This is a month of life source because here people depend on rain water for the harvest rather than any other thing, so if no rains no life. It is not like other places to switch for watering fields. Our Community had lots of fights with mosquitoes. Every day it rains cats and dogs some time as downpours water. This change of weather makes our Community tasks be hard, to get up at morning for Eucharist and to carry an umbrella with the Bible always. The sun is weaker in these days; this not only dulls Brothers in prayers at certain occasions but to teach in classrooms which are really very dark. It is like “Hide and See” game, every time Brothers have to find out the students and to know what they are doing.
Some of our Brothers got malaria which is a common high fever for all. The Brothers go for injection to the dispensary of the Sisters. Every day we sleep under the protection of a mosquito net, but these small creatures are able of entering inside and disturbing whole night.
On 14th Sunday our Community had an outing to Kunkuri (in Chhattisgarh) to visit the Cathedral “Maha Grija” and to buy things for our little future Chapel but the shop was closed. We met Rev. Bishop Immanuel Kerketa, the Secretary and there we find some relatives of Bro. Sandip.
Two of our Brothers, Bro. Abhay and Bro. Sandip were in need of submitting their mark sheets and other certificates, so started their journey to Madurai Community. It is a three days journey. After getting their required documents in College, visits to the hospital and staying in Madurai Community for two days, they started their journey to come back to our Community. The train ticket was unreserved, they had heavy luggage with that by seated in the stairs of the train they continued their journey in a crowded train. They reached our Community safe and sound with heavy luggage and empty purse as well as very tired.
Meanwhile in their options, The little community of Brothers Bro. Efra, Bro. Selvan and Bro. Raja not having much knowledge of Hindi especially Sadri which is the common local language. There was a borehole lorry for our house there was no Parish priests here. In the school all the teachers were taken for retreat around three days. In the Primary, Middle and High school there was only two Brothers and two teachers who took care of the Schools. These were horrible days for us.
In Jharkhand 26th July is an important day because is the feast of St. Joachim and Anne. It is the feast day of the Congregation of Daughters of St. Anne’s of Ranchi; most of schools in this State are run by these Sisters. In the Parish there was a program which came to end by a heavy downpour without the final speech of Sr Superior. This rain had been unexpected for the cultivation here. On this day only our Brothers who were travelling arrived at our Community. We all celebrated this feast with the Sisters remembering our Founder’s devotion to St. Anne.
Naturally in monsoon time here the people used to fish. There is a pond near our future land which, when it is over flooded, everyone comes for fishing with nets and hooks or whatever. Our Community also went there to fish as we do not have fishing net, we took our mosquito net for fishing; after a long time we got a little tiny fish out of the Pakka pond. During these days the prayer of our Rosary is done under umbrellas, and yet we ask our Mother Mary for more rain!!
The last week of this month was fully spent in plantation especially the whole High School was taken for plantation of paddy. Some part of this harvest money is used for the salary of the teachers. The Schools of Sisters, Primary and Middle Schools, do the same every year so Brothers have also the task of taking care of students while they work in the field even Brothers work with them in paddy lands that belong the Sisters or the Parish Church.
With the help of Jesus, Mary and Joseph under the humble roof of Nazareth, we proceed every day with our duties and mission.
Bro. A. Raja
