Poli Na Safari "Poli na safari" is a Swahili phrase meaning, I'm sorry for your travel. It is intended to show sympathy for the hardship one often faces while negotiating the difficult African terrain. Having traveled those rocky, pitted, unpaved roads, I understand the need for such a phrase. … [Read more...]
ORTHODOXY IN THE GUATEMALAN HIGHLANDS: A LIGHT SHINES BRIGHTLY
July 3, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
On the feast day of Saints Peter and Paul, in the humble and unspoiled village of Aguacate, we celebrated one of the most moving liturgies of my stay in Guatemala. For the first time in the Altiplano, I had the joy of experiencing uninterrupted worship from "Blessed be the kingdom" to the last … [Read more...]
MANY VOICES, ONE FLOCK: Church Music in Guatemala
June 18, 2014 by · 1 Comment
On the day of Pentecost many foreign languages were ecstatically uttered by the apostles, but instead of dividing the multitude in attendance, it united them in a bond of love. Such was the experience of the five member OCMC catechetical team that came to teach the music of the Orthodox Church to … [Read more...]
MEDICAL MISSION: UNMERCENARIES NEEDED
June 4, 2014 by · 1 Comment
On May 29th, Robert Kirschner representing Surgicorps, Maxwell Dotson the CEO of the newly formed NGO- One World, One Community- and I traveled to the remote village of Aguacate, Guatemala, located a short distance below the southern border of Mexico. Our purpose was to explore the … [Read more...]
Video of Miracle Report in Pebilpam, Guatemala
March 22, 2014 by · 1 Comment
On March the 10th, we interviewed a woman who reported a miracle that occurred through the intercessions of the late Fr. Andres Giron. We posted an initial article a few days ago, and now we are happy to provide the video of this miracle report. I am translating for the woman as she reports her … [Read more...]
MIRACLE REPORTED THROUGH INTERCESSIONS OF FR. ANDRES
March 20, 2014 by · 1 Comment
On March 10, 2014, at the outset of our afternoon pastoral visit to the Ascension Parish of Pebilpan in Huehuetenango, Guatemala, I was approached by one of the catechists, who described a recent healing of a three year-old child attributed to the intercessions of the late Fr. Andres Giron … [Read more...]
THOUSANDS MOURN THE PASSING OF FR. ANDRES GIRON
February 22, 2014 by · 2 Comments
It was with great sadness that family, friends and the faithful gathered to pay tribute to Fr. Andres Giron- church leader, reformer and passionate servant of the poor. Over the last two months he fought a valiant battle against his diabetes, hoping to overcome its … [Read more...]
MEDICAL MISSION TO GUATEMALA: TO HEAL AS CHRIST DID
December 21, 2013 by · 1 Comment
For many people of the Orthodox Church, especially those living in first-world countries, the mission of Christ is primarily viewed as something spiritual and otherworldly. As such, the main emphasis is placed on liturgical rites and the teaching and preaching ministries of the faith. While these … [Read more...]
LOSING OURSELVES IN CHRIST’S MISSION
September 9, 2013 by · 4 Comments
When the great missionary saint, Kosmas Aitolos, Equal to the Apostles, had prayed, fasted and wept for his sins over a period of 17 years on Mt. Athos, he felt a gnawing sensation, like that of "a worm eating away at wood." It was calling him to leave the safe and tranquil confines of his … [Read more...]
The Call To Serve!
March 27, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
"Woe is me for I am a man of unclean lips," cried the prophet Isaiah, upon seeing "the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up"(Is. 6:1). Despite the profound sense of impurity provoked by this holy vision in the Temple, The Lord, after mystically cleansing the lips of His prophet with a hot … [Read more...]
