Asante sana!

Hello from Amsterdam We are at the gate waiting for our flight to Chicago.

Thank you to Sister Patrice for posting our messages and pictures. And thank you to everyone who has followed our adventures!!

See you soon. Asante sana!!

Love,
Sue and S. Jenada

Not birds?

We may be in the big city of Dar es-Salaam, but we still marvel at the beauty of nature. Every night around 6 p.m. as it gets dark, thousands of birds fly inland.

We thought they were crows, but learned they are not birds at all. They are bats! They will feed on fruit like mangoes and in the morning return to their roosts not far from here.

Some people are actually wondering what to do about the bats. They can destroy an entire village’s fruit harvest.

On a lighter note, we celebrated the end of Sister Liberata’s sewing class. She had a lot to show us. And remember these are all sewed on treadle sewing machines, because of limited electricity.

Tomorrow we set off for the airport around 7 p.m., arriving in Chicago Friday afternoon. We look forward to seeing you all soon.

Upganda Mission

Today was a rest day at the Upganda mission.

We read and visited with the sisters. We walked to the corner to buy ice cream as a treat for everyone. We were happy to see Sister Petronila who is visiting after her retreat.

The mission is a busy place with the preschool on the grounds. We hear lots of laughter as the children play and sing together.

Above is a picture of us dining together.

Back in Dar es Salaam

Our trip to Dar es Salaam went smoothly. Since the road is paved all the way, travel time is about 8 hours.

We were welcomed by Sister Mecky and Sister Palida. Sister Petronilla was also there so we had fun sharing news of the class and Masasi.

No pictures today. We have to figure out how to get the internet connection to work.

Soon we will be home! We look forward to seeing many of you at National Assembly.

Last Day in Masasi

What a wonderful and full day. We went to the parish church for Mass accompanied by Sister Trojestina.

Aftermath we visited with her Parish women's group. This very active group headed by Sister Trojestina is planting a huge garden: bananas vegetables greens to provide food for their families and the poor. They also hope to sell it to support their other projects.

When sister Sophia arranged for us to visit Ndanda Mission located about a 40-minute drive north of Masasi.

We had a wonderful visit with the Benedictine sisters including a walk up to their pure water spring.

The day ended with a wonderful dinner by the regional house hosted by Sister Sophia. We enjoyed great food and conversation and said our sad farewells.

Tomorrow it's up early to take the bus back to Dar es Salaam.

Celebrating Success

Our last classes included a review of some grammar and vocabulary, some reflection on a quote from Father Jordan, lots of singing, and a ceremony where we congratulated the sisters with their completion certificates.

It has been a wonderful learning experience for all of us and it will be hard to say good-bye. 

We are already talking about next year!

Prayer Together

Another amazing day. The sisters are doing so well. We had a prayer service today. 

One of our goals is to help develop the prayer life of the sisters. We talked about how to plan a prayer service and then we shared some prayer time together. And of course all this was done in English.

Here is Sister Jenada explaining the prayer service. 

Here is our table set up for the prayer service.

Salvatorian Hospitality

The sisters have gone out of their way to make our stay comfortable. They have welcomed us in so many ways. 

Playing cards together.

Sister Feliciana has driven us to different Salvatorian communities on Sundays. The sisters are eager to translate for us on trips to town. And sister Theresia makes us our mid or late afternoon snack.

Today was fruit compote: oranges bananas papaya. It will be hard to say goodbye on Monday.

Delicious snack!

Beauty

The class continues to learn and English proficiency grows each day. Many times sisters come early for class or stay after for individual help.

And just when you think it can't get any more beautiful here, there's a rainbow in the sky.

The Final Week

It's hard to believe we are starting our last week of classes. We had another great day. Our lessons contain some centering meditation, some verbs, and vocabulary. We also did some writing.

All of the students can write several sentences. Some can even write complete paragraphs. Pronunciation gets better every day.

The picture shows Sue with one of her favorite books, “The Three Questions.”   We will read it and discuss it over several days.

LUPASO

After Mass here in the mission, we visited Lupaso. This Salvatorian community has five sisters. They are teachers and nurses, and one is a teacher and the principal at the vocational school.

In our visit to the dispensary we met a baby and his mother. The baby was born that morning.

The primary school is on break right now, but we were given a tour of the classrooms. Some students were at the vocational school and were proud to show off their skills at sewing and carpentry.

We also saw the church and had a wonderful visit with the sisters. Once again we were impressed by all they do to help the poor and educate the children and youth. It was a proud day for Salvatorians.

Weekend Work

On Saturday we had just one two-hour class. After that we had time to do laundry and clean. The sisters are amazing. Everything gets scrubbed and dusted.

 

It also gives us a chance to enjoy our wonderful surroundings. Much of the food we eat is grown right here in the sisters’ gardens.

 

Today we also enjoyed chicken for dinner. Again from the Sisters’ Farm. There are also goats and pigs.

Masasi s a beautiful area. We are so fortunate to be here.

How To..

Today the sisters presented their “how to” lessons. After a lesson on time transition words like first, and then, next, and finally, the sisters wrote and demonstrated something they do each day.

This year we had how to clean a room, how to care for chickens, etc.Everyone had fun. They were recorded on the iPad and I they especially liked watching themselves. Another great day of learning and conversation in English.

Kindergarten

Many desks in the classroom in the Kindergarten

Today we visited the kindergarten on the sisters’ property. There are around 180 children enrolled. 

Porridge for Lunch. Yum!

The children are learning to count and sing. They are learning beginning reading skills. It is a very happy place to be.

Yesterday we were thinking of you all at 9 o'clock in the evening here in Tanzania. That is when the funeral for Sister Susan Staff was beginning in Milwaukee. You are all in our prayers.

Sister Paula with some of the children.

Sow much teaching!

  

S Jenada took the lead today to teach colors. The sisters gave lots of examples and had fun quizzing each other.

It was a typical class until a pig got into the garden right outside our classroom and helped herself to lots of greens.

Everyone ran out if the class to shoo the pig away. And it was a very big sow!!

Anyway, once the garden was safe , they returned to class as usual. And our learning continued.

Day Nine

Happy Memorial Day to you all.

Today was a regular Monday for us. We got up at 5:30, went to morning prayer, then went to mass at 6 o'clock a.m. For breakfast we had the usual: toast, peanut butter, coffee. Sometimes we have eggs on Sunday. Next we did some wash to get it on the line for drying.

Our first class starts at 9 o'clock. 10:30 is a short break and then back to class from 11 o'clock to 12:30.

Lunch is at around 1 o'clock ,then we rest a bit. Our last class is from 3 o'clock to 4:30 in the afternoon. Then it is time to plan for the next day or perhaps take a walk. Then comes evening prayer and dinner at 7 o'clock p.m. We are usually under the mosquito nets by 8:30 and lights out at 9 to be ready for the next day.

Today was our 9th class. We are halfway through already. The sisters continue to be enthusiastic learners. We are so impressed by their hard work and service to each other.

Feast Day: Corpus Christi

Today is Corpus Christi Sunday and we visited a nearby community. The Lukaledi Community has five Salvatorian sisters. Two are teachers and three work at the dispensary.

They also have time to help in the Parish Church, have a garden, and care for chickens and pigs.

Today's pictures show the Corpus Christi procession through the village. It stopped at the school, dispensary, and convent for blessings and prayers. The children's dance, the singing, the incense, and the throngs of people created quite an amazing experience and witness.

We had a fun visit, tour of the school and dispensary, and a wonderful Feast. We are making new friends everyday.

Hooray for Electricity

It is Saturday and we have one two- hour class. The rest of the day is spent cleaning and washing clothes.

One of our projects this year is to once again compile the life stories of the sisters in class. This involves some word processing and taking pictures of each of them.

The good news is that the computer works and the pictures were able to be downloaded from the iPhone.

You'll see that the "desk" is my bed, where the electric outlet is. That blue thing hanging in the picture is my mosquito net.

Note to our blog readers: Do you text on your cell phone? Did you know Sue Haertel has a text plan on her phone that allows her to receive short text messages from you even while she is in Tanzania? How's that for the wonders of technology!

Her TEXT ONLY number is 414-520-8434. Texting charges will apply to YOUR phone unless your cell phone has a free text plan. Why not send Sister Jenada and Sue a quick hello note? Consider the time difference, though, so you're not texting her in the middle of their night time! HAHA

March! Dance! Jump!

Each day we have vocabulary lessons. 

Today we learned different ways to describe movement. 

Practice makes perfect.

Run, walk, march, dance, etc.

The pictures show partners working together to review ways to move. We enjoyed lots of laughter, speaking, and learning.

Learning sure is fun!

More than just vocabulary

Each day we read something from the reader that we prepared or from the workbooks. We are also very fortunate to have some picture books that the sisters enjoy.

Sister Bakhita and Novice Sara working together

Here they are working together to translate “Beatrice's Dream.” This book describes the life of a young girl growing up in a slum in Kenya. Spoiler alert: she does achieve her dream of getting an education and becoming a nurse!

Sister Edesia and Sister Anne-Marie reading together

The students work so well together and are learning lots of vocabulary as well as practicing their spoken English. We are very pleased with the amount of improvement, and this is just our sixth day of class.

Two weeks already!

We have been in Africa two weeks already. Time flies!

Inside the Chapel

Each morning we attend Mass with the sisters in he Chapel of Migongo mission.

On Wednesdays,  the mass is in English.

Sister Angelina reading the English Mass

We brought several "Living with Christ" booklets to share with the sisters. Yesterday in class we went through the responses. All went really well.

The chapel at the Mission in Masasi

Learning English

We teach three 1.5 hour classes each day. For one class, we group based on ability level.

Sister Jenada with her group.

 Sister Jenada works with beginners. Today, they built vocabulary and spoke in simple sentences.

Advanced Group working together.

Sue working with her group.

Sue has two advanced groups. We read stories from the textbook and then study vocabulary and grammar. Subject-verb agreement and verb tense are often part of the discussion.

Third Day of Class

(No picture received today- so S. Patrice used one
from last year! We call this "recycling!")

Today was our third day of class. We are so pleased with their progress! Everyone is working so hard and they are not afraid to try new  things. They help each other!

Sister Jenada has included a short prayer, mantra, for each day. This was very well received. And as S Jenada says, it is a simple way to keep themselves centered in God throughout the day.

Today we also started working on a time line for the Salvatorian Family. Again they were very engaged. The sisters are very hungry for prayer, meditation and knowledge about our founders.