June 17th & 20th

Note: Thank you to all who leave comments on my posts. :-) I keep meaning to reply but I have very little time to be on the internet so it's hard to accomplish everything I wish to. But rest assured I do read what you write and it brightens my day. :-)

June 17^th, 2010

It's an awesome feeling when a room full of conversing people falls so silent you could hear a pin drop. That's what happened this evening at the Knights of Columbus Supper. When we began the song Wayfaring Stranger, everyone was talking. I actually prefer that because any mistake I/we make is undercover. Lol! And Wayfaring Stranger is such a lovely lilting song that I forgot all about our audience and just enjoyed the melody and words. For those not aware of this, I assure you that there is an entire existence to be found in music. :-) But suddenly, the silence was so loud that it got into my head.

There are different kinds of audiences, mostly depending on how well your performance is. Hehe. Usually, I prefer noise because noise is often appreciative: clapping, laughing, humming, singing, etc, etc. Silence for us usually means that the audience is being polite. ;-) And I hate polite audiences. :-P But tonight was different. This silence was anything but politeness. The music had broken through all barriers and touched their souls. It was like they had forgotten to breathe. It was awesome. Almost frightening to have had a hand in that serious of an effect on human beings.

I do not say this in arrogance. I hope I have not come across that way. But it was such a neat experience that I wanted to share it. Sincerely, it was mostly the song. I've heard it played/sung many times and it never fails to make me silent... As my brother would say, that's quite a feat. :-)

Today was a musical day. Two days ago, Fr. Banga informed us that Jo King would pick us up on Thursday (today) to go play at the Home in Carlyle. We all kind of looked at each other and said, “Um... that means we need to get a program together. Now.” Lol! We had known that Jo was going to get us scheduled to sing there so we should have gotten ready a week or so ago. But being lazy and half witted, we put it off until last minute. As usual. :-P But it came together in about 10 minutes and yesterday, we practiced 2/3 of it. This morning I was up at six, putting the last of it together (I had to handwrite a lot of the song words out because we only had one copy) and we practiced until right before Jo arrived.

Boy! It was so good to see her again. She is so jolly. And she's talkative so I never feel like I'm talking too much around her. :-) :-) Jo is a wonderful musician and singer. Her mother was a musician and ran a Pig 'n Whistle show for 20 years, so Jo grew up performing with her friends. You can imagine the talent. But that aside, she is a lovely person. I feel privileged to think of her as a friend.

The program went well. The only thing I found was my fingers kept sticking to the keys of the piano. I think I maybe perspired or something. Strange. Anyway, it was lovely otherwise. :-) The reaction was nice, too. Jo told us one lady had tears in her eyes... making people cry that way always makes me feel nice. ;-) Oh! There was a little old man (no this is not the beginning of a song!) who wanted to see us a bit closer so he looked at Hannah and the banjo... then Lydia and her guitar... but when he came to me, my hair was hanging down over my shoulder, so he lifted it gently and peered into my face (this was all during the middle of a song ;-)). If anyone else had done it, I would have been a little put off but this man was like a very polite child. I was fine with it. When the workers came up, fluttering a bit, he said, “I wanted to see who was playing the piano.”

Afterwards, Jo took us shopping and we found a number of lovely little gifts for certain peoples of our lives and then, she took us out to A&W for dinner. I hadn't been out to a fast food restaurant in a couple years, anyways, so that was a wonderful treat. :-) I did NOT have Root Beer. It's my favorite soda but I'm trying to lie low on the sugar. I did eat a little Belgium milk chocolate later on in the afternoon, however. Just a little. ::smile::

After we came home, Fr. Banga had us do a little work. But it started sprinkling so he told me that all I had to do was sweep the leaves up in the outdoor chapel and that was all. I went and snitched a broom, shovel and wheelbarrow (Fr. Banga asked me if I had a license to drive it ;-)) and had most of the leaves out of the chapel when suddenly, the light shifted and it started to pour. And I mean, really, really pour. I've only seen it rain that hard once before in my life. Hannah and I waited around for a while, glad to be under a roof, but it didn't stop. Finally, it let up a bit and we decided to make a run for it. As Fr. Banga says, we're not that sweet. ;-)

The weather forecast is two additional inches of rain for tonight with warnings for tornado and high winds.

Mater: “I'm as happy as a tornader in a trailer park!” (Cars)

I think I've posted this verse before, but it has been brought to my attention once again... “Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.” (2 Corinthians 1:24) I think of all the years that I tried to assert dominion over what others believed... judging, anxious, arrogant. Why is it that some verses skipped my notice so completely? I suppose because my eyes were closed. What ye seek ye shall find. It's a promise and it doesn't just apply to when you seek the good things God wants for us. I have been thinking... seeking Truth and God's will and trusting in His love... you just can't go wrong.

Yesterday, all the district priest and the Dean came for a deanery meeting. Sometimes it seems strange to be around so many celibate people. Don't take that wrong. Lol. Just keep in mind my background; conservative Baptists frown on celibacy and catholicism in general. Anyways, there were ages ranging from 94 to late 20's. Three of the priests were two years from India. They all arrived in their collars and black suits and straight backs. I think they felt a little shy at first but the crowd was so jolly that they soon relaxed. Fr. Banga isn't sure how well they are going to do here because it is very difficult to understand them in a small crowd... let alone from the pulpit. But I think he finds it a relief to see someone younger coming in to replace some of the older priests.

I would be curious to hear the spiritual view of those priests from India. Who is God to them? Is it only religion? Is it only a way to come to a richer country? Or have they experienced something personal with God?

Again, it is so easy to get tangled up with the titles and collars and symbols and forget about the person bearing them.

June 20^th, 2010

It's almost the longest day of the year. Imagine that. :-)

So. The sun is shining. Imagine that! On the 17^th, Carlyle got 5 inches of rain in one night. That's not taking into consideration what they got earlier that day. At Kenosee, we didn't get quite that much but even with our 2 or 3 inches less, we were still jumping creeks and considering fetching a canoe for getting around in. :-P So I am very thankful for the sun. :-)

We actually haven't got anything to worry about here. Many towns in SK and in the states have it so bad. Maple Creek was one of those especially hard hit. They had to evacuate everyone from the hospital. People lost everything. They were showing pictures and video footage of the devastation.

Fr. Banga's cousin Adeline and husband Wayne have arrived. They come help several times every year. As with anyone else Fr. Banga hangs out with, Adeline is wonderfully, hopelessly larger than life. :-) She makes us laugh 100 times a day. She is “5 ft and shrinking”, has a voice you can hear all over camp, can't talk without her glasses (so they say) and is so kind to us. She and Fr. Banga constantly harass each other. :-) Constantly. They've been the best of friends ever since they were old enough to walk... and since their mothers were sisters and their fathers were brothers and they only lived a mile apart while growing up and they're close in age, they know each other quite well.

Conversations are so spicy now. For instance:

Fr. Banga: “I'm always friends with the underdog.”

Naomi: “Ohhh, is that why you're friends with us?”

Fr. Banga: “I'm glad you picked up on that.”

Adeline: ::takes off her glasses::

But she doesn't always take them off voluntarily. Sometimes she will be really on Fr. Banga's case and he'll say abruptly, “Take off your glasses.” Then, they both grin and we'll all be in stitches.

Oh yeah. Life is good. :-)

Well, mostly good.

On the 18^th we had a group of school kids come in and they left quite a mess. I suppose it isn't as bad as it could have been but... :-P The worst part was cleaning the bathrooms. There was only one plugged toilet but they were all dirty. I have very little experience unplugging toilets. But I have more now. Lol. I was ½ inch from having a horrible mess. Thank goodness it went when it did. And I'm also thanking goodness for rubber gloves and plungers. :-)

Yesterday, I painted almost all day. People have been donating chesterfields and chairs at Fr. Banga's request and since the room they all go to has problems with mold, Fr. Banga wants them to be set up on stands instead of on their own legs. So Hannah made them, and I painted them. Bright blue. :-)

Well, it's almost time to leave for church so I must sign off. I hope that your summer will be wonderful.