THE GOOD NEWS
ARCHBISHOP BELTRAN
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January 1, 2006 The Good News ...New Year’s Greetings It is my sincere wish and deepest desire that you will experience a very blessed and happy and holy New Year. I hope and pray that throughout 2006 we will all discover the fuller beauty and truth of our Catholic faith. May we recognize the priority of that faith in our daily lives and give praise and thanks to the Lord Jesus. The years pass by quickly and sometimes we fail to take advantage of the time, the opportunities, the graces that God gives us. Perhaps this year, 2006, can be different. Perhaps it can be better. Perhaps this will be the year of real progress and genuine renewal. For this I hope and pray. In this spirit of joy and enthusiasm, I greet all of you and again wish you a most blessed and happy and holy New Year. Following these greetings, I share with you a letter of gratitude from my sister in Africa. This letter reflects the living vibrant faith we can experience by trusting in the Lord in this new year. Deus Meus Et Omnia Thanksgiving and Christmas 2005 Dearly Beloved and Most Precious Co-Missionaries- - who, next to Our Almighty Lord and Mother Mary, we are totally dependent upon for survival. We are so blessed that each of you has personally taken such a tremendous interest in the poor abandoned children of Liberia. You have eagerly watched them grow from disabled little ones into self sufficient educated young adults who have now taken their place as leaders, educators, nurses, accountants and very special children of God. We are so grateful this Thanksgiving for all of you who have continued to support us through wars, uprisings, exile, repatriation and yes, even fires and corruption. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of this old nun’s most grateful heart. Every graduation brings more surprises and additional joys. Children who came to me at the ages of three or six now graduating and going on to pursue secret dreams they have had and are finally divulging. “Sister, may I go to college? May I join the prayer house and devote my life to God? May I go to computer school and then come back and teach the other deaf children the skills I learn?” It boggles my mind for as with my own mother who had eight children time has passed so quickly. As I look at each one receive their diploma a flash photo appears before my eyes and I remember all too well how that three year old came to me covered with sores, suffering from tuberculosis of the spine and unable to speak, sit up or even take fluids. Each story is unique and each of these children have worked so hard to recover, so hard to learn and so hard to feel good about themselves. They approach the podium with their heads elevated, proud with what they have achieved and happy to be a graduate of Our Lady of Fatima Community School. All of this because of the Power of Prayer and your benevolent generosity. You had faith in the “witched” children of Liberia. “Disability does not mean Inability”, continues to be their cry. Let me bring you up to date on what is happening on campus. We have over 900 poor children enrolled in the school and 15 in college and many more in trade schools. In the last year we have accepted 12 new children who suffer from the affects of polio, cystic fibrosis, scoliosis, cancer, kidney disease and now our first group of mentally challenged youngsters who were found chained to adults in a so called orphanage. Our poor storeroom clinic without adequate ventilation or space continues to deliver babies night and day and caters to the rehab residents as well as the school children and their families and all of our refugee neighbors who continue to live in horrible camps all around us. I cannot adequately express the tremendous need to get this new clinic up and as soon as possible. These arc difficult times around the world and donations are down by 80 percent. At this time we pray each week just to have enough to meet the daily needs of the children. We are making a difference and that is most important. We have begun a prenatal clinic and have baby day every week where mothers can receive a little food, baby clothes and education. We are the only clinic who will see patients for free and without us so many would die. To see happy bouncing babies and to be able to count twins and yes even a set of triplets each week is a blessing in itself. Prior to our starting this clinic most believed multiple births were abnormal so the smaller or weaker child was allowed to die. Just this past week a young mother who had not known about our twindays arrived with all the others. She was so sad and her babies were dehydrated and dying. “Sister, look at my babies, they are so small and weak.” After speaking with her at some length I told her that her children would soon look just as well as the others if she followed the instructions and came every week. She left with a smile on her face and in a country that is so poor and where the people have suffered so much this was just another affirmation from the Mother of God that Life not War is so important - saving one life at a time for Jesus and Our Immaculate Mother. Let me tell you about our marvelous prayer house and how we are finally forming a little lay order - The Franciscans of Divine Mercy. This has always been my greatest dream and without our prayer house and Perpetual Adoration none of this would be happening. We pray around the clock and even the little ones say four rosaries a day !!! They come an hour ahead of time and always tell me I’m late for Jesus!! They arc so enthusiastic about praying for peace and life- - how could God possibly not love His little ones? Oh, how good the Almighty has been to me. Here in my eighties, I am joyful, happy and so grateful for all of you. Did I tell you we have another Saint? Tom was about 9 years old when he came to us within the last year. He had a kidney disorder which made him very weak but he was such a bright little boy and he wanted to go to school. In March, my Brother Archbishop Beltran baptized him and Tom was so happy. He prayed with such devotion and fervor and it was evident he was very special. He began to fail and we would have to send him to the hospital frequently for transfusions. He suffered so very much and we began to pray for intercession to John Cardinal O’Connor of New York. Tom would rally for a while and then end up back in the hospital. Eliza, who is studying nursing would stop by to care for him or see him after classes and he would be crying out. Please tell Sister to pray harder for me.” One month ago His heavenly Father and Mother came to take him home. So, we have been blessed with another saint of our own to intercede for us and for you. Rebels continue to roam throughout the countryside and at night you hear them pillaging and pilfering some of our neighbors tiny mud huts. The screaming is horrible and when it awakens the children they know enough to pray. Three of our own workers have had their tiny huts attacked and everything taken. It is so sad for everyone. Let me tell you about Ben and his family. This was an educated gentleman who taught math in our school. About two years ago he came to me carrying a set of twins (a little boy and a little girl). He was despondent-His wife had developed a terrible infection after the children were born and had died. He no longer could work as someone had to care for the babies and his other four children. This poor man and what beautiful babies. The four older children were attending our school and he so wanted them to continue to receive an education. I told him he could work the late shift in the school when his oldest would be at home to care for the babies. He was so grateful and when Angie was here in April she visited Ben’s home. It is a very tiny one room hut where they all sleep, eat and play on the dirt floor. Poor doesn’t begin to describe it. Last week the rebels attacked his hut and took the few books, clothes and food they had. He is just so grateful that the children’s lives were spared. When the container comes in we will try and help him with a few necessities. There arc so many stories like Ben’s. I think back to 1970 when I first arrived in Liberia and how beautiful it was. Yes, we had poor but they survived on the fruits of their little gardens and they had a little tea to share. Today, Liberia is so tragic. Refugee camps without sanitation continue to be campgrounds for thousands. There arc few jobs available, little food and few basics. True, there are aid agencies in the country but there are so many in dire need that supplies are stretched to the limit. We have just had our first election or should I say our second in one month as on the first round neither candidate received 51 percent of the vote. This time once again there was difficulty and the winner is now being challenged. Pray for us that we just get a leader who will care about the people and use funds to provide them with food, homes, and peace. This is a country rich in natural resources - oil, diamonds, and rubber. Unfortunately power and corruption abounds and funds never reach the people. They just go towards padding the pockets of the rich and it is always the innocent who suffer. This has been a very rough year around the world with tsunami’s, earthquakes, mudslides, war and corruption. There is so much pain and suffering. Mary warned all of us at Fatima that we must say the rosary daily, sacrifice and make reparation for sin. Too few are listening. Please listen to me and get to know YOUR MOTHER and HER SON. You are in our prayers, please keep us in yours as we continue to walk in prayer with Jesus andMary. A blessed Th anksgiving and a wondrous Christmas to all of you and your families. You are LOVED! Sister Sponsa Beltran For further information about Sister Sponsa’s missionary efforts go to www.ourladyoffatimarehab.org. |