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Show BY THE TIME you read this, we shall be in the throes of preparation for Christmas. We are happy to have Marcel LaVoy and Bailey Thompson with us, and their help will be inestimable when it comes to sorting gifts, boxing candy, and all the thousand and one little things that need doing before the Day, so that all will go smoothly. As usual, we shall have the Christmas Masses, with sermons in Navajo, the archery contest, dinner and recreation for all, in addition to the distribution of gifts. We hope that you who plan to send us things will try to get them off real early, not only for the sorting, etc., but because until everything is in we have no way of knowing what we shall have to give out! And here let us repeat the message on our coverour hearty and grateful Christmas greetings to you all. All of you know from experience, as well as from Scripture, that "it is more blessed to give than to receive." We wonder if you realize that it is more difficult to ask than to give? Some of you may be getting tired of our constant begging, but be assured, we don't enjoy it. To do it at all, we have to think of how wonderfully your gifts magnify our efforts. As the man with a tractor can cultivate fields that formerly required a dozen men with hoes, so we can help accomplish tasks that neither you alone nor we alone could do. f lt is a year and a half since our Tenth Anniversary, when we first started appealing in a serious way for financial help. Many of you remember our folder "TEN YEARS OF PROGRESS." Now is a good time to review and make a report. We have always liked the old story of the Irishman who drove a cartload of potatoes to market, and on his return told his wife, "I didn't get as much as I expected, but then I didn't expect I would." So with our Tenth Anniversary Appeal. Few of the gifts were specially designated, so we have had to use our judgment in allocation. lt is impossible to say how many gifts came directly in response to the Appeal, and how many would have come anyway. But, for your interested survey, here is a brief glance at the results. -4- We asked for $1500 to finish the Chapel, and $1000 a year to maintain it. We spent $85 on waterproofing the roof, much of our own labor on interior improvements. We asked for $2500 to repair the Mission House and modernize the kitchen, and $1000 annually for maintenance. We got some second-hand sinks, put them in ourselves. We have $300 earmarked towards a new refrigerator. We asked for $5000 to finish and furnish the school, and $3000 a year to maintain it. We got and spent nothing. We asked for $8500 to complete the hospital, and $3000 a year to maintain it. We have spent $4600 of the funds you have sent us for this purpose. We asked-for $5000 for transportation, and $2500 a year to run it, We spent $2480 for a new jeep, and over $200 for overhaul of other cars. We asked for $3000 to build a presbytery, and $1000 to maintain it. We have spent $500 and completed the masonry work on this project. We asked for $2500 for a guest bunk house, and $1000 for maintenance. We have done nothing on this project. We asked for $2000 for a new light and power plant, and $1000 a year to maintain it. We spent $521 for a new plant, and $400 for Propane tank and attachments. We asked for $1000 for staff vacations. We spent nothing on this project. To say that we are grateful for the help we have received is an understatement. We cannot express our gratitude. We have come to regard our helpers as indeed fellow-workers in a project that is yours as well as ours. We welcome not only gifts, but advice, suggestions and help of all sorts. We are certain that the spirit expressed in a letter recently received is that of many. This lady writes: "I just had a gain where I expected a loss so I wanted to make a thank-offering to God ... This is such a lovely way to celebrate my good luck! Mrs,. M. __ .:. ______ , Florida. -5- |