Cleaning up after Sandy

The other day one of the sisters was looking up a recipe for, would you believe, Pecan Sandie cookies! Some people never lose their sense of humor. Wouldn't you know, up comes an ad on the side from Granger telling her that they can help in her reconstruction after the hurricane! Folks around us are still without power, facing maybe even a few more days of waiting. And it's getting cold! We are so blessed, and it is humbling, to have our electricity and to have friends stop by to see if they can do any grocery shopping for us. We can only offer them our prayer, asking the Lord to bless them and that they will know His love especially through others helping them!

According to the news--and it seems accurate--only 25% of gas stations in the northern part of New Jersey are open. For several days there was a line of cars coming on Morris Ave. snaking by the monastery waiting to get gas. Sr. Maureen met someone running in to use the bathroom! She asked him he would lose his place in the line. "Nah, the line isn't moving!"

It would be nice to be able to encourage people that if they come to our chapel they'll be able to warm up a bit but our chapel never really gets warm in the winter. But we do encourage you to come and spend time with the Lord and let Him warm your heart with His Holy Spirit!

Since most people who do come to our chapel are without power and are walking here we set up a coffee urn in the parlor and posted a sign in the vestibule to invite our guests to have a nice hot cup if they wish! It's not much but we hope it will show in a small way our solidarity with our neighbors.

The tree leaning on our power line is still there. The downed line on Springfield Ave is still across the road so the road is closed. We hope they power company will be able to get to the tree in time or else we'll be out of power again! We know they are doing the best they can. God bless them and their families!