MKLM Regional Meeting

Once a year the Maryknoll Lay Missioners in Kenya have a regional meeting in Nairobi. Kitale is an 8 hour bus ride northwest from Nairobi while Mombasa is 9 hours to the east.



Back row: Judy, Curt, Russ, Susan, John
Middle row: Margaret, Anita, Cindy, Coralis, John
Front row: Rhema, John

Each evening we had entertainment written and produced by the younger members with a little help as extra cast members.

The first day and a half we had a retreat led by the Maryknoll Peace Team Sisters that live in Nairobi based on conversations. It was an outstanding two days spent on spiritual reflections and conversations. All agreed it was probably the best two days of our time in Nairobi.

The Peace Team Sisters are Therea from the US, Sia from Tanzania, and Giang from Vietnam. They work in areas where people are in conflict helping to bring about dialogue and understanding. Currently they are spending quite a bit of time in the Tana River delta where the two tribes are shedding a lot of blood over the issue of land ownership.

The final two days was spent discussing MKLM business. This is the only time of the year where the two MKLM communities are able to get together and spend some quality time. I think everyone enjoys it as much as we do.

Thanksgiving with the Nuncio

It is traditional that the Maryknoll Lay Missioners celebrate Thanksgiving with the Maryknoll Fathers, Brothers and Sisters. Guests are also often invited. Father Lance, who can be quite funny and irreverent, sent an email about two weeks that said the Nuncio would be joining us saying the Mass and for dinner. (A nuncio is an ambassador from the Vatican to foreign countries.) The email told us that he could be a hoot, but we needed to be on our best behaviour and act Catholic. Now, what exactly does a Catholic act like?

The nuncio lives just down the street on the same block as the Maryknoll Fathers. When the Fathers celebrated the centennial of the Maryknoll Society two years ago, the nuncio came, said the Mass and joined for the meal afterwards. At that time the nuncio was from France, a very formal and conservative man. You did need to be on your best behaviour.

Recently an new nuncio from the US had been appointed to Kenya. None of us knew what to expect. It was probably the most memorable Thanksgiving we have ever had.

We first heard this deep booming voice outside the chapel.

As you can see from the photos, he is a large man. In fact, you could say he is larger than life. He had a very nice Mass with humour and laughter telling stories about growing up in New York.

After Mass we had the usual Sundowner at 6:00 that included snacks and drinks. It was a beautiful evening sitting outside with all the guests. Everyone could hear the nuncio's voice laughing and telling story after story during this time and during the dinner. He was thrilled that there was turkey and pumpkin pie!

It has been a nightly activity for Rhema and Bethany, ages 7 and 8, to have a show in the library after dinner. The nuncio wasn't in any hurry to leave and was glad to continue the evening's ambiance.

After the girls' Thanksgiving puppet show, they wanted to play Musical Chairs. The nuncio was an eager participant.

Then the singing of songs began. We haven't laughed so much as a group in a long time. The MK priests and well as all of us couldn't believe how informal and down-to-earth he was.

As he left for the evening, we all joined in singing "So long, fare well, auf Wiedersehen . . ." from The Sound of Music. What an amazing evening.

Maize Harvest

One of the tasks that students at St. Monica's must do after exams are completed is harvest the maize. The school has a shamba (farm) of seven acres where they grow maize to help with food expenses. They hire day labours to do the majority of the work: clearing the fields, planting, hoeing, and cutting the maize and placing it in shocks to dry. However, it the students responsibility to do the actual harvesting: removing the cob from the corn stalks and carrying it to the store (storage shed).

How Did You Know I Was There?

In Kenya, students stay put in one classroom and the teachers rotate between classrooms. A Form II student is the official time-keeper and rings the bells when each period is over. The teacher currently in the classroom will have to come out and the next one will enter.

As a muzungu, I keep time. As soon as the bell rings, I finish what I was saying and exit. Some teachers are notorious for overstaying their lesson. They might even take 10 or more minutes of the next teacher's lesson. I don't. The other teachers have gotten used to my unusual habit of being on time. If I am the lesson after theirs, they know that I will be standing outside the door waiting my turn.

My Form III East classroom is in the back corner of the academic part of the compound. The door stays closed most of the time because it is cool in that area. The path to the classroom cannot be seen from the door and the windows on that side of the room are about six feet high so teachers can't see out them.

I arrive and stand back out of the way so when the door opens I won't get hit. Unless the teacher is taking a lot of my time I stay away from the windows so they can't see me.

Yesterday Mr. Siwa was finishing his biology lesson when I arrived. I stood in my usual waiting place. After a few minutes he asked, "Is she here?" I heard many student reply in the affirmative.

I had gotten nowhere near the windows or door. Now that I am wearing regular shoes, they couldn't have heard by boot and cane. My shadow hadn't gone across the windows.

When I got in class I asked, "How did you know I was standing outside the door or were you guessing?"

Their answer was, "No, we could smell you!"

"What! I take a shower every morning. What do you mean you can smell me?"

"It's your perfume."

Concerned I asked, "Is it too strong? Do I need to stop wearing it?"

Laughingly they told me they liked it.

Who would have ever thought that my presence could have been detected when I was standing at least four feet away from the open windows!

Perhaps Monkeys Aren't so Cute

John and I have always enjoyed seeing the monkeys that live around Kitale. Sometimes we see them in the trees or on the fence surrounding our compound. John calls them his little angels. I look for them each morning on the school grounds when I arrive. Often there are mothers with little babies hanging onto their stomachs. Most Kenyans view them as a nuisance. They eat crops and destroy things.

Our compound dogs don't like the monkeys. Whenever they see them in the trees they bark and bark go crazy. (Dina is doing so right now!) I think the monkeys tease them which doesn't help matters.

We have lived here almost four years now. It wasn't until about a year ago that I realized one of the high pitched sounds I thought was a bird was actually monkeys chattering.

At school they are viewed as a pest. They cause problems getting in the garbage, stealing maize out of the store in the kitchen, getting in the dorms, running across the tin roofs causing lessons to be interrupted due to the noise. It is illegal to kill them but if they cause too much harm, we can call the Kenyan Wildlife Service and they will come and shoot some.

I have even heard of monkeys getting into people's homes.

On Thursday afternoons, John and I are both finished teaching at noon. We like to come home and spend the afternoon working here. I was sitting in the reading alcove in our hallway yesterday afternoon. I thought I saw something in my peripheral vision but when I turned to look, nothing was there. A few minutes later I heard a small sound. A monkey had come in through a bedroom window and was in the hallway. When I saw him I shooed him and he ran back out.

The windows were wide open and they had easy access. So John and I closed them. A few minutes later lunch was ready. John and I were eating when I looked up and that same monkey had come through the grill on the front door. The bars on that door are 4 1/2 inches apart. I guess that was also easy access.

I never thought I'd have monkeys in my house! Maybe they aren't so cute after all!

Monkeys in the Science Lab

John and I love seeing the monkeys in Kitale. It is so much fun to catch sight of swaying trees knowing there are monkeys playing in them jumping from branch to branch. Every once in awhile you can catch sight of them jumping from one tree to the next. In fact John calls them his angels.

However, they can be a menace. They drive guard dogs crazy. The dogs can see them and start barking but the monkeys just tease them knowing there is no way the dogs can reach them.

They raid garbage heaps for food. There are usually monkeys around the incinerator that is near my Form III classroom going through the trash before the workman has a chance to burn the trash on Monday mornings.



Not too long ago, our boarding mistress warned the girls to make sure the latch the dorm windows before they go to class because there had been reports of monkeys in the dorms on the beds looking for food. All I could think of the was the song, "Ten little monkeys jumping the the bed. Once fell off and bumped his head. Mama called the doctor and the doctor saidm, "No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

Because I am so unbalanced with this boot, I can't stand up long enough for the 30 - 45 minute parade on Monday and Friday morning. I've been going into the physics lab to sit in the doorway during parade. I can't hear everything, but bits and pieces. Yesterday while I was sitting there, the monkeys came into the science lab. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get a good picture of them jumping from one lab table to another.

Friends Across Borders 2013

FAB (Friends Across Borders) is a program sponsored by Maryknoll Lay Missioners that provides an opportunity for people to travel to countries where MKLM live and work.

The purpose is to expose the travelers to a different culture and life style and see first hand the work we are doing.

I am the FAB coordinator for Kenya and work with Cecilia in New York. Basically that means I work with her making all the

travel arrangements, housing reservations, meals, and schedule. I don’t have to do it all alone. Curt is the Mombasa coordinator and he has been a huge help.

This year the FAB group had 12 participants: 10 newcomers to Kenya and 2 former lay missioners that have lived and worked here as in-country guides. Four of the group were from Edmonton, Canada, two from Miami, two from Wisconsin, two from Minnesota. This time they were all retired people.


They came to Kitale first spending five days here, four days in Mombasa and the final three days on safari. We scheduled visits to all our ministry sites as well as some historical and cultural tours. I’m afraid the only pictures we have of them were during their visits to John and my schools. I thought you might enjoy.

At Weaver Bird they stopped by the Form IV classes to wish them luck on their upcoming KCSE exams, visited John’s Form I and II classes and chatted with his YCS (Young Catholic Student) group. The highlight of that visit was visiting the school kitchen.
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