2009 Newsletter
DIVINE FACE NEWSLETTER FROM REV. FR. GERARD MARY A. ANYANWU TO ALL OUR MEMBERS AND SPONSORS, JUNE 30, 2009.
Dear members of the Divine Face Family,
HONOR TO THE DIVINE FACE! It may seem like a set tradition to have this letter come once a year, only when I am in the U.S. Actually, I have many times wished to communicate to you from Nigeria. But the challenges of the situation there are such that it has not been possible. Kindly bear with me! And pray with and for me, too, that some day, I may so well deal with those challenges that you will be hearing about them even as they come. How wonderful that would be! For now, let us make do with what we have.
I came to the U.S. this year on May 31. On June 9th, I went to Houston to attend the annual Conference of the Anglican Use Association, June 11 -13. That was a wonderful opportunity for me to experience the joy and gratitude of our brothers and sisters who have come into full communion with the Catholic Church from some of the Anglican denominations. What a refreshing encounter that was! I saw a great and bright future for our Mother the Church coming from the magnanimous “Pastoral Provision” made by the Servant of God, Pope John Paul II for such children of God who come to the awareness of the fullness of the Truth.
The past year, as far as the Divine Face Community and apostolate are concerned, has been quite eventful. Some of you must have heard that we were attacked by armed robbers on November 9, 2008. in retrospect that event reveals that it was a moment of grace. The protecting power of our merciful Father and the loving vigilance of our loving Mother preserved all of us from any physical harm. The robbers themselves seemed to have been warned not to be rough with any of us! They took away money and some of our equipment. They drove away in my car, but it was promptly recovered, thanks to some divine intervention, within 7 hours. In other words, I interpret that event as yet another of God’s revelation of his love for his children even though we are unworthy. He vindicated my confession of faith to one of the robbers when I answered his question regarding how many security men I had. I told him I had only one, and that he was God.
Well, after that, we have been able to stay alive and keep up with most of what we have to do. We at the school have even added daily adoration to our timetable to thank the Lord and ask for more of his favours, for all of you who have been his agents in sustaining us and for us in our various needs..
PERSEVERING IN OUR MISSION TO THE POOR
We have had to suspend some of our activities, especially in the area of building. It was just after we had completed the decking of the science/auditorium building that the robbers came. But the pastor of the parish where our school is domiciled has earnestly appealed to us to open our door to admit children of poor families that cannot afford even the little we ask for as school fees for boarders. We cannot take them all into boarding for free. It is not possible. Moreover, there is no other Catholic school within a six - mile radius, and such children have to sometimes walk long distances in search of a Catholic school. We have given a good deal of consideration to the appeal, and are willing to make the necessary arrangements to accommodate the request. Part of the arrangements is to do the flooring of the ground floor of the science/auditorium building to provide a place for the day students to have their lunch in the school and then do their home
work before going home. We also need to provide some toilet facilities for them. To get this done we shall need close to five thousand dollars.
We have the only two children of a widow whom we adopted and who, together with their mother have lived with us since they were 3 and 2 years old. Their mother is now the school cook. They are now ready to go to college, after finishing their Secondary school with us. Another orphan whom we trained is quite serious about becoming a priest. He has applied and will begin the discernment program in October this year. Those, as much as I know for now, are the only out-of-the-ordinary projects we have facing us until the economic climate improves.
GRATITUDE
It is truly a matter of immense gratitude to God that we have a qualified and accredited medical doctor among our teaching staff. He not only is high spirited in teaching and interested in helping the students with his extra time to improve in their learning abilities, he is equally very compassionate in attending to any of them that falls sick. We also have an aspirant to our religious Community who is a registered staff nurse/midwife. Both of them together have saved several lives in the institution.
The old man, Ignatius Ogu, who has been very generous with his property, this year donated another piece of land to us adjoining the entrance to our school. That enabled us to extend the wall protecting the frontage of the compound. May God also increase his blessing for him! We have also extended the water supply by providing a double faucet in front of the students’ dining hall, so that it becomes easier for them to wash their plates and cutlery after eating.
We are grateful to our teachers who, in spite of the fact that the diocesan schools (and there are many of them now) are paying more than we can, still remain faithful. It would appear that we have excited in the diocese the burning desire to establish schools. There is this difference, though, that none of the diocesan schools has a scholarship program and care for the very poor as we do. Moreover, as I said above, in the area where we are, there is no other Catholic Secondary school.
We remain ever grateful to all of you for your loving sacrifices in favour of those beloved of God whom you are supporting and sustaining. Many children are being orphaned as their parents die young due to hardship. We are all very much aware of what a great act of love it is for you to continue what you are doing for them in spite of the present world-wide financial bad weather. Thanks for sharing your little flour and oil, “For the Lord, the God of Israel, says, “The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the Lord sends rain upon the earth’” (1Kgs 17: 14). Some of you must have received or will receive letters from the students you are sponsoring and from their parents/guardians. Once again on their behalf, I say a very big thanks to you!