Post-cyclone storms still pound villages

Image courtesy of NOAA
Cyclone Phailin, gathering strength over the
Indian Ocean, October 11, 2013.

In a brief online chat yesterday, Fr. Varghese told how he got calls from parishioners who "lost their houses and so on...sad it is."

The situation's worsening today as heavy storms spawned by Cyclone Phailin sweep away villager's homes and crops. Concrete buildings in larger towns are faring better, says the priest, but thatch-roofed homes in villages are no match for these punishing rains. See this Times of India video of Cyclone Phailin and these photos  of the storm and its impact.

On October 11, Cyclone Phailin was named the largest Cyclone ever recorded over the Indian Ocean, measuring half the size of India. Thousands fled and were evacuated from the nation's East Coast, preventing widespread loss of life. So far, 23 deaths are reported.

Photo by Daniel Bartholomew
Co-blogger Marianna B. received birthday greetings
via Skype from Fr. Varghese, his mission children and
Gypsy the dog, just the night before Cyclone Phailin hit.

The evening before the cyclone made landfall, Fr. Varghese and his children sent birthday greetings via video chat to his Dalitjournal co-blogger. Next day, he joined missionary Fathers Bhaskar and Sridhar in traveling north to the yearly diocesan retreat for priests in the Diocese of Visakhapatnam.

In a region already reeling from strikes, power outages and food shortages from Telengana statehood tensions, people are ill-equipped to handle yet another disaster.

The scale and frequency of natural disaster and political strife in India accounts for the diocesan retreat not being cancelled due to the crisis. This is a precious and crucial time for diocesan priests to reconnect and gather in prayer, rejuvenating their faith in a region just 2% Christian. Special talks by Bishop Antony Pappusamy of the Diocese of Dindigul in Tamil Nadu and hours spent in Eucharistic Adoration, are focusing the priests on local and global intentions.

In past floods, Fr. Varghese carried people to safety, fed and housed them for up to ten weeks at Holy Family Mission and helped in reconstructing homes. Now, he's fasting for his people and will face major clean-up when he returns home.

"Ask all our friends to pray for us," he wrote.

If you would like to donate to Flood Relief at Holy Family Mission, please use the donate buttons for Paypal or credit cards on this site, at right. Thank you and God bless you.

Andhra Pradesh divides and strikes

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

This map shows Telengana/Andhra Pradesh split.
Telengana lies northwest, including Hyderabad, the proposed 
capitol of both states until a new capitol
is created for Andhra Pradesh.

Just days after climbing into military lifeboats to help soldiers rescue villagers from floods surrounding his mission at Yerravaram, Fr. Varghese reported that "AP is divided." In his state of Andrah Pradesh, there is "no power, no proper communication...everything is in chaos."

On Tuesday, the ruling Congress party in India proposed creation of the new state of Telengana, carved from Andhra Pradesh. In protest, the non-Telengana region went on strike, with "no buses, no hospitals, no educational instutions, etc," wrote Fr. Varghese. "No shops, no government offices are opened. I went to the post office yesterday. Another seven days it will be like this, they say."

The India Times, BBC News and other outlets reported protests throughout Andhra Pradesh and across India, as statehood requests intensified in other regions. For decades, statehood issues have led to hunger strikes, students immolating themselves on college campuses, and clashes between locals and police.

But a missionary's life is to bless, and as tensions flared, Fr. Varghese continued his ministry.

On Wednesday, he said he "went out for a house blessing. While coming back, a few parishioners on the way invited me to their homes for a simple visit. So I covered 10 houses." Villagers were "happy that I prayed and blessed them. Some gave me milk to drink."

The next day, Fr. Varghese presided over a wedding.

Image of Godavari River from NASA.
Photo under public domain.
The Godavari River
slices through Andhra Pradesh
and the proposed new state of
 Telengana. Struggles over river
rights cause tension in a region
that lacks irrigation systems
for crops. 

The bishop back in Fr. Varghese's home diocese in Kerala has invited him for a visit, and Father's parents there have not seen him in more than two years. The missionary hoped to visit soon, but needed to use funds a well-wisher sent him for train tickets to help supply safe water to flood victims.

Father and volunteers from his Holy Family Mission spearheaded efforts to unite other locals in bringing tankers of fresh water to Yerravaram twice daily for several days, until the government could step in and take over.  These and other rescue efforts carried on by volunteers from his mission reached thousands and helped save many lives, said Fr. Varghese.

In the local paper, however, credit was also given to Hanuman the monkey-god, whose statue in Yerravaram is the largest in all India. Floodwaters lapped Hanuman's toes but rose no further, prompting the paper to publish thanks to Hanuman for stopping the floods.

In the meanwhile, Fr. Varghese and his volunteers brought needed food and clothing to the suffering, and cared for 12 families who sought refuge in the mission church in Yerravaram.

Now the flood situation is under control, reports Father, but prayers are needed for peace, as all India wrangles.

Before Telengana State becomes official, the resolution must pass in the Indian parliament and the state assembly. Please pray that justice and peace may reign across all India, and that monsoon season unfolds uneventfully.

"In my temple always there will be food" Malachi:3-10

Yesterday we had food for all the volunteers, because they worked until evening. 

Just three weeks more for a miracle to unfold...

Raising pillars for a platform roof takes team effort.

Dozens of volunteers have pulled down the old, crumbling concrete slab on Holy Family Mission property and are erecting a proper platform. The energy and activity around the Mission is incredible. People heard their Archbishop would be coming to celebrate the first Confirmations here in ten years, and they got to work. Skilled craftsmen are helping with the most technical steps, but the rest is being handled by the faithful. From young to old, everyone senses the urgency, since the ceremony is set for May 8th. Will they meet the deadline?

Read how their whole project began, here.

 

Besides keeping alive the sacramental life of his scattered missions with daily Mass, and filling all the roles of a pastor (visiting the sick, counseling the troubled, organizing catechists, etc.), Fr. Varghese (below in checked shirt) is right on hand overseeing and helping with construction.

In spite of India's mid-Summer heat, spirits are high as people transport dirt, rocks and brick.

An assembly-line approach speeds the work. Below, volunteers unload bricks amidst Holy Family Mission's little Plantain grove.

Bringing order to chaos is back-straining work!

Parishioners are asking for local donations for supplies like bricks and sand. The problem, said Fr. Varghese, is that nobody gets paid until the end of the month. Also, while the people give what they can to keep their mission running, most parishioners are "coolies," unskilled day laborers such as field workers and rickshaw drivers. Their wages are slim.

Parishioners are seeking donations locally for supplies like stones and bricks.

Elders are canvassing the area for donations. People
promise to provide funds by a certain date and then
receive this "voucher," written in the local Telugu
language.  Most people are "coolies," unskilled
 laborers, and don't get paid until the end
of this month, so funds are running dry.

Please pray that this Dalit community raises enough funds to complete their new "stage" and to host a dignified and beautiful Confirmation ceremony. The focus, of course, is on the coming of the Holy Spirit, and special classes are already in session to complete the formation of those about to receive the Sacrament. Confirmation candidates and their sponsors total around 400 people! Please keep them and their families in prayer.

Some day, this child might tell grandchildren about how people
flocked to the mission to work together in a time of need. 

Still a long way to go, but...
villagers are seeing a miracle unfold as they transform a pile of dust into something beautiful to honor God.


Text by Marianna Bartholomew
Photos (except the one in which he appears) by Fr. Varghese.

Easter Vigil 2013 -- He is risen!

Hundreds of villagers traveled to Holy Family Church this year for Easter Vigil Mass, held outside under a tent due to overflow crowds. 

 

Catechumens line up to be received into the Church. The little orphan girl Akhila, who Fr. Varghese adopted six years ago when she was left in his care, is on the far right.

People helped make the celebration beautiful in every way, from decorating and altar serving, to offering readings and providing music.

Holy Family Mission distributes gifts of saris to widows on feast days.

But the greatest gift received by all was the Eucharist, which the beloved Pope John Paul II called the "source and summit of life." Jesus is risen in Yelleswaram, India. Hallelujah!

Introducing Fr. Varghese and Holy Family Mission

Born and raised in southwest India on the Malabar coast, Fr. Varghese was invited to consider the priesthood by his parish priest. Attending daily Mass and serving at the altar, "Rince" entered the seminary at age 15 and was ordained a priest in 2005 at the age of 25. With a special love for the poor, Fr. Varghese felt called to leave his home diocese in Kerala and relocate cross-country to mission work in the Diocese of Visakhapatnam. He serves Holy Family Mission in Yelleswaram, and four rural outposts amidst people known as the "untouchables." 

Life in Andrah Pradesh means sweltering summers without
air-conditioning, when temperatures can rise as high as 117ºF.

Although officially outlawed, a caste system still persists in India, dividing peoples into various classes. The "untouchables" are the poorest group, and struggle for basic survival and human rights. With a love for simplicity, Fr. Varghese has taken on the lifestyle of his people, taking public transportation to reach his scattered missions, eating the simple, rice-based diet of the people, and experiencing inconveniences of the region such as frequent power outages and inadequate water supply.

Boiling his water and adapting to Yelleswaram's new climate, food and lifestyle was a struggle at first, says Fr. Varghese. A speaker of Malayalam, he learned the language of the region, Telugu, through immersion. He now speaks and writes Telugu fluently. The characters of this ancient Dravidian language seem exotic to English-speakers.

Fr. Varghese visits the sick, and provides special outreach to help with material needs. He has distributed blankets to the elderly, helped feed the hungry, housed the homeless and helped with relief efforts when the East Godavari River overflowed its banks this past September through October, in the worst flooding in the region in 20 years. 

Fr. Varghese helped feed and house 150 displaced flood
victims during 2012 monsoons.

People travel for miles on rough roads to reach Fr.'s mission.
Shown in the background is his little residence or "presbytery."

Fifty-year-old Holy Family Church...

The needs of a country priest in India are many...

Besides pastoral work, Fr. Varghese busies himself with
church maintenance, grateful for the help of village
"grandmas" who join him in cleaning the church
each Saturday.

Father Varghese also encourages young people to serve.