Grave Situation

This has been some week for us.  For some time now we’ve been planning a trip to the Philippines but it’s been a thing shrouded in confusion and sense of hopelessness.  This has changed as our church really got together on Father’s Day and addressed the purpose of this coming trip.  It is times like this in which I find an eternal gratitude to God for our little church.  We are not bound by a way of doing things and when there’s a need to pray we will do it at the drop of a hat.  Our meeting brought great focus and a much needed sense of direction.  We are set to proceed with our trip a month later than at first planned meaning Lovely and I and the kids will likely go in October…mom and part of the team will arrive a few weeks later then the other will come a couple weeks after that.  Hopefully by then we will have secured a house.  The team will be much smaller than we first intended but still my dear brother will be coming from Africa with another friend of ours from there and perhaps and African or two from Chicago.  I sense a tremendous relief in it all!  We will try to secure Filipino passports for the kids who are duel citizens.  This makes a huge difference for us in customs in Manila.  We then intend to proceed to Davao City where we will continue the work that we began so many years ago now.  It will mark my eighth trip.  All the kids have been there before except Gabby…it is time for them to see the other half of their heritage.  This is not an easy thing nor is it safe…please remember us in your prayers.

 

One of my dreams has been to take pictures in an old graveyard in Ireland.  This year that dream became a reality…thus the title of this post…hope you don’t mind the pun!  It really was a grave situation!  Some headstones were hundreds of years old and could no longer be read at allbut I thought this didn’t retract from them being quite photogenic none the less.  Some crosses were simple yet beautiful in designwhile others were far more intricate in appearance.  The sacred heart is well seen here.  A bit further away and you can see it in all its glory.  Why be satisfied with only one angle?  It felt like there was a lot of history here though that is not unusual for Ireland.  The weather was pretty edgy yet it when it cooperated I got busy clicking more and more shots.  The large trees provided shelter when it began to rain and thus this shot presented itself.  Some stones were smaller and simpler than othersbut I thought they all had a personality unique to them.  Here is a more classic design back dropped by a far more Celtic grave.  This was a shot taken through one stone while looking out on the graveyard.  I found the contrast between the grey on the headstones and the green of the grass almost shocking.  I have no idea what these aphids hoped to find to eat on this head stone.  Another shot through the head stones.  The church was unique in that it had memorials in the stained glass windows.  Leaving the church I could see some new angles that captured my attention.  This grave reminded me of some of the markers along the road you might see in Oregon.  Small wonder there was so much moss on these graves with the endless rain.  This cross had actually broken from it’s grave and was placed near the cemetery wall.  This stone had a candle near it…someone still comes to remember this person.  It is written that we parish without a vision.  I believe this so much.  We will press forward with both vision and purpose…an new mission awaits!