Hello, Everybody,

Thanks for visiting me here.  Here is the recent report I filed for our Parish News Letter, which is followed by an LSOP Newsletter from Sister Lawrence:

VISITING THE LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR 

Seven teenagers (some from the Confirmation class) and fifteen adults departed Osan Saturday morning to go to Suwon on the regular monthly trip to the home for the elderly. Some were old-timers and some were newcomers. We moved out in a 5- vehicle caravan and, believe it or not, we all arrived together, not an easy task on the Korean highway.

As usual, we are greeted with warm smiles from the sisters, the employees and an occasional Hal-mu-ni or Hal-a-bu-ji (a respectful term for the elderly that means grandmother and grandfather) strolling through the halls. Sister Mary Joseph quietly explains the work to be done. It isn’t long before 20 bustling people have naturally divided up and are busy with the tasks at hand. Each person works diligently and cheerfully.

Visiting the Little Sisters of the Poor home for the elderly in Suwon isn’t just about cleaning the floors and chairs in the auditorium, moving things out of storage from one location to another, cleaning the floors and furniture in the storage room, drilling holes in walls to mount storage cabinets, or making Rice Krispie Treats for the residents. The group who ventured to the home on Saturday did, however, accomplish all those things. But it isn’t just about the work.

The experience is also a spiritual encounter, an opportunity to offer ourselves to do God’s work, to share our hearts with one another, and to see clearly that the language of the heart is universal. In this encounter, couples, singles, young adults and mature adults come together and truly experience being One in Christ, to witness, first hand, God’s love. We see it in the way the Little Sisters care for the elderly. We see it in the way the young teenagers willingly and cheerfully seize the opportunity to help others even if the job may seem small or insignificant. We see it in the way the employees share their lunch with foreigners. And, straight from the heart, we see it in the faces of the old people.

All of our work is a prayer to God. The tasks may be small, but immense is the joy in the occasion to share our gifts with others, to learn and to grow.

Please join us for future trips and share in the experience. See the bulletin for details. To view some photos of the Saturday trip, please send a request to jonhuer@hotmail.com and we will e-mail a sample to you.


Peace,

Terry Huer

 

Latest Newsletter from Sister Lawrence (Click here)

 

[from Sister Lawrence, LSOP]

 

NEWSLETTER Number 23.

 

LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR

at

MOUNT SAINT JOSEPH HOME FOR THE AGED*

 

Yesterday during Evening Prayer (Vespers) found myself thinking about this newsletter that I wanted to write. And then, the words of Psalm 125 (124) that we were singing struck me: "As mountains surround Jerusalem, the Lord surrounds his people both now and forever. "I paraphrased this verse "As mountains surround our village of Hae-wol-ri"

 

And, the Lord surrounds not only our Home and small village but also all who are in one way or another "extended members" of our family here. And so, I continued my reflection, "As mountains surround Hae­wol-ri, the Lord surrounds our Home and all our friends and benefactors, both now and forever." Distraction in prayer? I don't think so! I think rather that God was once again touching my heart and showing me how very closely he surrounds each of you and is present in your lives. This reflection gave me deep peace, and I hope that it will comfort you as well.

 

Since our last newsletter, many of the Residents have not been well. Last week the number of hospital admissions hit a "new high" –eight Residents in five different hospitals in Chonju!  Four of them have since been discharged and we continue their treatments here at home.

 

This being the Year of the Eucharist, we wanted to celebrate as solemnly as possible the feast of Corpus Christi. On May 28th, we spent most of the afternoon preparing two flower rugs in front of the house and on the path where we would have the procession of the Blessed Sacrament the following day. One of these rugs was a Eucharistic design; the other was a copy of Pope Benedict's coat-of-arms. Later that day, we had an evening of prayer with 21 young men and women during which Fr. Kim presided at a kind of "paschal feast," He explained simply the signification of the Eucharist while we all shared homemade bread and wine in a spirit of great simplicity, prayer, and friendliness. This evening ended with the celebration of Night Prayer together. Six of the young women spent the night here so that they could help us early the next morning put the finishing touches on the flowered paths, etc. the following day, the procession was solemn and I

beautiful after our morning Mass, but we all agreed that it was much too short and hope to find a way to make it longer next year. Many of the young people returned for Mass and the procession, and many other visitors came too. Several told us how grateful they were to have been invited for this occasion and that it helped deepen their understanding and appreciation of the Eucharist.

 

Two weeks ago we welcomed three new Residents, Martha Hwang and a married couple. Joseph and Maria are both in good health and already help here and there around the house. We did not have an empty room when friends came to tell us about Martha's desperate plight, but when we heard -the story we knew we had to take her as quickly as possible. We arranged for her to stay for the moment in the room of one of the Residents who needs long-term hospitalization. Martha's only son went bankrupt and his home and all the furnishings were seized.  His entire family, including 86-year-old Martha, were living in an unheated, unfurnished one-room storehouse - and they had been told they had to get out of there as well! In addition, we discovered that Martha has advanced cancer! We've done the paperwork necessary so that she can begin I getting the medical care she needs to diminish her pain.

 

Towards the end of May we Little Sisters were able to “slip away” for an outing together and this time we went further than we usually do. We had been invited to go down south to the island of "Sorokdo." "Sorok-do" literally means "small deer island" and in fact the island is shaped like a small deer. Only five minutes by ferry boat from the mainland, it used to be a combination penal colony and national leprosarium. Now the leprosarium remains but there are only about

I 600 people with Hansen's disease still living there, some I in the hospital, others in tiny homes scattered in small villages.  Part of the island is a national park. We were warmly welcomed by two Austrian lay missionaries

who served us a delicious lunch. They explained very I humbly their apostolate and their many years of service

 to some of the most abandoned and miserable people in this country.

 

It is now eight years since Mount St Joseph's Home was opened and it is only normal that some repairs, etc. must be made. Those of you who have lived in Korea are familiar with the rice-paper windows. In our Home, these windows are actually a second window and are very effective in keeping out both the winter cold and the summer heat. They are also very attractive and create a spirit of calm and peace. The high-quality rice paper that has covered these window frames since 1997 was very badly yellowed, dirty and tom in many places by the strong summer sunlight. For several months we had been studying the different options available for replacing it. (The quality of rice paper used in a normal family home needs to be changed once a year).  We finally decided that it would be the cheapest to replace the rice paper with glass windows covered with a kind of contact paper resembling rice paper. We asked for a few different samples and found one, that is quite nice. We were grateful to receive a grant from the community chest that paid for 80% of the cost of the new windows. The work was completed last week; all the Residents are pleased with the pretty, clean and permanent new "rice paper" glass windows.

 

Sr. Lawrence, LSOP

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THE PINK DRESS

 

 

  There was a little girl sitting by herself in the park.

  Everyone passed by her and never stopped to see why she looked so sad.

  Dressed in a worn pink dress, barefoot and dirty, the girl just sat and watched the people go by. She never tried to speak. She never said a word.

  Many people passed by her, but no one would stop.

The next day I decided to go back to the park in curiosity to see if the little girl would still

be there.                                                                       ,

Yes, she was there, right in the very spot where she was yesterday, and still with the same sad look in her eyes.

Today I was to make my own move and walk over to the little girl.

For as we all know, a park full of strange people is not a place for young children to play alone.

    As I got closer I could see the back of the little girl's dress. It was grotesquely shaped.

I figured that was the reason people just passed by and made no effort to speak to her.

Deformities are a low blow to our society and heaven forbid if you make a step toward assisting someone who is different.

  As I got closer, the little girl lowered her eyes slightly avoid my intent stare.

As I approached her, I could see the shape of  her back more clearly. She was grotesquely shaped in a humped over form.

  I smiled to let her know it was OK; I was there to help, to talk.

 

  I sat down beside her and opened with a

simple, "Hello."

  The little girl acted shocked and stammered

a "hi" after a long stare into my eyes.

  I smiled and she shyly smiled back.

  We talked until darkness fell and the park

was completely empty.

  I asked the girl why she was so sad.

 

 The little girl looked at me with a sad face

and said, "Because I'm different."

I immediately said, “That you are!” and smiled.

The little girl acted even sadder and said, "I

  know."

    "Little girl, I said, "you remind me of an angel,

  sweet and innocent."

    She looked at me and smiled, then slowly she

  got to her feet and said, "Really?"

    "Yes, you're like a little Guardian Angel sent

  to watch over all the people walking by."

    She nodded her head yes, and smiled.

    With that she opened the back of her pink

  dress and allowed her wings to spread, then

  she said "I am."

    "I'm your Guardian Angel" with a twinkle in

  her eye.

    I was speechless -- sure I was seeing things.

She said. "For once you thought of someone other than

yourself. My job here is done:"

. I got to my feet and said, "Wait, why didn't anyone stop to help an angel?"

She looked at me, smiled and replied, “You're the only one who could see me,"

and then she was gone.

    And with that, my life was changed dramatically.

So, when you think you're all you have, remember, your angel is always watching over you

Like the story says, we all need someone.

And, everyone of your friends is an Angel in their own way.

The value of a friend is measured in the heart.

May your Guardian Angel watch over you always! (And thank you too for being our angels!)

 

“As the mountains surround Jerusalem, the Lord surrounds his people, both now and forever.”  (Psalm 125)

 

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LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR – MOUNT ST. JOSEPH HOME FOR THE AGED

WANJU-GUN, SOYANG-MYON, HAEWOL-RI 157-3, CHONBUK 565-844, SOUTH KOREA

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*Mount St. Joseph Home for the Aged is one of the four such homes for the elderly that the Little Sisters operate in Korea.  Aside from this one in Chonbuk, the three are located in Seoul, in Suwon (Gyunggido) and in Damyang (Chollanamdo), respectively.  If you would like to know more about the Little Sisters of the Poor in Korea, contact me at terryhuer@hotmail.com.