Goodbye to Vitalis

Our Nigerian Seminarian took his leave of us having finished his year of work and returned home and Please God to continue his final four years of Study and Theology before being ordained as a Priest of St. Patrick's Missionary Society. Already we are missing his musical presence!!!

Of course we had to have a party!!

Cutting the cake.

Vitalis, Daniel (Catechist) and me.

Vitalis and Dora (Parish Secretary)
Vitalis (on arrival here July 2007)

Sunday Lunch Invitation

Some Sundays thankfully we receive an invitation to go for lunch in one of the homes. This day it was the house of one of our catechists and it was a whole family affair with grannys and great grannys. Their house was in the next street to us.

The local street

Derek & Vitalis with the family

No problem getting kids to pose for a photo or smile here.
Grace before meals
Granny and grandchild.

A few Visits

Here are a few images from my visits to four of our 30 communities. São Lourenço, São Rafael, São Zacarias, and Santa Catarina.

São Lourenço

The busy main street (if you could call it that) of São Lourenço.

The local milk lorry which collects the milk from the lanes and farms, and brings it to the main lorry when it arrives in the community. I think it is built locally or more politically correct, rescued locally!

The local shop and bar. The energy for the fridge comes from a generator and so he is the only on in the area with cold drinks.

After celebrating Mass we were invited back to a local house for lunch. We go to a different house on each visit and so is a great way to get to know the people of the area since we can only visit our 30 churches once a month.

This kitchen impliment is used to prepare "mandioca", very similar to a potato but is part of the root of a tree. Nice kitchen floor.

The boss of the house, the hat went on for the photo.

São Rafael

A local family and our hosts.

All smiles at the back door.

The back yard was a regular Noah's Ark of animals.

Pig wallowing under the sick outside.

The back yard

São Zacarias
Vitalis giving the sermon

A photo shot at the well. Water - there is either too much of it or too little. I particularly like the oil can for a bucket.

Santa Catarina

Some of the crowd after Mass.

As always snacks and drinks for all after Mass.

Visit of Katuta

It is not often we get a visitor here in this neck of the woods, so it is worth publishing that fact. A Kenyan student-seminarian called Katuta came to visit he fellow classmate and student Vitalis from Nigeria who was working with us here for the last year. Katuta has been working in São Paulo for the last year. While he was here we used his visit as an excuse to go and visit Leo Dolan who is working in Juruena, and not to waste the journey we visited the far-away community of São Cristóvão (St. Christoper) which was on the road to Juruena. On that journey we came across a BOIADA (Herd of Cattle) or cattle drive which became a good humured photo opportunity.

Boiada on the dirt road

Leaving São Cristóvão.

L-R. Leo Dolan, Derek Byrne, me, and Katuta at a very stylish plastic cup restaurant in Juruena. (Taken by Vitalis)

Vitalis on a Burro.

The Burro or Mule (I supose) is a cross between horse and donkey (I suppose again) is very common here due to the extreme and hard working conditions.

Katuta got a loan of a hat for this shot.

Leo trying his luck.

"Equipa Internacional" (International Team) heading out for a visit to some of the communities. Katuta (Seminarian from Kenya), Ranata (Brazilian Religious Sister), Vitalis (Seminarian from Nigeria) and Derek (Parish Priest from Ireland).

General Eisenhower Warned Us !

I received this interesting email and thought I would pass it on via the blog site.

General Eisenhower Warned Us !

It is a matter of history that when Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, General Dwight Eisenhower, found the victims of the death camps he ordered all possible photographs to be taken, and for the German people from surrounding villages to be ushered through the camps and even made to bury the dead. He did this because he said in words to this effect:

'Get it all on record now - get the films - get the witnesses - because somewhere down the road of history some one will get up and say that this never happened'

This week, the UK removed The Holocaust from its school curriculum because it 'offended' the Muslim population which claims it never occurred. This is a frightening portent of the fear that is gripping the world and how easily each country is giving into it. It is now more than 60 years after the Second World War in Europe ended.

This e-mail is being sent as a memorial,

in memory of the:

6 million Jews,

20 million Russians,

10 million Christians

and 1,900 Catholic priests

who were 'murdered, raped, burned, starved, beat, experimented on and humiliated' while the German people looked the other way! Now, more than ever, with Iran, among others, claiming the Holocaust to be 'a myth,' it is imperative to make sure the world never forgets.

This e-mail is intended to reach 400 million people! Be a link in the memorial and help distribute this around the world. How many years will it be before the attack on the World Trade Center, 'NEVER HAPPENED' because it offends some Muslim in the U.S.???

Do not just delete this message; it will take only a minute to pass this along !

Visit to Catechism Classes

In April we opened our Catechism Programme. Unlike Ireland it cannot be taught in schools as they are state schools, so the parish must make other arrangements. Thankfully we have many dedicated catechists, members of the community, who give their time and energy to teach the young people. We have so many children this year that we are short of space, catechists and even time. Most classes take place at 8 am on a Sunday morning and because of the shortage of space some classes have to take place on Saturday and Friday nights. These photos are of the Sunday morning classes. The old wooden presbytery has been converted into five class rooms, but some of the classes take place in the sacristy, parish office and garage.

Our Nigerian student Vitalis takes a class in the Parish Office.

Pre-catechism class in a spare room off the church. Recently built to be a parish bookshop, but Catechism is a more urgent need.

A class in our garage.

The garage is recently built and thankfully we had the present of mind to tile the floor which makes for easy cleaning. Especially when the jeep or car arrives back in from a drive on the muddy roads.

A class sitting on the floor of the sacristy of the main church.

Converted wooden house class room.

Another class all smiles

More smiles in a small cramped room.

More smiles.

The confirmation class.