Masa si Ziua Tua

I have been happy to find a Catholic parish here in Stauceni. The people of Moldova are 98% Orthodox Christians. So the chances of finding a Roman Catholic church in your town is not that great. Our parish here is named in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This past Saturday they had big celebrations for the feast day of the parish. But the pictures posted here are actually a birthday party that I attended on Sunday evening. It was for the wife of the Deacon in this parish. Peter and Kathleen Coates are from Great Britain. Petru was the first permanent deacon to be ordained for Eastern Euorpe. His wife's birthday was grandly celebrated with a barbeque in the parish yard. The food was fabulous as well as the company. I met priests from Germany and Figi and even a home town boy from Stauceni. The nuns in the parish are from Poland. And the parish receives a lot of support from Caritas International from the Vienna office. It has a daily hot meal program for 150+, mostly for children after school. It also manages one of two homeless shelters for all of Moldova. I have met one of the men. He is from Sierra Leon (Africa) and has lived here in Moldova for 13 years. He has become a citizen and is very politically active. Masa is the word for a Moldovan food fest, and Ziua Tua de Nastere...your birthday.