Gaudete In Domino

I decided to do my Christmas letter in blog form again this year since the highlight of the year was my trip to Matamba in Tanzania to visit our sister school, St. Monica's.  You can see the details and pictures of the trip below.  It was an incredible experience and I hope to return someday in the not too distant future.  There is much that remains to do in helping the school get on its feet.  I am encouraged by the vision of Valentine Malilla, the lead teacher, and Fr. Mbiche, the founder and director of the school.  It will be of great benefit to the children of the area, many of whom are orphans.  If you are interested in learning more about the school or would like to support it in some way, please give me a call. It has been a busy year, especially in my work for the Diocese as Director of Divine Worship.  After the introduction of the new translation of the Roman Missal which contains the prayers we say at Mass I thought things would slow down...

On our last day in Matamba we visited the classrooms and recorded each class signing a song for the St. Mary's students.  I am having trouble uploading video but I think that after this weekend there should be some available on the St. Mary's School, Owatonna, website. This is the mountain road to the village.  Not even the steepest part. We headed back toward Dar es Salaam with an overnight in Morogoro.  Along the way we finally had a chance to meet Bishop Alfred who was on his way back to Njombe.  We had a nice visit and dinner with him.  Here he is with Denny and I.  We stayed at a very nice religious conference center.  We arrived really late at night (around 11 p.m.) but were able to rouse someone to let us in to our rooms.  The next morning we slept in a little and then tried to find an internet cafe.  No internet service available.  That seemed like a pretty common occurance.  Either electricity or internet (or both) seem...

Finally - after many days of travel we arrived in the village of Matamba.  It was mid-afternoon when we finally arrived.  Matamba is in the high lands and it took us about 40 minutes to get up the mountain via a series of very sharp switchbacks.  The road was not paved (as was true of most of the roads we travelled) and I can't imagine what it would be like in the wintertime when the rainy season starts. After we went up the mountain there was a short drive across the plateau to the village. When we arrived at the gate the children, the priests, the sisters, the teachers were waiting for us and led us the final short distance to the parish grounds. It was a time of great excitement and welcome.  I have to say I was very moved by the welcome we received.  The children clung to us and almost dragged us along.  It was great to see their enthusiasm. When we arrived at the parish grounds we were seated at a specially decorated table and the parish prie...

On the second day of our stay we headed from Dar es Salaam to the Mikumi National Park.  We spent the late morning and afternoon driving through the park looking for animals.  The area of the park is huge and so the animals range freely.  As you can see the park is very dry at the moment because they are moving from winter into summer (south of the equator so opposite seasons from here).  The summer is the rainy season and Fr. Mbiche recommended that we not come much later since the weather would be more changeable and with the dirt roads would make travel much more difficult.  We were very fortunate in the number of animals we saw.  There were many impalas which we saw throughout the park.  After registering we made our way with our guide to our cabins.  These were much more comfortable than the ones that Denny and Tammy stayed in six years ago. They had attached bathrooms and showers - the lap of luxury.  We settled our belongings, made...

We spent the entire first day in the vicinity of Dar es Salaam.  Part of this was to allow Fr. Mbiche to do some business in town.  Part was to get a taste for "Dar" and to see Bogamoyo where Christianity first came to Tanzania in the mid nineteenth century.  I commented to Fr. Mbiche during our time together that I didn't think I could live in Dar es Salaam.  It is very congested.  A large city with several million people.  There are areas of more comfort but I felt that it was very tight and also (at this time of the year) very dusty.  Since so few streets are paved the dust hangs in the air.  I did notice, however, that the inside of houses and buildings were quite clean and dust free.  I am not sure what their secret is but it seems to work.  It is really when one is outside that one feels the heat, the humidity and the dust.  We drove through the Oyster Bay area which contains many of the embassies and the houses of the wealt...

Our flight for Tanzania left on Monday, October 22 in the mid-afternoon.  Fr. Michael Cronin drove us to the airport in Minneapolis for our departure.  We were grateful for that. We packed a lot of things to take with us to Tanzania.  I filled a suitcase with t-shirts, rosaries, ditty bags, candy and school supplies (pens and pencils).  Denny filled a bag with frisbees, toys, candy and other items.  We also took our regular bags with our clothes and personal items. We were able to check in online on Monday morning which made the airport arrival run more smoothly.  Making sure we had tickets, passports and visas we made our way to the gate.  I was trying to arrange for my phone to work in Tanzania but never was able to do that.  I was without personal phone or internet for 10 days - and I survived! Our transatlantic flight was uneventful.  I did some reading, played some games on the plane entertainment system and watched a movie....

Unfortunately, all of the pictures I took on the ipad while in Tanzania have disappeared!  The videos are still able to be accessed so that is good since they are films of the students singing for our students here in Owatonna.  Fortunately, my partner in this adventure, Denny Werner, took a lot of pictures and we have his, along with some video he shot.  I will start to upload pictures and videos over the next few days to try to get a good record of our trip.

On Saturday, October 28, Denny Werner and I arrived at Matamba in the mid-afternoon.  We spent Friday night at Njombe which is the seat of the bishop.  We stayed at the Cathedral rectory.  Unfortunately the Bishop was away but the priests in residence treated us very well.  We were especially appreciative because Friday was the day we had car trouble and our arrival was quite late.  A meal was ready for us and we had an interesting discussion learning about the diocese and then it was time for bed. We left around mid day and made our way to Matamba.  The last 40 minutes or so was up the mountain.  There were over 50 steep and sharp switchbacks which made for a rather harrowing ride.  Fortunately, Fr. Mbiche has done this many times and was an expert at navigating the road.  It was a very ride and I am glad we were not doing it in the rainy season when I am sure it is even more treacherous. When we arrived at Matamba the pastor (Fr....

I will be posting some entries over the next couple of days as I get pictures and videos available.  They will not be in a particular order for the moment but should give a sense of our adventures.  I have had wonderful conversations with some of the parishioners since I returned and it is great to see the interest shared by so many people.

Not being completely computer savvy I am not having luck with putting pictures on the blog.  Check back after Tuesday to see the whole show.

Finally, we made it to Matamba and had an incredible welcome by the students, teachers and pastor.  When we get pictures we will load them on.  The challenge to date has been finding internet access which is why we have not posted before.  As I write this we are trying to access my bag that has school ipad and some of my other items. Tonight we are staying the priests' house and I think it will be more relaxing evening.  We have been on the road a lot.  It is a great distance from Dar es Salaam where we landed to Matamba which is up on a hill in the highlands.  It is the end of the dry season and we had just a little rain today which will help with the dust and the crops that will soon be planted. Our flight was uneventful but long.  The entire trip was 22 hours.  We had about 31/2 hours in Amsterdam.  It was good to be able to get up and walk around.  We found the gate for our flight to Tanzania and then went looking for a place tha...

Just trying out the iPad I will be taking.  I hope to be able to use it to keep in touch.  Thanks St. Mary's School for the loan.  Now I just have to get a SIM card in Tanzania to get wireless access. Next stop the airport.

Today is travel day.  We leave Owatonna around noon for a 3:15 flight out of Minneapolis.  We arrive in Amsterdam tomorrow morning and finally arrive in Dar es Salaam at 9:40 p.m.  Since there is a 9 hour time difference it will actually be about 1 p.m. Tuesday Minnesota time.  The travel time is 22+ hours with an almost 4 hour layover in Amsterdam.  We also stop in Kilamanjaro on the way although we don't change planes.  I hope to get a picture of the famous mountain.  I am almost finished packing.  In addition to our regular luggage we are taking a lot of items for the children of Matamba.  We have ditty bags for their personal items.  We have pens.  I am taking a lot of my empty medicine bottles for the hospital which the pastor has built.  But most of all we are taking a lot of love and prayers.  Thanks to all who made financial contributions and items for us to take. Thanks also for all of the love and ...

Habari (Hello) to all.  I am reactiviting my blog as I prepare to go to Tanzania.  I am traveling to Matamba where I will visit our sister parish and school.  Fr. Augustine Mbichi, the associate pastor of the parish, has built St. Monica's School.  It has been a blessing for our parish and school to support his work.  Many of his students are orphans, left without parents by the AIDS epidemic which continues to sweep Africa.  Fr. Mbichi has done an amazing job of founding a school, building the school facilities, hiring the teachers and staff, provided food, clothing, books and housing for many of the students.  There are students who have parents but many do not but still must wear a uniform and have books.  Fr. Mbichi has also built a dormitory which houses many of the students and he provides food for many of them as well. I leave on Monday, October 22 from Minneapolis.  We fly to Amsterdam and then on to Dar es Salaam.  It is a 2...