Saturday

Today was the funeral for S. Valentina. The procession of the van with the casket, six jeeps, and the bus from the school filled with family and Sisters and me left at 8:30 this morning. Along our slow journey the Sisters sang and people stopped their busy Saturday morning work to stand as we passed by. The funeral in Lukaledi was very meaningful--a beautiful, grace-filled Mass. There were 11 priests including the Bishop and the SDS Provincial, Fr. Ponder. After the funeral we walked to the burial site. The pictures show a bit of the graveside ritual. It was a blessing for me to be able to be a part of this, to represent our American SDS family and accompany them in their grief.

walking to the cemetery after the funeral

prayers at the graveside

Sisters and family bless the grave

two new graves next to each other --
S. Demetria, SDS, and S. Valentina, SDS