I've almost made it.....

Ok, November is almost over, and I'm still going. I still haven't taken any pics of my school yet, but I will try to do that soon. Instead, I would show you all of some of the kids I have worked with from different parts of the world, from Bashkortistan to Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Russia. Hope you enjoy the photos of these little angels. The first two little girls are from Bashkortistan, and it is amazing to see oriental people with naturally blond hair! Then to the right are three little russians, and then in the bottom photo, the little girl dressed like a mouse for a play is Kazakh. God has created such a diverse world! Hope you enjoy, and see you soon!

God Bless

Joe Nicklas Maria

November Blues

It happens every November here in Rome. The weather is cold and rainy, the school doen't have the freshness it had at the beginning of the year, and the end of the semester is still too far away to think about it. Oh, and the classes are moving past the general introduction stage into the "We will bury you under as much work as we can"

But not to worry, I am staring the November enemy right in the eyes, and I am fighting the good fight. I have made the decision to familiarize myself much much more with the city of Rome, and have found some interesting ways to keep myself going......for example "la bomba alla crema" which is a beautiful little italian pastry that resembles in some odd, european way, a cream filled donut. If that doesn't pick you up on a cold rainy day of philosophy lectures, then I don't know what will!

It is also nice that we have a 15 minute break between every lecture, and we don't have to switch rooms which means I have time to visit the chapel or speak with my friends....yes Ben...I have friends. I will try to post some pictures of my university in the next week, but I don't have any yet, so maybe I will take some....

God Bless, and keep fighting the good fight!

Rome Sweet Home

I thought I would post a couple of pictures of our houses here in Rome. The first is the house of the brothers, which is where I live. It is called Casa Gesu Sommo Sacerdote (House of Jesus the High Priest). The second picture is a picture of our novitiate house, Casa San Giuseppe (The House of St. Joseph) where I lived my first 3 and a half years in the community. It is located about a football field (which is actually an olive grove ;-) ) away from us. The last picture is a photo from the rooftop terrace of The student house looking down to the novitiate. The statue is an original statue of Jesus the High Priest, designed by our Father Paul. It looks out over the whole region, and is quite beautiful. Underneath it will be written "Learn from Me, for I am meek and humble of heart." This is what Jesus says to every priestly soul...

Yes, God has truly blessed us with this location. It is incredibly peaceful, and we have beautiful nature surrounding us, including vineyards, olive groves, and huge kiwi patches. We are also so close to Rome, that we can be anywhere in the city in one hour. Anyway, thought you might like to see my digs! More soon. Ciaò and God Bless!

Joe Nicklas Maria

Thanks Everybody

Wow, I am really happy that you all like checking in on me so much. I certainly wasn't expecting so many people to have a peek!, and its great to hear from people whom I don 't normally get to talk to. So just to update everyone on where I am at, I am currently finishing the last year of my philosophy degree at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Then next year, I will begin my theology degree (that is a three year program). I will be quite happy to be done with philosophy, I have to say that I don't find it at all interesting, and actually quite boring.....but we do what we have to do. There are some good classes, like my Bioethics class, which discussed very modern topics that are very important today, such as gentic engineering, cloning, abortion, etc etc...The professor for the class is Fr. Ramon Lucas Lucas (yes, he has the same last name twice, don't ask me why) and he is THE expert in the Catholic Church for all of these things, so it was really a pleasure to get to hear him.

I am doing well, and I wish all of you a blessed Wednesday.

Joe Nicklas Maria

Happy Monday

Some people have been asking me what it looks like in Kazakhstan, so I dug through some of my old photos, and found some nice pictures I took of the Kazakh Steppe. Enjoy!

All Souls Day

I thought I would post another picture of me with a couple of our kids from the mission in Russia. This time it is Stazic and Anastasia. She is a fireball, and has already told poor Stazic that they will be getting married one day! The crazy looking animal in the corner is my newest muppet, a crazy looking sheep with huge eyes. More soon!

Have a great day, and don't forget that today is the day to help all of the souls out of Purgatory and into heaven! Everything you do today, offer it for them, and they will be your newest friends in Heaven!

God Bless you All.

My First Photo!

I am still trying to get the hang of this, so I thought I would try to publish my first photo. It is a picture of me and our priest Fr. Johannes from our mission station in Bashkortistan. The two little angels in my arms are Ksusha and Alyona, two little girls from the village where we live and work. Check back soon for more photos and hopefully some stories and what not......

God Bless