Amsterdam and then... Chicago USA!

We are in the airport in Amsterdam waiting for our connecting flight to Chicago.  We just had a Starbucks and all is well.  

We are looking forward to coming home. Thank you for reading our blog. We could feel your support. 

Thank you to Sister Patrice for posting our blog each day.  See you soon.

School Project in Buyuni

Today we went to see the school that the sisters are building in Buyuni.  There has been much progress, although it is slow progress. 

The sisters own quite a bit of land surrounding the school and have planted sweet potatoes, mango trees, and bananas.  


The good news is that there is lots of ground water so there is the possibility of digging wells.

Homeward Bound (sort of...)

Today we traveled safely to Dar es Salaam and the Upanga  Mission where the sisters live.  The bus trip went OK, it's long and hot and we don't drink a lot of water, so when we get here, we are ready to rest. 


When Salvatorian Sisters or other sisters need a place to stay  as they journey through Dar es Salaam they can count on the hospitality of Sister Mecky and the sisters here. The pictures show the guest house with Margaret on the balcony. The other shows the main building. We are happy to be here.

Winding Down...

Only one picture today. It is our last day in Masasi and it was very hectic. 

Many people came by with gifts and letters to bring back to the US to pass on to others. We packed and put things in order and said our last good-byes.


The picture shows the women's group from the the parish church. They greeted us after Mass. notice they wear the same patterned dresses to show they belong to the woman's society.

Tomorrow will come early. We will leave at 5:30 for the bus station.

Last Day of Classes

Today was our last day of classes.  

As a review every student took one lesson to teach . Here are pictures of students leading the class. There was lots of laughter and learning.






In the evening we had our "graduation" ceremony and a big dinner.  
The last picture shows the sisters getting their dinners. 

There were speeches and words of thanks for a wonderful experience. Each student received a certificate to show their participation in the class.

Making a difference

Today was our last full day of classes. The pictures show the sisters sharing their life stories with each other. 



It is amazing to see people who could not speak or understand English three weeks ago talking and sharing together in English.



Below is a picture of Stephania. She was a student of Sr. Bernadette Klein when she came to Tanzania in the 1950's. Stephania and her husband Victor both became teachers and had long careers. They have over 22 grandchildren.  

Sr Bernadette made such an impression on them that they named their first daughter Bernadette.  It is such a blessing to visit them and hear about their lives. Another beautiful example of the Salvatorian influence in Tanzania.

Eagle Scout Playground

A while back, a young friend of Sr Barbara Reynolds built some playground equipment for the children in the sisters' kindergarten here in Masasi as part of his Eagle Scout project. It arrived in a container from the Salvatorian Warehouse.  


We had the joy of helping to assemble the equipment with Sr Paula.  You can see the teeter-totter and the swing set. They have reinforced the swing set with concrete to ensure safety. 



Here also is a picture of some of the children enjoying their noon meal and a picture of one of the classrooms.  The sisters do a wonderful job providing this education for the children of Masasi.

Time flies...

Class is winding down. Only two full days left and our short Saturday class. 


The sisters continue to put forth great effort! Sometimes we think they have more energy than we do.  



Today we worked together to read the book, "The Three Questions" by John Muth.

Sing along with Sue...

and Margaret... and a group of energetic Salvatorians!



Today was another great day in the class. During the third class each day we start with a song. Guess who is leading a song? 


Our next project was writing our life stories. The sisters enjoy sharing the stories of their journey to become Salvatorians. 


Tomorrow is Wednesday, and our Mass will be in English. Below, you can see a sister reading and practicing Mass responses in English.  


It was a busy productive class. It's also amazing to read their writing and hear them speaking in English. Everyone is making progress.

Cashews!

Awhile back we visited the cashew grove that Fr Jim cares for. 

It is an amazing undertaking. At this time of year the trees need to be spayed to ensure a good harvest. 

















The small tree that Fr Jim is standing near (below) is about 5 years old. It will already yield a harvest of cashews. 

Fr Jim also is able to employ some local families to help. This is a good source of income for them. 

This region is known for its cashews.

Makulani- The Novitiate House

After Mass this morning we visited Makulani, the novitiate house for the sisters. Currently there are 6 novices, three will take first vows in August. Two of them had been in our English class last year and it was great to see them again and doing so well.

The sisters do such wonderful work.  Sister Maxsensia was proud to show her rich harvest made possible by hard work and the tractor donated by the sisters with the help of many benefactors a few years ago.






The sisters truly do feed the hungry, clothe the people and care for the orphans.  The harvest will be shared with the village when their food runs low. The two boys shown in the picture with S Maxsensia are orphans. The sisters care for them and currently they are off to boarding school. They are both healthy with a bright future thanks to the efforts of the sisters.

The Salvatorian Family can be proud of the loving presence of the sisters here in Tanzania. 

And they say thank you to their American friends who have been an inspiration to them for so many years.

Saturdays

On Saturdays, we have one two hour class. The sisters have lots of work to do the rest of the day.  Here are two pictures of our class playing games - talking in English!  

Margaret played a card game and Sue taught Yahtzee and then the sisters played air hockey on the IPad. There was lots of conversation, cheering and laughter.

After class we went for a walk with Fr Jim as our guide through the area behind the Salvatorian property. We walked up high enough to have a terrific view of the valley and plains beyond.  What a beautiful part of the country.