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| Students at St. Mary's secondary government school |
About 9:30 Fr. Jonathan from Zombie’s St. Josephine Boquita school/Holy Spirit Catholic Mission Church came to pick us up. This is where Bob stayed when he was here in 2011. At that time there was no electricity nor water … today they have both, plus a fish pond where they raise tilapia, a new dining hall, many other improvements, plus they hope to
complete construction on a new administrative building. The number of students has increased from 75 when Bob was here to over 200, and they are rated number 2 in academic achievement in the diocese. It was a long washboard road again through the back areas of the bush, but it was noticeably dryer in Zombie. After visiting all of the classrooms and enjoying the welcomes of all the children, we had lunch with Father Jonathon and a couple sisters. Prior to heading back to Kitui, Fr. showed us their greenhouses where they now raise many of their fruits and vegetables … all irrigated. Since the students are boarded on site, all meals are provided; and the greenhouses have helped tremendously in providing that food. It’s quite an amazing operation.
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| Zombie |
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| Girls' dorm at St. Josephine Boquita school |
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| A classroom at St. Josephine Boquita school |
It was another hour and a half over more bumpy roads dodging the ruts and washouts, through the mountains back to Kitui town. Everyone else had also come back from their visits to the various villages, so it was a great evening learning the experiences of everyone else. Fr. Julius joined us … the priest Bob stayed with in Zombie in 2011; and Fr. Mark, who stayed with us this summer also came by to greet us. We will be staying put for the rest of the week, so it feels good to unpack for a few days.
Day 9, Wednesday, October 08, 2014 … 7:30 Mass and breakfast. The group divided into two. Most of them went to Nuu to see the water reservoir built there to hold water for use during the dry season. Bob and I have been there before, so we went with Kitui Diocese Bishop Muheria, Archbishop Nienstad and 4 car loads of us. We drove about 100 miles north to Kimangao, a parish that is the furthest away from Kitui town. The highway to Mwingi was actually drivable today … not like it was four years ago! However, past Mwingi the pavement ended and we still had another 20+ miles to go over washboard roads. So the entire trip took about 2 ½ hours to get there. And it is very noticeably hotter and dryer.
Kimangao has just established the St. Theresa’s Catechetical Centre. The Diocese here has been working to establish these centres to train people in a two-year program to lead catechesis in their parishes. Sister Rita showed us around; we had some tea; them some introductions between our delegation and the students in the centre and explanations of the goals of the centre; then a Blessing of the class room and the dedication plaque. The
importance of this occasion revolves around Fidelis Lindner, one of the founding members and leading force in the Partnership between the two dioceses. Fidelis, from our Archdioceses, died suddenly about two and a half years ago. Because of her great love for the Kenyans and her tireless work in the partnership, her family contributed funds to the Kitui Diocese. Fidelis’ daughter Julie and 11-year-old granddaughter Emily flew in from Japan (where they are missionaries) for the occasion. It was a touching moment, as Julie stated her mother loved Kenya and was a teacher, and the use of the funds to further Catholic education for now and all future generations was inspiring.
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| Julie and Linda The plaque honoring Fidelis Lindner, a founding member of the partnership with the Kitui Dioceses |
We were served lunch at the Centre, after which we stopped at the Kimangao secondary school for girls. They have over 300 girls there … and no water! They purchase water right
now. But in this area, even the rains are not sufficient. There is very little farming because of it, but goats and cattle do very well here. The Level 4 young ladies are also getting ready for their exams … the delegation addressed all of them briefly with the Bishop and Archbishop providing Blessings for all.
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| Girls at Kimangao Secondary School |
We traveled back over the bumpy road into Mwingi where we first stopped at St Joseph’s Minor Seminary, an all-boys secondary school. We again addressed all 214 students as a delegation, words of encouragement as they prepare for their futures and Blessings. We were treated to tea and cookies; and then we drove a very short distance to St. Gabriel’s Primary school. There are 290 students, grades pre-primary through grade 8. The eighth graders are also getting ready for exams … their scores dictate where they are able to attend secondary school, if at all. Once again, the delegation addressed the students and Blessings were given.
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| The young men at St. Joseph's Minor Seminary in Mwingi, Kitui, Kenya |
It seemed like a long drive back to the Diocese compound in Kitui … back at 7:15, watching for the last 40 minutes the beautiful yellow full moon rise up higher and higher in the sky. The other group didn’t get back until after 8:30 … they had bus trouble. All are very tired.
Day 10, Thursday, October 09, 2014 … A!fter Mass and breakfast, Fr. Robert drove Sue, Bob and me downtown to a cyber café where we were able to post a blog to the Archdiocese Mission web site about our trip and to e-mail out my journal to family and friends. Sue’s camera battery stopped charging for her, so she and I went to a “Walmart-type” store that sold a little of everything. There she was able to purchase a decent camera and put it on her Visa. After 10 days of very healthy eating, we broke down and bought our American diet food of Coke, chips and chocolate bars!!! It also took an hour at the bank to exchange dollars for shillings … everything on Kenyan time
We walked back to the Parish compound, about a mile or so, through some trial and error because it is a bit confusing, stopping to visit the Cathedral of Our Lady of Africa. Sue had not been in it before … it is very beautiful. The walk was hot … the evenings cool down quite a bit, but by mid-morning the sun is high overhead and is very warm, though it is very comfortable in the shade. Since we now know we can find Internet access, I wrote up a few more blogs for the Archdiocese site while waiting for the rest of the group to come back from the dedication. Bishop Mulharia and Archbishop Neinsted blessed the building of a new priest retreat and retirement center at the Muthale parish about 15 kilometers away. What we didn’t realize is that that is the parish of Fr. Benson and Fr. Mark, both having stayed at our home, so afterwards we felt rather bad that we didn’t attend the event.
In the afternoon we had a debriefing with our hosts on our experiences thus far in Kitui, and in the evening the entire delegation and others from Kitui were guests for dinner at Bishop Mulharia’s residence. It was a very lovely evening … the weather was perfect, the residence is beautiful and it was very nice to visit not only with the delegates but with many of our priest friends.
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| Bishop Mulharia, Bob, Marcie, Archbishop Neinsted, Jessica, Fr. Tim |
Day 11, Friday, October 10, 2014 … Workshop day. All of the delegates, including Archbishop Neinsted, plus the core team for the partnership here in Kitui reviewed the issues of the partnership. Each side then met to discuss courses of action, and after lunch everyone regrouped to review their proposals. We then did a short visioning session of what the partnership would ideally look like ten years from now. Overall, a lot of ideas and plans were established today as the partnership moves forward.
It was an afternoon of relaxation; and after dinner Bob and I visited with Fr. Robert at his place for several hours. It was wonderful catching up and spending time with him. A relaxing day before the busyness of the rest of our pilgrimage!
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