Letters from Africa

December, 2009 - some more ...

We are most grateful to Mother Dolores and the General Council for permission to begin building a convent for the Sisters using Congregational funds and donations from benefactors close to the Sisters. The Sisters have been living in very tight quarters, sleeping in a store room filled with supplies needed to run a boarding school. This was supposed to be for a short time of about three months, but for more than two years now, the Diocese has not been able financially to build a convent. The Sisters truly need to have some privacy, so this decision to start building a convent was received with great rejoicing and hope for the future of the mission. We have chosen a beautiful site which should give the Sisters some quiet time away from the hustle and bustle of the center of the school with enough room for more Sisters to join us.

As grateful as we are to Honorable Mkono for having his engineer responsible for building the dormitory and kitchen buildings, everything moves so very, very slowly. This is typical of most building projects in the country. It seems as though things never, ever really get completed, which is the case with the dormitory and the kitchen. We had such hopes for the drilling of a well near the dormitory to provide more water. It was supposed to be completed on October 20 and has been just sitting there half finished for more than a month. In the light of all these problems, we feel truly blessed that a Polish Missionary from Krakow, Father Wojciech Koscielniak, the pastor of a nearby parish and the National Shrine of Divine Mercy, has volunteered to oversee our two building projects of the convent and the two classrooms. Father Koscielniak has directed the building of a school, a medical clinic, and a convent for a group of Sisters all on the grounds of his parish in Kiabakari. It has been amazing to see him get our building plans drawn up in a few days, mobilize workers and purchase all materials needed for our two new buildings. Within a week of getting the permission of the Bishop, Father Koscielniak had trucks delivering the large rocks used to make the foundation and had the men start digging the foundation, which they do by hand. He is hoping to have the classrooms finished for the beginning of the new school year in January followed shortly by the completion of the convent. Please join us in thanking God for all these blessings.

The school year finished on November 27. Hopefully, the Sisters will have some time to get some much-needed rest before the next school year begins on January 7, 2010. This coming school year, we will then have Form 1, Form 2 and Form 3 as we add a class every year on its way to becoming a four-year Secondary School.

We are so very grateful for all the loving care and support we receive in our work here in Tanzania. Mother Dolores and the General Council are always open to our needs and solicitous in their concern for us. The Sisters throughout the Congregation have been sending us books and audio visual materials, as well as other school supplies. They have also helped in finding benefactors to sponsor some of our students financially. Most of all, we are deeply grateful for all the prayerful support we receive from all parts of the Congregation. Each day we remember our benefactors at the Liturgy of the Hours and each month, the school community has a Mass offered for the intentions of our benefactors. Please know that all of us in this newest mission of the Congregation thank God for you!

Sister Stephanie