"Time moves slowly but passes quickly."
Alice Walker, The Color Purple
Here we are at the end of week 3. How did that happen? It really does seem that the days go by fairly slowly... We have 2 sessions each day - 3.5 hours in the morning and 2.5 hours in the afternoon. During the sessions, there are lectures, small group conversations, sharing in pairs, coffee breaks... mostly sitting. By 4 or 4:30 PM I feel ready to take a nap or take a walk or read something mindless.
But, it's amazing to me how quickly the weeks are going by. Yesterday, which was Friday, Sept. 1, I kept thinking, "How did it get to be Friday already? Wasn't it just Tuesday?" And yet, here we are. Crazy.
The focus of week 3 has been the "Life of Faith." We've looked at the Marianist founders - their teachings on faith and prayer, the history of spiritual movements in the Church and where the Marianists fit, various forms of prayer and methods of discernment, sharing our faith journeys, and teaching people to pray. A full week. We heard from the current SM superior general, Fr. Andre... two former superior generals via Zoom (Sr. Marie Joelle Bec and Fr. Quentin Hakenewerth), and also Fr. Sebastian Abolado (via Zoom) and Fr. Marty Solma.
You might recall that on weekends we have excursions (well, on Saturday morning we start with a session). Sunday of last week was a very full day. What a day!
We traveled to the Brothers' scholasticate community. This is the community for Brothers who have professed 1st vows and are students at the university. We joined the community for a joy-filled Mass and a very large lunch. What a joy!!!
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| Chatting before lunch |
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| With 2 scholastics and the SM Superior General, Andre Fetis |
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| FMI smiles |
The artwork around the Brothers' community - in and around their chapel and just around the house - BEAUTIFUL!
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| A carved image of Pentecost on the back wall of the chapel. Each of the pictures shows the ministries the SMs have in the region. |
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| The ambo in the chapel. |
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| Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well - This is outside the chapel |
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| Jesus heals the blind man, Bartimaeus. |
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| Lovely fireplace with Adele and Marie Therese |
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| The Last Supper |
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| Madonna and Child |
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| The Chapel doors - the story of Jesus' birth |
Then, we traveled to Bomas of Kenya. According to the website, Bomas is run by the Tourism Finance Corporation which, "was established to Preserve, Maintain and Promote the Rich Diverse cultural values of various ethnic groups of Kenya and to act as a tourist attraction centre thus Bomas of Kenya is expected to preserve the authenticity of Kenya’s Cultural values and to portray them in the pure form."
Here, we saw various dances, acrobats, and we toured traditional dwellings of various ethnic tribes. We had a great time! And we saw warthogs and baboons!!
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| Not the best picture I've ever taken... |
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| Carmen, FMI invited to dance |
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| More dancing FMIs (Prudence and Annick) |
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| "When I was a young warthog..." IYKYK |
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| Brothers outside an example 1st wife's hut |
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| Me and the baboons |
So, last Sunday was a long day, but so full of laughter and joy!
Don't misunderstand, though. Not every day is easy or full of joy. Some moments are difficult - not sharing a common language with folks with whom I want to communicate, unfamiliar foods/missing my typical foods, being the only participant from the US (so, my cultural background is very different from everyone's), and being shy/insecure/introverted doesn't help. But... this is not the predominant experience. Joy, openness, and growth are the predominant experiences.
There are more outings planned for this afternoon (Saturday) and tomorrow... And then week 4!
Many blessings,
Sr. N
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