A Village Feast Day

Its not very often that one gets to take part in a feast celebration in a local village.  This is exactly what Whispering Hope did when Rev. Fr. Dhanraj Narla, the parish priest, invited us to partake in the festivities.

The 7th of May, marked the first anniversary of the dedication of the local church in Pitavaripalem, near Chirala Andhra Pradesh, to the Little Flower of Jesus St. Theresa.  There was a solemn high mass celebrated by four priests and this was followed by a sumptuous dinner for all those who attended.  The tasty Palav Rice, Gongura, Chicken Curry, Curd Raita was enjoyed by one and all.  Around 700 people were in attendance.

Whispering Hope thanks its sponsors who pitched in to assist Rev. Fr. Dhanraj.  He is very grateful and appreciative of your support and thanks you sincerely.

Bernadette Khader From Dubai, Pearl Nagaraj from Muscat, Elizabeth Vijayaraghavan, Anita Mawdsley, Lakshmi and Nigel Lazar from Chennai were our sponsors this time. God bless you and your families.

Toying around!

Thanks go out to Mrs Lakshmi for sponsoring a few toys to give to the little children.  The smiles on their faces were something else; the curiosity displayed was even more entertaining.  God bless you Lakshmi and family.

Palm Sunday Celebrations

Once again it was time for Whispering Hope to reach out to the needy and this time it was Mrs Premalatha who sponsored the cake and bread to distribute to the faithful gathered for the Palm Sunday service in villages near Chirala in Andhra Pradesh.  To combat the heat, cool butter milk was also served.  Photos of our procession can be viewed in our album.

Gratitude

Our heartfelt thanks go out to Rev. Fr. John, HGN (Heralds of Good News) for organizing the rooms for the pilgrims in Velankani, to Ms Joyce and Mr. Susai for giving us a helping hand to make our stay comfortable.  Without this trio, we would have had a tough time out there. God bless them abundantly.

Our Lady's Shrine at Velankanni, Tamil Nadu, India

This magnificent Shrine Basilica dedicated to our Lady of Good Health attracts thousands of visitors daily, be they Hindu, Muslim or Christian.  Our Lady showers her blessings on the faithful who rush to her, seeking favours and miracles.  No one has ever returned home without being blessed and fulfilled in more ways than one. Be it a prayer for a baby, or a cure for an illness, or a life partner, or financial aid, Our Lady has an answer to our prayers.

We were about 40 in number and it was a two day trip well spent in prayer, reflection, time out, fun and games, good food.  Our photos in the album alongside will give you a glimpse of our activities.

I take this opportunity to thank Rev. Fr. Dhanraj for his undivided attention and perseverance towards his flock.  May God bless him abundantly with courage, faith and love for the poor.

A holy and jolly pilgrimage

The 30th of March 2017 dawned bright and sunny.  Rev. Fr. Dhanraj left the village and headed off with his flock to the city of Chennai.  It was a five hour train journey for them and despite the heat, the pilgrims were in a jubilant mood.  Nothing could daunt them and spoil this journey of theirs.  Cooling off with iced water and soft drinks, munching biscuits and other snacks and lunching on the way, the group reached Chennai in the blistering heat.  They then set off on a short tour of Chennai visiting St. Thomas Mount and Santhome Cathedral, following in the footsteps of St. Thomas.

Battling thru the Mount Road traffic, dodging a 'sink hole', playing tag with the summer heat, made  their tryst that afternoon, even more interesting.  The grand finale was at the St. Joseph's Church in Vepery, where Fr. Dhanraj celebrated a Telugu mass for a safe journey and a blessed pilgrimage.  A sumptuous dinner followed and all of us trotted off happily to the Egmore station to catch our train to Velankanni.

It's in the right Hands!

I had an empty pot and I asked the good Lord to fill it with His Love and Blessings.  And once He does that, the pot starts filling up and overflows with His Grace and Abundance.  On 30th March 2017, I accompany a group of pilgrims on their first trip to our Lady's Shrine in Velankanni, Tamil Nadu, India.  Besides them, I have my own group of about ten people also on the same pilgrimage.  I placed my trust in the Lord and asked Him to bless this effort of mine. 

My pot started filling up with beautiful colourful rosaries gifted by my priest friend Rev. Fr. Charles and a little contribution started pouring in from friends in Australia and promises of more to come were received. God bless their generous hearts.

Appreciation

'Thank You' two little words which convey a whole load of meaning and are so appreciated by the Giver.  We cannot go forward with another program without remembering those who helped us celebrate Christmas with the children and adults.  Grateful thanks, and blessings go out to:

Australia - Ashley & Helen Bakes, Max & Manju Alves from Sydney, Aunty Gladys Fernandes, Troy & Sharon Gomes and Ray & Elizabeth Pereira from Melbourne;

America - Adrian & Kim Thomson from Atlanta;

Oman - Biju & Sudha Damodaran from Muscat;

India -

Bangalore - Bridget White Kumar and Manoj & Tripta Barai

Chennai -  Allan & Dorothy Coyne, Dinesh & Deepak, Kevin & Anita Mawdsley, Nigel & Wayne Lazar and Vicky & Divya for the loads of stuff given for children.

Guntur - Isaac & Kavitha David for the snacks, Leena Sajeev and Sarita Surendra for the discounts on readymade garments bought from them.

Hyderabad - Huzefa Ali

Spain - Lynn Divina McAdam

Thailand : Pikul Chomduang

and to my Volunteers in Chennai - Sita & Shoba; and my faithful TukTukwala Nagabhushanam for taking me to around Guntur to collect the stuff. God bless them and their families.

 

Plenty to do in Chennai!

Christmas, oh, Christmas! What a lovely time of the year, when feasting, hoping, blessings, praising God, tumble upon each other bringing with it renewed faith, joy and hope.  The birth of Christ, a season for rejoicing with family and friends, for loving and giving, for loving and sharing and most of all time, a good time for presents!

Whispering Hope received generously from its sponsors and gave generously to the less privileged. Here are some of the Chennai activities over the Christmas week.

1. Buckets of Love and goodies were distributed in and around Chennai.
2. Pressure Cookers, a non stick pan and a Food Processor were given out to known people.
3. New Clothes - still under distribution.
4. Tea party for little kids.
5. Pensions and pocket money.
6. Medical assistance.

Plenty more still to get going - so wait for it!

Its over now in AP!

Taking this opportunity to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas and a fantastic 2017, we now close our programs in Andhra Pradesh and head onto Tamilnadu.  Needless to say, the cash crunch is not helping us get things moving but we tried to do our little bit to spread a few miles of smiles. 

May God bless our generous sponsors and well wishers abundantly during this special time and in 2017!

Just Boys all the way!

I was pleased when Rev. Fr. Innareddy invited me to come across and make his hostel children happy for a while.  I was hesitant due to my ill health but then I said, 'lets go, it is Christmas after all'.  And its just BOYS all the way!

Thanks to Manoj and Tripta Barai from Bangalore, these 10 little boys at Tirukapalem, near Sattenapalli, Andhra Pradesh, were delighted with their goodies and the chocolate cake and cream buns that went with it!

Our photos give you the complete picture.  They showered me with flowers and even gave me a sweet little gift as a token of their united love.  God bless them always and may they grow up to be fine young men.

Merry Christmas everybody!

Praveen's Children @ Sai Baba Colony, Guntur

A lovely day was Sunday, the 18th of December, when we had a little program for the Sunday School Children at Praveen's Church.  Gifts, Cake, and Cream buns were the order of the day and about 60 children thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Singing with much gusto and enthusiasm, these kids brought glory to the Lord's Holy Name. Photos in the album are a lively testimony to the fun times enjoyed by all.

A big Thank You goes out to the Ms Lynn Divina McAdam from Spain who sponsored the whole show! God bless you Lynn!

Vijaya Lakshmi Puram Rocks again!

On the 11th of December, last Sunday, we headed to this village that we discovered recently and had a small celebration.  Starting with a Holy Mass, with gifts for the church were so kindly presented by the Coyne Family (oh, yes! they gave a dumb box as well to replace the rusty one mentioned earlier!), we made the congregation and the people from the village sit down to a sumptuous meal of rice, chicken curry, veggies, lentils, yogurt, and a sweet.

Our grateful thanks go out to:

Rev. Fr. Dhanraj for inviting us to celebrate Christmas with his parishioners
& Rev. Fr Joseph for assisting at the mass,

The Coyne's from Chennai, for the church gifts,

Biju & Sudha Damodaran from Muscat, Elizabeth Pereira from Melbourne, Dinesh & Deepak from Chennai for pitching in and providing the food for more than 120 people

Julie & John, Giri from Chirala and Monica Charles from Chennai for the invaluable help rendered for getting this program take place without a hitch!

Thank you so much!

 

Our first Bucket goes home!

We started with an empty bucket and then rummaged through the cupboards and put a few things together and hey presto! a Bucket of Goodies was ready to go!  We sought out the maid who looked after us when we were little kids and presented her with the first bucket of love and hope.  We felt that it was the right thing to do and a small way of showing our thanks for all that she did for us as kids. Happy Christmas Subulu! God bless!

Putting out a feeler!

Come on, everybody, its Christmas time, festive time all over as we get to prepare for the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.  What better way to do this, than to spend time with the poor and the needy. After all our Lord was born in a stable, and spent a lot of time with the poor.  As we prepare for a bigger spree, Whispering Hope decided to take a look at a real poor village in Andhra Pradesh.  Named Vijaya Lakshmi Puram  and tucked away near a sea shore, it was a perfect setting for a lazy Sunday morning. 

The parishioners of the little church there were so happy to welcome us and after the Sunday mass, a small treat of Choco Pies, fruit cake and mango juice was given to the people.  The Church itself was so simple and the only possessions it appeared to have had was a Crucifix, a fan and a microphone system.  The collection box was a rusty old tin and that's the first thing I want to replace when I go next.

Pictures of our time out are in the album and will give you and idea of what a good time we had.  Our sincere thanks to Rev. Fr. Dhanraj for inviting us, to Julie and John for volunteering to help.  Our warm thanks to Guruvaiah for the loan of his car and Rafi for driving me around and last but not least our heartfelt thanks to Elizabeth Pereira from Melbourne who so kindly supplied the goodies to distribute. Thank you one and all!

Box of Hope

Hope is something that we all have within ourselves. Hope gives us the strength and courage to carry on, despite our trials and backward slides. And when the needy receive a box of Hope, they rejoice.  Please join the untiring efforts of Gavin and Juli Route as they take on a herculean tax of preparing 500 boxes of Hope for the poor and needy, mainly at hospitals and in villages near Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Please take a look at the colourful Notice put up in the Flikr album.

Gavin can be contacted on +91 9551055000 & +91 8754928777 and also on Face Book - Gavin Route & Juli Route.

Little things

Collecting used clothes or toys and distributing them to the little people that we come across, always warms the heart and we love doing this.  Take a look at the two little girls where the bigger one shows off her new clothes.

So, come on people, give a hand and send some used clothing, shoes and toys for the little people.  We are waiting!

And its Birdie time!

When we feed the birds of the air, we can be sure that the Lord who sees everything will bless us and provide us with all that we need.  Every morning its a ritual for me to feed the pigeons with grain. 

Its so strange to notice that even the birds follow the seasons of the year!  During the summer months, they pop in around 6am for their daily feed and as the days turn colder, they come in a little later and once the winter sets in, they come only at 6.30.  Guess they take their cue from the sun who rises later in the mornings when its cold.

From the photos, you can see them lining up on the building next door, watching and waiting for me to get their feed ready. And once this is served, they binge on all that they can and have a good feast.

I love my feathered friends and hope they keep coming regularly.

A treat for the Boys

When two or three join hands and pitch in their mite to do some good, you can be sure that its for the best. And here we have, three women - Pikul Chomduang from Thailand, Bridgette Kumar from Bangalore and Anita Mawdsley from Chennai - strangers to each other but known to me (Anita is my sister, Bridget a close friend, and Pikul a Thai colleague) and a young man - Pavan, also a colleague who contributed to the first Christmas program of the season.

50 boys and a handful of girls were treated to a variety entertainment program at the Infant Jesus' Boys Hostel in the first week of November.  Crunchy Chicken, egg puffs, cake and juice was distributed during the event and then it was time for gifts!  What's Christmas, without cake and presents!!

An enjoyable time was had by all and the highlight would have been the two young brothers - Boogie and Boonie - treating us to a dance special!  Their mother Surekha also encouraged the hostel boys to do well in their studies and forthcoming exams.  I must say that it was well worth the time and effort put in by Whispering Hope.  Our photos in our album tell the story.

 

Little things for Little Ones

When my pal, Dorothy, gave me some cash, I was wondering what to do with it and who was the most deserving person to get anything that this cash could buy.  I had almost forgotten about the money, when a little girl said she needed a pair of slippers for herself and her brother.  I jumped into give them a boost and hey, presto, a visit to the local Bata showroom and colourful slippers were bought for these two little kids. And with the remaining money, a birthday dress for the beautiful young lady was also bought.  Now who said, 'little things don't matter'! Believe me, they do and we at Whispering Hope are always ready to prove this in a mighty big way.

Thank you Dorothy and Allan Coyne for the gesture that made these two small children a happy lot!