Nazareth House Apostolate

“Don’t be naive. There are difficult times ahead. As the end approaches, people are going to be self-absorbed, money-hungry, self-promoting, stuck-up, profane, contemptuous of parents, crude, coarse, dog-eat-dog, unbending, slanderers, impulsively wild, savage, cynical, treacherous, ruthless, bloated windbags, addicted to lust, and allergic to God. They’ll make a show of religion, but behind the scenes they’re animals. Stay clear of these people.”


I like the punch of the Peterson Translation of the Bible – The Message.  It says it how it is.  The KJV is my favorite translation but I still love the hard-hitting, to the point of The Message.   

At Nazareth House Apostolate we certainly have no blind eye to the fact that “difficult times” are around and will always be around.  We are not overwhelmed, we are not discouraged – we live in the moment, dealing with each moment as it comes.  

That is where God is – in the moment and if we try to get out of that moment by taking a pill, going shopping, whatever it is we do to escape what is in the moment – we are also escaping God.  He is in the moment – good or bad.  

“I’ve never, as you so well know, had any taste for wealth or fashion. With these bare hands I took care of my own basic needs and those who worked with me. In everything I’ve done, I have demonstrated to you how necessary it is to work on behalf of the weak and not exploit them. You’ll not likely go wrong here if you keep remembering that our Master said, ‘You’re far happier giving than getting.'” The Message (MSG) Acts 20:35

James must make a trip in Freetown each month to obtain supplies and receive the NHA Support.  Its a treacherous drive and even though roads may be improving (construction-wise) the drivers are not.  The better the road the faster they drive, the more chances they take.   I beg you to keep James in your prayers as he travels to and from Kabala every month.  

Just this week he encountered another accident along the way.   Two lives were extinguished in this mangled mess of metal.  James is at the added danger of not having his own vehicle. He must be at the mercy of the hired drivers – many simply out to make a buck in the fastest manner they can.  They have no regard for safety – only to acquire the fare.   The quicker they take a paid passenger to their destination the quicker they can pick up another passenger and make more money.  

It is imperative that we make headway on the fundraising to buy a vehicle for NHA’s use in Kabala.  There will always be wild drivers on the roads, that is true.  



And having our own vehicle won’t eliminate the chance of an accident caused by other drivers on the road, but it will eliminate the instance of James being in a car with an unruly dangerous driver in which he has no control of how the car is being driven.  Also, many of the cars that provide taxi service are unmaintained, unsafe – which account for many delays do to break-downs.   James has been in cars with virtually no stopping power due to bad brakes, etc.  

First things first: #1: we pray about all that we do or are about to do.  # 2: Next we catch up on the recent shortfall of support we’ve not been able to Sierra Leone recently.  With Christmas charge card bills coming in and taxes due for many, we’ve experienced a bit of a decrease in donations lately and haven’t been able to maintain the monthly support we normally give.  So if you haven’t made your monthly donation recently, if possible please try to do so as soon as possible.  And if you have never given a donation to NHA, now would be the perfect time to become a part of this good work.  

One time donations are very welcomed and needed, however, we are trying to build a dependable budget that shares the responsibility.  Everyone giving a little, rather than two or three giving a lot! Our goal is to get 1000 people giving at least $25 per month. #3: We begin to collect the funding to purchase a NHA Vehicle in Sierra Leone.  James thinks that he can get a decent 4-wheel drive for between $12,000 to $15,000.  We must have a 4 wheel drive to enable us to bring supplies deep into the hidden villages that we serve.  

“Make sure you don’t take things for granted and go slack in working for the common good; share what you have with others. God takes particular pleasure in acts of worship—a different kind of “sacrifice”—that take place in kitchen and workplace and on the streets.”  The Message (MSG) Hebrews 13:16

So we have placed the needs before you, we ask for your help in providing for these hard working people that keep on day after day, making life happen in the most deplorable conditions. 

1. Wash the hands to the wrists:  “May these hands be instruments of peace”
2. Then cup a handful of water to the lips with the right hand, rinsing the mouth three times: “May this mouth speak only the pleasing words, the healing words, the truthful words”.
3. Then lightly snuff water into the nose three times, which has remarkably brightening effect on the senses: “May I long for the sweet fragrance of His Presence.” 
4. Then wash the whole face and eyes: “May this face shine with the light of His countenance. May these eyes see the hand of the Creator everywhere they look.” 
5. Clean the ears by inserting the tips of the index finger wetted with water into the ears, twist them around the folds of the ears then pass the thumb behind the ears from the bottom, upwards, and then over the nape of the neck: “May these ears hear only the resonance of His Word; may this neck bend in humility to the One.” 
6. Wash the feet (right foot first) up to the ankles, making sure that no parts of the feet are left dry: “May these feet walk on holy ground.”