On Our Way Home!

We are on our way home, in Amsterdam, on a layover waiting for our flight to Chicago.

We have lots to think about.... the class was a success, we found many new friendships. It was hard to say good-bye....and at the same time, we look forward to coming home.

We departed saying "See you next year."

Thank you to each of you, our blog readers, for following our blog, for your prayers, and for this incredible opportunity!

See you soon!

Sincerely,

Sue Haertel, SDS
Sister Barbara Reynolds, SDS

It was a busy Sunday!

Sister Barbara and Sister Charity at the museum

Church this morning, and then a trip to the Dar es Salaam national museum this afternoon.

We saw some very interesting exhibits, including fossils, rock and cave paintings, and some on the history of Tanzania. 

We had a very good day!

What a beautiful country this is.

Sister Barbara met with Fr. Josephat at Jordan University today. She said it was a productive meeting.

Meanwhile, I, Sue, went behind the mountain to several more rural villages with wells. You can see a picture of one of the roads I traveled.

We are both now back at Dar e Salaam. What a beautiful country this is!

Well, well, well....

Today we went to Morogoro. On the way, we visited some of the wells donated by St. Pius Parish!

All the wells were working well (good pun,huh?). The people came to see us and sent wishes back to the people of St. Pius- words of gratitude!

Working Hard Together

Here is a picture of Sister Angelina, in Masasi. She is showing us the wood stove, where they boil water (we only drink boiled water) and cook ugali.

For those who haven't tasted it, ugali is a staple of the diet here. Each meal offers a huge bowl or two, so you can certainly fill up! Ugali is made from maize flour (cornmeal), millet flour or Sorghum flour (or a blend) cooked with water to a porridge- or dough-like consistency.

Arrived in Dar

Quick note: We were on the bus all day and have now arrived safely in Dar es Salaam.

Getting Ready to Depart

On Wednesday, we walked into town to purchase our bus tickets for Dar es Salaam.

Then, we packed up our classroom and our belongings and said many sad farewells.

Last class!

It is hard to believe it. Today was our final class for this year!

We had a wonderful graduation ceremony with the sisters.

Sister Edith, Sister Lilly, and Sister Sophia from the Generalate came to celebrate with us.

Tomorrow, we will begin packing for the bus ride to Dar es Salaam. Time has gone quickly!

{Note from Sister Patrice, who has been posting on the blog for all of us: Via text message, on our "readership's" behalf, I sent Sue and Sister Barbara our best wishes as they prepare for the next part of their Tanzania journeys.}

[No picture received for this transmission. Sorry!]

Jordan Hall

The Migongo Mission in Masasi is the center for the Salvatorian Sisters in Tanzania. It is a newer building used as a meeting place for the sisters. And, they rent it out to other groups for income.

For the three weeks we have been here, it has been used almost every day by the sisters and for seminars by other groups.

(The picture Sue emailed of Jordan Hall doesn't seem to have come through, but I will post it if does come. Since it's coming halfway around the world... we probably shouldn't complain! hahaha)

Table Talk

Wow- no problems getting the sisters to speak English at meals. In fact, today, everyone joined the English-only table.

We enjoyed great conversation and lots of teasing!

Math with Sister Barbara

This is a picture of S. Barbara teaching math. 

We have three classes each day.

During one of them, S. Barbara teaches math to two of the sisters who are students in Form 3 at secondary school.

Meanwhile, Sue is working with the rest of the class on English.

Today, being Sunday, we went to Mass at the Sisters' chapel here at Migongo Mission. 

Once again, the music was wonderful! Sue recorded a bit of it and we are looking forward to sharing it with you when we get home.

"Our Daily Life"

We love to be creative. So, today our class focused on presentations (in English, of course) about daily life: how to bake a cake, wash clothes, etc. 

This provided the Sisters with good practice in using transition words in English. 

The picture shows some of the Sisters watching themselves on video from the iPad.

Night Life in Tanzania

Each day, we have been telling you something about our class. 

Today, we will share something about the exciting night life we lead here.

Mosquitoes!

We use mosquito nets because once it gets dark, the mosquitoes are plentiful. Malaria is a constant real threat. Our mosquito nets provide great protection.

Our picture shows Sister Barbara reading in bed!

(And you thought our night life was going to be exciting?)

A day without electricity

It was extremely hot here today. There was no electricity in the classroom. So, we sat outside for our class. How do you like our "classroom"?

In spite of the challenges, of course, we still accomplished a great deal!

Thank you from afar!

Today, it's a "thank you" to Sister Patrice. She uploads our messages to this blog each day.

She is driving (moving) to South Dakota this week, so might be unable to keep up with postings during her transit time. Don't worry... she has us on her "hot list!"

She's helping to launch the next phase of the Sisters of the Divine Savior's Kateri Initiative, on the Lake Traverse Reservation in northeastern South Dakota. (Want more info on that? https://glimpsegod.wordpress.com/)

No Electricity, no water...

This is our African experience today:

Not only has our electricity been off all afternoon, but this evening, we also have no water.

A sister just stopped by to make sure our bucket of water here was full for the night.

And, yes, don't worry- 

We have flashlights, and candles.

And, we only drink boiled water here, even when the electricity is on!

Writing Skills and Technology Use

Currently, the sisters in our class are writing short introductions of themselves to share with the Sisters in the USA.

We have taken photos of each sister to use for the project.

Today in class (see photo here) you can see them looking at their photos on the computer.

Peaceful Sunday

Sunday is a quiet day here.

Mass was in the Sisters' chapel with Fr. Jim.

The music is beautiful, with traditional drumming.

Last Friday, two of the sisters gave us a tour of the farm and garden. (These help us be more self-sustaining.) The photo shows Sister Justina feeding the chickens, a main source of protein (eggs) and sometimes, meat!

Saturday Schedule

Our teaching schedule on Saturday is lighter. We have just one two-hour class. We try to make it fun while still instructive.

This morning, we taught two new songs. Then we did an interactive vocabulary review. We also taught Sudoku in English! In the picture, you can see the intensive (English only!) teamwork needed!

Adjusting to Life in Tanzania

We have told you a lot about what we are doing. Perhaps you have also guessed that we do laundry.

Today was a warm day with a gentle breeze. All the washing dried, and was then ironed.

We are adjusting to live in Tanzania!

Songs of Opportunity

Each day, we start the class after lunch by teaching a song. Today, Sue taught "What a friend we have in Jesus." 

This provides an excellent opportunity to teach vocabulary in context and is a fun way to get our afternoon started.

An Amazing Tour

Today, we "went" on an amazing world tour, a trip through the Salvatorian world through the pictures that Sister Edith and Sister Lilly shared at the end of their visitation meeting.The photo shows the group viewing the pictures together.

It is incredible to see how many apostolates the sisters are engaged in, across many parts of the world!

Verb-ing it!

We enjoyed another great day of teaching today. Here, you can see Sister Barbara working with a small group on verbs.

We did have another power outage today- 2 and a half hours- but this has been our longest so far.

Visitation from the Generalate...

....shrank our class size a bit today.

Here the sisters are doing an activity in pairs.

Our lesson was on verbs, including present and past continuous tense. And, we spent a class period together reading and discussing a picture book. It was a wonderful lesson with lots of new vocabulary!

A Nice Quiet Sunday

It is a nice quiet Sunday here.

We walked into Masasi to the parish church for Mass with Sister Angela.

We also enjoyed lunch at the Fathers' house, with good conversation.

A Special Welcome

Sister Edith and Sister Lilly from our Generalate arrived today. It was a day of welcoming.

We waited with all the sisters and greeted them with drums,flowers and songs.

Later in the afternoon, we walked with Fr. Jim Weyker for a beer!

Second Day of Teaching

We completed our second full day of teaching today. 

Two of the sisters have asked Sister Barbara for Math instruction.

Some of our students are quite proficient, while others are giving their best effort.

Here you can see our popular "English Only" table in the dining room, where we can converse together during our meals.

Our First Day of Teaching

We have finished our first full day of teaching. We have ten students. 

The groundwork laid by those who came before us is evident, as everyone arrives on time, and participates eagerly!

We even has an English speaking table in the dining room. People eagerly join in and conversation is lively!

Celebrating Jordan Day

We had a busy day today as we set up our classroom and prepared tomorrow's lessons. All our students have arrived. There will be eight or nine students, three from the Congo and five or six from Tanzania.

Our day ended with a special feast to honor our Founder Fr. Jordan. The Salvatorian priests joined the Sisters for a special meal (see picture).

Cultural note: We Americans asked when and where the feast would be. Our African sisters replied, "Maybe here.. maybe around seven."

We chuckled as we considered how hard we Americans work to try to get RSVPs!

So wonderful to see everyone!

(from Sue's Text Message)

After the loooong bus ride from Dar es Salaam to Masasi, we were greeted warmly by many old friends and a few new ones.

Sister Barbara is pleased to remember so many names!

Everyone was happy to receive the greetings from sisters in the States.

This photo shows the chapel in Masasi.

Morning Sunrise- Dar es Salaam

(via text message from Sue)

Sunday morning sunrise in Dar es Salaam was outstanding. 

We walked to church for Mass in Swahili. Then, breakfast and a trip on the dalla-dalla to buy bus tickets to Masasi.

Sister Sophia accompanied us to buy the tickets and then invited us to her family home, which was not far from the ticket place.

Two of the sisters from the Congo arrived today. The other will hopefully arrive tonight. Our suitcases are all packed. Tomorrow we will take the bus to Masasi.

The garden...

in front of the house where we are staying in Dar es Salaam.

Saturday in Dar es Salaam

(from Text Message from Sue)

It is Saturday in Dar es Salaam. Sister Edith and Sister Lilly (from Rome) met all day with the Regional Leadership Team to plan their visitation. 

Sr. Barbara and Sue had a relaxing day, resting and reading and preparing for the bus ride to Masasi.

Our First Full Day

(from Text Message)

We are ending our first full day. Almost used to the time change. Sister Edith and Sister Lilly arrived from Rome today. Sister Sophia and Sister Maxensia from Masasi are here as well.

The weather here is similar to Milwaukee in the summer. 80s and humid. At this moment, we can hear the Muslim call to prayer.

Technology- love it or leave it!

Of course, nothing technological goes as you anticipate.

Sue planned to send a picture and text message each day to this blog.

She got there to find out that she cannot send a picture using her phone.

So, now she will try to send a short narrative by text message to Sister Patrice in Milwaukee, who will type it here.

And, if she can, Sue will also try to get a photo.

Sue and Barbara wave hello from Tanzania

Sue: Happy to be here with our friends!

Missioning Ceremony: Milwaukee, WI

S. Barbara and Sue receive the blessing of our Salvatorian gathering during our Missioning Ceremony

on June 8. It was held at our Community House Chapel.

We send you on your way supported by the loving prayers of your Salvatorian Family!

Getting ready to pack