FSSP in Nigeria

November 28th

Thanksgiving was celebrated here at Nne Enyemaka by the priests, students, and some others with a wonderful turkey dinner. There were turkey, mashed potatoes, carrots and much more. The students were given Thursday and Friday off from school and all participated in preparing the feast. The garden is improving slowly and some of our crops have begun to sprout. The pigs continue to grow now, and hopefully, we will have some little ones coming in the next couple months. Fr. O'Brien made his regular visitation of the sick and elderly of the parish, about 18 people, this last week. Every last Saturday of the month is the ceremony for the Knights of the Altar, and this month 3 were admitted to new ranks: 1 Apprentice, 1 Page, and 1 Knight. Visit the Farm page to see pictures of the crops, the white turkey we ate for Thanksgiving, and some of the fruits we have growing here.

November 14th

It was time to de-worm the pigs. Each pig had to be caught and held still as the medicine was injected. The boys of St. Mary’s, the neighboring parish, failed to show up for the scheduled Volleyball match, but after a long week of study, the boys played for a couple of hours showing great improvement of skills and knowledge of the game since the net was set up last month. A picture of the front of the church that we are building as it stands now is given here. Click here to see the plans for the church which have recently been uploaded.

Nov 7th

The month of November is dedicated to the Poor Souls in Purgatory, so, on Nov 2nd, Fr. O'Brien and the Knights of the Altar went to the cemetery for the priests of the diocese to offer Holy Mass. Some members of the Purgatorian Society also attended. Everyday this week, the students of the school, as well as members of the Knights of the Altar, visited a house of one of the faithful. Here in Umuaka, Nigeria, there are not many cemeteries, but rather, people are buried in the front yard of their house. Almost every house has at least one grave. There, we prayed for the souls of the buried, and for all the faithful departed.

The boys of our parish were challenged to a soccer game by the neighboring parish. Next week, they will play a game of volleyball in what is becoming a friendly rivalry.

One of our power lines snapped in two this week. It happened at 11:00 PM, causing a loud bang and many sparks to fly. One of our parishioners, an electrician, fixed the line.

The pigs are growing much faster now as they enjoy the concrete floor. They now get a healthy dose of cow blood mixed with their food three times per week. The blood is cooked beforehand though, to prevent the pigs from getting blood-thirsty. The blood, when cooked, looks like hamburger meat. The chickens are also enjoying their cages.