Nazareth House Apostolate

August 10 is the Feast Day of St. Laurence, the patron Saint of our Nazareth House
in Freetown, Sierra Leone is named.

The account of St. Laurence (sometimes spelled Lawrence) follows. You will understand why St. Laurence House was named for this martyr…Sierra Leone is full of the
“treasures of the church”, the poor.

James and Kadijah named their little son in honor of this saint. Although we all lovingly know him as “Roo”, his full name is Laurence Thomas Mansaray.

Saint Laurence was one of seven deacons who were in charge of giving
help to the poor and the needy. When a persecution broke out, Pope St.
Sixtus was condemned to death. As he was led to execution, Laurence
followed him weeping, “Father, where are you going without your
deacon?” he said. “I am not leaving you, my son,” answered the Pope.
“in three days you will follow me.” Full of joy, Laurence gave to the
poor the rest of the money he had on hand and even sold expensive
vessels to have more to give away.

The Prefect of Rome, a greedy pagan, thought the Church had a great
fortune hidden away. So he ordered Laurence to bring the Church’s
treasure to him. The Saint said he would, in three days. Then he went
through the city and gathered together all the poor and sick people
supported by the Church. When he showed them to the Prefect, he said:
“This is the Church’s treasure!”

In great anger, the Prefect condemned Laurence to a slow, cruel death.
The Saint was tied on top of an iron grill over a slow fire that
roasted his flesh little by little, but Laurence was burning with so
much love of God that he almost did not feel the flames. In fact, God
gave him so much strength and joy that he even joked. “Turn me over,”
he said to the judge. “I’m done on this side!” And just before he
died, he said, “It’s cooked enough now.” Then he prayed that the city
of Rome might be converted to Jesus.

May you have a blessed St. Laurence Day and remember the poor and the hungry.

In one of the photos above a child is holding a Holy Card of St. Laurence…

August 10 is the Feast Day of St. Laurence, the patron Saint of our Nazareth House
in Freetown, Sierra Leone is named.

The account of St. Laurence (sometimes spelled Lawrence) follows. You will understand why St. Laurence House was named for this martyr…Sierra Leone is full of the
“treasures of the church”, the poor.

James and Kadijah named their little son in honor of this saint. Although we all lovingly know him as “Roo”, his full name is Laurence Thomas Mansaray.

Saint Laurence was one of seven deacons who were in charge of giving
help to the poor and the needy. When a persecution broke out, Pope St.
Sixtus was condemned to death. As he was led to execution, Laurence
followed him weeping, “Father, where are you going without your
deacon?” he said. “I am not leaving you, my son,” answered the Pope.
“in three days you will follow me.” Full of joy, Laurence gave to the
poor the rest of the money he had on hand and even sold expensive
vessels to have more to give away.

The Prefect of Rome, a greedy pagan, thought the Church had a great
fortune hidden away. So he ordered Laurence to bring the Church’s
treasure to him. The Saint said he would, in three days. Then he went
through the city and gathered together all the poor and sick people
supported by the Church. When he showed them to the Prefect, he said:
“This is the Church’s treasure!”

In great anger, the Prefect condemned Laurence to a slow, cruel death.
The Saint was tied on top of an iron grill over a slow fire that
roasted his flesh little by little, but Laurence was burning with so
much love of God that he almost did not feel the flames. In fact, God
gave him so much strength and joy that he even joked. “Turn me over,”
he said to the judge. “I’m done on this side!” And just before he
died, he said, “It’s cooked enough now.” Then he prayed that the city
of Rome might be converted to Jesus.

May you have a blessed St. Laurence Day and remember the poor and the hungry.

In one of the photos above a child is holding a Holy Card of St. Laurence…

 

 

 

As we prepare for our next journey to Sierra Leone, I was digging out travel gear when I came across some photos of the first entrance into Sierra Leone, May 2000. This was Fr. Seraphim’s first trip to Freetown, the beginning of Nazareth House’s involvement in that country. He went there to pray, to physically pray in the midst of the turmoil. What he experienced captured his heart and went on to capture us all.

Go to our website page entitled Houses of Nazareth (chapter & affiliates) scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the link labeled “double click here for more pictures” located under the picture of little Sheku (with worms) & Kadijah. This link will take you to more photos of the first images of Nazareth House’s beginnings in Sierra Leone.

In May 2000, the streets of Freetown were deserted. Though there is a tremendous amount of growth and work to be done in Sierra Leone today, much has improved since the early days. Your contributions through your support of Nazareth House Apostolate benefit Sierra Leone in many ways and help it to continue to take steps forward. Thank You. Spread the word, give today!

 

 

 

As we prepare for our next journey to Sierra Leone, I was digging out travel gear when I came across some photos of the first entrance into Sierra Leone, May 2000. This was Fr. Seraphim’s first trip to Freetown, the beginning of Nazareth House’s involvement in that country. He went there to pray, to physically pray in the midst of the turmoil. What he experienced captured his heart and went on to capture us all.

Go to our website page entitled Houses of Nazareth (chapter & affiliates) scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the link labeled “double click here for more pictures” located under the picture of little Sheku (with worms) & Kadijah. This link will take you to more photos of the first images of Nazareth House’s beginnings in Sierra Leone.

In May 2000, the streets of Freetown were deserted. Though there is a tremendous amount of growth and work to be done in Sierra Leone today, much has improved since the early days. Your contributions through your support of Nazareth House Apostolate benefit Sierra Leone in many ways and help it to continue to take steps forward. Thank You. Spread the word, give today!

 

 

 

As we prepare for our next journey to Sierra Leone, I was digging out travel gear when I came across some photos of the first entrance into Sierra Leone, May 2000. This was Fr. Seraphim’s first trip to Freetown, the beginning of Nazareth House’s involvement in that country. He went there to pray, to physically pray in the midst of the turmoil. What he experienced captured his heart and went on to capture us all.

Go to our website page entitled Houses of Nazareth (chapter & affiliates) scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the link labeled “double click here for more pictures” located under the picture of little Sheku (with worms) & Kadijah. This link will take you to more photos of the first images of Nazareth House’s beginnings in Sierra Leone.

In May 2000, the streets of Freetown were deserted. Though there is a tremendous amount of growth and work to be done in Sierra Leone today, much has improved since the early days. Your contributions through your support of Nazareth House Apostolate benefit Sierra Leone in many ways and help it to continue to take steps forward. Thank You. Spread the word, give today!

 

 

 

As we prepare for our next journey to Sierra Leone, I was digging out travel gear when I came across some photos of the first entrance into Sierra Leone, May 2000. This was Fr. Seraphim’s first trip to Freetown, the beginning of Nazareth House’s involvement in that country. He went there to pray, to physically pray in the midst of the turmoil. What he experienced captured his heart and went on to capture us all.

Go to our website page entitled Houses of Nazareth (chapter & affiliates) scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the link labeled “double click here for more pictures” located under the picture of little Sheku (with worms) & Kadijah. This link will take you to more photos of the first images of Nazareth House’s beginnings in Sierra Leone.

In May 2000, the streets of Freetown were deserted. Though there is a tremendous amount of growth and work to be done in Sierra Leone today, much has improved since the early days. Your contributions through your support of Nazareth House Apostolate benefit Sierra Leone in many ways and help it to continue to take steps forward. Thank You. Spread the word, give today!

BE CONTAGIOUS…SPREAD THE WORD…

Let everyone know how to be a part of Nazareth House Apostolate
and how to “love thy neighbor” by helping to provide for the very needy of Sierra Leone.

Share this blog, check out the website and watch us in action on Youtube and
please Give Today and encourage others to do the same.

Together we ARE changing lives, providing education, feeding the hungry…
….BE CONTAGIOUS

BE CONTAGIOUS…SPREAD THE WORD…

Let everyone know how to be a part of Nazareth House Apostolate
and how to “love thy neighbor” by helping to provide for the very needy of Sierra Leone.

Share this blog, check out the website and watch us in action on Youtube and
please Give Today and encourage others to do the same.

Together we ARE changing lives, providing education, feeding the hungry…
….BE CONTAGIOUS

The Kabala School building is attempting to get a final coat of paint, however, heavy rains of the season have begun and finding a space of time that remains dry long enough to complete the task…is to say the least..FRUSTRATING! The above photo is a rough estimate of how it will look when painted. We are not sure the paint is exactly the colors we see in the photo, however, the painting crew is trying to get it as close as possible. When James is up to making another visit to Kabala, he will report back to us the actual photographs of the painting job. Please pray and hope that the weather gives them a break.

The Kabala School building is attempting to get a final coat of paint, however, heavy rains of the season have begun and finding a space of time that remains dry long enough to complete the task…is to say the least..FRUSTRATING! The above photo is a rough estimate of how it will look when painted. We are not sure the paint is exactly the colors we see in the photo, however, the painting crew is trying to get it as close as possible. When James is up to making another visit to Kabala, he will report back to us the actual photographs of the painting job. Please pray and hope that the weather gives them a break.