Sisters Centennial Celebration

We were privileged to take part in the centennial celebration of the Maryknoll Sisters last weekend. The sisters serving in Kenya, Theresa, Giang, and Sia, decided they wanted to celebrate relationships among friends. So they hosted a seminar "Spirituality for Mission in the 21st Century". They invited other Maryknollers, people they work with, nuns and priests from other orders, and friends. At one point there were over 150 people attending the seminar that lasted a day and a half.

Members of Maryknoll participating in the Seminar

Sister Claudette LaVerdiere was the speaker. Whenever anyone hears about Maryknoll Sisters, they always ask about Sister Claudette, so due to this positive reputation, she was selected as the speaker. Recently she completed writing a book about the founder of the Maryknoll Sisters, Sr. Mary Joseph Rogers. Using that, the topic of her lectures was the spirituality of Sr. Rogers and how it applies to us in mission today. It was a thought provoking, inspiring, educative, validating and motivating two days.

However, the best part of the weekend was the celebration of relationships. We knew that three of our fellow missioners from Mombasa, Mary, Susan and Judy, were going to be there so we were looking forward to spending time with them. It is so far from Kitale to Mombasa that we seldom see one another and cherish the time we have together.

Members of Orientation Class 2012
A huge surprise was Sister Genie who was in our orientation class in the fall of 2009. She is serving in Tanzania. Unfortunately, she has constantly been sick in the two and a half years that she has been there. Two weeks ago she came to Nairobi for medical treatment. Although we are sorry that she has been sick, we loved getting to see her again. Please pray for her as she has a difficult decision ahead of her. Due to all the health problems she has experienced, it looks like she is going to have to leave Tanzania. She is in the process of discerning where to go now.

Maryknoll Sisters Giang, Claudette, Sia, Rachel, Genie, Theresa

After the seminar the sisters invited us over to their home for an impromptu dinner. It was a true group effort since it wasn't planned. Susan, a friend from NY, had some pasta sauce frozen in her refrigerator. She ran home to get it. John and Dr. Susan ran to the store to get cheese and crackers. We ended up having a feast fit for a king. Even though the food was good, the best part was spending time with friends. The theological discussion continued around the dinner table as we shared our thoughts and experiences with laughter and tears. It was a joy filled weekend.