All in a day's ministry

This week I took Holy Communion to two elderly women who live on the mountain south of the parish.  The mountain walk is about twenty to thirty minutes on a rocky path that is used by people, donkeys, goats, and horses.  Stepping carefully over rocks and around animal poop, I arrived to find the two women in the midst of their daily chores.  They are sisters, never married, and have no children.  They were thrilled with my visit and offered their only chair for me to sit, while they squatted on a rock on the ground.  I set the table for communion on a white corporal that I placed on a tattered woven straw tray that is used to separate millet from its husk.  I look around, taking particular notice to their broken stick and straw house.  Everything on the house is broken…the door, the roof, and the walls.  One strong storm and the house will be down!  Elderly here usually depend on their children to look after them, or a niece or nephew, but these two sisters have nobody.  As I make my way down the mountain trail and across another trail on the way to my next visit, my mind is racing with thoughts on large families, small families, no family.  When I arrive at the home of my next visit, I am greeted by a group of children who lead me to their grandmother.  She is content, sitting on a chair outside her house, which is made of sticks but looks very strong and sturdy.  I set a communion table on a low stone wall that forms the “galri” of her house.  Her grandchildren gather round and we all receive communion.  Her wrinkled face radiates joy!  And I tell her she is beautiful. 

Feeding Program at Ste. Marie Madeleine

     It's so much fun to help serve the school lunch.  Cooks begin early in the morning, crushing spices with their pestle and morter.  By the time I have coffee, the meal is well underway.  Three faithful women cook huge quanties of rice and beans, cooking sauce separately that will later be poured over the rice mixture.  It takes hours to prepare food for over 200 children in an outdoor kitchen.  When lunch is ready, Jabon and Guy carry the largest pots I've ever seen to the porch of the school.  A sturdy table is there that is central to the serving.  Lumenn comes with the aluminum bowls and spoons.  Muriel carries two big pots that will be filled with soap and water for cleaning bowls and spoons, which she washes and rinses as each class is served. Lumenn sits on a low chair with a pot of rice and beans on the floor in front of her.  She scoops from the pot to fill the aluminum bowls.  The first classes are the preschool and kindergarten.  Jabon and Guy serve the younger children in the classroom.  I'm first in line to help.  The young ones make a big mess but eat all the food in their bowls.  The older children, beginning with first grade, form neat lines and with the guidance of the school director, come to the serving table for their meal.  I love to see that the younger children come to the table smiling, talking, and visibly eager to have their lunch.  The older ones kind of swager like typical teenagers.  I note that all the kids are mannerly, saying thank you when handed their food, and are orderly, staying in line waiting their turn.
I know that many have had no food before coming to school, and many will have nothing till tomorrow's lunch.
     After the last student is served and the bowls and spoons are returned, Lumenn, Muriel, Guy, and Jabon carry everything back to the Friendship House yard, where it is all cleaned and organized for tomorrow's lunch.
    

Lunch at Ste. Marie Madeleine School