He also had some beans and rice, but not what Bostonians typically think of when they hear 'beans and rice'. Peter's were white rice with lima beans - really quite a delicious contrast when mixed with the sauce and fish. The sauce is a tomato-based sauce but heavy on the lime and red pepper (heat). Anyway, I liked it alot.

The generosity of the Bahamian people is really amazing. We stop to give communion to an older woman whose family really has very little and, every time we stop, two ice cold sodas appear for us. Other families have given us everything from peas and rice, to stuffed crab, to coconut tarts and cakes of all kinds. One family even dropped off a bag of lobster tails!

I guess the latest news is the issues we continue to have with our local thief, addict, and homeless man. Homeless isn't totally accurate - he has a very large extended family but at this point in his life he has alienated most of them. We see him from time to time staggering drunk in the town and he has a history of stealing and addiction. He drops by the church 3-4 times a week asking for a drink, a sandwich, or whatever else he thinks we might have. We let him wash our van and pay him with food but, while we try to be as generous as we can, he is becoming more and more of a problem of late. The most recent thing that really sent me over the edge is Ginni found him sleeping in the church van. I read him the riot act about this months ago and he hasn't done it, but last Saturday morning Ginni went to the van to go pick me up at the airport and there he was. She had to wake him up and get him out before she could leave. A bit scary for her to say the least.

I decided to speak to the local police and get some advise. They said I could have him arrested for breaking into the van but instead we decided that they would take him aside and, in rather stern words I suspect, let him know that if it happens again they will indeed arrest him.

On the one hand I want to be charitable - but on the other we need to be safe.

Well, I need to be heading off to Cargill Creek for CCD so I will sign off for now. Hope to be more faithful in writing in the future. - Peace

Busy Busy Busy

Well it seems like its been longer than it should since my last post so let me tell you what's been happening.

First, the Parish Council and I decided we needed a fundraiser. Both churches have termites ($2,000 is the low bid), both need rugs ($3,000), our driveway is getting almost impassable due to potholes and rain errosion, and . . . well you get the idea.

So we started a PARISH PLEDGE program where parishioners will pledge a certain amount and have until DEC to pay what they pledge - and to kick it off we would have a picnic. So I crank up the computer and generate a pledge letter, pledge envelopes, pledge forms - all using mailmerge so each letter, envelope, and form has the parishioners' name and address. Its great!

Next its the picnic, someone on the Parish Council offers to find a place that will let us use their beach, coordinate food, etc. and that is off and running. Great!

So Sunday comes and the pledge envelopes get picked up, people seem to understand the need and it looks like we're on our way with a sizable donation already submitted. The day of the picnic I take off with the van and pick up over 20 people, each carrying a pot for the potluck picnic. The day was great, I swam with the kids, the food was great and all in all a wonderful family day. "It was off da chain mahn!"

At the end of the picnic I bring Ginni home, planning to go back and pick up people for their rides home -but- (there's always a but) before I could head back I have a rather dramatic allergic reation to something that I either ate, or encountered while swimming, and ended up at the clinic needing an injection (Ginni's comfort level of the health-care system here took a nose-dive after this little adventure). Suffice it to say it was a poor end to a great day, but all in all it was a success. (Now to see if the pledges come in).

While all this was in the works - one of our parishioners dies after a long illness. She was someone we had brought communion to on Sunday afternoons for months, but her passing is being felt by many people. So - our first funeral.

Bahamian funerals are a BIG deal. The body is shipped to Nassau (there is no funeral home on our island). The body is then shipped back in the hearse which brings the body to the Church. It lies in state all day Friday, all night, and Saturday is the funeral. People come by all throughout the day to view the body and there can be much crying and shouting as people express their emotions freely.

Tomorrow is Saturday - the funeral day. The family has put together a 6 page glossy program for the funeral - and it is quite a program. Funerals begin with a pre-service, this is where eulogies are read and it can be the most emotional time. They have 3 with a solo between each one, followed by AS I KNEW HER, a recollection of the deceased life (I hope an hour will be enough time). After the funeral there is a walking procession from the church to the cemetery - often with a brass band. It should be interesting.

From the funeral we will go to the family's home for food and drinks, a gala event to be sure, but after my allergic reaction at the picnic I think it might be wise for me to skip this part. (Although Bahamian parties are a hoot).

Next week we go to Nassau for our monthly clergy meeting and I'm already booked with an allergy doctor to see if we can find out what it was that I'm allergic to. I'll let you know.

Till next time

In prior posts I have told you about new families that have moved in to North Andros and have asked us to start coming up there. Needless to say we are going!

Mastic Point is at the far northern end of Andros, a good hours ride through mangrove swamps and pine forests. Adding this to our Sunday makes for a full Sunday. Usually, Sunday starts here at St. John Chrysostom in Fresh Creek with people arriving around 7:30 to open up the church, put up the hymn numbers, do one final sweeping of the rugs, etc. The first liturgy is at 8:30, then we clean up, pack up and leave by 10:00 to head south and starting picking up people for the 11:15 at Christ the King in Cargill Creek. After that liturgy the bus makes a run dropping off local folks, then we head back to Fresh Creek.

We usually get back around 2-2:30, grab a sandwich and then go out and do communion calls, but now adding Mastic Point communion calls wait till Monday and now we pack up the car and try to leave for Mastic Point. The church in Mastic Point was reclaimed by the bush long ago so we are meeting in the Primary School. This means when I say we pack up - I mean it. We pack everything from missalettes, candles, the Lectionary, Sacramentary, altar cloth, a crucifix and a large pix filled with consecrated hosts. Then we hit the road.

Roads on Andros come in various stages of pot-hole decay. You can go for miles with nothing then all of a sudden its an unexpected strip of 15 potholes within a 200 foot span of road. We have learned to weave our way around these obstacles, however this is particularly difficult in the rain. Rain creates puddles, puddles creates places for potholes to hide - just waiting to grab your car and rip off whatever wheel they happen to trap. Hitting one of these can actually jar your fillings right out of your head. So far we've been lucky.

During this past trip to Mastic Point however we (make that I) experienced something totally new. We are cruising down the road at about 50 mph, the windows down in the 90 degree heat as we enjoy the breeze. My elbow in on the window and my short-sleeve shirt is flapping in the wind. Suddenly I feel a small sharp sting around my shoulder, then another - I rub my shoulder, brush it off -sting-, I slide my hand up my shirt sleeve and feel nothing -sting-, I reach around my shoulder almost to my back and I feel a hard lump -sting-, so I squeeze it, feeling the crunchy sensation of an insect -sting-, an insect being crushes inside my shirt.

While driving, my shirtsleeve innocently flapping in the breeze had inadvertently trapped some sort of insect and, once inside my shirt, its defensive instincts kicked in and badda-boom-badda-bang, I am scratching away at God-knows what.

Now all this happens while Ginni is sitting there with her eyes closed, enjoying the breeze. We get to Mastic Point, people are waiting, we do the service, then spend some time reviewing the sacrament of reconciliation with a boy who has started home schooling with his mother preparing for 1st communion. We pack up and head back to Fresh Creek. Now for the first time I explain about the bug to Ginni and she says "So that's what the stain is on your shoulder!"

It turns out the bug was rather large and when I did finally kill it there was a blotch of goo absorbed by my shirt as a rather dark brown/yellow stain. The shoulder on the other hand had about 4-5 welts that have since passed.

Yet another part of our island life adventure.

CCD and Pigeon Hunting

Well clearly I have let my blogging slip. This week is the beginning of another year of CCD so the last few weeks have been CCD-prep time.

To start with, the only books we have are 10 years old. So last year we did JAN - MAY without books, pretty much using what books we had as guides for the topics to be covered, and creating our own curriculum week by week.

It worked well but we came to the decision we needed to upgrade the books we have. So using the web and talking to publishers of CCD materials we finally ordered about $800 in CCD books for our 50+ kids. A bit of a risk since only a third of them have signed up (last year we went from 32 to 57 kids three weeks after we started classes).

The other innovation besides getting new books was getting parents to volunteer to help teach. The Navy base has had some turnover so the number of families on base has dwindled to the point that the parents have all offered to teach their own children in a 'home schooling' model. St. John's numbers are manageable with the same two mothers who have offered to help. It is in Cargill Creek we needed help, and praise God the parents have come out of the woodwork. Four different couples will host classes in their homes, with each couple taking 5-6 children. Ginni and I will still teach the Confirmation class and will meet with the parent-teachers once a month for support. So - all in all it seems under control with our first classes all kicking off this week.

While preparing for this was time consuming the day to day issues we encounter here kept popping up. For example, here's a typical afternoon:

Mrs C drops by unannounced with her daughter. Mrs C. is in her 70s and her daughter about 40. Mrs. C cannot read or write and lives in a remote part of Behring Point, the most southern tip of Central Andros. So they come in, sit with Ginni and I, then Mrs. C says, "Faddah, no lights!" pretty much just like that.

Ginni and I look at each other, then at Mrs. C, and Ginni says, "Did they shut your power off?" and both Mrs C and her daughter nod and say an emphatic "Yes, Faddah". Now I should explain a bit about the electric company here. In prior blog entries I explained how we lost power without warning for weeks as they instituted rolling blackouts for 4-5 hours a day in the heat of August. They had lost a generator and its all they could do to get some power to you. My frustration with this situation lasting for weeks was evident when I started calling the TV station in Nassau, the utilities commission in Parliament, the corporate offices of the electric company on Nassau, and anybody else who would listen. It was horrible.

Mrs C's situation was simpler - she hadn't paid her bill. Now the electric company billing system is even more frutstrating. First, there isn't a billing system. Everyone knows that on the first of the month you should go to the electric company office and they'll tell you what you owe and you pay it. The electric company office is in Fresh Creek. Mrs. C is in Cargill Creek about a 40 minute ride. She has no car, and even if she did, she couldn't read the bill anyway. So - after some time had gone by, they cut her off.

I look at Mrs. C and ask, "Are you here because you want me to pay your electric bill?" Instant smiles, "Yes, Faddah - no lights, the Church will help, you pay Faddah." I look at Ginni, she looks at me, we both look at Mrs. C - "How much is your bill?" Mrs. C looks at her daughter and her daughter says, "$600 Faddah".

I took a deep breath and explained that the Church doesn't have that kind of money, we barely have enough to get by ourselves (actually we don't have enough to get by - the Archdiocese sends us a quarterly stipend to cover the shortfall). Our weekly collection from Cargill Creek is about $180 (and it takes about $60 in diesel fuel to fill the van).

We talked about the bill, what the minimum was that the electric company might take to turn on the power, what the daughter might be able to do to help. We talked about how to avoid this in the future (Mrs. C does get a small pension from the Gov) but she needs to get from Cargill Creek to Fresh Creek to pay the bill. While all this was going on another parishioner arrived for an appointment we had made to discuss a personal problem in her life.

So Ginni goes outside to talk with her, while I try to wrap up Mrs. C, promising to see what I could do and come to the daughter's house later that day. (My plan was not to pay the whole $600, but to dip into some of the US donations I'd been given by friends, family, and parishioners of St. Timothy's to help in our ministry here. With a bit from us, & a bit from the daughter, we'd get the power back on).

We spent the next hour counselling and praying with a very nice lady with a difficult family situation that was now impacting her job.

Then it was off to the bank, then to Mrs. C's daughter's house. I explained that this should be private, she shouldn't tell other parishioners her private affairs, and that they really needed to be paying the bill on time because I couldn't do this again (last thing I wanted was to become their bank, we simply can't help everyone every time). With the groundrules agreed to they thanked me again and again - then it was back to CCD books.

If you remember - back in June was Crab season. We have land crabs here on Andros and June is when they crawl out of their holes to be scooped up by the burlap bag full. During evening the roads are line with cars and the bush is full of people with bags and flashlights as they try to find all the crabs they can. Crab-fest is a major event here on Andros and it makes a lot of money for those without any. If you missed the Crabfest blog entry go back to the entries in June and I am sure you'll find them - quite the event. However, today we experienced on better.

As we drove home from the first Confirmation Class in Cargill Creek, once again the road was lined with cars, just like during crab season - but this time everyone on the side of the road was carrying ---- a shotgun! Yes, a shotgun - car after car had men with shotguns, dogs, and little kids. It was the start of pigeon season and every now and then, as we drove by, someone would hoist their rifle to their shoulder - and blam - and the kids and the dogs would run into the bush to see who could get the downed bird first. Incredible.

So we survive this gauntlet and its late, we haven't taken anything out for supper, so Ginni says "Lets go to the Navy Base and see if we can get a pizza at the Lighthouse Pub". This is a burger and pizza place on the base that stays open after the Dining Hall has closed. So we go there and get the pizza and we start talking to a local who had just finished his shift and was there for the same reason we were. When we told him about the pigeon hunters out on the Queens Highway to Cargill Creek he said that last year they caused millions of dollars in damage because - when they shoot the pigeons, they shoot through the power lines, phone lines, and internet lines. So picture this, you're standing on one side of the road, a pigeon flies out of the tree on the other side and your birdshot brings it down - but when you shot it your birdshot also passed through the telephone wires hanging from phone pole to phone pole, taking out the phone and power service to Bowen Sound and all points north.

Ahhh Island life - ya gotta love it.

History - with a chuckle.

Sunday, September 13 was the feast of St. John Chrysostom, the patron saint of our parish in Fresh Creek. So, after Mass on Sunday we had cake!

There is actually quite the connection between St. John Chrysostom and the Catholic Church in the Bahamas. St. John was known throughout the Church as an outstanding preacher. In fact, Chrysostom is not his last name, it means “Golden Mouth” in Greek and was a title given him for the quality of his preaching. He was born in Antioch (the city where followers of Jesus were first called ‘Christians’) about the year 349. After an extensive education he embraced an ascetic life and was ordained a priest, distinguishing himself by his preaching. He was elected bishop of Constantinople in 397 and proved himself a capable pastor. Twice he was forced into exile by the imperial court and the envy of his enemies. He died September 14, 407. His preaching and writing explained Catholic doctrine and presented the ideal Christian life.

Years later, a Benedictine priest who had taken Chrysostom as his religious name arrived in Nassau. Fr. Chrysostom Schreiner, OSB was the first priest permanently assigned to the Bahamas in 1893 and remained for 37 years. When a church was built in Fresh Creek Fr. Schreiner’s work was recognized in the naming of our church after his patron, St. John Chrysostom. Other Benedictine’s followed, including Fr. Gabriel Roerig OSB, who spent his entire priestly life serving the people of Andros. Arriving first at Behring Point he opened churhes from Behring Point all the way up north to Mastic Point during his ministry.

The church in Mastic Point was closed years ago and has been taken over by the bush, but is ironic that Catholics are moving back to Mastic Point and asking us to come up there and have services in the Elementary School. So this week we have a priest with us, Fr. Mel Taylor OSB. Fr. Mel is the last Benedictine in the Bahamas and was able to preach quite well about Fr. Chrysostom's life on Nassau and Fr. Gabriel's work on Andros.

After 3 masses we dropped Fr. Mel at the airport and Ginni and I headed off to Mastic Point. It had rained overnight and a bit more during the morning. The drainage on Andros is virtually nil since the whole island is nothing but rock and there is no sewer system for rainwater. Driving up north the road has pot holes and puddles so you really need to be careful.

As we headed out on the Queens Highway Ginni and I have our windows open to get the breeze and she begins to tie her kerchief over her hair to keep it in check in the wind. It was at that point that a car passed us coming towards us - and passed through a puddle right at that instant. This threw a wall of water onto the windshield (and a fine spray through Ginni's window). What made this comical was that it was at that moment she was tying the kerchief behind her head with her elbows pointing up in the air when the spray hit her and she let out a "Woooo!"

Now I thought the wall of water on the windshield was impressive, but not worth a "Woooo!" It was when I realized she'd also had cold water spayed onto her through the open window I understood what had happened. Laughing was probably not the best response at that time.

Well an hour later we arrive in Mastic Point and they were waiting for us. A few less than we expected but it turns out they had no power and the class rooms were stiffling. We ended up taking the chairs onto the lawn and we did the liturgy of the Word there. One of the children is well past 1st communion age so we had given that family some books. This was an opportunity for us to see what we learned so I asked a few questions, "What is original sin?" "What's the difference between a sin and an accident or mistake?" "What happens to the bread when the priest prays over it at Mass?" "Why do we need to go to a priest for confession?" It led to some discussion to help him understand more about Confession and the Mass. It turned out to be good info for some of the adults that listened in too - teachable moments.

We headed back to Fresh Creek and I would smile remembering Ginni's "Wooo!" and Ginni suggested that the next time we go to Mastic Point that she drive - especially if it rains.

Abandoned Churches Reborn - just maybe.

I feel like we are living in the calm before the storm. Time is clicking away as we get closer and closer to the beginning of Religious Ed classes starting up again and I find myself procrastinating on pulling together lesson plans and getting myself organized.

This year we have several parents that will be teaching classes in their homes which will really help us in Cargill Creek. Fresh Creek has less students so Ginni and I will still be doing all the classes there (as well as Confirmation Classes in both places).

RCIA starts up again tomorrow night after taking a summer break. We have two people who will be welcomed into the church on Easter and a few more still considering whether they want to start the program or not.

One piece of news you may find interesting is that this week we will be going north again to have Sunday services with the Catholics in Mastic Point. There used to be a Catholic Church up north but years ago, when Grand Bahamas was being developed, there was an exodus of people from Andros who left Mastic Point for the work. Eventually the Catholic Church was closed down and it was reclaimed by termites and the bush. Lately, however, we have heard from several families that they've moved back and there are a group of people willing to meet again - so we have made arrangements to have services in the elementary school. If we can really grow a community up there - who knows what might happen. The Archdiocese still owns the land and I actually found it and plunged into the overgrown vines and branches to find the foundation. If we ever did build a church there it would be a brand new building from the ground up. That's a long way off, right now we'll be going north to do a 4PM Sunday afternoon service and see what kind of turn out we have.

One interesting component of this part of Andros is that it has become an area for undocumented Haitian families to settle. The word is that there are many people without visas or any documentation there and, coming from Haiti, they are Catholic. Being able to make the Church a reality in the lives of these people again has been gnawing at me for months so I am thrilled to actually be going up there again. It will be a challenge to find them, and an even bigger one for them to take the risk of coming to a meeting for church where they could be exposed. This is something that I've been praying about for some time and I ask you to bring it to prayer as well.

There are a few Catholic churches on Andros like the one in Mastic Point that have been abandoned over the years. This is St. Gabriel's churh in Calabash Bay, actually not too far from where we live in Fresh Creek. Several years ago its parishioners were merged into St. John Chrysostom where we live and the building boarded up. Occasionally I drive by and find the doors broken open again like in this pic and I pull over and re-secure the building.


A little over a year ago, before we moved here, a homeless man had broken in and took up residence, smashing all the windows and breaking in the doors. They are all boarded up now but I've been stopping by every now and then and cleaning it up a bit at a time. We are a long way from re-opening it but with some work it might be able to be used for classes or prayer services. If I could pull that off it would be a major sign to the locals that the Catholic church is back and instead of closing up churches and consolidating we are re-opening them and expanding.

Churches that have been closed down here tend to fall into disrepair quickly. Termites are present everywhere and an old building like this, with dry wood, not being maintained that well tend to collapse in upon themselves unless some maintenance is done.

I have a bit of an emotional attachment to St. Gabriel's as well. The first priest to serve on Andros was Fr. Gabriel Roerig, OSB. He spent his entire life serving the people of the island (before there were roads and electricity and running water - actually a very hard life). When a church was built in Calabash Bay I think the Bishop named it St. Gabriel to recognize the work he had done. I know the patron of this church is the Archangel Gabriel but the more I learn about Fr. Gabriel I think a case could be made for his canonization and I like to think he's looking out for this church. Who knows with his help one day this church may be back in business full time.

Speaking of restoring things that used to be here and now are not - last Sunday I led an Altar Server Commissioning. After a few weeks of training 4 boys, two from Fresh Creek and two from Cargill Creek, were commissioned as altar servers. When Ginni and I went to the States this summer we purchased some altar server vestments and all 4 boys seem to be really excited about this ministry. Usually their roles are pretty simple when I am leading Eucharistic Services for 6 weeks before a priest is sent. We will see how well they do when we have a priest and they serve at a full Mass. If this catches on - who knows, we might even have girls who want to join their ranks.

Enough for now, I really should sit down and look through CCD books and begin putting together lesson plans. Till next time:
Peace.

Power, Water & Money

Well it was about two weeks but it looks like the power is back. Having electricity impacts us in the obvious ways, but the fact that the town's water supply is dependent upon electricity to run the pumps means when we lose power we lose water too.

We still wrestle with water and water pressure, but having electricity is a good thing. Just to give you some idea of the water pressure issue. Ginni has actually been able to count the number of holes in the shower head while taking a shower (36) and the number of holes with water leaking out (5).

When Ginni was a growing up her family never had a shower. She grew up with a tub and washing her hair in the kitchen sink - well she has gone back to that and is much happier than what she was trying to wash her hair in the shower.

I have figured out that its not only the pressure of pumping the water up hill to the church, but also the way the plumbing in the house was installed. Pipes here run above ground since everything here is rock. Once the pipe from the street reaches the top of our driveway it was sunk under the church parking lot and re-surfaces on the church lawn. It then splits, with one line going to the church and the priest's weekend residence, and the other line going to our house/rectory. The pipe runs along the foundation then, for some unknown reason it was run up the side of the house to the roofline, around the back of the house, and into the bathroom.

Clearly the pressure can get it up the hill, but then to get it up the wall to the roofline and then to the show is a challenge for this system. Fixing it would be an expense not in anybody's budget.

Speaking of budget -
The Archdiocese of Nassau has an Annual Archdiocesan Appeal much like any other Archdiocese to support programs and needs beyond what parishes can support. Last year, of our 3 churches, 18 people contributed and we beat our $1,500 goal bringing in $1800. They have beat their goal consistently for the last few years but I was surprised that only 18 people had contributed.

We just finished this year's appeal and over 40 people contributed and we brought in just over $5,000. With the current economic climate this is outstanding. I am both proud of our parishioners and humbled by their generosity. This really is one of the better charitable efforts for Bahamians to help Bahamians.

The next effort will be to try to do a fund raising effort to upgrade the interior of some of our churches. The rugs at St. John's look like the original rugs as do the pews, several of which have significant termite damage. Termites are everywhere here and they are incredibly destructive. Hardwood seems to be safe, but soft pine or other soft woods are a favorite so often you might see doors or windowframes riddled with termite damage. Christ the King in Cargill Creek will need to be treated this year - yet another special collection.

Dealing with all the infrastructure related expenses is something I'd like to have the Bahamians take pride in funding on their own. We'll see if that's realistic or too optimistic on my part over time. From the conversations I have had I do believe that if specific needs are identified they'll pitch in. The challenge may be to identify the priority of what needs to be fixed first. Some may say we need to deal with the leaking roof in the priest residence, then the rugs, then the pews. Others may say the termite riddled pews should be first - it will be interesting.

With the children back in school, CCD is on our horizon. Ginni and I have spoken with a few book publishers and they've sent us samples. Setting up the curriculum for this year is almost settled and registration is well under way. CCD is a major task here and it takes a sizeable chunk of our time - pray for us - we'll need it!

No Juice - and Skyjuice

It has been a tough week here on Andros. The Bahama Electric Company here has a diesel generator providing electricity to the island. Well it broke. They are limping along with a backup but it can't provide enough for the island so - rolling blackouts.

Without warning you simply lose all power for 4-8 hours. It may come back anywhere in that range. Once you have power it can also go away anywhere in that range.

This creates issues when its 90 degrees every day and you suddenly have no AC, no fans, nothing - especially at bedtime. Add the fact that the water system here depends upon electricity to work the water pumps. So no showers.

What makes this frustrating is its been like this since last week Thursday. The parts that they need aren't on Andros, nor are they on Nassau - and the red tape to get it from the US takes a week or more - so everyone is a bit grumpy here right now.

One impact I hadn't thought of was fuel for the van. Saturday I usually fill up for all the weekend driving we do covering 3 church and then communion calls. The man I usually get diesel was shut down by customs officials since he wasn't collecting taxes on the diesel he was syphoning from the back of his van (at the time he was the only source of diesel). When he stopped providing diesel he connected me with a gas station in town that had started carrying diesel, but with no electricity, no way to operate the pumps.

Someone suggested I go see "Phil", "He got diesel Fodder". So I get directions and end up pulling into a backyard littered with auto parts, broken windows, tools, and oil drums. Phil comes out, as do 2 of his friends, and after we had a friendly chat he pulls out the garden hose, sticks one end into one of the oil drums and sucks on it a bit, then slips it into the gas tank and the diesel fuel starts trickling into my tank.

As its filling we talk a bit more about the heat, the electric problem, how hard it is to sleep and stay cool. He said he just liked to sit on his porch with a gin and tonic and watch the starts at night. I told him it was easy to find Gin on this island but almost impossible to find tonic water. Everyone laughed at the truthfulness of that and then he said, "Fodder, if you can't find tonic, try Skyjuice - you can get that everywhere and it's very good with Gin". The other guys all nod, and smile and say "Yes, Fodder, try Skyjuice". So I ask about Skyjuice - "What's Skyjuice, I haven't seen anything like that in the stores?"

Phil looks at me and smiles, then says, "Water, Fodder - Skyjuice be water!" and everyone laughed and laughed at they joke they'd set me up for.

I told them that my father, when he was a boy in the depression used to go to the soda fountain at the drug store and ask for a pine tree float - a glass of water with a toothpick floating in it - they all got a good laugh at that one too.

Well, with power at a premium I am going to shut down before the electric company does it for me. Keep us in your prayers
--- Frank and Ginni

Tropical Storm Anna

I know all the news reports say that Tropical Storm Anna is no threat, it's 'dissipating', it will not hold together, etc. Well let me tell you - it passed between Cuba and Andros last night and it was holding together pretty well then.

Around 1 in the morning we were woken up by lightning. Incredible crashes were right on top of us it seemed. Every 5-10 seconds there would be another incredible crack and the rain was so strong it sounded like pebbles on our windows. Needless to say the power went out and Ginni got up to unplug our internet phone and the router (when power is restored it usually comes with a power surge that creates issues).

Around 2AM we got out of bed again and checked the house - all seemed well but the lightning show was nuts. At one point I actually felt the whole house quiver as the thunder crashed right over us. This lasted until about 4AM with the power going out and coming back on several times during the night.

When we got up this morning the back yard had one huge puddle under the clothes line, our screen porch had 2" of standing water in it, & one of the panes of glass in a window in the priest's residence had been blown out. The window in the Sacristy had been left open about a quarter inch and the rug in there is soaked, but the vestments and everything else seems OK.

I must say, if this is a storm that isn't a bad one - a storm that is only going to be a 'rain event', I am not looking forward to actually dealing with a hurricane. It was crazy for those few hours in the middle of the night - absolutely incredible.

When Peter came by to clean up the Church this morning I showed him the window and he was able to force the glass pane back into place, but we'll need to fix it later. Ginni suggested that since nobody is living in the priest's residence and we are in the hurricane season, why not put the hurricane shutters up on that set of windows with the loose pane of glass.

So we went into the garage and took out a few of the shutters. The shutters are made of corrigated aluminum. The ones we needed were small, about 4' long, and they fit into a groove on the top of the windows and a notch in the bottom and are held in place by a metal clamp that you hammer into place. It was good for me to see how they go in for this small job because when a hurricane really does bear down on Andros I will have to do the whole Church, and our residence as well - and in the midst of the pre-hurricane rush Peter may or may not be around to help. The Church shutters are a good 7' long and you need to climb up on ladders to reach them from the outside. Hopefully hurricanes stay far away and its a task I won't have to do.

Right now it is partly cloudy, a light breeze, high 80's and 80% humidity. A lovely day in the tropics - whew!

Dayshawn's Wheelchair

Sometimes you have an experience here that you just KNOW is the Holy Spirit. I have told most of my family about this story - but since this has finally come full circle, let me share this with you too.

When we were signing children up for CCD last year one man signed up his son, Dayshawn, age 10. We'd never seen any boy named Dayshawn at church so we asked about him and was told he'd just had surgery and was at home. So we called the family, introduced ourselves and set up a time to meet them. When we did, we found Loretta at home with a severely handicapped Dayshawn. Dayshawn suffers from Cerebral Palsey and in addition to being severely physically handicapped he cannot speak. His diet is primarily farina cereal and Ensure, the dietary supplement, which he drinks from a bottle.

Now back at St. Tim's in Norwood I served as Chaplain to "Faith and Light" a group of mentally challenged people that have been meeting at St. Tim's for over 20 years now. My experience with these loving people seemed to prepare me for Dayshawn. At that first meeting I was able to hold him in my lap for about an hour as we visited with Loretta and heard her story and Dayshawn's. Loretta is Anglican, her husband Catholic.

Leonard, or Porky as he is more well known, came to church and the Sisters who preceeded us here began to drop in and visit Loretta and Dayshawn. She said, "it was the Catholics that helped us Faddah, they came and visited". And now here we are, unknowingly continuing where the Sisters left off. Usually Dayshawn spends the day in a recliner, they have no wheelchair, there is no visiting nurse, there is no physical therapy, all we have here is a clinic. It was clear during our visit that Dayshawn is much loved. His parents provide all they can and he is an important part of their family.

Here is a pic of Dayshawn and his mother in their kitchen.

Weeks later, on a weekend we had a visiting priest, I was purifying the chalice after Mass at our church in Cargill Creek. As I wiped the inside of the chalice I happened to notice, on the bottom of the chalice, an engraving. It said 'Order of Alhambra - Caravan No. 82 - Montreal - In Memory of James Murphy Sept 21, 1952' and there was an emblem - a red tower.

Now, I never heard of Alhambra before - and Lord knows how a chalice like this found its way from Montrel to Cargill Creek Andros. Later that afternoon I went online and discovered that Alhambra is a fraternal order of Catholic men with a ministry of serving the needs of disabled children. (Isn't God amazing!)

So I send an email to the contact person, telling them of the chalice I'd found. I told them that if the Murphy family was still around, they might enjoy knowing this chalice is still in service and that it had found its way to this mission church in Cargill Creek, Andros. A few weeks go by and I get a reply from Roger Reid, an officer of Alhambra who was very interested in the chalice and referred me to the Alhabra 'scribe', Andre Beauchamp in Canada expressing great interest in the chalice and promising to research the chalice, etc. So I reply to him, this time mentioning that I had noticed they have a ministry to disabled children and describing Dayshawn. This led to a series of emails, over a period of months, until he suggested that Alhambra might be able to provide a wheelchair!

By this time I had told Loretta about Alhambra but she wasn't too excited about the wheelchair. They had had other wheelchairs and they never worked. Dayshawn has no upper body control and he would always slump forward in them. He needed a wheelchair that could recline, one that was adjustable, and might be able to grow with him over the years.

Well, my lovely wife is a visiting nurse. Now it was her turn to jump on the internet and search for chairs that would work - naturally she found one, but it was over $2,000 - then on another site one for half that, with a contact at a Nassau distributor. After several phone calls she came up with a solution for under $900.

So I send this information along to my friend in Canada and I get a reply that Alhambra is having a convention in Detroit and he'll bring Dayshawn's case up at the meeting. Needless to say, Porky and Loretta are thrilled that this has gotten this far and we were on pins and needles waiting to hear what would happen at the convention.

Well - the email arrived - the money was approved and a check was in the mail! I called Loretta immediately and later that day ran into Porky at the local market and told him. Weeks later the check arrived on Andros, we deposited the money, called the Nassau distributor, and sent them the formal order with the payment. Now it was just a matter of time.

One of the mail boats that comes to Andros is the 'Lady Katrina' and Loretta works as the shipping agent for the Katrina. We told the shipping company to use that boat to get the wheelchair to Andros and arrive it did!

Loretta took it home that day, Porky put it together and now Loretta doesn't have to carry him wherever they go. Dayshawn can be taken outside and sit in the gazebo his father built on the front of their house and watch his Dad play dominoes. Loretta can actually take Dayshawn for a walk. Moving from one room of the house to another no longer requires Loretta pick him up and carry him.

What strikes me about this story is how the Holy Spirit works.

What ever prompted me to turn the chalice upside down and look at the bottom?

What ever prompted Porky to register Dayshawn for CCD?

How did that chalice migrate to Cargill Creek?

Imagine this from a chalice from 1952! God set this up 57 years ago!

Imagine the 'coincidence' of Alhambra, of all the charities it might support, have a ministry to disabled children - and Andre Beauchamp taking the ball and running with it, presenting Dayshawn's situation to Alhambra in Detroit - and them approving the purchase.

God is indeed a loving Father, and we are His childen. We thank Alhambra, we thank Roger Reid and Andre Beauchamp - and most importantly - we thank the Holy Spirit who was totally involved in this, not only from the beginning of our meeting Dayshawn, but 57 years ago when the Murphy family first commissioned this chalice. Glory to God in the Highest - Amen!

Here are pics of Dayshawn in his new wheelchair - and another of his mother, father and I posing with Dayshawn.

Elephantitis

Hello again - well the latest news from here has to be the weather - it is HOT.
No breeze, no relief, just oppressive heat with high humidity. Every morning is the same, I leave the air conditioned bedroom and the trees are still, the house is already hot, I turn on the fans, start a pot of coffee, light my candle for morning prayer, then sit in front of the fan as I pray Morning Prayer. Every day is in the mid to high 90's with over 80% humidity - weather stations say the heat index (the 'feels like' temp) is always over 100.

While this is life on Andros - live goes on. If you remember, prior to our trip to the States we had a boy drown here. After we returned we stopped by to see the family and met the Grandfather. Everyone else in the house had gone to the creek to fish for supper so Ginni and I sat with him and talked for over an hour. It was a great conversation with him telling us much of the history of the Catholic church in the southern end of our part of Andros.

What was striking about this man were his legs. His wore shorts, no shoes, and right leg was incredibly swollen. All I could think of was the disease Elephantitis that you read about in Africa. The leg and foot were triple their normal size and the skin was tough and caloused. Ginni later told me it is 'peripheral vascular disease'. Meaning his circulation is so poor that the fluid in his legs stays there and the leg swells. Somehow to say it is swollen just doesn't describe it sufficiently as I type the words.

Anyway, we talked about is grandson's drowning, and the funeral we missed. We had heard it was a full church and very emotional. He said he didn't go because of his foot. In fact, he stopped going to Church years ago because he couldn't wear shoes anymore, and hasn't worn shoes for over 5 years.

When I asked why we hadn't seen his family in church he explained that when the permanent resident Sisters left, and the church was served by priests/deacons that just came for weekend visits they felt abandoned. They still consider themselves Catholic, but none of the grandchildren are baptized, his children haven't been to church for years and, after several years away, they are pretty much 'un-churched'.

Our conversation covered a wide range of topics and he was very well spoken. He told stories of Fr. Gabriel Roerig OSB, a Benedictine who spent over 30 years evangelizing Andros. He built the first church here, he served up and down the Andros coast before their were roads, using a boat when he could, and walking when he couldn't. The more I hear of this priest the more I wonder why he isn't up for canonization.

After a great conversation, and an assurance he'd try to get the grandchildren back to church on Sunday, Ginni asked if any of the Doctors he had seen had tried to get him stockings or support hose that might give some relief. They had not. Ginni's visiting nurse experience kicked in and she promised to try to see what she might find on the web. They have wrap-around boots for this disease that can be very comfortable, provide relief, and double as shoes for many people.

So we said our good-byes, promised we would bring him communion on Sunday, and left. Later that day Ginni had a print out of two different types of wrap around shoes - one was more of a slipper, the other not only wrapped around the foot, but the ankle and calf too. With velco straps the width was adjustable and it looked perfect.

On Sunday there was an entire row of new children we'd never seen before - his grandchildren. There were no adults, we assume they either walked or got dropped off, but he was true to his promise and they all were there, dressed in pretty party dresses. I talked to them after church and told them we'd be coming by with communion and some information for their grandfather.

After our van made the rounds of dropping off locals with no cars to their homes, we left and made our first stop to see him again. All the kids met us in the driveway - now back in shorts and t-shirts and shoeless once again. They led us to the back yard and we sat on buckets turned upside down under the same mango tree I had met with them a few weeks ago to talk about the upcoming funeral of the boy who had drowned.

Ginni showed him the pictures and the descriptions of the wrap around boot and he said no Doctor had ever shown him anything like this. After we read some of the information to him (all the time surrounded by all the children looking to see what 'Faddah' had brought grampie) he thought that it might actually work and we promised to see how we could order it on the internet.

Then I began the prayers for the communion service - and he still remembered the prayers. "I confess to Almighty God, and to you my brothers and sisters that I have sinned ..." The children were wide-eyed as he and his wife together joined me and Ginni as we prayed through this little prayer service. I read the Ephesians reading from this Sunday liturgy and told him a recap of the homily. We prayed the Lord's Prayer and I gave him and his wife communion. Afterwards I explained to some of the children that, after they come to religion classes and they learn about the Eucharist, they can recieve their First Communion and recieve every Sunday. (At Church the young children recieve a blessing at communion, and they'd just had that experience at Church earlier).

We returned to the van (which, by the way, had people sitting and waiting for us for their ride home), and we were off. On the way home we dropped these folks off and then made another 3 communion calls. We have a 94 year-old blind woman who I've written about before, another 90+ year-old woman who has fallen and broken her arm, and a cancer patient who just returned from Nassau after chemo. A busy Sunday in 95 degree heat.

Several people back in the States have been very generous to us and it is that genosity that will be put to work now to buy this man's support-boot. If it works as well as we hope, he may actually be able to return to church with his grandchildren. Time will tell.

Enough for now, pray for us as we do for you.

We Are Back!

Well after two weeks in the US we are back on ANDROS!
Suffice it to say our time at home was rushed. There were so many old friends and family to see and so much to do! From meeting with my bible study buds 7AM on Saturday, to baptizing new twin boys in Leominster, to preaching once again at the 9:30 at St. Timothy's it seemed every minute was a time to have dinner with friends, or breakfast, or lunch - or deal with the rental properties in MA and NH. We had a wonderful gathering with friends and it was great to enjoy each other's company once again.

On top of seeing everyone in MA again, we took a week and went to Long Island and for the first time in over a year all of our sons were together once more. Our oldest, who now lives in Singapore, joined us in Sag Harbor with his wife and Jack, our only grand-son. Our youngest son Joe and his wife Liza have opened 'Bay Burger', his restaraunt in the Hamptons - and our son Mike has joined him this past year - both are working very hard.

During this visit I helped Jack work on his cub scout fishing merit badge - teaching him how to use a spinning reel. We caught a blue fish together and then took on the challenge of actually cleaning it - not Jack's favorite part. My favorite part was frying up the filets and enjoying a great super - thank's Jack!

While on Long Island we took a trip into Manhatten and saw BLUE MAN GROUP and the off-broadway production of Mary Poppins. When we got back to MA we also took in a Red Sox game! Great family time but talk about squeezing every possible minute out of two weeks.

When we got back to Nassau our flight to Andros was a bit interesting. Since we arrived in Nassau after 4 there were no regularly scheduled flights to Andros so we went to the small Charter Flight airport where we thought we had reservations. While we had been told the predictable 'no problem faddah' when we set it up - there was no plane.

So we wait. I found a pilot who said he'd be going to Andros and just to sit and wait and he'd call us. Two hours later I find him again and 'no problem faddah - I'll call you shortly'. Talking to an Anglican priest we know who was waiting, we found he'd been waiting 3 hours. When I saw our luggage disappear I followed them and found the pilot stuffing them into a 7 seater plane and I knew departure was close. Six of us fit into the 7 seater plane (he needed to wait until he had at least 6 to make it worth the flight), and off we went. 15 minutes later we are on Andros.

The big news here is that Western Airlines, the main carrier that goes from Nassau to Andros, has stopped serving our Andros Town airport. This happened during our two week absence and was a major surprise to everyone. Competition from the charters was making it harder and harder to fill their planes so they stopped them. On the one hand, Western was never on time so that is why people use the charters - but the impact is major. Tourists now have no way to get here from Nassau unless they know about the charter flights - or they take the ferry - or they go to North Andros and incur an $80 cab fare to get here. Clearly this will be a major financial hit for our part of the island.

The other major impact this creates is that the Bahamian Post Office used Western Air to get mail from Nassau to Andros Town and all of Central Andros. Bottom line - our Post Office hasn't had mail for two weeks, and won't have mail until the Bahamian government gives one of the charter companies a contract to carry mail. So if you mail us anything - don't expect a response any time soon.

Finally, if you remember, we have been working on getting a wheelchair for a parishioner with a 10 year old boy with Cerebal Palsey via Alhambra, a fraternal order of Catholic men who adopted disabled children as their charity. It arrived while we were away! This is truely an act of the Holy Spirit and as soon as I can get some pics I will post them here.

Enough for now - its 94 degrees with 88% humidity and Ginni says I am not going to spend the whole day on the computer - we're going to the beach! I always do what Ginni says.

Till next time.

Independence Day - then coming back to MA

Well I haven't written much lately have I. With CCD ending our lifestyle has taken a turn to the lazy. Maybe lazy is too strong a word, but definitely less hectic. Not so much less busy, but the breakneck, no rest, gotta run pace has been replaced by, OK - what's next.

Last week we still did our mid-week bible study, First Friday Holy Hour, three weekend liturgies, sick calls, and dealt with the fallout of power failures knocking out phones and internet for days at a time. But that without 5 CCD classes for over 50 kids is a relief.

Right now, however, we are planning 2 weeks back in MA. Ginni left on Thursday and I leave Tuesday (gotta stay for the weekend services). With packing the only major thing on the horizon it soon got complicated. We had a drowning.

A 16 year-old boy originially from here, whose family had moved to Nassau, then Miami, and now back here drowned only weeks after his family moved back to Andros. For me its my first Bahamian funeral - except, I'm leaving. So, I've met with the family in the midst of their grief (not something I have done that much of), prepared the liturgy, tried to find out who is coming next week to cover and fill them in, and deal with the complications of Mom never actually baptizing the boy while they were in Nassau or Miami.

Meeting this family was pure Bahamian. We met in the back yard, under a mango tree, in 90 degree heat, 80% humidity. About 5 little boys and girls squatting in a circle around us as we talked, with another 2 climbing the tree watching us from above. I was the only one with shoes.

We talked about his life, their moving to Nassau, then Miami, then back to Andros, and now this. We talked about faith, Grandma's faith, her daughters (the deceased boy's Mom), the siblings. Slapping mosquitos we walked through the liturgy, & how it might change since he wasn't baptized. We talked about how to best celebrate his life in this liturgy and what I would do to inform the visiting priest came to do it. All the while the children sat on the ground and listened - who knows how memories of this conversation may work in these kids years from now?

While you might think this would be enough - if I didn't mention it yet in the blog, July 10 is Independence Day here in the Bahamas. Yes 36 years a nation. Not just any nation, 36 years a Christian Nation! So when we get together to party all the clergy on the stage with all the politicians. There is an opening prayer, a closing benediction, a reading from the Word, and a teaching from the Word (and the political speakers as well). There was the Police Drill Team raising the flag at midnight and the fireworks that followed. In the midst of all that was the Prayer for the Nation - led by that Catholic Deacon. No stress, just lead a spontaneous prayer in front of members of Parliament, the Town Administrator, all the other clergy of Central Andros, and most of the people from Fresh Creek and the surrounding townships.

For me, doing the prayer was one thing. What really made me self-conscious was it was the first time I ever wore a Roman Collar. Yup, 7 years and I've never wore the black cleric shirt with the Roman collar. I did have one that was in the back of the closet and never seen the light of day and, since a parishioner mentioned that if I had any regalia this would be the night to wear it, out it came.

So my last week here before vacation I have a death, a national holiday, and I appear in public with the collar - rather momentus for a slow week.

Next week I fly on Tues.
WED-FRI we meet with the new tenants in our Canton home, and the old ones. We should touch base with our neighbors, friends, St. Timothy's, Deacon classmates, attend Prayer Meeting, and maybe even a round of golf.
SAT we go to NH to deal with that rental property and then spend that night with friends in Norwood.
SUN I hope to celebrate Mass with Fr. C at St. Timothy's, then it is off to Leominster to baptize the new twin boys my Nephew and his wife were blessed with while we were away.
MON its off to Long Island to see our sons Mike and Joe and also connect with our son Matt and his family home from Singapore.
We spend that week in Long Island and MON the 27th head back to MA.
Once back we'll be connecting with our extended family on that TUE - THUR then Friday its back to Andros - whirlwind trip but we do hope to see as many old friends as we can.

See you in church

Rain Rain and Rain

I know all my New England friends thing they've had lots of rain but let me put it in perspective.
We have a cistern that's about 4' deep with about a 4' diameter. When we arrived in November it was empty and the rainy season didn't start until the end of May. Whenever it rains I go out and take the cover off so it catches the rainwater. Well, its full, yup - 4' of rainwater in about a month. No wonder mosquitos love it here.

Kind of puts things in perspective.

A week in Nassau - Happy Anniversary to US!

Well it seems like its been awhile since I last posted, but that's because we haven't been here. Last week we were in Nassau for pretty much the whole week with no internet. The 3rd week of each month the Archbishop has a "Pastoral Day", when clergy from Nassau and all the family islands come together for a day of prayer, teaching, and fellowship. We missed last month's meeting because it was the week of 1st communion and we wanted to do rehearsals and get in a final class in preparation for First Penance and First Communion.

This trip was also important for us because, when we first arrived for this assignment the Archbishop said we should do a review after six months, and if all is well, do an annual review thereafter - well its been six months. So we had called his secretary and asked if, while we were on Nassau for Pastoral Day, we might get some time to do the review with the Archbishop.

Another reason we wanted to take the whole week though, was that the week before was our Wedding Anniversary. So we made a plan that, rather than staying at St. Joseph's parish, we would get a nice room at one of the resort hotels on Cable Beach. An entire week with uninterrupted water, water pressure, electricity, and a full tub for a bath if we wanted - all just an elevator ride from the beach - sounds great, and it was.

Once we checked in we called the Archbishop's secretary and we were told we could meet with him Wed at 11. This was a bit confusing since Pastoral Day is Wed. It was then we were told that Pastoral Day was cancelled this month . It seems they announced its cancellation at the last Pastoral Day meeting (the one we skipped), and a fax was sent Monday (the day we flew). So, we had a meeting on Wed, but the rest of the week to ourselves.

The week was great, despite the isolated thunderstorms (think monsoons). We did get to go to the beach, shop, eat wonderful meals, and meet the Archbishop. Our meeting began right on time at 11 and I was surprised when I looked at my watch and saw it was close to 1 when we broke. Bottom line, we're doing just fine, we need to get a better handle on CCD for the next year with greater parental involvement, but he's not sending us home and we don't want to go so Andros has us for the long haul.

Over the course of the week there were a few adventures for us, but by far the one we'll remember for awhile is our scuba diving lesson. Yes folks, Ginni had the air tanks on her back, lead weights in her vest and she spent an hour at the bottom of the hotel pool learning the tricks of scuba diving (oh yeah, so did I). We need to try this once more before we head out to the reef and try to feed the sharks, but it was a hoot and we live in scuba diving heaven so who knows, we might just start doing this on a more regualar basis. Actually, when we were leaving the Archbishop he told us that one of our parishioners is a certified instructor who taught him! Not only is he a parishioner, he's on our Parish C0uncil!

With the trip to Nassau over, and CCD on vacation, we have time to ourselves for the first time since we arrived. I spent most of this week getting caught up on past due financial reports that I am supposed to send the Archdiocese, but haven't. It's been hot, hot, hot, and humid, humid, humid, so Ginni is spending her time reading in front of the air conditioner in the bedroom while the mosquitos are flocking around every door and window in the place just waiting for us to dare step outside.

Enough for now. I hope you are all well. We plan to return to MA for vacation July 13 - 31. We'll spend time in MA where I will get to baptize my nephews new twin boys (at the same church I was baptized in if you can believe it), then on to Long Island to see our 2 sons down there and connect with our oldest son who will be home from Singapore, then back to MA. We look forward to making connections with as many old friends as we can.

See you in church

Crabfest 2009

Well lets just say life on Andros isn't always about Church - sometimes you have to party and there is no time like Crabfest!

Andros is loaded with land crabs the size of greatfruit - loaded! During the cooler winter months they tunnel underground and stay there till the rainy season drives them above ground. Well if you've read this blog or my page on facebook you know it's been rainy and the crabs are out! This weekend is the annual Andros Crabfest where literally hundred and hundreds of people from the US and the other Bahamian islands flood Andros to have a good time and eat crab in as many ways as you can imagine - Stuffed Crab, Crab and Rice, Crab Soup, Crab with Dumplings, the list goes on and on.

Well the party started Thursday and it will end late Sunday. Here are a few pics of me chowing down and the party that will go into the wee hours of the morning.

Yes, that's right, the crab body makes a wonderful bowl for baked stuffed crab.

Now be nice, I know what it looks like but its a dumpling. Ginni remembered we had the camera with us after I had demolished this bowl of Crab and Dumpling soup (yes it is a dumpling). When I started this was filled with ham, rice, crab, dumplings, crab, a brown gravy/sauce to die for - and did I say crab?

Old grilles never die - they retire to the Bahamas where we put wood and charcoal in the base and crank it up. One of our parishioners had a booth and we went round back and watched as he grilled up some BBQ chicken - fantastic!

And for dessert - Guava Duff! This is a fantastic Bahamian dessert - a sweet cake topped with guava fruit then once its cut and put on your plate, covered with a white creamy sauce. Ginni sopped up every bit of that sauce with the duff to get it all!

And after eating all that, you need to work it off - we also had a live band and singers/dancers galore.

The show was great, with all the bells and whistles of a state of the art hi tech production. Lets just say that when Bahamians party they don't hold back at all (Hey Mon, it was off da chain).

The surprise of surprises for Androsians - traffic. We actually had traffic jams with wall to wall cars, pedestrians, motorcycles, police - it was just like Yawkey way after a Red Sox game in Boston!

Love to tell you more but I have to get up and preach in the morning - enough for now.

Party on