Really Important Update !

Since Santa Claus is about to knock on our doors, we also want to bring him to the boys and girls in the homes for the sick and the poor. The boys of Antelias and Deir El Salib, as well as the girls of Deir El Quammar are counting on you, to make there Christmas. 


Date: 11th November 2011 - 9pm 
Venue : Celtic Sports Bar , Monet Street , Beirut 


Tickets for students $10
Tickets for adults (over 25 ) $15 


Additional Cover charge: 25,000 LP (Two drinks included)


Everybody who is unfortunately not able to come, is still very much invited to make a Christmas donation to the boys and girls in the homes:


Account Number : 1013947310
Card Number : 5150181502
Sort Code : 12030000
Subject : Christmas Gift Donation


Remember it is for a great cause ! We look forward to seeing you there on the night .


Your sincerely ,


Caravan 

Life of Caravan while not in service :-)

27/10/2011

News from Beirut . As with every week we are busy with our Arabic classes and of course Abla infamous Arabic tests, service in Antilias, Deir El Quammar, Deir El Salib and our spiritual meeting. Furthermore we had a visit to Deir El Salib on Saturday with the Lebanese youth of the Order Of Malta – a very enjoyable afternoon was had by all. This week we have Christmas on the brain and are eagerly planning some Christmas events including a visit from St Nicolas with gifts for the boys and of course girls of the homes, the Christmas events will not be possible without finances so we are planning some really great fundraisers in Lebanon , Ireland and Germany to facilitate these events.

Moving swiftly on from Christmas as the blog writer does not want to hear Christmas mentioned until the 1^st of December , we have also been planning some events for the boys and girls – we look forward to updating you about these next week . The obvious allure of make up and nail polish has the caravan boys filled with dread (apparently it is too difficult for a boy to do! ) – we plan to show them that they can all be make up artist and nail technicians next week . Music is key to caravan service as it joins each of the boys and girls together – we are in the midst of learning a new song or two , well actually we are in the midst of making up the words as we go along . We received two Arabic songs from Michel that we look forward to singing in our German / Irish / Austrian and Dutch accents .

The last few weeks have been  busy for the Caravan , It started with a trip to our Naccache neighbour  Patrick Jabre for a lovely meal , a trip to see The Three Muskateers 3D ( rather interesting commentary from the two Irish girls throughout the film , a discussion arose as to whether it was meant to be a comedy which led to numerous fits of laughter. Lettie cousin features in this film and indeed she was definitely the best actress ) .Again  lovely evenings have been had by some of the team at the classics concerts with Dr Issa in Saint Joseph . We are becoming quite cultured really with trips to the museum and exhibition by Patrick Renauld , the ambassador of the Order Of Malta .

On Friday 21st , we attended the birthday of Pia and Lea , we were extremely grateful to be allowed celebrate their 18 birthday with them . Furthermore on Friday ,we were very fortunate to receive an invitation to attend the closing of Skybar , unfortunately it collided with Valerie arrival and the party but as I said previously we will always manage to fit three events in perfectly . The closing of Skybar was amazing and caravan really enjoyed and became weak at the knees J been so up close and personal with  Tinshy Stryder.

Valerie (the responsible for the caravan project ) arrived to visit on Saturday and we are really looking forward to spending some time with her , after all we have not seen her in two months .

Caravan arrivals for service on Tuesday in Deir El Salib was rather difficult as we  received the devastating news that Rene had passed away in the loving care of the hospital that he had been receiving treatment in for the last number of weeks . It is always with great sadness that we learn of the death of one of our boys. We hold him in our hearts, our thoughts and our prayers and we hold his family and the caretakers of Deir El Salib in our hearts at this difficult time. We know he has been called back to God and received with open arms into eternal peace.

Again busy weeks ahead so apologies on the fortnightly blogs but it is all that we can currently fit in to our schedule .


Caravan x

Update time

As promised another update for you all on the comings and goings in Naccache- apologies on the delay in writing but due to a sudden illness, our blogger was not able to update the events for a few weeks . We have started our service in Deir El Salib and Arabic lessons  – we pray that the Arabic lessons will reduce our need to say ‘Yallah’ in response to every question posed to us and that our time with the boys and girls will continue, like in Chabrouh to be filled with countless smiles and complete devotion to the boys and girls. We remember the boys often in our prayers and are so excited to finally be getting to work with them. We were also in the position to start out service in Antelias, again we knew many of the boys from Chabrouh –   very enjoyable afternoons are been had by all of us with the boys and I am certain that they thoroughly enjoyed the crazy caravanistas, who had each of them dancing and clapping from the moment we arrived . Deir El Salib and Antelias already feels like home for us and we are overjoyed and feel so honoured and privileged to be allowed spend time there each day .We are working tirelessly on some amazing plans for the boys – this week we hold our first birthday party for a very lucky boy ( We look forward to lavishing the special boy on his ‘caravan birthday’) . Continuing with Deir El Salib , we are really noticing a huge change in the boys – their is a lot of hugs , laughter and screams of delight . The little boys room continues to be a source of joy – the other afternoon saw the Irish tin whistle been played which was of great interest to many of the boys . Indeed it was a struggle to play the whistle without some little helpers . The garden and playroom are also sources of such joy considering it is such different scenary for the boys  and so many different things to look at and explore . The big boys room proves to be the toughest room as so many boys are trying to receive our attention – we are slowly getting to grips with dividing our attention  and at other times giving our individual boy the undivided attention that we and they so adore .

Alongside our service and Arabic courses , our weeks have been quite hectic  – our Lebanese friends have been so welcoming and we have been invited to numerous events . On Friday the 23^rd , we were invited to Fabio Khoury concert – 6 of the carvanistas attended the concert which proved to be an incredible night . Furthermore on Friday night , our Lebanese friends invited us to Gymasa and Hamra – a great night was had visiting many of the local pubs . On Saturday night , we received a really welcomed invitation to join Raissa , Maria and their family to celebrate the festival in Bkessine Village . Our thanks are extended to Maroun Nadar for his hospitality and warm welcome to the caravan team . We would also like to thank Michel for accompanying us in Bkessine . Our Lebanese friends as always Lea , Windy , Pia , Kathy , Maria and Raissa and so many more helped us to really enjoy the festivities . We received a rather strange weather phenomena ‘’rain’’ . For some reason , this brought some of the caravanistas out onto the street to watch the water flowing down the road like a river and then the words ‘photo opportunity’ where ushered – pictures to follow of the chaos. Tuesday we went to Jamhour which was a rather sedate affair – the team decided that Suzanne should ‘’go gently’’ on Michel in the soccer game, proving  a rather quiet affair . Jamhour is a truly amazing facility and we look forward to our Tuesday there  – Also this week , we welcomed Dr Issa to our home and indeed he welcomed us to his office ( we cannot express our gratitude enough for the care he takes of the carvanistas and in his organisation of everything from medication to hospital admissions) . This week , we saw most of our carvanistas going to a pc party – I will let the pictures do the talking on this one although we were assured it was fancy dress it was strange that all of the carvanistas and just 2 of our Lebanese friends where in full costume . Also an evening with Sheik Walid in le creparie and a really peaceful and relaxing weekend in the mountain of Sourat with Dr Issa , Patrick , Yann , Joy and George proved very enjoyable . The highlight of this week was our house warming party which saw 80 of our friends arrive as dead celebrities – a fun filled night was had by all.

We are fortunate to have such a great group of Lebanese friends around us and have many more events in the coming days and indeed months to look forward to . For our team , the events are important but what is of the utmost importance is that the boys and girls we are working with are given every opportunity that we can possibly give them to grow and shine in their own unique and individual ways . This week we start out service to the girls (due to slight transportation issue we had a delay ) we look forward to updating you really soon about the wonderful girls .We also begin our spiritual meetings in the coming days, which is so beneficial for our team – with so many topic ideas already it promises to be one of the highlights of our week . Our photo master is working over time to process the huge amount of picture but I am assured that we will receive some more pictures in the next few days ( and if the internet agrees we shall invite you into life as a caravan while we are not on service ) .

Love The 10 (nearly 11) muskateers

On a final note , we all wish Amelie a huge Happy 19th birthday . We know the next year will be filled with the most amazing of adventures .

Just a sneak peek for you all