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 15^th 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 20^th 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 28^th of April)

     On Sunday night (April 29^th) 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 30^{th, 2018})