Wisdom from Sisters and Fathers

Those of us going to Kenya were invited to dine with some of the Sisters that have served in Kenya last week. Today we were guests of the Fathers that served in Africa. What follows are some of the insights we gained from them as well as some of their stories.

Sisters Paula and Noel, both nurses, worked together in Kitale for over 30 years. Noel was in Sri Lanka for 8 years and then in Africa for 34. Paula was in Africa for 41 years. The majority of that time they worked in a medial dispensary. In more recent years they worked in pastoral ministry included a knitting group, putting roof on completed houses, an adult literacy project, and a community bank.

Sister Clare worked 50 years in Kenya in many different places and in many different roles. Sister Roe was an educator in Eldoret and Mombasa. She now serves on the Christian Peacemaker Team that goes into conflict areas. While there they non-violently prevent further violence, train other in non-violent action and give witness to human rights abuses. Most recently she was in The Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Fathers Richard, Tom and Leo served for a total of almost 120 years. That's a lot of experience!

Father Tom served in Tanzania, Kenya and Sudan. He enjoyed his time most when he was in the bush (translation: out in the country or rural area). He talked over and over about how we need to forget that we are there to help people and instead focus on what we can learn from them. Although the people are very poor, in many ways they have more wisdom and sense of community that we do. He suggested talking to the people. Find a boy or girl out tending a herd of cattle or goats. Sit down with them under a tree and visit. Listen to them.

The Sisters have described Kitale as paradise with a mild climate, good soil and beautiful people. They had a yard with every kind of fruit tree imaginable. Since Mary is a composter and gardener we are looking forward to having a garden and growing some of our own food and herbs. They suggested good restaurants, areas where we might want to live, which local bank to use, good places to shop and even the best kind of beer!

Never leave home without duct tape. They told a hilarious story about a medical evacuation of one of the Sisters. When the plane arrived they discovered that the stretcher with the Sister strapped it was too wide to be able to fit through the door. What did they do? They taped the Sister to the stretcher so that they were able to tilt it and get her into the airplane. Then as they were taking off, the Sister still taped to the stretcher, started sliding forward and into the pilots area. The solution to the problem? Remove part of the tape from the stretcher and tape her to the floor of the plane!