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/)