2015年1月1日木曜日

Merry Chrismas and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year !

We greet the New Year 2015.  I express my New Year greetings to all of you, and I hope for your happiness and health.  I also wish for walking together with Sierra Leone, with Sisters, and with Benefactors, secondary to last year.
The Christmas and New Year Message from Sr. Elisa Padilla, the supervisor of OLG Schools in Lunsar, to benefactors of “Walking Together” arrived on 30th December.
Reading the letter from Sr. Elisa, I appreciate all of benefactors that I knew our support had made good use of the people in Lunsar in a state of emergency.
Katujiro Kanno
Director of Walking Together




          OH COME LET US ADORE HIM

Dear members for Walking Together, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year !

As the shepherds did 2000 years ago, Sierra Leone is bending down her knees to adore the Child that is born to us. We, Sierra Leonean, have many things in common. We like Him have knocked at many doors some opened to offer room. Others instead shared with us, they did not.
Oh come, come let us adore Christ!”. Let us adore his divine will because He knows what is good for us. “Bestow upon us the grace of faith and hope that you watch over us with love and providence and that your will for us is always good”. This is the prayer recited every day by many sierra Leoneans. Surprisingly, no one has ever questioned God for what is happening to us on the contrary we are ever more closely follow HIM.
Just before the days of Christmas, we were able to move around , from your feeding support , we could distribute 450 bags of rice plus rice and all the ingredients (rice, palm oil, salt, fish, groundnuts, tomato paste, ground nut oil, pepper for 2 weeks) to more than 30 families to those in quarantine, to the survivors, the poor, the needy and the lonely in Lunsar and the surrounding villages; ingredients and rice to 50 families at Kailahun for 2nd tim300 bags of rice at Mange Bureh Primary Pupils and Mambolo village 500 ;. For OLG 200 students we have finished 2nd week of December.  All this was possible due to the help we receive from “walking together” and other many generous people. We ended up tired but appreciating the help of many of you. So many smiles dances of gratitude, all embracing a big THANKI, THANKI. We too want to say thank you to you since without your help we would not have been able to reach so many and assist to those in need after the holydays.
This Christmas was a quiet one as just on the eve of the celebrations a lock down was announced as people are still dying of ebola in several places this time the most affected are Kono, Yele, Lungi, Portloko and Freetown. No one was expected to be on the streets from 24th to 28th December inclusive. Only Christmas Mass was allowed on 25th and all celebrations should end before 5pm. Many people reacted as we were caught unaware. No preparation was made particularly in the feeding side… It was impossible for people that struggle every day for their bread to store food for five days!!! Thank God, Caritas intevened and people have been allowed to sell in the market from 6am to 5pm every day. No other activity should take place.
Christmas this year focus on the real meaning of the celebration. Our masses lasted for almost four hours but He was at the centre of everything!! Our prayer is the one of St. Paul  2nd Cor. 1, 10-11. “ He rescued us from such great danger of death, and he will continue to rescue us; in Him we have put our hope that he will also rescue us again, as you help us with prayer. So that thanks may be given by many on our behalf for the gift granted us through the prayers of many”.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!
Clarissan Missionary Sisters Lunsar
Sr. Elisa