April 30, 2018
Here we go again, trying to catch up. We have had several
meetings regarding the church that we would like to build whose name is St.
Therese of Lisieux. Our architect redrafted a shrunk down version of what we
think is more possible than the first, rather ambitious plan. The first plan
had a rather good sized church (maybe able to hold 500 people), built on a
hill, so that the main church would be upstairs, and underneath a part of it
would be the hall. As the costs escalated, it would have come to something like
R2,000,000.00, way out of our range (even is we could get Bill Gates and Warren
Buffet on our side). We took where we are now and designed a much smaller
church that would hold 140 0r 150 worshippers, with a small room tacked on for a security person,
and a couple of rooms for storing things or sacristy or whatever and some
toilets. We figure that it shouldn’t cost more that about R500,000.00
Even that much is pushing our limits. We are now waiting
for a couple of our team to come back with an assessment as to how much for
bricks (or blocks), windows, doors, roof, etc. so that 13 awe can put this
figure before our fund raising committee so that they can get our second fund
raising venture started. We have about R100,000.00 in the bank now, and have
been pledged another R175,000.00 so far. With that we can start with the surrounding
wall, nd maybe a foundation. We also have a volunteer builder who has agreed to
take on the job of doing the actual building. We have lots of people who are
willing to help, but it depends on us getting started so that they can see some
progress, and then the help will follow (hopefully).
I got a parking
ticket for R100. It was unfair because,
although there is a sign indicating that there is a parking machine that has to
be paid, the sign is so obliterated that you can’t read it at all. I took a
picture of it and was determined to go to the court to fight the case, but it
was during our busy, busy, time and I have been there before with the same
complaint, and I had to wait, and wait, and wait, and I just didn’t have time
any more so I just went to the municipality and paid it (sob, sob).
There is a
young girl who has been looked after by our parish leader. But, she was giving
so many problems, even getting her boyfriend to go to the police to report that
her surrogate parents were abusing her. She sneaks, lies, uses her cell phone
to arrange love trysts, etc. and it finally got to the point where she was
refusing to even be in the house so that they had to go to the social worker
and have her put in the custody of the social worker ( in writing, leaving the
family off the hook) and it was then up to her to see what to do with her. She
is 17 and is determined to do her own thing, like spending time with her
boyfriend. It is a recipe for disaster but it had gotten totally out of hand at
home and she just had to go. Maybe the equivalent of a reformatory, as sad as
that is. She was corrupting the other little girls (13 and 9) who were also in
the house with her.
I didn’t have
time to bring communion to the sick until the week of the 15th after
Easter. There are elderly people who can hardly walk and Mike Pillay organized
a whole morning when we could bring them communion and pray with them. They
would have loved to be in Church but it was out of the question because of
their poor health. Mike also takes the pensioners to get their pensions and
some to the hospital who can’t find a lift otherwise. He is dedicated.
An old blind
lady who lived with her daughter and care-giver, passed away that week. She was
blind and they say that she was about 85 yrs. Old, born in ’33. Two years older
than I. These two and the care giver were kind of isolated and had no other
family or friends around so Mike tried to help out by taking them shopping and
for other things too. They were Anglicans, but had no way of knowing where the
Anglican church was or how to get there so we got the permission of our parish
priest to bring them our communion and consider them a part of our catholic
family. Ecumenism at a low level. I was
asked to do the funeral and they said it should be in English. Ha. I hardly do
funerals in English, so I had to go the Paulines to get a funeral booklet in
English. Our faithful parishioners gave
full support by providing a choir (there is no possibility of having any service in Africa, without
singing) , chipping in for expenses (even though they are poor themselves) and
helping with the catering afterwards (in the garage of the church where we did
the funeral mass. It was only when the
reader told us about her life that I heard that she had been a member of the
Congregational church, and now we were bringing her communion as an Anglican
and now was sent off and laid to rest in a Catholic ceremony. Ecumenism at a
grass roots level.
I got my last
medicine scrips filled and had to go to the doctor, Dr. Mlungisi Kheswa, to get
a new scrip good for 6 months.
In between, I
got a few days of grass cutting in and went to visit Mpume at here home. She is
the one who went blind in one eye a few weeks back. I had taken her to an ophthalmologist
who said there is nothing wrong with her eye but it must be an infected nerve
or something. (I may have told you this already) Now she went blind in the
other eye and when I visited her in her one rented room her young cousin was helping her. I reminded
her that she had to go back to the eye hospital to have them check her out again
and if she needed help I would take her there. (she managed with the help of
her cousin to get there----McCord’s hospital). She was admitted and was sent to
a specialist hospital for attention by a specialist.) I visited her in McCord’s
on the 20th and she said that they put her on a drip and put
something in her eyes with a needle, and now she could, with the right eye, read
the top two lines. Progress. When I went back a week later, she could now read
the top 4 lines and could see your hand waving in front of her left eye. I hope
that that is progress.
I also got my
new ID, finally, and am very happy because the picture there is more like a
normal human being (old man) than a terrorist, like the last picture.
I have been
trying, with the help of the donations you give, to help a poor woman to get
her house roof repaired as it leaks like a sieve. I already paid for the
material, but now we needed the person who would do the actual repairs. So I
took her home so that I could see for myself what had to be done and took pictures
of the leaking roof with my cell phone. I asked to see the builder and, when he
came, I told him that I would pay him R2500 to begin with, and when he was
finished, I would come and have a look, and if I was happy, would give him the
other R2500. That is about $500 for labor. It will take him about 4 or 5 days I
am guessing. We shall see.
One day, after
cutting grass in the morning, I went to take a shower. One of the ladies had
cleaned in my bathroom and the tile floor was still wet. I didn’t notice that.
So when I walked in, I just went flying and landed flat on my back on that hard
tile floor. Ha. It was like a cartoon you might see in a movie. But, nothing
broken or even hurt or strained, but I must have banged my hand somewhere when
I went flying because is was bleeding healthily. I didn’t dare to try to dry myself
off with our WHITE towel, so I patted myself down a bit, put a bandage on (with
a good smear of Watkin’s Petro Carbo Salve to do it’s healing thing and to
prevent the bandage from sticking to the wound) and then came back and got my
self dried and blessed. I thanked the Lord. It could have been bad.
A few days ago,
a friend who moved to Ireland came back for part business and part to visit
family and friends. He is a musician, and, soon to be 76yrs. Old, and is well
known in our parts from his younger days when he played in a famous band. In
the meantime, after starting the charismatic movement here in SA, (he is a
catholic in his roots), he started his own ministry using music to evangelize
and heal people. Although he is full time in Ireland now (not far from Cork),
he comes back here from time to time to do some services here as well as to
visit friends and family.
He was asked to
support an effort to raise money for a Sport’s club that helps physical
training of physically challenged children in more than 20 schools. Since he is
well known in music circles, his name was like a draw card for people. There
was a dance to raise those funds and he did some playing and singing himself in
support of the effort. I was also invited, and was only too happy to shake my bones
a bit. (As you probably know or guessed, I inherited my love for dancing from
my mother.) The band could see a lot of gray-heads and aimed lots of the music
towards us old timers which made is super enjoyable. In between I was able to
visit a lot of friends since we move mostly in the same circles and since I say
Mass at their parishes from time to time. Well, I really enjoyed myself and got
plenty of exercise that afternoon sliding into evening--- at least 15 dances. Enough for and old guy
like me. All with friends and some with kids whom I helped to grow up and who
now have their own families. I also managed to make a contact through one of
these friends with a young doctor of ophthalmology in training who is working
at the same hospital as Mpume. She promised to check the doctors who are taking
car of her and then will let me know what is going on and will visit her as
well. Nice. (That was on Saturday the 28th of April)
On Sunday
night (April 29th) after a 10am mass and after a visit to a
community of the sisters of Mother Theresa to check with dates they want me to
come and celebrate with them, I went to
one of the families who are hosting my friend from Ireland and his daughter
(who I danced with at least three times. She was born with deformed feet and
hands and has had a tough struggle to get to where she is now, able to use her
hands and feet and to dance. She is an inspiration to us.) There was a Braai (a
cook out) and when we sat down at the table together, our friend began to share some of his experiences with
bad spirits who had to be forced out of some people, always, In Jesus’ Name. It
was an informative and spiritual evening and we were all grateful for the
sharing that took place that evening. There are some things that I have to think
over but there is no doubt that people came closer to Jesus because of the
witnessing that evening, and the challenging to Christians to shape up and be
not dead but living Christians.
Well, that’s it
for now. This morning, last day of April, I topped up the oil in my little
Hyundai, and bought some coolant and topped up that too so that it continues to
run nicely. I would be dead in the water without wheels.
Love and Peace, Cas. (Mon. evening, 8:30pm, April 30th,
2018)
