GREEN CHRISTMAS

Warm greetings, everyone! As you read this, it will probably be a little cooler here in Georgetown, Guyana, as the rainy season starts in earnest in December. But that doesn't diminish the joy and warmth in people's hearts. No matter where in the world I am, I have seen that this is the time of reuniting, gathering with family and friends and sharing what you have with those less fortunate.

Our little three-person Mercy Volunteer community will try to do those things in a few different ways. We will continue to share our time and talents with our ministries. For me, this will include continuing to be a Programme Coordinator for five programmes that our Patient and Family Services Department maintains at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital. Each programme serves our HIV+ patients and offers them support in different ways. We provide nutritional assistance in the form of education and food vouchers to improve nutrition for families who may not eat every day. We help children get the books and supplies they need to go to school, since schoolbooks are not supplied by the school, but must be bought each year by the parents (this is the public school system). I coordinate specialist consultations for patients with conditions and infections that, if untreated, could be a fatal strain on their already weakened immune systems. I also coordinate dental consultations for the same reasons. And lastly, I monitor antenatal care services for HIV+ mothers who are part of a programme of antenatal care and treatment at delivery which decreases the risk of transmission of HIV from mother to child at the time of delivery. All of these are services which the patients could not otherwise afford. Managing these programmes for the many clients who need them has been a very rewarding ministry, and it's always great to know that people are really getting the care they need and cannot afford because of the thoughtful vision and sharing of others.

Another part of my ministry is taking about 12 boys from the St. John Bosco Boys Orphanage swimming every Saturday morning, and barring the pouring rainstorms that often fall in the mornings, we should continue to improve our strokes and dives this month! Our community will also share our home this Christmas time with several of these boys. Last year we hosted three little guys and had a ball playing, singing, baking cookies and going for walks on the seawall and in the park. I particularly loved sharing our favourite Christmas carols and telling them "'Twas The Night Before Christmas" on Christmas Eve. Two of them were asleep before I finished. It's so nice to give them a different place to stay, and it's lots of fun to have them around!

We will gather for several Christmas parties. Nearly every interest group has a Christmas party, so for choir, for the ministries and for friends, we will have many lovely places to gather. I sing and play percussion (tambourine and maraca) with the choir at my parish, and we will be singing a lot this month with masses and special seasonal concerts. I've also been forming a children's choir in our parish for the last few months, and they should have some delightful numbers to sing for the Christmas concert - complete with choreography!

We'll also enjoy a Christmas luncheon with the Sisters and friends of the Sisters at Meadowbrook Convent, our "family" here in Guyana. They bless us so richly with their love and care at this time of year when it can be so difficult to be far away from our real families.

As if that weren't enough, I am blessed to be able to welcome my real family for a visit just after Christmas this year. We have been practicing songs to sing for whoever will listen - something we always do when we get together. My sisters and I grew up singing together, and my parents accompany us on guitar and accordion! It should be lots of fun, and a wonderful gift to be all together again after such a long time.

So, as you can see, the months ahead will be busy, busy, busy, and full of the love and blessings that sustain us here as we grow deeper in our host culture, our community life our ministries and our spirituality. May your advent season glow with the light of the many blessings in your life. If you're in a good place for it, enjoy the patterns of frost, snow on your tongue, hot cider, and (my favourite) swiss miss cocoa packets with the marshmallows included for me :o)