I'm back
Sr Anne making her appeal
Sr Marie and myself in Oxford.
Srs Marie, Anne and Jennifer at Bowdon
Hello everyone. (My new e-mail address is mailto:frkjones(@)btinternet.com)
I am so sorry that I have left it so long to up date my blog. Since I have been back I havn't really stopped. I have had a lot of visitors and I have been trying unsuccessfully to re-connect with a lot of old friends. I think it is a sign of old age when there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day to do all I want, and yet at the same time think that I havn't really done much at all. I remember in my young days getting up at half past four in the morning for work and being out of the house by 4.45 am and by that time I would have had a wash, cup of coffee and a biscuit. Now it takes me half an hour just to get out of bed.The last three months has been a busy time. Soon after the three fathers from Australia left at the end of July two sisters from Myanmar arrived on my door step. They were expected so my two old Burmese friends came over to my place to look after them and feed them while I decamped to the Sandhurst house which was and still is under renovation. (I am assured that it will be finished in two to three weeks. I wait in anticipation though it is starting to look good.)
The two sisters are from the order of St Joseph of the Apparition. A teaching order that was specifically for the poor and for orphans. It was started by a St Emily of France in the 19th century and spread all over the world. The sisters made a foundation in Myanmar in the late 19th century and were doing a lot of good work and vocations to the order were very good. But as we know the military Junta took over in the sixties and expelled all westerners and their dependants. All the western sisters had to leave and it was left to the Burmese sisters to carry on St Emily’s vision. The Military Junta confiscated all the sister’s schools and left them with no money or income. They were allowed to keep their living quarters and the chapels they had but nothing more. Yet even out of this loss the sisters regrouped and again began to look after the poor and orphans and educate them. Our Parish in Sandhurst and Crowthorne have adopted them and we support them with money so that they can feed, clothe and educate the children under their care. At the moment we are sponsoring and collecting to build and orphanage in Hmauby an extremely poor area just outside Yangon (formerly known as Rangoon). We hope to raise £25,000 and I have just sent the sisters £10,000 that our parish in Crowthorne and Sandhurst have just raised. so only £15,000 to go. If you would like to help in this parish project any cheques would be welcomed made payable to the Burma Orphanage Appeal c/o Immaculate Conception Church 63/67 York Town Rd Sandhurst Berks GU74 9BS.
Sr Marie and Sr Anne came to our parish to make an appeal and they were very well received and enjoyed their stay. They met the Burma Orphanage Appeal committee and thanked them for all they were doing and how much they appreciated all their hard work. I ask you all to keep them in your prayers at this present time as their community house is very near The Shwedagon Pagoda where all the trouble is. It must be a very worrying time for them as it is for all their friends here in the Uk. We are all keeping them in our prayers here in Sandhurst and Crowthorne. Sisters I know they have blocked your e-mail but you maybe able to see the blog if so we are all thinking of you and praying hard that peace will come to your country soon and that you will be able to get on with the good work that you are doing in the Lord's vineyard
During my stay in Burma I was sadden and angry at the mis-use of power there. You have the extremely rich who are mainly the ruling Junta and the very very poor. The ruling Army chiefs have no concern for the majority of the people and all they are worried about is keeping control of the reins of power so that they and their families can live privileged lives on the riches that belong to all the people. Hopefully their mis-rule will come to an end quickly, but I am afraid history tells us a different story as they will hang on to it as long as they can. However history also tells us that these despots rules always come to an end as we have seen in Russia in our modern times. All we pray for that it will soon be over for the people of Myanmar and that this peaceful and lovely people will have the peace and justice that they deserve.
The two sisters are from the order of St Joseph of the Apparition. A teaching order that was specifically for the poor and for orphans. It was started by a St Emily of France in the 19th century and spread all over the world. The sisters made a foundation in Myanmar in the late 19th century and were doing a lot of good work and vocations to the order were very good. But as we know the military Junta took over in the sixties and expelled all westerners and their dependants. All the western sisters had to leave and it was left to the Burmese sisters to carry on St Emily’s vision. The Military Junta confiscated all the sister’s schools and left them with no money or income. They were allowed to keep their living quarters and the chapels they had but nothing more. Yet even out of this loss the sisters regrouped and again began to look after the poor and orphans and educate them. Our Parish in Sandhurst and Crowthorne have adopted them and we support them with money so that they can feed, clothe and educate the children under their care. At the moment we are sponsoring and collecting to build and orphanage in Hmauby an extremely poor area just outside Yangon (formerly known as Rangoon). We hope to raise £25,000 and I have just sent the sisters £10,000 that our parish in Crowthorne and Sandhurst have just raised. so only £15,000 to go. If you would like to help in this parish project any cheques would be welcomed made payable to the Burma Orphanage Appeal c/o Immaculate Conception Church 63/67 York Town Rd Sandhurst Berks GU74 9BS.
Sr Marie and Sr Anne came to our parish to make an appeal and they were very well received and enjoyed their stay. They met the Burma Orphanage Appeal committee and thanked them for all they were doing and how much they appreciated all their hard work. I ask you all to keep them in your prayers at this present time as their community house is very near The Shwedagon Pagoda where all the trouble is. It must be a very worrying time for them as it is for all their friends here in the Uk. We are all keeping them in our prayers here in Sandhurst and Crowthorne. Sisters I know they have blocked your e-mail but you maybe able to see the blog if so we are all thinking of you and praying hard that peace will come to your country soon and that you will be able to get on with the good work that you are doing in the Lord's vineyard
During my stay in Burma I was sadden and angry at the mis-use of power there. You have the extremely rich who are mainly the ruling Junta and the very very poor. The ruling Army chiefs have no concern for the majority of the people and all they are worried about is keeping control of the reins of power so that they and their families can live privileged lives on the riches that belong to all the people. Hopefully their mis-rule will come to an end quickly, but I am afraid history tells us a different story as they will hang on to it as long as they can. However history also tells us that these despots rules always come to an end as we have seen in Russia in our modern times. All we pray for that it will soon be over for the people of Myanmar and that this peaceful and lovely people will have the peace and justice that they deserve.
posted by Fr Kevin @ 9:41 pm
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