Letters from Africa
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November, 2008 - some moreA big joy has been our girls receiving and preparing for the Sacraments. On October 12, fifteen of our students received the Sacrament of Confirmation. It was a wonderful celebration in the parish church with the new Bishop's first visit there and a program in the new parish hall that was blessed and used for the first time that day. Our girls provided most of the entertainment with their singing, dancing and drama presentations. It is truly wonderful to see the sense of community that has built up among our students. They left for the church at 8 a.m. and did not get back until about 5 p.m. for lunch! That evening, Sister Beata and I were involved in a meeting with Bishop Michael and the Honorable Mkono at the parish. The girls waited until we got home after 8 p.m. to put on this whole program of dancing and singing for the newly confirmed. Much of this celebration was lead by girls of religions other than Catholic and yet they had such a high regard for the sacrament received that day. Another six are preparing for their First Holy Communion. Thirteen are preparing for Baptism and attend special three hour classes three times a week for this. We have not really in any way been pushing becoming Catholic, but it is our non-Catholic girls who are most fervent in spending personal time praying in our chapel! Of course, a number of them want to become Sisters at this point. One has written twice to Sister Margaret Ann at Grottaferrata because she wants to join our House of Contemplation. Among our current non-Catholics, a few want to be priests and one wants to be Pope! She has even chosen her name - Pope Julius - after her father! It has been good to also have the presence of the Nyerere family. Mama Maria, the widow of the Servant of God Julius Nyerere, the first President of Tanzania, stays in Dar es Salaam most of the time these days for health reasons and to avoid the constant flow of guests who want to see her when they come to Butiama and the National Nyerere Museum there. She was in for the National celebration of Nyerere Day on October 14 and then on another day came to our school for a visit. She walked to the construction site and through the dormitory building currently being built. Fr. Gregory celebrated a Mass for her intention with our girls doing some singing and dancing. Madaraka, her son, came to spend over 3 hours with our girls showing photos and talking about his climb of Mount Kilimanjaro as a fundraiser for our dormitories. On October 26, we had a wonderful parish celebration of the close of the year of the Beatification of Blessed Celine. Mass was for the intention of our Sisters throughout the world and we put the picture of Blessed Celine right in the center in front of the altar. The leaders of the parish choir had come for four afternoons of singing practice. You should have seen the girls singing and swaying back and forth with all kinds of hand and body gestures for the Mass. A group of girls danced as they led all the processions of entrance, of bringing in the Lectionary just before the Gospel reading and with the Offertory procession. Wish I could send you a video of all that. Obviously, our girls did the readings and the Prayer of the Faithful. It was a grand celebration. When they sing their song to Blessed Celine in several voices, the entire church rocks! We keep including an intention for strength and patience for ourselves during these last weeks of school as we have so much to do in final examinations, all the end of the year procedures with grades, with the correcting of all entrance tests and decisions to be made regarding next year's classes, and with arranging to purchase material and the sewing of uniforms for next year. We also have to have more beds made and chairs and desks for Form 2 as we only have primary school desks at the present time. One does not just order 200 of each of these here, but has to arrange for their construction, type of wood to be used, etc. This is not an easy task. It is a complicated and costly matter just to have things like mattresses shipped to this remote place.
Blessings at Thanksgiving. |
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