JOURNAL 2001
November 5, 2001 The Milk Program
August 17, 2001 We Need Your Help! Children
Are Going Hungry!
July 30, 2001 America's Cup, Bald Tires and Slickin to Delicias on
Coffee Bags
May 5, 2001 Sleeping in the ATM
April 19, 2001 Paint, Play, Pray
March 27, 2001 Sunday Adventure
March 2, 2001 Photos of the Church at Delicias
February 06, 2001- Tears of Joy
January 31, 2001-Hope to Establish a Social Services Program
November 5, 2001 The Milk Program
Click on photos for full view
We are now into the second month of distributing
powdered milk to 38 poor families that live in the invasion Barrio of Primero de Mayo. We
distribute 52 cans (1000mgs each) to the 38 families on the first Wednesday of every
month. Each can costs approximately $5.00 and provides the much needed vitamins and
nutrition for children that are 5 years and younger.
Brian with his volunteers, Diego and Daniel.
They volunteer in all of the distribution acitivities.
The
cans of powdered milk.
KLIM spelled backwards is MILK
which is kind of interesting.
Halloween in Libano
These are photos of from the Halloween party that we celebrated as El Dia de Los Niņos (Childrenīs
Day) in conjunction with the Social Service department from the Bishopīs Office. We
celebrated a liturgy and then served hot dogs and ice-cream for all of the 250 people who
came. Afterwards there was music and the distribution of the powdered milk. It was a great
Dia de Los Niņos.
August
17, 2001 WE NEED YOUR HELP!
Greetings from Libano!!! We are in need of your help for three vital projects here in
Libano:
1. A powdered milk program for poor families who have children.
2. Assistance for a school lunch program.
3. A housing program for 32 families that are living in a
high risk area.
These families are extremely poor and often go without any food. The children go to
school on empty stomachs and do not pass many of their classes. We have been helping out a
small group of students with the lunch assistance and I can testify to a huge improvement
in their attitude, grades, and general behavior all because of a little food in their
stomachs. Yet this is only for a small group. There are 81 children who go to school
hungry everyday in one particular school. For $3.00 per month we can provide a nutritional
meal for one student. Powdered milk costs $5.00 per can and provides nutrition for one
infant for a week.
The housing program is for families that are living on the edge of a cliff that has mud
slides during the rainy season. Two years ago a mother was killed when her house was
crushed under a mud slide. We need your help.
The Barrio children
Barrio high risk conditions Family working on rebuilding
A Barrio Family
A Hungary Face
Libano School Children of which some are from the two Barrio's
Rotary Club (of Libano) President Abelardo Orjuela
and members visiting the
Barrio Primero de Mayo during the rehab project.
Que Dios los bendiga!!! "Padre" Brian Cooper csv
July 30, 2001 America's Cup,
Bald Tires and Slickin to Delicias on Coffee Bags
Greetings to all from Libano, Colombia!!! Colombia celebrated their
first America's Cup Championship in soccer competition. (It would be the equivalent of The
Chicago Cubs capturing the pennant). I have never seen so many Colombian flags being
paraded all around our small town. There was even a traffic jam! It was a wonderful
respite for the people, from the economic crisis and the Civil War that surrounds them
everyday.
In other news, we almost didn't make it to the Parish in Delicias last Sunday. Heavy rains
came in and the road became so slick that the car kept sliding off the road.The tires are
completely bald as the diocese has very little money for car repairs. The car almost went
off the mountainside and "fortunately" we ended up in a ditch. The choir and the acolytes
ended up in the mud as they threw tree branches and stones under the wheels. After an hour
we were able to return to Libano and headed off to another route where we got stuck once
again. Two hours later we made it to Delicias!!! Everyday sure seems like an adventure.
This makes 7 times that we have had problems getting to the Parish. I have even ridden on
top of sacks of coffee in order to celebrate the liturgy. But the people of the Parish
make it all worth the while.
Que Dios los bendiga!!! "Padre" Brian Cooper
csv
May 5, 2001 Sleeping in the ATM
Greetings everyone from Libano!!! I hope all is well and that you are
enjoying the springtime. Things have been busy as usual here in Libano. On my way to
school early this morning, I
ran into an 11 year old boy who was sleeping in the ATM cubicle in the bank in the center
of town. I asked him where he lived and why was he sleeping here. He told me that when his
Aunt died he was put out in the street because there was no other family that lived here
in town. He begs for money and food on the street and sleeps in the ATM cubicle at night.
I am working on getting him into an orphanage that is sponsored by the Bishop here in
Libano. Things certainly are different here.
We are also finishing up the roof repairs on another 29 homes in a very poor barrio on the
edge of town. We have another 25 homes on the list and I just finished buying another 100
tin partitions for the roofs. We are now providing food to 65 families each month. The
hardest part is that many times I need to turn some families away because of the sheer
numbers that are asking. There is only so much one can do when the unemployment levels are
50-60%. That is why your donations have made a huge difference in the lives of the people
here.
Many thanks for all that you are doing to help out in a very difficult situation.
Que Dios los bendiga!!! "Padre" Brian Cooper csv
April 19, 2001 Paint, Play,
Pray
Greetings and a Happy Easter from Libano!!! Holy week was very
interesting as I spent the week in the rural parish "Sagrado Corazon de Jesus" (Sacred
Heart of Jesus) in Delicias. I went
with four young men who helped paint the church, prepare for the Holy week services, and
played mini-soccer and basketball with the local youth.
The Last Supper liturgy was celebrated with 12 young children who were the Apostles that
had their feet washed. They then distributed the communion to all the people in the
church.
Friday was the celebration for the Staions of the Cross where each station was constructed
by the Father of one family. They used many natural flowers and set up each station at a
certain point around the town. The last station ended up in the cemetery. Saturday was the
Easter Vigil with the new Easter candle being blessed and lit as we awited the
resurrection.
And of course Sunday we celebrated the Easter Liturgy. The highlights of the week were
definitely the children Apostles and the beautiful stations that were built by the men of
each
family. Many people came to help celebrate the services and there is a sense of a church
renewal taking place in the Parish. The only drawback was that all this was taking place
while I
battled a 104 degree temperature with a flu bug. I actually thought that they were going
to leave me right there in the cemetery at the end of the Stations. Thank God I made it
back and am
well on the way to recovery.
Many thanks again to all of you who are helping out with the contributions, support, and
especially for your prayers. I have witnessed many miracles that are are truly
resurrection
experiences for the people of here. Thank you again.
Feliz Pascua y que dios los bendiga!!! In Viator Padre Brian
March 27, 2001 Sunday Adventure
Greetings from Libano!!! Things have been quite busy these last few
weeks here in Colombia. Yesterday was a typical day that best represents my experiences
here. At 8:00 AM we
loaded up the jeep and headed out to the church in Delicias. It is about one hour and the
backroad was filled with mud as we slid all the way to the church. Upon arrival we
discovered
some sad news as a young parishioner had died from a stroke. Javier had been helping us
repair things around the church and was a wonderful man. I ended up celebrating a funeral
mass for the Sunday Liturgy. One must be very flexible especially when working out in the
rural areas. It was very sad for the family and for the community. After mass we helped
clean
the church and visited some families that are very poor. We are helping to donate
clothing, medicine, and food to these families. Around 4:00 PM we began to head back to
Libano when
we experienced car problems. Of course the jeep stalled right in the middle of a huge mud
pool!!! (Thank God I go out there in jeans and gym shoes). Of course everyone had an
opinion
about what was wrong with the car. Some of our group began to walk towards Libano to
secure a mechanic. An hour later a car passed by and took some of the others. Finally, by
a
miracle, a friend passed by who happened to be a mechanic. He worked on the car for about
15 minutes, in pitch darkness, and fixed the problem!!! We were on our way and arrived in
Libano about 8:00 PM. It was like an angel sent from heaven. It is amazing how often the
good we do in this world is returned in the most neediest of ways. I hope it is the same
for all of
you with all of the hope, support, and prayers that you send our way. Know that I keep you
in my thoughts and prayers.
Que Dios los bendiga!!! "Padre" Brian Cooper csv
March 2, 2001 Photos of the
Church at Delicias
February 06, 2001 Tears of Joy
Greetings from Libano, Colombia!!! Things have been quite hectic around here lately. This
is the beginning of the school year down here and I have been busy helping students
registor for school.
The
majority live in very poor conditions such as the Barrio Santa Rosa and the Barrio Primero
de Mayo. Your donations have helped us to register 60 students in grade
school or in high school. You have also helped them put shoes on their feet and notebooks
in their hands.
One Grandfather and his 12 year old grandson Nelson came to the house today because they
do not have the means to send Nelson to school. After helping them out the two of them
could not even speak. Their words were muffled by their tears of joy. They could not stop
crying as they gave me big hugs. They could not believe that he is now able to continue
his
studies in the 7th grade. I have never seen eyes that filled so deeply with tears of joy
and gratitude. I thank all of you for giving me that opportunity to experience that joyful
moment.
You have made a huge impact on the lives of so many and I wish you could be here to
experience that as well. You can always come down and visit!!!
Que Dios los bendiga!!! In Viator "Padre" Brian
Cooper CSV
January 31, 2001
Hope to Establish a Social Services Program
Greetings from Libano!!! It was great to see everyone in Chicago for the ordination and I
really enjoyed the time there with many of you. I have since returned to Libano and I feel
like I have been on a whirlwind ever since.
The
biggest change is that in addition to all of the other works, I am now heading up a small
country Parish about an hour outside of Libano. The people are wonderful and there is a
lot of work to be done in order to build up the community. I head out there every Sunday
as well as an occasional Friday where we will begin to prepare for baptisms, first
communions, and confirmations. I am very excited about beginning this work. It is a very
poor Parish with few resources. Approximately 50 people were at Mass and the collection
amounted to $4.00. These people were giving what very little that they had. Many families
go without food during the week and I hope to begin to establish a Social Services Program
sometime this year.
Again, I want to thank all of you for the prayers, time, and donations. All of this has
helped us to continue the on-going programs here in libano. We are in the process of
repairing more roofs, helping with medical needs, and registering children for school. I
hope to have a report on the school children in the next update. In the meantime, take
care and know that you are in my thoughts and prayers.
Que Dios los bendiga!!! "Padre" Brian Cooper CSV
BENDIGA
JOURNAL Journey of a Missionary
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