Today was spent visiting with all the Sobornost For The World Foundation members. It was great to hear all about our one member's recent visit to Kenya in August and to see the video footage. Most of us may never see Africa in person, so this was a very special event. The people of Kenya look so happy despite their meager resources and the children we sponsor in schools and feed are all looking healthy, happy and safe. Much of this is due to the support of many people on Long Island and the kind donations of Catholic parishioners who have heard of our work. What I noticed today is the level of loving commitment the people of our Foundation have to, not only care for the poor of the world, but one another as well. We are all so joyful when we are together ... it is a great "sobrania" as the Russians would say. All of us share the common goal of living the gospel with our lives, to the extent that each person can in his or her life. Some are married, some are single, one is a priest, some are widows, but at the end of the day we are all one in Christ. What I think I am learning by being with this group of people is that God is so loving to us, committed to helping us in our lives, and patient with our growth on the journey. No one person has it all - but together we are all a strong body of people who witness with perserverance, love and faith. We are never sure where the next dollar will come from to help more orphans, but it always arrives just in time. Last year one of our members returned from Africa with the comment that if we were to build a secondary school in Kenya and God wanted it to be built, then the money would come. We asked her how much it would cost and she said around $30,000 US dollars. Most of us just gasped in shock! Where would our little organization find that kind of money, we wondered. But, as usual, God does His mightiest work for the poor and in just two donations to our organization, exactly $30,000 was given to us through our friend, the priest in our group! Can you imagine that? It wasn't $10,000 or $15,000, it was $30,000! I am sure that it is what He wants for them. I am learning that it is not important to worry about the details when helping the poor. You just step out there and do something for them and then the doors fling wide open! Without that first step, and sometimes even with a little seed money from our own pockets, amazing things can happen for others. It is an exciting life living with these wonderful people. Each of them gives much of themselves and walks the journey of faith. If one of us is a little weaker in faith, another one gives a boost of faith.
