Christmas to Lent

Hello my friends - well the last time I posted it was Christmas time, and here we are in the 3rd week of Lent.  Where to begin?

Well, lets talk first about the building projects we have going.  There are three.  Here in Fresh Creek we had to replace all the windows in the church.  They were the crank-out style and the salt air has finally gotten the best of them.  I had budgeted $5K for this and it went pretty much to plan - except the freight fee to transport the windows from the US, which added another $1K. But it is done and they look great.  I was amazed to see what had to be done to install them.  Once the old windows were out the cement frame needed to be cleared of the old cement debris to make the perfect square frame for the new window. Think jackhammer.   Yup - and you can only imagine the dust and cleanup effort that required.  But its over, almost.  Once installed and screwed in new cement was needed to fill in all the nooks and crannies left over from the jack hammer work -- so now there is a painted job that isn't in the budget.  I am not jumping on this one yet because 'the cement needs time to cure' (but the reality is there just isn't any money for that right now).

While this is going on the second project is also under way.  In Behring Point (the most southern point on the island) we are restoring a building on the site of the very first Catholic church in the family islands.  It is a 32'x9' building that had been a bakery but will now be our CCD schoolhouse and parish ctr for that end of the island.  Children there still meet in the church and kneel on the floor to use the pews as a desk to do their papers.  This will be a great resource once its done.  This too is a $5K project and should come in just about at the budget.  What I did not put in my plans, however was a toilet and electricity.  I can live without electric, but the kiddies will need a toilet - a toilet needs water (there's no running water here) and septic.  Well the best estimate for toilet and septic is an additional $2K - so that can't happen.  What I have uncovered is a 'composting toilet'.  The newest eco-friendly toilet designed for RVs and boats or cabins in the woods.  Using peat moss or coconut husks, the solid waste is mixed, becoming compost - while the liquid waste flows into its own receptacle.  All this for $800.  I have been struggling with this one for months but I think it is the way to go.  This will be a VERY new thing for the Bahamians but for the amount of use it will see, I am leaning this way.

Then, there is the 3rd project, building a church in North Andros.  The first church in 40 years.  The building permits are approved, the builder is ready - and then the Archbishop says, I'd really like to see the site. Everything Stop.  Protocol dictates the Archbishop really should bless the site and be at the ground breaking so I tell the developer to wait.  We wait a week, then another - the builder is on pins and needles, he has men and equipment ready.  So I call the Archbishop - and we come to the agreement that he has a full schedule and, while he intends to visit before Easter, the project should not be delayed.  So once again we are on and ready to go.  Exciting times, yet scary all the same.  Through the generosity of the people of North Andros, and parishes back in the US, friends and family - we have raised just over $18K for this $30K project - enough to start the foundation, septic, and put up walls.  Then we will watch the Holy Spirit kick in the rest.

With all this said, then there are the unplanned financial things - last summer the AC in both bedrooms died.  Clearly this is the time to fix them and we did.  BUT the estimate of $600 became $1200 because the estimate did not include shipping and import duty tacked on by the Bahamian government .  THEN there is this little gem.  It turns out that before we came to Andros there was a 3 or 4 year period where there was no resident clergy here AND the property insurance bill went unpaid for that time.  Now we are told the parish has an $11K debt to cover those bills.  Clearly we don't have $11K and with all the building projects there is no extra $$$$ this year.  After many emails and many phone calls the chancery has agreed to defer this until next year, but next year's budget will have to start chipping away at this bill .
Trust me, this kind of financial stuff is not why we came here - but it is what all Pastor's must deal with (and Administrators too I guess).

With the beginning of Lent we gathered up all the palms from last year and I had the bright idea to bring them to CCD and have the kids help be burn them to make Ash Wed ashes.  So we do - all the primary school kids now meet with us one Saturday/month for an all morning class that consists of 3 different lessons.  One of them was about Lent and Ash Wed so we go behind the church, the kids get in line next to a big box filled with palms.  Using a baking pan I get the first handful blazing away, then each child takes a handful, walks up to the fire and plops them in.  Then the next child,  then the next, and now we have a bon fire.  Gradually all the palms were burnt and the ashes were made.  On the way home, however I realized that while the kids made the ashes, the timing of the Ash Wed services in 3 different church meant that it was more likely that the children wouldn't get them.  So, being the ever resourceful deacon that I am, I called the principal at their school and asked if I could drop by and give the kids ashes and he says that would be great, no problem.  So on Wed I do my first service at 9 in Cargill Creek, then swing by the school before heading to AUTEC for the noon-time service so the employees can come during their lunch break.  I pull into the school expecting my 6 Catholic kids to be pulled out of school for a short explanation and distribution of ashes only to find the principal calls an assembly and all 81 kids in the school are herded into a larger room, set up as a chapel.  Quickly I send Ginni to the van to get my alb and stole and after vesting I do an impromptu lesson on why we use ashes and led them in prayer and the Our Father - then one by one, each child, from Pre-K to grade 6 all dutifully process up to get ashes.  It was amazing - yet I would love to have been a fly on the wall when the little Seventh Day Adventist child got home from school that day and mommy learns that the Catholic Deacon came to school today and put these ashes on my head.  :o)

Other interesting developments - the week before Lent began we had a visit from one of the priests of Nassau.  It was exactly 6 months since we had been blessed with a priest and a full Mass.  I don't expect to see another until Easter and really do hope we have one for Easter since I have someone in RCIA who should get the sacraments and our 1st communion class expects to receive on Easter as well.   We have had a priest every year, drawing from visiting priests, Florida, and Jesuits who have adopted the idea of spending the Easter break at college with us island folks.  I trust the tradition will continue.

With Lent, and the Year of Faith, we are trying to do two things - first the Archdiocese has published a list of recommended reading books for the Year of Faith - all good stuff but coincidentally Ginni has just read one of them 'Confessions of a Megachurch Pastor' about a Methodist minister who converts to Catholicism and why.  Luckily I found a website where I can order them for $2 a book, so I did and had them ship to AUTEC.  Our plan is the AUTEC will read them in March, St. John in April,  Christ the King in May.  The trick will be to get all the books back to use them again for the next parish. 

The second thing for the Year of Faith is the showing of the 10 DVD series 'Catholicism' by Fr. Robert Barron.  Coincidentally, the Archdiocese of Nassau is promoting this and asking each parish to present the series AND the Military Archdiocese had sent a set to the AUTEC Chapel.  So for zero dollars I have the material and have begun showing it at Christ the King.  My problem is that at AUTEC there is one individual who consistently installs himself as leader, and who now wants to lead this program and run it.  While it would be a great help I also have people there who don't want to attend if he leads.  We have butt heads before and it is never pleasant but this situation is one I need to resolve.  So with prayer, fasting, and my lovely wife cranking out rosary after rosary to support; me he and I are gradually putting a plan together on how we can work together.  Unfortunately it will delay the program until after Easter, but we are not on any deadline so we are hopeful we can get through this with minimal conflict.  Pray for this one please.

So - construction with its headaches, Lent and the crosses that come with it, AND the ever present hope of EASTER, we continue to grow the Kingdom of God.  Keep us in your prayers, without your help we would be no where.  With your help all things are possible.
Till next time

Christmas on Andros

Hello my friends - well once again I have been lax and there is much to share so let's go.
Every Christmas and New Years our two main Bahamian parishes alternate who gets midnight services.  This year it was Fresh Creeks turn for midnight at Christmas and Cargill Creek would host New Years.  The Bahamians feel it is important to be in Church at the start of these days, thus the tradition.

My problem has been that over the past few years the Christmas midnight service has drawn very poorly.  Being in church at the start of the New Year still seems of import and the church is full but no so much for Christmas.  So this year I bit the bullet and moved the Christmas Vigil service to 8PM.  (I still had the AUTEC Christmas Service at 6:30).  So with Christmas being on a Tuesday I had a four day schedule that looked a bit nuts.  Saturday at 6PM for the weekend liturgy at AUTEC, followed by the 830AM and 11:30AM Sunday liturgies (gratefully, with the Mastic Pt school closed for the holiday there was no Mastic Pt liturgy this weekend) - the Monday it was 6:30 Christmas Vigil at AUTEC followed by the 8:30 Vigil in Fresh Creek, and the 1130 Christmas Day service in Cargill.  Of course people who hadn't been in church didn't know about the Christmas schedule and sill showed up for the 8AM service in Fresh Creek, so I did that for them too.   Then - we repeated the whole thing for New Years with the exception that we DID have a midnight service, this year in Cargill Creek - which was actually well attended.

I should mention that we have setup for all these holidays that is a challenge.  Here is our altar in Fresh Creek, sans the Advent Wreath which had just been removed. 

I thought I had a pic of our outdoor manger but I guess not.  It is actually quite good.  We have a plastic Joseph and a plastic mary with a light bulb in each one and they are set up inside a manger that consists of 3 pallets we get from the dock.  These wooden pallets make up the walls of the 3 sided manger.  We then nail two boards to the front at an angle making a peak and lay palm branches across the top for a roof.

I should explain that Christmas and New Years are big here.  Christmas is the traditional Bahamian celebration of Junkanoo with a Carnival atmosphere, parades, bands, music, and to say its huge is not an exageration.  Each band has dancers in huge costumes and the instruments range from cow bells and whistles to wash board scrapers and drums.  There are trumpets and saxaphones and drums.  There are dancers and drums (there are alot of drums).  Drums range from bongos to huge oil drums with goatskins stretched across the top.  (actually the only musical instrument we have in Fresh Creek is 1 junkanoo drum made from a garbage can and goatskin).  Here's a typical Junkanoo dancer.

Throughout all of Christmas and New Years I was dealing with what I think is a pinched nerve in my neck causing shooting pain down my back and shoulder.  I self-medicated to get through it but fnally went to the clinic who gave me different meds and a referal to a hospital in Nassau.  If you remember, when I had that Angina attack back a few years ago and I was in Doctor's hospital they did an MRI and commented that my neck had arthritis and bone spurs on a few vertibrae - well I just have been dealing with the nuisance that it is but this last flare up was a pain (he he he).  Seriously, the drugs have it under control but I will probably have to have it looked at when I go to Nassau in January or February.

We were blessed by a visitor of this blog from Georgia actually coming to Andros to visit relatives for the holidays.  He is very enthused about the ministry and Joe brought two cases of blankets and some children's books for the Haitian community in North Andros.  In Dec and Jan the temps at night here dip into the low60's and sometimes 50's and since none of the houses here have heat (especially the Haitian plywood shanty town) the cold does a number on them. 

My shoulder was giving me fits at the time, and the stick shift in the bus was not a good thing.  But, after my trip to the clinic I was feeling better and gave Joe a call to see if he wanted to join me for a trip North to see the folks that would get his gift.  He was thrilled to come and we actually had a great conversation about the ministry here, the new projects we have going.

I've mentioned that there is no diesel gas station on our end of the island so, making this trip up north we also had a stop at the station up north and put $100 of diesel in my 3 gas cans.  Then I showed him the Mastic Point building site where, I am glad to say, our new sign has been erected for Our Lady of Hope.  (When Ginni returns from her US trip I will get the camera back and take a pic of that for you all).

Anyway, we drove into the Haitian shanty town and delivered our blankets to much thanks from them.  Most of the men still hadn't returned from working the fields yet but Keno, one of my good friends there did recieve them and promised to work with Jacque to get the blankets to those with most need.  I want to share that we did arrive without warning and we caught Keno bathing at the time.  Bathing is filling a 5 gal water bucket at the pump, then going behind the bushes, getting wet, soaping up, then rinsing off.  When the van pulled up he did shout a welcome but someone else came out to speak with us.  After a few minutes I caught a glimpse of Keno running from the bushes to his trailer with a towel wrapped round his waist so I then figured out what was going on.  Anyway - delivery made we headed out and met Jacque on his way in from the fields on his bike.  We explained where we left the cases and he said he'd take care of them with Keno.
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With the holidays past, my work now is to crank out the lesson plans for the next 5 months of CCD classes.  We are doing one set of lessons for the Primary School, that will include the first communion component, then another set for the Secondary School students.  Lots to plan and this 2 week Christmas break is when I have to keep my head down and put it all together.  A great help for me has been a web site Sermons4Kids.com that has wonderful ideas for presenting lessons as part of a homily, but it also works to help make CCD classes relavent  and a bit more fun.

While all this is in the works I do want to mention the three capital expense projects that are all going on at the same time.  Here at St. John's in Fresh Creek our crank out style windows in the church no longer work and alot of the window panes have broken.  So, in this years budget, one line item was $5000 to replace all the church windows - which was just finished.  Part of that money came out of church savings, and part from the reimbursement we got from the Archdiocese for exceeding our Annual Appeal goal.  So - again when Ginni returns with the camera I will post pics of our new church windows.

The second project is to restore one of the buildings in Behring Point - part of the first Catholic Church in the family islands.  Another $5000, also partially paid for from saviings and the Appeal refund.  THis will give us a building for CCD and parish meetings at that end of the island that we don't have now.  CCD is still in the church with kids kneeling on the floor and using the benches as desks to do their papers.  If all goes well we should be using that building in Feb.  A hiccup that is now a pain on this project is a toilet - or lack of one to be more correct.  We missed that in our original plan and our plumber wanted to add $2200 to the bill to add septic, a toilet and a sink - so we have no toilet.  I have been investigating composting toilets and have found one for $800.  It looks and acts like a toilet but what it does is separate the liquid waste from the solid, with the base of the toilet being the storage tanks.  Solid waste, when you 'flush' is actually mixed with peat moss or coconut husks and the combination, gradually becomes compost.  The liquid waste I can carry home once a month and flush, the solid compost will be added round our hybiscus plants.  Still investigating whether it will work but right now I think it will.

Finally, our third project is building Our Lady of Hope Chapel in N. Andros.  All the plans have been submitted to the inspector and I hope, once approved, to begin work next month.  If all goes well it won't be long before we can leave the school and start having church in Church.

Before I sign off I have to share Ebonique's story.  Niqua is a 3rd grader and last year she started coming to CCD.  Her father is Catholic, her mother not, and they'd decided to raise the son Catholic and the daughter in the mother's church.  Well the pastor of the mother's church retired and Niqua has been coming to church and really really really wants to recieve communion.  So - even though we don't accept kids until grade 3 (because they can't read), Niqua just showed up as a 2nd grader.  Now in 3rd, she is a First Communion candidate - except - there is this baptism thing.  We explained to her that she can come to class but until Dad finds Catholic God-parents and Mom says OK and we baptize her - we can't do First Communion.   Well, let me tell you, this is a girl on a mission.  She got Mom and Dad to agree she can become Catholic, she came up to me in church in November and said, "Deacon, you promised I could be batized in October, why didn't you do it?"  I explained that Dad still hadn't found God-parents and she said, "Come with me".  So I follow her to the back room where Dad is working as one of our money counters after services.  "Dad, Deacon says I can be baptized when you get God-parents - when are you going to do that?"  She is actually standing there with her arms crossed as she says it and Dad, looking at me is clearly embarrased.  Well, I gotta tell you, the following week he had God-parents lined up and on Saturday I am doing a Baptism prep class with parents and God-parents and Niqua, then Sunday - the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, we will baptize her and, I fully expect her to recieve First Communion on Easter.  What a kid!

Speaking of the sacraments - the priest shortage is a killer here.  When we arrived 5 years ago we saw a visiting priest about every 4-6 weeks.  It has grown to 4 months since our last priest was here, and prior to that it was 3 months, and the priest was the Archbishop who joined us for Confirmation.  I am very concerned that my flock on Andros is really losing the import of the Eucharist.  They recieve it weekly and understand what it is, don't get me wrong.  But without seeing the consecration with any regularity they are losing the sense of our liturgy being any different than the protestant liturgies at the Baptist Anglican or Pentecostal churches.  Not to mention the absolute loss of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

To fix this I wrote up a suggestion that a priest from Nassau visit us every 4 weeks and, while they are here, I will go cover for them in Nassau.  The Archbishop thanked me, but said he wanted to think about it and he'd get back to me after the holidays.  Not the reaction I wanted, especially since we continued to be without a pries throughout the holidays.  I am not taking it personal, there were 3 islands without a priest for Christmas this year,  Cat, San Salvador, and Andros.  It just frustrates me to no end.

Well, this is really getting rather long (see what happens when I don't blog for a month).  Please keep us in your prayers.  Till next time.

The Holiday Rush

Well I cannot believe its almost a month since the last post - so here goes.
After we recovered from Hurricane Sandy I had a few weeks without Ginni while she worked at Hospice to earn us a few dollars.  I cranked out two weeks of CCD for our grade 7-8 and 9-12 classes.  These are by far the most challenging and this year 9-12 has been difficult.  For them, this would be the first of a two year program to prep for Confirmation.  Well to say attendance is poor is an understatement and we eventually had a parents/student meeting.  Well, while the parents can't help teach they sure can discipline!  They were all unaware the kids were skipping and I think the hammer came down pretty heavy.

With that said, beating the children so they will come to religion classes is not the goal I wanted.  I have mentioned before in this blog that beating the children is acceptable in the Bahamas.  I have actually been told I should be beating them when they act up - tempting but no.

Anyway, we put together a Confirmation Contract.  Children that don't want to be there shouldn't.  Confirmation is, after all, the 'adult' decision of the child to live the baptismal promises made for them as children.  If they don't want to live as a Catholic Christian that is their choice.  On the other hand, there are some real issues about the maturity of these kids.  Another option is to just delay a year for this crowd.  Time will tell how this shakes out.

Mid November was Pastoral Day.  A monthly event when all Bahamian clergy meets together in Nassau for a teaching, community, prayer, and share a meal.  This month the speaker was the Prison Chaplain sharing about his ministry.  Prison life in the Bahamas is a very hard life.  US Prisons are a resort compared to life in a Bahamian Prison.  He was very informative and entertaining at the same time - lots of anecdotes that helped us see challenges of his ministry and things to be cautious of when visiting.  Fortunately for me, I have only had one or two parishioners get arrested and held in the prison in Nassau.  Visiting was 'interesting' when compared to the Minimum Security Prison at Pondville in MA where I would do Saturday night liturgies and provide Spiritual Direction for prisoners.  You really don't want to be incarcerated in Nassau.

After lunch Ginni and I ran errands all over Nassau - she is a great navigator with a map on her lap.  She really doesn't deal with the traffic and narrow roads too well so having a map to distract her is a good thing.  Later in the afternoon we met the Archbishop for our annual review.  We covered alot, much more than I could type here but suffice it to say he seems pleased with us and we are here for another year (at least).

With our building a new church in North Andros it really does feel like we are here for several years more to establish a community there and grow it.  Speaking of construction - we actually have 3 projects all going at the same time.  In North Andros is the new church dedicated to Our Lady of Hope.  Its a 30x30 chapel, just four walls and a roof, but even that is $30,000.  I have begged for just over half and will borrow the balance from an old savings account of the parish.  It really isn't borrowing but I want to replace whatever we take over time.  This past week I delivered the plans to the Dept of Public Works and hope to hear about them scheduling a planning meeting in a week or two.  Once we have permits we can break ground.

The second project is in Behring Point.  This is an abandoned church that was actually the very first Catholic Church built on the family islands.  This property has 3 buildings, the church, the rectory and the bakery.  The first missionary here, Fr. Gabriel Roerig, OSB (a saint in my mind) built all from scratch.  The rectory is a 2 story building with the 2nd floor now collapsed into the 1st.  The church is structurally sound, but termites have eaten the roof, opening a hole on one side.  I have eliminated the termites but the damage is done and a new roof is more than I can afford.  The bakery, however, has a tin roof that is rusted out, and no windows and doors.  For about $5000 I can tear down the old roof and put up a new one, reframe the windows and doors, and viola I have a small school house.  Right now the kids sit in the other church on that end of the island and then kneel on the floor and use the pews as desks to do their classwork.  Restoring the building will give us a place with tables and chairs, and preserve the church as the sacred space it is.  Right now we still can't afford electricity or a toilet but this will do for a start.  On the toilet issue I am looking at 'composting toilets' that need no water or electric.  They are designed for mountain cabins or RV's.  The separate liquid waste from solid, with the solid being converted into usable compost over a month or so. One of the engineers at the AUTEC Navy base is looking into their feasibility.  An $800 composting toilet would beat a $2000 septic system hands down (especially since we don't have $2000).

The third project is the church windows here in Fresh Creek.  They are those crank-out style windows and the salt air just eats the mechanisms that work them.  Right now I can't open the windows that are closed and close the windows frozen open.  We were able to get a good price on vinyl double hung windows and, if all goes well, they should be installed by Christmas.  It is not a problem now, but we will need to open the windows next summer.  Last summer was brutal - we have no AC and on those 100 degree days its tough.  Having services at 8:30 AM is what got us through.

So - facilities and CCD are keeping me jumping.  BUT it doesn't end there.  One of the priests on Abaco, another family island, has asked me to do a parish mission during Advent.  Right now I am knee deep in pulling three talks together for that one in mid-DEC.  With the Pope declaring this the Year of Faith I am using the movie THE NATIVITY to explore Advent Faith.  The movie came out a few years ago but Bahamians have no opportunity to go to the movies so this will be a treat.  Using the movie to explore the faith of Herod, the Magi, Mary and Joseph, et. al. is my challenge - keep that one in your prayers.

Oh - here's one more - while we were in Nassau someone broke into the church van and stole my Leatherman (a multi-tool tool with pliers, knife, screw drivers, etc.) and a tire pressure gauge I use.  Our road here are so bad my tires take a beating (I've changed 6 flats since we've been here and bought an air pump that runs off the cigarette lighter).  Anyway - I am having a day when the kids are giving me grief at CCD, donations are down as people start buying for Christmas, and then we discover the break in.  I was not a happy camper having my own pity party.  So I come inside the house after doing morning prayer in the church and Ginni says, "God is so good"!  It turns out that while I was in the church a man from Georgia calls.  He has been reading the blog and will be visiting Andros in December and wanted to know if there was anything he could bring to help us out.  Amazing how God works.  So he is bringing me a new Leatherman, another tire pressure gauge, and maybe even some blankets to help our Haitian community up north. (Jan and Feb can get down to 50's at night, a killer for the folks in the shanty town).  So, once again, when I get blinded by the darkness of all the 'stuff' that gets thrown at us - God opens a window and lets the light shine just a little brighter.

Oh - and one more - a man from Germany emailed me.  He is reading the blog and learned about the Saturday morning AA meeting at that other church we renovated a year or so ago.  He is in AA and doesn't trust himself to go on vacation to a place without AA and he wanted to confirm it is still going (which it is).  So, he is coming on vacation in 2013 to enjoy our world class bonefishing.  So this blog is doing more than I ever imaged - Praise God.

Till next time

Hamptons to a Hurricane

Hello again my friends
Well, if you follow this blog you know that we took a few weeks off to fly home and celebrate our son Mike's wedding to a wonderful woman (Catherine) in the Hamptons.  Suffice it to say it was a glorious event.  The wedding was at Holy Trinity parish in East Hampton and from the rehearsal, to the rehearsal dinner, the wedding itself and the reception everything was perfect. It was great to see all the extended family once again and to have time with old friends once more.

I was able to share a little about our experiences here in the homily, and when I shared privately with some folks that we are trying to rebuild a church in North Andros that has been closed for 50 years several folks offered to donate!  The cost for Our Lady of Hope will be a bit over $30,000 when all is done and in other trips home to the US I have already brought back a little over $15,000 so, once I return, we can actually break ground and start construction.  I will be meeting the Archbishop the 3rd week of November and I should confirm with him our ability to borrow the balance.  Anyone reading this that wants to donate can send checks payable to THE ARCHDIOCESE OF NASSAU FOUNDATION and mail them to:

Deacon Frank Tremblay
St John Chrysostom
Fresh Creek
Andros Bahamas

-or if you ADD A NOTE that its for our ministry on Andros you can mail checks directly to the Archdiocese of Nassau at-

Archdiocese of Nassau
PO Box N8187
Nassau
Bahamas

For tax purposes the Tax ID # is 11-379-8061 (what a great way to get that year-end deduction)

Anyway - back to the wedding.
After a wonderful celebration Ginni and I had settled in at our son Joe's home in Sag Harbor.  I was checking my Facebook account when I saw a friend (from Hawaii) commenting on a pending storm in the Bahamas.  Well I jump onto weather.com and there is hurricane Sandy with Andros right in the middle of its projected track.  I was scheduled to fly back on Friday and the storm was projected to hit on Friday.  Well, we are a hurricane shelter and I knew I needed to get back early.  We called Jet Blue and had a rather funny conversation with the reservation clerk as we changed my flight from Friday to Wednesday.  You see, all the Bahamian islands beyond Nassau are called the family islands.  During the conversation Ginni was having a friendly conversation with the reservation lady and talked about having to fly into Nassau early afternoon to catch the small plane that leaves at 4PM for Andros. She said, 'to get to the family islands you have to go through Nassau' and the Jet Blue lady says 'Gee, if you have your own family island in the Bahamas why are you flying Jet Blue'.  We got a chuckle out of that one.

Anyway - I did get back on Wednesday and the wind was blowing pretty bad but I had time to put the hurricane shutters up on the sea side of the church (our church building is on a 10' cliff right on the sea).  With that done I loaded up the van with our empty water bottles and headed off to AUTEC to get drinking water for the duration of the storm. (Our tap water is not drinkable so we go to the US NAVY AUTEC Base where there is a public faucet to get drinking water.  Just when I had filled the last of my bottles the sky opens up and the rain is blowing sideways.  I get into the van, totally drenched, and it wouldn't start.
All I could get was a buzz when I turned the key so I knew I had a problem with the starter but what a time to have it! 

I was able to get to the guard at the front gate of AUTEC who let me use a phone to call for a ride.  One of my parishioners came and I grabbed one 5 gallon bottle of water and he took me back to the church.  Now the van is pretty much going to have to stay at AUTEC throughout the storm while I honker down at the church.  Social Services came by with hurricane supplies for us, as a shelter, and the Clinic sent over medical supplies, so I was set for the night.

Well it blew and blew and the rain was fierce, but being located on the cliff we get a much more severe beating than the people in town.  Ultimately the storm track was East of us.  While we took a hit nobody had to come to the shelter and Andros was spared.  Cat Island and Long Island took it on the chin.

Once it passed I called a parishioner who is a mechanic who worked on the van for 2 days and figured out that the starter was OK but the battery was bad and wouldn't even hold a charge.  Now I need a battery.  Can you believe I could not find a battery anywhere on the island?  A saying on the island is, if you don't have it and you can't find it, you don't need it.  That sums up island life pretty well.

Well with that said,  I did need it - with the passing of the storm came the weekend and there are a number of people who count on the van to get to church.  The solution came from an unlikely source.  The owner of the grocery store told me she just bought a new battery for her truck, but her truck needs brakes, so if I wanted, I could use that battery for a week.  So I plug her battery into the van - the garage orders a battery from Nassau - and a week later I put that new battery into the van and return the one I borrowed (whew).

Meanwhile -
In addition to the new church in North Andros, another project here is to restore an abandoned church in Behring Point.  This is the southern most part of the island and, coincidentally, it is the very first Catholic Church built in the family islands.  While I cannot afford to restore the church building I can afford to restore a small building that had been a bakery.  Before I left I had hired someone to clear the lot that had been reclaimed by the bush and they did a great job.  This small building will work out just fine as a school house to teach the children religious ed classes.  Right now, at this end of the island the kids hear the lesson then, kneel on the floor and use the benches as desks to do their papers.  Restoring this building will give them a place with tables and chairs and a much better learning environment.

While the landscaping went well, the construction was impacted by the storm, and now the builder is pointing out a few things I didn't include in his work order. (Since we only meet an hour a day I had not include a toilet and, since we meet during the day, I had not included lights)  Well, putting 10 kids anywhere  and you will eventually need a toilet so we are haggling around how to deal with this.  I should point out that this site has no running water or electricity.  Originally, they used a latrine, or a pit, as a  toilet.  It is still there but not the best (or legal) solution by today's standards.  A toilet, a septic system, etc. adds $2,000 I don't have so I am looking at alternatives (possibly a waterless composting toilet like you would see in an RV or on a boat).  The jury is still out on this one.

So 3 weeks  after I return, I am joined by my lovely wife who dealt with Sandy while in Massachusetts.  Gin put in some time as a nurse to earn a few bucks to keep our head above water.  I am hoping that with her return (and the return of our camera)  I will be able get some pics for you of the wedding and the renovations in Behring Point.

I should mention that, while at the wedding I did receive $2500 from friends at the wedding.  With that I can now start the new church in North Andros.  Hopefully we will break ground in a week or so and I will share those pics too.

Well enough for now, much to do to get ready for weekend services and an all morning session on Saturday with our Primary School kids.  Keep us in your prayers.

We're up and running

Well its been awhile so I thought I should try to catch you up on what's happening here.

Ginni has returned in good health and we have hi hopes the gall bladder surgery will correct all the health issues she had been having.

In SEP we had our monthly trip to Nassau and the Archbishop has arranged a wonderful presentation on the Year of Faith that Pope Benedict will initiate in OCT.  It turns out that the video they presented to us as an example of something that could be shown to parishioners is one I already have and am in the process of evaluating.  The Military Archdiocese had sent it to the AUTEC Navy Base - so I am a bit ahead of everyone else here.  If you have seen the Fr. Barron series on CATHOLICISM shown on EWTN - that is it.

The other item of note is the Archbishop gave us the final go-ahead for construction projects we wanted to do and an imaginative way of funding them I had suggested.  The big one is the construction of a new church in N.Andros.  This is a $30K job and I have begged and pleaded to reach $15K.  I can borrow the balance from a parish account the Archdiocese manages.  I also need to replace the church windows the the sea air has now made inoperable (that's another 5K), and I want to restore another abandoned building to have a class room in the southern end of the island.  This is another $5-7K but what is exciting is that this is part of what used to be St. Mary's parish.  This is the first Catholic church in the outer family islands.  The Rectory is a total loss, the church is termite infested and the roof is unstable, but a side building (the Bakery), is something we can restore and use for CCD classes and parish meetings.  So, with the Archbishops approval we will begin.

Just before the trip to Nassau I began to have a toothache.  I had visited a dentist in Nassau about it and she said that since it already had a cap I would be better served to see and Endodontist (but there are none in the Bahamas).  I'm traveling to the US for my son Mike's wedding OCT 20 so the question was, could I hold out until then.  As the pain grew, a priest from RI serving down here recommended another dentist.

Coincidentally, the Benedictine Sisters were celebrating 75 years of serving here and there was a special liturgy planned that I was going to attend.  So - prior to the service we visited the new dentist.  He thought he could do the root canal so he shot me up with the pain killers, ripped off the cap, and drilled away.  After drilling out both roots he said he didn't like how it looked and took 3 more xrays until he found a crack in the tooth.  Even with the root canal the crack with be a source of pain and the tooth had to go - so, more shots, and out come the pliers.  Suffice it to say I was in no shape to attend the sister's celebration.  Bahamian dentistry is a bit behind US dentistry but the pain is gone.

With Ginni back with me, the first two weeks of OCT saw us kick off CCD once again.  It is the one task that takes the most of our time and this year will be no different.  It was complicated by a school bus accident the first week of school.   The school bus to Cargill Creek had a blowout and drive lost control, with the bus going off the road and into the bush.  It was a total loss, some kids were hurt and had to be flown to Nassau for hospital treatment, but in the end all injuries were minor.  So the High School is down one bus, complicating everyone's life.  To help, rather than waiting for the bus to drop our kids off for CCD, we have started going to the school to pick them up.  The caos when the school bell rings is unreal.  I end up standing by the main gate, directing our kids to the van, while Ginni stays at the van, separating our kids from all the others - a bit of crazy time but it works.

The most recent activity of ours is the parish picnic.  Both Fresh Creek and Cargill Creek parishes came together at the Mt. Pleasant fishing lodge for a BBQ and fun day.  One of our members works at the Dept of Tourism and was a god-send coordinating who would bring what.  It was an all afternoon event with food galore and good people.  I should share about the BBQ and the Creek.
Gas grills never die - they retire to the Bahamas.  Picture a gas grill with no propane, no interior gas works, nothing but the pedestal, grill, and cover.  That is a Bahamian grill - open the cover, fill the interior with drift wood, sticks, whatever else you can gather, light it up and you're ready to cook.  The kids were great at gathering firewood, and once we got it cranked up we actually had to drop some ice onto the coals to cool it down so we could cook - and cook we did.  Ribs, Chicken, Burgers, Dogs - nonstop all afternoon.
The Creek is another story - this resort has a wonderful waterfront but its too rocky and shallow to swim, but our teens found a small sandy beach at the mouth of a creek that feeds the mangrove swamp behind the resort.  Well, the sand was great, but the tide was coming in and, with tropical storm Patty just 200 miles away the current and wind were fierce.  At first it was a great time - you could float and the current would take you on a wonderful ride inland.  Eventually, however, came the realization that the mangrove were so thick you couldn't get out of the creek and had to swim or wade all the way back.  The problem was the creek was to deep to wade and to rapid to swim.  So all our teens - and Ginni and I, basically had to pull ourselves back by going from branch to branch of the mangrove roots and branches.  It took us over a half out to get back - after only a 2-3 minute ride on the tide to get where we were.  This was a bit scary with so many kids in the same boat but eventually we made it.

Today my job is to prepare for the weekend liturgy, then to fly out on Monday to attend my son's wedding on Saturday.  We are looking forward to this big time!

Till next time

Easter Bahama Catholic

Just a quick note:

I just discovered that the website for the Archdiocese of Nassau has begun posting the Bahama Catholic - the Archdiocesan Newspaper for the Archdiocese of Nassau

Here is a link to the Easter edition
http://archdioceseofnassau.org/pdf/Bahamacatholic/BC%20april%20may%202012.pdf

You might want to notice that, on the front page is a collection of pics from the Easter season throughout the Archdiocese and (upper left corner) in includes a white bearded deacon offering a pitcher of oil to the Archbishop during the Chrism Mass.  This was blessed to be the Oil of the Sick, used throughout the parishes of the Archdiocese.

If you scan your way through this edition of the paper you will also find a pic of Ginni and I with our Confirmation Class on page 8.

I can't believe they have the entire paper online now - what a treat
Till next time

Our trip back to MA

Well, as I write this I am at our home in Canton, MA - over the last several months Ginni has been having some health issues and the concensus is her gall bladder needs to come out.  Gin has been having acid reflux issues whenever she eats, sensations of nausea, and a list of other symptoms I won't mention.  After getting clearance from our Bahamas-based health insurance plan, we have discovered golf ball sized gall stones that will not pass, and the only solution is to have the gall bladder removed.

Initially, we planned for her to come back to the US to get this done.  It is day surgery and we've been assured its not a major operation, so I had planned on remaining on Andros. (We haven't had a priest since May and it didn't feel like we were going to get one).

Summer is the worst time to get a priest.  The summer heat forces many of our parishioners to go on vacation to cooler climates where there may actually be activities for the kids to do.  One family goes to TN, another to UT, most to FL or even Nassau.  Our island has very little summer activities for the kids so to visit places where there may be a cinema or a mall (with AC) is a joy.

So - when we got a phone call saying a visiting priest from Italy was coming to Andros we were thrilled.  God's "coincidences" are truely amazing.  So, after spending the first weekend with our guest and showing him around the island, we left him to cover the next 2 weekends.  I will return on 7SEP after he has left.

So, confident that Andros is in good hands, we flew back to Boston.  I was going to be here for 2 weekends so I tried to line up 2 parishes to do mission appeal talks on the weekend and drum up some more donations to build a chapel in North Andros where there has been no Catholic presence in 40 years. (Our last trip home in June generated $8,000 of the $30,000 we need)  The wonderful support of Fr. Culloty at St. Timothy's in Norwood and Deacon Paul Rooney and his pastor Fr. Mulvehill of St. Anthony's in Cohasset went a long way in our being able to beg at those two churches.  On this trip it was too short notice to get a parish for the first weekend so I helped out at St. Timothy's in Norwood.  Even though I had just been there in June and didn't ask for money I was given almost $500 by people at the door on their way out - and others took a flyer I had with me on how to donate via the mail.  Next weekend I will speak at Immaculate Conception in Weymouth, thanks to the support of Deacon Fran Corbett and his pastor Fr. Salmon.  Pray it is a fruitful appeal.

Well, back to Ginni - she has been able to get into work and put in a few days of nursing prior to shutting it down to prep for the surgery.  It will be at a facility in Kenmore Square in Boston and we have already been there twice for pre-op meetings.  This afternoon it will be to meet the anesthsiologist (how do you spell that?).  She also has been having meetings with a physical therapist for her back pain issues - we are getting old (sigh).

So anyway - 4SEP is the date of the surgery and she should feel much better once this is resolved.  Her inability to eat and enjoy food is impacting quality of life and she keeps losing weight as a result (Maybe we could implant that gall stone in me so I could lose a few).

On a lighter note - after preaching the 11 this past weekend at St. Timothy's, while Ginni was working, I found out that Faith and Light was having a picnic at Houghton's Pond.  Faith and Light is a group of mentally challenged adults that meets at St. Timothy's and I used to be the chaplain for that group.  I am trying to get a group like this off the ground on Andros.  Here is a pic of one of my friends on Andros who would really benefit from Faith and Light

Dayshawn has a severe case of Cerebal Palsey and he and his mom would greatly benefit from the support of a Faith and Light chapter - we are in the early phases but it looks like it may become a thriving community over the next year.

Faith and Light is an Intl organization serving the needs of the disabled in our communities and it does great work with these special people of God.  I knew they usually met the last Sunday of the month and I wanted to drop in and visit with my old friends - but a picnic at the Pond was a great gift.

So I run home after the 11, change clothes, put on my Androsia bathing suit and grab a towel and run back to St. Tim's to try to be part of the caravan going off to Houghton's Pond.  I should explain that Houghton's Pond is a wonderful park with BBQ grills, swimming, bath houses with changing rooms, et. al. - a really wonderful facility.  It is also so big if I didn't connect with them at St. Tim's it would be a major deal to try to find what part of the Pond they set themselves up.  So, I literally ran into the house, changed clothes, and ran out - then drove like a crazy person to get there.  Even though I was late, they were still there (tardiness is a Faith and Light trademark).

So we get there and Theresa and Jean had done a ton of leg-work to get everything organized.  Jean's hubby was already cooking burgers and dogs, a few helpers from group homes were there with their crews and all in all we had about 15-20 people with lots of food and companionship.  Seeing my old friends was super and my being there was a huge surprise.  I really had a great time and there was much laughter and "do you remember when" conversations.

If I can get any of the pics Theresa took I will post them in the next blog.
Well enough for now - its off to Kenmore Sq to meet the next Dr.
Till next time
F.