September 14-20
Changes! Changes! Changes!
Around 12:30 PM on September 14 Sisters Patty Clune and Pat
Murphy were sent off from Carondelet to the airport with a blessing by the Sisters and
Employees (and a few others who came for the occasion). At the airport we were also blessed to be
assisted by a marvelous baggage handler who made life easier for us as we checked all five
suitcases plus a container of water filters.
The remainder of the trip was smooth, including the changing of planes
in Atlanta and Amsterdam.
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| Tabernacle at Notre Dame |
At the Entebbe airport only Sister Jo Ann and our driver,
Bernard, met us because we needed all the sitting space for luggage! The place we stayed was close to the airport,
so it didn’t take long to get to the Notre Dame lodging, greet Sisters Marion
and Fran, and then fall into our beds! Neither did it take long to realize that
mosquitoes were a real threat in this area, so we all needed to be extremely
vigilant! We were awakened to the
familiar sounds of roosters, storks, and goats. A little while later the voices
of the nursery school children on the grounds were added!
The five of us spent the next day together before heading
out to dinner and the airport again. This time we said our goodbyes at the
restaurant. While we were eating,
Bernard went back and picked up the luggage, so only he traveled to the airport
with Sisters Marion and Fran. It was
both happy and sad as you will certainly understand! When we retired to our rooms we discovered
that there was no water available for anything!
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| Jo Ann driving between Kampala & Entebbe |
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| Stones to keep cars from driving on this half of the road while being repaired |
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| Our greeters near the Nile |
The following morning was Thursday, our day to drive to
Gulu! We were ready to roll by 8:30
AM. After stopping for a bite to eat and
an actual restroom break for about 45 minutes, we continued on, arriving at our
house in Gulu about 4:30 PM. We had
expected a quicker trip since they are working on the road, but it still took
over 7 hours!
Sister Jean Abbott warmly welcomed us “home” both at the
door and with a welcome sign in our rooms. Esther, our cook, arrived shortly afterwards,
so it was a great homecoming! After
supper we unpacked some of the items, separating clinic and personal things
into various places before again falling into our more permanent beds. It is worthy of note that we have been "home" for one full week this evening!
While Friday was a “lay-low” day, Saturday was a day of
celebration beginning with a special brunch prepared by Jo and Jean who had
decorated the dining room and prepared a big breakfast for Pat’s birthday. Jo Ann, Pat, and Patty took a walk to visit Sister Agnese up at the Animation Center, but met her driving down the road to
go to town. We had a short visit with
her and laughed a lot.
Jean has been busy at Caritas training and writing grants with them. The work is not easy to accomplish due to cultural expectations and differences.
Patty and Pat have also begun plans for Water with Blessings. They have their first meeting to understand "local protocol" on Friday morning .
Later in the evening we had a marvelous spaghetti and
meat sauce meal (sauce prepared by Jo), with homegrown avocados and lettuce,
along with garlic bread! We certainly
enjoyed ourselves! And to make the day
even more special we viewed a Woodland Kingfisher sitting on our laundry pole.
Here is a picture of this type bird.
Sunday morning found us worshiping at the Chapel in our
compound with Fr. Jino and the Catechists who are taking courses. The music
they can make together is inspiring. Without any written music they harmonize and play
homemade instruments. After Mass, Fr. Jino came out to
welcome us. He seemed to remember both
Patty and Pat, and promised Pat that he had work in mind for her…. She thanked
him but remarked that she knows how to say “no” if necessary! He laughed and indicated that is good!
Monday morning Jo Ann drove Pat and Patty to the maternity
clinic for their first look. Besides seeing all
of the beautiful construction and landscaping, observed that the staff members were excited
to have Sister back! Jo Ann had been
gone two weeks dealing with issues that needed to be dealt with. And then we saw the babies and their parents!
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| Mother and child |
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| Sr. Jo Ann and Lamara Jo Ann at 6-week check |
There were two
newborn boys present with their parents and aunties. Pictures are included
here! So far 110 babies have been birthed at the Maternity Clinic - 5 since we arrived. Many others received pre and post birth care.
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| Parents and child |
The day finished happily with a visit from Father Joseph who used to be
in charge of our compound. Father Jino came for a visit the next evening, so we've been kept busy!
That’s it for this edition!
See you later! Blessings on all of our readers!
