"The will of God will never take you to where the grace of God will not protect you."

Fr. Eamon and I have been in discussion about how to acquire the necessary items for repairing the church. He suggested a group of suppliers (smugglers? oh dear, it is probably better not to ask) who operate out of the gas station on the bluff behind the church. It seems he made their acquaintance some time ago, and Luci confirmed that they have a reputation for securing hard-to-get supplies from the mainland (although Luci also said that their trade usually consists of unsavory stuffs, but when I put this to Fr. Eamon, he dismissed it with a glower and muttered something about the need overriding the origin. *sigh*)

Unfortunately, my attempts to contact someone have been unsuccessful. I did leave a letter yesterday in the hopes that someone would contact us, but so far there has been no word. Guin, the poor dear, has been making inquiries as well, and it seems we may have some method of replacing the glass in the windows soon, so things are slowly coming together, but I'll be so much happier when we can actually start to do something, rather than trying to ignore the empty front of the church every time I walk up the aisle.

In the meantime, however, little Luci has proved enterprising once again. She arrived at the church this afternoon, a battered old Radio Flyer in tow--I clapped when I saw it, as I had one almost exactly like it when I was a girl! Her wagon was piled with scrap sheets of wood--mostly particle board and warped plywood, but better than I could have asked for, all of it salvaged from the ruins on the far side of the island, and she even managed to find a tin can full of nails. All these items have been stored in the back room of the church for now, and I left a note for Fr. Eamon so he knows they're available for sealing off the window frames at the very least.

And Luci--bless the child! I hugged her hard and treated her to a milkshake at Zoe's!

On another note, the parish has welcomed a new member of the clergy. A young monk, Brother Lincoln, comes to us from the mainland, and while I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting him, by all accounts he seems to be settling well into the life of the parish. I am so very pleased over this news, as we have been terribly shorthanded since Fr. Zelenski's... ah... vacation. The extra help will not only be a boon to the parish itself, I'm sure he will be able to help us repair the church all the faster. God's good blessings upon him!