May 31 email from Bill: 
Greetings John OMI
Hope you have been well. It is report writing time of the semester, oh the fun of being a teacher hey. 
I have made the first installment (of 3) to the three village men who are making the bricks for the Spirit Home. They will have fired them, 40000 all up, and will be ready for the construction stage now in mid August. The Holy Spirit is moving quickly within us all. Blessings to you brother

Compassionate about the poor    Bill  Mulcahy  (Brisbane)   June 1, 2012  Compassion…. Will Matter

Bill's previous articles www.spiritofthebush.net

In general, people live for one priority - self. The societal world promotes this through glamour advertising that we all fall for. We become self-obsessed falling into the trap that we ‘need’ all the trappings to be happy. We become entrapped in working long hours to support our life style. We become too busy to be compassionate. We only offer token sympathy; shed an occasional tear and can feel saddened for those less fortunate. This is the reality of modern life, token compassion, but is this what our Heavenly Father wants of us, or even requires of us.

            This leads me to the verse from Jude 22: “And of some have compassion, making a difference.” But what is compassion? Do we fully engage with what it means? Compassion is love in action. Compassion is helping people who can’t help themselves. Compassion is teaching people to help themselves. But do we all have compassion within us? Is compassion a quality that we can develop? And once again: What is compassion? The Gospels tell many stories of Jesus’ compassion. Mark 1 tells us that Jesus moved with compassion, healed, touched, lifted, encouraged and had so much love for the lost, the grieving, the hurting, so many lives He touched. Compassion has action. The moving parable of the Good Samaritan shows us that compassion is love in action. Compassion should affect or change someone’s life, it must make a difference.

            We only need to take the blinkers off and look around. There are so many opportunities to help. Look at your hands. Look at your feet. Then look into your heart. They are God’s hands, feet and heart on earth. Our decision is simple then. We just have to choose to and be wiling. Just allow God to use us, He longs for people who care. Be someone who does something. Don’t just hand over a $5 note to a collector or feel satisfied as you use your credit card to make a phone donation. Instead commit your hands, feet and heart to make the difference. And never ever stop dreaming about making a difference, no matter how small it seems. I am reminded of this story. May it be the prompt for every person to be compassionate because compassion does matter.

While walking along a beach, an elderly gentleman saw someone in the distance. The person was repeatedly leaning down, picking up objects, and throwing them into the ocean. As the man came closer, he realised it was a young man, picking up starfish one by one and tossing each one gently back into the water. As he came still closer he called out, “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”

The young man paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean.” The old man smiled, and said, “I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?” To this, the young man replied, “The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.”

Upon hearing this, the elderly observer commented, “But, young man, don’t you realise that there are miles of beach and thousands of starfish all along every mile? You can’t possibly make a difference!”

The young man listened politely. Without saying a word, he bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As he stood back up he said, “It made a difference for that one.”