+ PASCHA WISHES

CHRIST IS RISEN

DEAR SISTERS, FRIENDS, AND BENEFACTORS!

Everything became clear on Easter Morning

Life conquered death

The Lord, our Almighty God has triumphed

and His Kingdom will have no end.

MAY THE RISEN CHRIST

fill your hearts with faith,

that He is the only One Source of Life.

We wish you, your families and friends

 a blessed Easter Time!

Alleluia!!!   

        

                                  The Sisters of Kamchatsky,

                                   SM Jana and SM Donata

Петропавловск-Камчатский, ПАСХА 2012г.

+HE HAS LOVED US UNTO HIS DEATH

We are entering into the most beautiful and profound time of the mysteries of our faith. The Paschal Triduum is the time of silence, prayer and adoration and than tremendous joy, singing, and dancing– JESUS HAS LOVED US UNTO HIS DEATH! Without love no one can understand God who alone is pure love. The time of Lent went quickly. The words JESUS HAS LOVED US UNTO HIS DEATH have echoed in our hearts each day as we saw them in our chapel decoration. We prayed the Stations of the Cross every Friday and on Sundays we sang Gorzkie Żale , which are the Lamentations of  Mary the Sorrowful Mother  in order to express our love towards Jesus and Mary.

 

You are the Lamb who does not open your mouth, you are the Lamb born of the Virgin Mary!

+ A GREAT HEART

Dear friends!

On behalf of Andriej, Nastia and their children I would like to thank all of you for your prayer, support, and donations. They are grateful that they have each other and people around them who express the goodness of their hearts by helping them in different ways. There is a chance that they will soon have their own place to live. The governor has promised to help in this matter. For now, we are sure of one thing;  we will start to build a new house for them during the summer months. Why in the summer? Because here, in Kamchatka, spring is like winter. J There is one more reason for joy, namely, Andriej won in Берингии which is Beringia. It is worth looking at the website БЕРИНГИЯ - традиционная камчатская гонка на собачьих упряжках. Берингия (Beringia) is dog sled racing through the northern parts of the Tayga and Tundra of the Kamchatsky region. There are no roads. The first “Beringia” race was held in January 1991and since then it has become an annual tradition. Each year the distance differs between 590 - 1149 miles. This year’s distance was 683 miles. The race begins in the village Esso and finishes in Ossora. Today, in the southern part of Kamchatka, dog sled racing is a sport. However, in the regions of northern Kamchatka and the Chukchi Peninsula dog sledding is just a means of transportation. Andriej set a new record in a field of time ridding the dogs. He received a monetary prize of  $10232.00. This will at least help them to build the new house. God is taking care of us all the time.

+ PRAYER IS NEEDED

Dear friends,

We are an urgent appeal for your prayers for Nastia and Andriej and their children. You are familiar with this family from our previous stories on this blog. They are the husky dog owners and we were at their house during our trips to the Taiga. They are in a very difficult situation right now. Their house burned down on Saturday. They lost everything. They have 4 children and Nastia is expecting their 5^th child. They are lucky that no one was in the house when the fire started. The house was made of wood so after two hours there was nothing left but ashes. Besides this, they have lived in the Taiga, as you know, therefore by the time the firefighters came there was nothing left to save. You need to remember that there is still a lot of snow here and this made it difficult for the firefighters to get there quickly. For the present time we are trying to help them as much as we are able. Right now they are living in the rectory and in our house. We take care of their children and prepare meals for them. Our parishioners are also involved in helping Nastia and Andriej with providing material and prayerful assistance. In May, when the snow melts, we will help to build a new house for them.

Your prayers are most appreciated. 

If you would like to also offer a donation to assist them, you can send the money to our bank account with the note “For Nastia and Andriej.”

  Their house was a simple one but always full of love and warmth

  There was nothing left only love and hope

The whole family a few hours before the fire started

 

+ CLOSER TO GOD AND CLOSER TO ONE ANOTHER

On the January 21^st we took a group of children, for a second time, to our friends Nastia and Andriej who live in the Tayga. This was a chance for another encounter with God in order to get closer to God and to one another. By the way, we all know very well that God loves these children very much so He always gives us beautiful weather whenever we go somewhere with them. We can only praise God with our whole hearts for this! After a several week long purga, there was wonderful sunny weather without any wind on Saturday. In the photos you can see our gorgeous volcanos: Koryaksky and Avachinsky. Sister Donata was our chief cook so no one was hungry. Our Pastor and Sister Jana were responsible for organizing games for children. Fr. John and Nastia prepared a Husky sleigh ride. It was a pure joy:). The photos will help you see and imagine what our trip to the Tayga was like.

 

  We arrive. The walk was good for everyone 

 The story about the Three Kings is interesting:) 

  The way to Bethlehem is found. There is need for the children to color the picture

  The joy of a Husky sleigh ride 

 The Huskies are strong dogs 

 A short rest

 We wonder whether a bear will be afraid of us or not? We are dressed in the national costume of the Koryaksky region. It is beautiful, isn’t it?

 Everything was just wonderful:)

+ MILKOWO

The things we need for our trip are already packed. After the Eucharist, Father Christopher and I are going to Milkowa to search for the Christians. The distance from Pietropavlovsk to Milkowa is around 300 kilometers (186.34 miles) and it is paved road. On our way we can see the mountains covered with snow and Tayga, but no people. From time to time we pass some cars. The temperature is between -19to – 30 C (-2.20 to -22.00 Fahrenheit). We are praying the rosary for the intention of the Milkowa inhabitants. Recently one family has called us from Milkowa and asked that Mass be celebrated there. So we are going with the hope that we will meet them and pray together with them. We do not know this family. We reached the city in the evening. The very next  morning we walked through the city, like the  Apostles, displaying the posters with the invitation for the Eucharist on noticeboards and in the stores. We are looking for Christians and we are not afraid of the freezing weather. There is no chapel here in Milkowa. We will have the Mass in an apartment that is undergoing some repairs. It is a very simple place. While praying in this empty, unpainted room a thought came into my mind – without God our hearts are like this room – gray, shapeless, vague, and empty. Only when we let God do something will He be able to perform a miracle. It is better to give Him the paintbrush…

                Unfortunately no one came for the Eucharist. Fr. Christopher tried to call the family who invited us a few times but no one answered the phone. On that day the Gospel was about the call of the first Apostles from the Gospel of John. At first, two disciples heard what John the Baptist said and followed Jesus. One of them was Andrew and he brought his own brother Simon to Jesus. They were not looking for something but for someone. And they found SOMEONE. How many times will we have to walk through the streets of Milkowa in order to bring someone to Jesus? We sow but the harvest is in God’s hand.

                After celebrating the Eucharist we went to see Igor, the pastor of Pentecostal Church. He invited us for supper. We met his wife Olga, his daughter Glafira, and his sister Walentyna. Our bodies as well as our spirits were strengthened during this visit. After supper Igor pulled out a “bajana” and we started singing. Then Fr. Christopher played the guitar and we sang carols in Polish and in Russian. It was a real concert for Jesus.

                We concluded our stay in Milkowa with the celebration of Morning Prayer and the Eucharist. We arrived back home in the evening. Then Mrs. Nadieżna called us from Milkowa. She read about the Eucharist on one of the posters. She was confused about the time for Eucharist and came in the evening when we were already in Pietropavlovsk. It was not in vain; even though we have not meet…. this time.

 

Our destination

And He sent them by two
 

The temperature during the day  

That all may know

 The Lord is coming

 Our meeting comes to an end

+ A CHRISTMAS CAROL CONCERT

On Christmas Day, after the Eucharist, a Christmas carol concert was held. Recovering alcoholics from an alcoholic center and some Protestants, present for Mass, participated in this concert with us and this made it very special. We Felician sisters were the representatives of the parish. All sang with their whole hearts. We can easily say that all of heaven was singing with us.

 1 choir

 2 choir

 3 choir

 All of us!