Nazareth House Apostolate

Notice: Some shoes from the container have arrived at St Laurence House this morning!

Last Summer, Nazareth House Supporters helped One Love Foundation of Summit Hill, PA collect shoes to cover all the bare feet we see running around Salone.The collection was a huge success and thousands of donated shoes were packed onto the container and the ship set sail to Sierra Leone. It is now in dock at Freetown and we are awaiting processing of the shoes, hoping for their release someday soon.along with the items on board the container. There is always red-tape involved with customs and things take time. We are very excited for the day when we have all the shoes to give out to our students at our school in Kabala and all the children in Freetown that are patiently waiting.

BUT! IN THE MEANTIME….

A few shoes didn’t make the container and were sent directly to St. Laurence House. We took this opportunity to place them on feet.It was amazing to see the children helping each other to find the best fitting shoe. No-one was greedy, everyone shared. If someone’s shoe was a little snug, they found a smaller foot to put it on. If someone had too big of a shoe…the found a bigger foot. Everyone of those children worked to find the perfect match. Cinderella would have been proud.
As you can see the happy faces on these children, just think when we are literally giving away shoes to thousands of kids! We just can’t wait.

One of the things we enjoy doing while on the ground in Sierra Leone is distributing rice to those we come across as we work our way around the villages & cities.

Its a positive situation all around. We buy the rice from local distributors – this stimulates the economy, helping the the merchants out.Once we bring the rice home and unload it, we begin to distribute to those in need. Families get a break on their food budget, some are so poor that they wouldn’t have eaten with out it, others have small food and this fills bellies a little better.
We like to surprise a family, showing up with Rice when they least expect it. Otherwise, if they know we are coming, they will prepare a meal for us with what little they have and share what could possibly be all they have with us.
Of course, the families that get the rice are always happy to receive it, but its hard to explain unless you’ve experienced the giving in Sierra Leone. The bag of rice is nice, but the gift of the love and caring from the people who have received it is unbelievable. We always come away as the ones who have received the larger gift than a mere bag of rice.

One of the things we enjoy doing while on the ground in Sierra Leone is distributing rice to those we come across as we work our way around the villages & cities.

Its a positive situation all around. We buy the rice from local distributors – this stimulates the economy, helping the the merchants out.Once we bring the rice home and unload it, we begin to distribute to those in need. Families get a break on their food budget, some are so poor that they wouldn’t have eaten with out it, others have small food and this fills bellies a little better.
We like to surprise a family, showing up with Rice when they least expect it. Otherwise, if they know we are coming, they will prepare a meal for us with what little they have and share what could possibly be all they have with us.
Of course, the families that get the rice are always happy to receive it, but its hard to explain unless you’ve experienced the giving in Sierra Leone. The bag of rice is nice, but the gift of the love and caring from the people who have received it is unbelievable. We always come away as the ones who have received the larger gift than a mere bag of rice.

One of the things we enjoy doing while on the ground in Sierra Leone is distributing rice to those we come across as we work our way around the villages & cities.

Its a positive situation all around. We buy the rice from local distributors – this stimulates the economy, helping the the merchants out.Once we bring the rice home and unload it, we begin to distribute to those in need. Families get a break on their food budget, some are so poor that they wouldn’t have eaten with out it, others have small food and this fills bellies a little better.
We like to surprise a family, showing up with Rice when they least expect it. Otherwise, if they know we are coming, they will prepare a meal for us with what little they have and share what could possibly be all they have with us.
Of course, the families that get the rice are always happy to receive it, but its hard to explain unless you’ve experienced the giving in Sierra Leone. The bag of rice is nice, but the gift of the love and caring from the people who have received it is unbelievable. We always come away as the ones who have received the larger gift than a mere bag of rice.

The fun begins for St. Laurence House after packages are fetched from the Post Office. It is always a mystery to see if everything that we sent from America remained in the box.
James will not be alone to investigate the contents.
Soon everyone will gather around around to see what’s inside.
Roo knows that Mama Vicki always sends some kind of goodie especially for him, so he is patiently waiting for that special morsel.Roo has found a child’s toothbrush for himself and takes it to Fr. Seraphim to open. He likes the toothbrush but he is still looking for something else.Ah ha! Lollipops….What joy in his face…
Medicines from St. Charles Anglican Church in Huntsville, Alabama, germ-killing mouthwash, hospital supplies for Kroo Bay. Everything that could possibly be stuffed into a box and weigh in under 20 pounds is crammed inside this tiny box.

Now there was this bag of M&M’s. An object Roo had never seen before. I give him the bag, he opens it, looks at the M&M’s and promptly places the M&M’s in his ears! “No, I say, those are to eat!” “They are not ear plugs!” But by then Roo has figured out how to plug his ears, his nose and his mouth. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone have so much fun with M&M’s!

The fun begins for St. Laurence House after packages are fetched from the Post Office. It is always a mystery to see if everything that we sent from America remained in the box.
James will not be alone to investigate the contents.
Soon everyone will gather around around to see what’s inside.
Roo knows that Mama Vicki always sends some kind of goodie especially for him, so he is patiently waiting for that special morsel.Roo has found a child’s toothbrush for himself and takes it to Fr. Seraphim to open. He likes the toothbrush but he is still looking for something else.Ah ha! Lollipops….What joy in his face…
Medicines from St. Charles Anglican Church in Huntsville, Alabama, germ-killing mouthwash, hospital supplies for Kroo Bay. Everything that could possibly be stuffed into a box and weigh in under 20 pounds is crammed inside this tiny box.

Now there was this bag of M&M’s. An object Roo had never seen before. I give him the bag, he opens it, looks at the M&M’s and promptly places the M&M’s in his ears! “No, I say, those are to eat!” “They are not ear plugs!” But by then Roo has figured out how to plug his ears, his nose and his mouth. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone have so much fun with M&M’s!

The fun begins for St. Laurence House after packages are fetched from the Post Office. It is always a mystery to see if everything that we sent from America remained in the box.
James will not be alone to investigate the contents.
Soon everyone will gather around around to see what’s inside.
Roo knows that Mama Vicki always sends some kind of goodie especially for him, so he is patiently waiting for that special morsel.Roo has found a child’s toothbrush for himself and takes it to Fr. Seraphim to open. He likes the toothbrush but he is still looking for something else.Ah ha! Lollipops….What joy in his face…
Medicines from St. Charles Anglican Church in Huntsville, Alabama, germ-killing mouthwash, hospital supplies for Kroo Bay. Everything that could possibly be stuffed into a box and weigh in under 20 pounds is crammed inside this tiny box.

Now there was this bag of M&M’s. An object Roo had never seen before. I give him the bag, he opens it, looks at the M&M’s and promptly places the M&M’s in his ears! “No, I say, those are to eat!” “They are not ear plugs!” But by then Roo has figured out how to plug his ears, his nose and his mouth. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone have so much fun with M&M’s!

The fun begins for St. Laurence House after packages are fetched from the Post Office. It is always a mystery to see if everything that we sent from America remained in the box.
James will not be alone to investigate the contents.
Soon everyone will gather around around to see what’s inside.
Roo knows that Mama Vicki always sends some kind of goodie especially for him, so he is patiently waiting for that special morsel.Roo has found a child’s toothbrush for himself and takes it to Fr. Seraphim to open. He likes the toothbrush but he is still looking for something else.Ah ha! Lollipops….What joy in his face…
Medicines from St. Charles Anglican Church in Huntsville, Alabama, germ-killing mouthwash, hospital supplies for Kroo Bay. Everything that could possibly be stuffed into a box and weigh in under 20 pounds is crammed inside this tiny box.

Now there was this bag of M&M’s. An object Roo had never seen before. I give him the bag, he opens it, looks at the M&M’s and promptly places the M&M’s in his ears! “No, I say, those are to eat!” “They are not ear plugs!” But by then Roo has figured out how to plug his ears, his nose and his mouth. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone have so much fun with M&M’s!