Big Event #1: Our Sisters Arrive!
The first
exciting thing was the arrival of our Sisters on November 11th. Four Visitation Sisters of Don Bosco (VSDBs)
were scheduled to come work here in Maridi way back in July. But they kept getting delayed over
bureaucratic red tape in their native India (problems with their passports, I was told). So when I heard they
were actually in the car on their way from Juba (where they’d
flown in to), my heart leapt for joy.
I knew I was
eager for them to join our community, but what I felt right before their
arrival and for the rest of the day took me by surprise and overwhelmed
me. From the moment they stepped out of
the car, I LOVED them in a way that seemed
to surpassed human love. The only
explanation I can offer is that God was LOVING them directly
through my own heart. LOVING them with a force and
authenticity that could only have
come from Him. To be a vessel for such indescribably
powerful emotion was … unreal. I do not
understand why God keeps allowing me, keeps choosing
me, to have these experiences, but I gratefully yearn for more.
The Sisters’ arrival was intense. Their car
stopped a few hundred yards before the house so they could take part in the
parade – yes, parade – that welcomed them.
I thought I was overwhelmed
when 20 children greeted me uppon my arrival!
The next day, we had a school mass of epic proportions. 600 people jammed into (and sat outside
of) our small church, each adding something spirited to the service. The villagers had asked what they could offer
to the Sisters, and were told food was a good option. I think China could have fed its people for 3
weeks with what was laid at the Sisters’ feet.
The rest of the day, they sat as Distinguished Guests on the platform of
the school, not unlike queens lovingly surveying their people, as everyone in Manguo Parish honored them
with songs, tribal dances, speeches, and a girls’ football game. I was so happy when they joined in on one of
the dances. It set a great tone for how
awesome they’d be to have here.
I moved
into the brand new convent with them and got re-settled for the third (and
hopefully final) time in South Sudan.
(Momentary pause: I live in a ‘convent’.
How cool does that sound?!?) In
the weeks since, I have enjoyed every second I’ve gotten to spend with them, and appreciate
them more with each passing day. They
are so spirited, so lively, so holy, kind, nurturing, genuine, exuberant, motherly, humble, hysterical… the list goes on ad
infinitum. They brighten my world so
much with their presence. I almost can’t
imagine what life was like before they came. And it’s nice for the women to outnumber the men,
too J.
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| The Sisters get adorned with African garb. |
Big Event #2: We Inaugurate Our New Hospital!
The Salesian
presence has only been here a couple of years, but in that short time they’ve
built a church, a school, a convent, AND a gorgeous (and huge) Health
Center. We held a ceremonial mass to
bless it on November 20th. A
lot of work went into organizing such a huge event, and thankfully it all came
together perfectly. The Bishop presided
over the mass along with our priests.
The ECS Bishop took part as well, showing strong
support and cooperation between our faiths (ECS = Episcopal Church of Sudan, the other Christian denomination prevalent here). Nearly 100 of our children received sacraments, 22 of whom were anointed - which means they came from the ECS Church into our Catholic faith. (The two faiths are very similar, but the biggest difference is a crucial one: Protestants believe that the Eucharist symbolizes the Body of Christ, which he gave the 12 Apostles at The Last Supper. Catholics believe that once a priest blesses it, it literally becomes the Body of Christ.)
The guest
list for the event included the Acting Commissioner of Maridi, Ministers of the Interior,
Education, and Health, and the Governor of our state, among others. It was video and audio taped for television,
radio, and print news. It was (as one
would imagine) a very – BIG – deal. And
I got to sit front-row, in the best seat, and play photographer for our community. I got to be a real part of something
monumental. It was an extremely humbling experience.
The Minister
of Health said that South Sudan has the worst healthcare of any country in the
world, and that our state has the worst healthcare in South Sudan. It made me realize how truly vital our
hospital will be in bettering the lives of the local people. Made me realize how much God is blessing us
with the ability to make an impact on this growing country. And I got to witness its very
beginnings. Again, so deeply humbling. Then during his speech, shocking us all, the
Governor handed one of his cabinet members an order to grant the Salesians with
more land (“within 7 days”) to continue furthering our mission here. We are already building a great Hall next to
the hospital, and our next project (with the new land) will be either a secondary
school or a technical school so that our students can continue their education
with us. We have the support of the
government, we have the support of the people, and most importantly, we have the support of Our
Heavenly Father. What an amazing blessing
to be an SLM here in Maridi at a time like this!
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The bishop blessed my BEDROOM!
Talk about a once-in-a-lifetime experience :)
|
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The Bishop delivers his homily underneath a banner
that reminds us of our mission. |
Big Event #3: Our New Brother Comes!
Bro. Julius joined us from the Democratic Republic of the Congo about a week
ago. He hit the ground running, and his
dedication to the boys was clear from Day 1. Except when he is sleeping or eating, he is with the children (and sometimes he skips the eating). He's already coaching football for both the "big boys" and the "medium-sized boys" and wants to assistant-coach my girls' team as well. He brought with him a new ball and even orange cones! Together, we will build great teams! But much more importantly, seeing how he interacts with the children, I have already learned so
much. Each evening as I journal,
some new inspired insight hits me, some positive, others challenging. In my time in Africa, I have grown as a
person every single day because of the amazing people I am surrounded by. But this Brother, I think, will be a
particularly significant person for me to follow. I can’t yet describe the effect observing him
has had on me, but I feel something stirring within
me (the Holy Spirit?) that is both inspiring and peaceful.
Other Happenings:
The End of School:
The
end of the school year came fast and furious, and I was put in charge of
organizing and typing all the exams. I
got to revisit something I learned at Orientation: “Even when you are not directly interacting
with a child, you are directly impacting and bettering the life of a child.” Keeping this in mind made me grateful
for being able to do my work. A wise friend once taught me to replace the phrase "I have to" with "I get to". Very quickly, the one-word-change shifts perspective on everything! (Try it. Seriously.) I will
admit, frustration still got the best of me a few times, but hey, it’s
“progress not perfection” right? And it humbled me so much every time I
got another exam, handwritten by a teacher on sometimes-already-used
paper. The teachers themselves, the professionals, have no computers, no way
to create a simple test for their students.
And here I am with my own laptop and the skills to use it efficiently. How many synonyms for “blessed” are there? How many ways are there of saying “thank you
God! But why me?"
Visitors:
We’ve
had quite the influx of visitors recently.
Salesians moving around the country have come to spend time with us,
sometimes for a few days, sometimes just a few moments. When they are here, they are family. And I feel it just like that, so happy they’ve come. So blessed to be a stop on
their journeys. There is a twinge of the
inner joy of family present during those times. I have felt this way with my beloved Marianist family as well. Maybe this is how God created us all,
meant to be intimately connected with one another, meant to truly appreciate the
value of each person who crosses our path. Maybe I feel this way when I am with religious orders because I’m
closest to God here, because my spirit is more open to His graces. One day, I hope I can
harness this Love with/for everyone I
meet.
Humanitarian Efforts:
We
had some visitors from Germany whose organization sponsored renovations on the school and who were looking into a possible partnership
between our schools/students. It’s hard
to believe I am on the ground seeing the receiving end of humanitarian efforts.
More poignantly, for one day I looked
at Maridi as they did, with fresh eyes, hungry to take in all that is Africa. It made me appreciate how blessed
I am to be living this life. They only
stayed 36 hours – I get to stay a year. This
has been my dream for as long as I can remember, and I get to live it every
single day. Their stay also showed me that I
have come to understand this culture more than I’d realized. I still have a loooong way to go, but I feel… like I'm starting to belong. And not just in
the “God wants me here” sense (I’ve had that from Day 1); in the sense of “this really is my home, and I am responsible for it”.
All-in-all, this past month has been a lot of things. But what has struck me most deeply and most often is a profound sense of humility, penetrating all the way through my soul.
