01 August 2018

MICHAEL, SUSAN, SUMMER, LENORE
AND THE TWINS

HOME SWEET HOME

     This is for those of you who have not heard that I have arrived safely back to our family home in Urbana, Illinois.  We celebrated our Independence Day on the 4th of July and many people who have seen this picture comment on how much I look like my mother.  I've spent the past month settling in and visiting around.  I just returned from lunch with my 99 year old aunt and godmother who still lives in her own home.  She is a wise woman.  I also went to Wisconsin to visit my 81 year old first grade teacher.  She is the youngest of the women I was able to spend time with at the Dominican Sisters.  They also are wise women.  Given the state of this country it is good to surround myself with wise people!
     Many people have mentioned how glad they are that I am home and out of harms way.  I had no idea that they were so concerned about my safety and paying attention to what little news would trickle out from wherever I happened to be.  It is a credit to my African friends that over all these years nothing terrible has happened to me.  I have been well taken care of for sure.

     Today I begin working as a Maryknoll Lay Missioner based in Illinois.  I will be doing Mission Education, Advancement, Medical Consultations and Medical Policy revisions all in support of our leadership team.  I will also provide some input into the Maryknoll Office of Global Concerns.

     This first month has been very relaxed and enjoyable as I settle in.  I'm happy to be living with my mother and she feels the same.  The weather has been warm and sometimes hot and humid.  I am grateful for this summer season and know that transitioning to cold temperatures will be one of my biggest challenges. It is a pleasure to drive Mom around on good roads where people follow the rules for the most part.  My basic needs for electricity, water, security etc are met without any problem.  I walk around the neighborhood once or twice a day and don't stand out or attract hisses or cat calls.  The neighbors are friendly and welcoming.  Several have shared plants from their gardens to help me get our garden blooming with more greenery and flowers.

     Politics and bad governance are similar to the problems we had in Kenya.   I try to connect with the rest of the world through the BBC and our Public Broadcasting network.  It's hard to get much detail about Kenya except through friends who still live there.  But certainly that country, in particular, is in often in my thoughts and prayer.  I did see pictures of the total lunar eclipse throughout Africa and was envious I could not see it myself.  But we can clearly see Mars shining a bright red hue near the moon, closer than it has been to us in a long time.

     This will be my last blog post as I am no longer providing health care in Kenya.  I offer it mainly as a way to reassure Kenyans that I am remembering them and grateful for all that I shared over the past 33 years in East Africa.  I would like to keep in contact and plan to try to connect around Christmas time as a minimum.

PEACE OF THE MOONBEAMS AND SHINING STARS THAT CONNECT US!!! 

01 July 2018

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES

     This picture was taken at Maryknoll NY in the autumn of 1984.  I was doing my orientation to go overseas and was 28 years old.  I came across it looking through some old files.  Quite a lot has happened between then and the next picture...

     Now I'm 62 and moving on from East Africa.  I've had so many parties, cakes and gifts this past month.  From left to right we are Heidi Cerneka, me, Mike Garr, Kathy Flatoff and Coralis Salvador.  (Gabe Hurrish is slaving away in S Sudan and couldn't be with us).  We had a big party at my flat to welcome Mike and Kathy and say farewell to me.  About thirty people came and I was so grateful to be able to say goodbye well.

     This simple note is one of the most precious I have received.  Kamal is 15 and lives downstairs.  He and his parents and brother fled Yemen over two years ago.  He was born with cataracts and has poor vision so he struggles to see.  When I would come home he would sometimes wait for me and we would chat about life, how hard it is to be in a country that is not your home, how much we miss our home and our families who live so far away.  He is also an artist and made a beautiful collection of shells to go with this simple note.  He doesn't have much to work with and even the corner of the paper was a bit torn.  All the more special.  We have both benefited from this friendship... especially me.

     So here is one of the reasons I am going home.  I left Kenya on 22nd June and passed through Dublin, Bettystown, and Drogheda in the Republic of Ireland.  Then Galbally in Northern Ireland.  Then East Molesey near London...all to say goodbye to missionaries and friends I have worked with in East Africa since 1985.  I arrived in Urbana Illinois at midnight on July 1st.  As my last plane trip touched down I opened my eyes to see a huge yellow slightly waning moon rising over the prairie! I'm once again in our family home living with my mother, Lenore.  I will continue working with Maryknoll Lay Missioners in mission education and advancement.  I'm not sure what will happen to this blog.  Let me know what you think!!!

PEACE OF THE PATH THAT FOLLOWS JESUS

01 June 2018

FAREWELL

     John is one of my patients with epilepsy and mild cognitive impairment.  One day he gave me ten shillings because he said that my work deserved payment.  He is 27 but his father always comes with him.  We smiled at each other.  I thanked John but told him that wasn't enough.  I knew that John made brooms and I told him I needed a broom.  He came through with TWO brooms this past week...to say goodbye to me.  Another patient with epilepsy, Koki, brought me a kikoy (traditional cloth from the coast).  She is 23 and always comes with her mother.  She too has some cognitive impairment but is happy and a bit overweight.  We've been working on decreasing that and she has been moving in the right direction.  This is why I choose family medicine.  I find such joy and satisfaction in the relationships I have with some of my patients.  And it is difficult to say goodbye.  The clinic was very busy and the clinical officer was not doing his job properly.  I have been working with him for several months and he is the person to continue on with what I have taught him.  I can only hope he improves.

     In another clinic they care very much.  An elderly man of 81 years, Mzee, was brought from his home 30 miles away by his son who lives a 100miles away.  Mzee was seen in the provincial hospital in July 2016 and hospitalized for abdominal pain.  They did a test for prostate cancer (PSA) which was 1421, extremely high. They wrote 'possible prostate cancer' on the discharge form which I saw.  They didn't tell the family anything.  This February 2018 he was admitted to the hospital at his home with abdominal swelling and severe swelling of both legs.  The oldest son was asked to sign a consent form for surgery.  They were told it was to repair a hernia but there was no procedure written on the form.  He signed a blank form!!!  The discharge summary documented that they took out both testicles to treat his prostate cancer and referred him to the palliative care unit where he received narcotics for pain relief.  All of this was necessary and appropriate but the family wasn't told anything.  He is an emaciated old man who can walk with a stick but was lying on his side in pain during the office visit.  His grandson was caring for him very well while I was talking to his son and daughter.  When I went to examine him I commented on how well the grandson was taking care of him and that he must love his grandfather very much.  The Mzee said he loved his grandson very much.  Then he said that he loved me very much!!!  

     Mzee is dying and I adjusted his pain medicines and other meds.  I also gave a referral form to the son so he can get morphine when he needs it.  But the most important thing I did was tell the family what was going on!!!  I was able to turn his care over to the staff at this hospital with confidence that he will get the treatment he needs to die peacefully.  However, I have heard that after the office visit he was so energized with better pain control that he is going out to work in his garden!

      On the 15th of May I went to Giriama dispensary despite a huge downpour and driving rain.  We did well until we had to turn off the main paved road onto the dirt road that would take us up the hill to the dispensary.  The gushing water had cut across the road and formed a deep trench.  We clunked down and stayed put.  My driver is used to driving taxis and I had to show him how to lock the wheels and put the car in 4WD.  Luckily, a bunch of young men were eager to assist by laying down some flat stones and help push the car. Of course we gave them a few bob which made their day and I was just so happy to be moving again.  This was the clinic that was renovated using contributions of over $15,000 given in memory of my nephew, Alex, who died tragically in an accident in 2013.  I wanted the people to know that love for him translated into love for them.  So I made a plaque and we placed it in the reception where his blue eyes,
blond hair and broad smile can look down on them  each day.  I'm sure that they will ask who he was and I hope they will hear the story of what love can do to make the lives of others better.
     I have now finished all the clinics that I have been doing in the Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa.  It has been my privilege and joy to serve in East Africa since 1985.  I will use these last few weeks to turn over the work I've done to the Health Coordinator,  clean out the files, pack up my things and leave June 22nd.
     Once again Maryknoll Lay Missioners in Mombasa have moved on.  We welcome two new members, Kathy Flatoff and Mike Garr.  They bring experience in health care and project development along with a deep faith commitment and a lot of love.  They are living with me while they look for their own flats. I am helping to orient them to life in Mombasa.  And so it goes.  One leaves and two more arrive.  Our smiles show how we feel about our lives and ministries...very happy!
 

KATHY MIKE SUSAN CORALIS

PEACE OF A GRATEFUL HEART BE WITH YOU

   

01 May 2018

GIFT OF A WOVEN MAT (MKEKA)

Friday 13th April

     People often ask me to describe a typical day.  I can't.  I never know what will come up despite what I have planned.

     I am not a superstitious person.  But this Friday I did ask myself as I was getting ready to begin the day what might lie ahead.

    I was unusually organized and left the house on time to fuel the car and meet the driver at the usual place.  We headed to the ferry and met a jam stretching a couple of blocks down the road...very unusual at 8am in the morning.  I thanked God I had a driver to deal with the chaos and sent a message to the clinic that we would be late.  We had to cross the ferry and then drive 50 miles (80km) to get to Mrima dispensary near the Tanzanian border.  Along the way we hit a driving thunderstorm and couldn't see three feet in front of the car.  I again thanked God for the driver.  The trip usually takes two hours but this took three hours...actually not too bad I thought.  

     I walked into the clinic at 11am and found patients laying all over the benches and no staff in sight.  They were in the newly opened maternity unit next door delivering a baby and following a second woman in labor.  The clinical officer (physician assistant) came and told me that he had been up three nights in a row delivering babies.  He has no nurse/midwife.  Then he works the clinic during the day.  I told him to go home and take a break.  The only other staff was a lab technician and the receptionist who has no medical training.

     I slugged my way through the line of people waiting, one of whom was the mother of a young girl with epilepsy.  We have been ordering special medicine for her but I came to find out that she hasn't received it because it is still sitting on the shelf right next to the receptionist.  The receptionist is dispensing medicine and tries her best but when she can't find what I have written she tells the patient it isn't available.  The mother heard I was leaving and she made this beautiful woven mat to show her appreciation.

    By 2pm I was pretty hungry and asked the patients if I could take a ten minute break to eat a sandwich.  They were fine with that but after five minutes the receptionist was knocking on the door with an emergency...a 19 year old woman who had drunk kerosene in a fit of desperation.  She is the fifth wife of a wealthy old man and I'm sure she's not happy to be serving him and the other four wives.  Fortunately she was stable and although she smelled of kerosene I'm not sure how much actually went down her throat.  We sent her to the district hospital.

     Next was a 10 month old child who looked like a waif from a war zone and had severe pneumonia.  She was very malnourished and hadn't gained any weight in four months despite being on seven antibiotics.  I called the clinical officer to ask if anyone had thought about TB.  She was referred for a chest x-ray.

     The icing on the cake was a text message from my driver saying he had abdominal pain.  He came in looking very sick and promptly vomited up old blood.  Now I knew that I would be driving home!!!  I got him the meds that were available and finished up a few more details before leaving at 4:30pm.  I was behind the wheel and the driver slept most of the way home.  We got stuck in a big traffic jam due to demolitions of numerous buildings in the town with the ferry.  They plan to widen the road but at the moment it is filled with chaos and I was wishing I wasn't the driver!  Add to that another jam at the ferry and I didn't get home till 7:15pm when it was dark.  A 12 hour day most of which had nothing to do with my plan.

     I hauled the mat up to my bedroom and laid it out on the floor.  I will have two months to smile and remember the simple woman who was grateful for the treatment we were giving her daughter.  I couldn't have planned this so well!

30 April 2018 - Today I finished my last clinic at St. Patrick Dispensary in the informal settlement of Bangladesh.  The staff had a cake made to say goodbye to me and it was a lot of fun sharing it at the end of a long clinic day.  But the best part of the day was my encounter with Mary.  She is in her twenties and was orphaned when her parents died of HIV/AIDS many years ago.  She is skinny as a rail and we have been trying for years to get her tested to know if she is infected.  She's a bright girl who scored well and went to a prestigious high school but she can't get a job.  (Unemployment among young people is about 50%).  She has been volunteering at the clinic so she can get a small stipend for transport and lunch.  Now she has Chikingunya virus and came to work with a fever, tired and lots of joints pains.  She's so poor that she can't afford to miss this little bit of money for food.  So I took my last chance and asked her why she was so afraid to be tested to know if she is infected with HIV.  She said that she would feel terrible because it would mean that she was infected by her mother.  I talked about bad luck, a loving God who doesn't judge and about the problem being people who do judge.  She shouldn't let them make her feel bad. I told her that if she is positive that we have medicines to make her stronger and healthier.  In my desparation I told her I am sick too and have to take medicine four times a day. I thank God that there is medicine to help me live and help others. All the sudden she said OK.  I went quiet.  I asked her who she wanted to test her and when she told me she said she didn't want anyone else to know the result.  But the test came out negative and she was flying high.  I think everyone knew as we gave her the first piece of cake with the most icing and calories.  What a way to say goodbye to one of the best clinics we have in the Archdiocese of Mombasa!!!

HAPPY FEAST OF ST. JOSEPH THE WORKER

HAPPY MONTH OF MARY MOTHER OF JESUS

PEACE OF THE KNOWLEDGE THAT GOD LOVES US NO MATTER WHAT

01 April 2018

A NEWBORN OSTRICH

HAPPY EASTER!!!!

     Most children celebrate Easter with little chicks or bunny rabbits but this little fellow is in S Sudan.  A couple of young guys found two ostrich chicks in the bush and brought them to the mission to sell.  Life is fragile here and one little ostrich was eaten by a dog shortly after arriving while strolling through the compound.  We'll see how this one fares.

     And I was able to see how S Sudan is faring.  During March I made a trip to Riwoto parish north of Kapoeta where Fr. Tim Galvin, a St. Patrick priest is the Pastor.  He was the Pastor of the the two parishes I worked in while in Toposaland.  Those parishes are now both closed due to lack of priests to staff them.  My purpose for the trip was to meet people whom I had worked with to tell them I was leaving and to say goodbye.  I succeeded more than I had hoped for.

     I had to fly in, rather than go by the less expensive land route in a car.  Bandits were attacking vehicles and robbing them so it was not safe.  I hadn't seen the airstrip since 1991.  It looked the same...a gravel runway with frequent crossings of cattle and goats.  There were a few trees off to the side but otherwise no structure like a shed or office.

     Fr. Tim picked me up and we went to the market...a smallish room with women selling fruits and vegetables.  One was from Kitale, Kenya and spoke swahili.  Another was from Uganda and spoke English. Yet another was from S Sudan and spoke Juba Arabic and Toposa.  I smiled at the international flavor of this simple little place.  The Sudanese pound has lost much of it's value and it takes wads of bills to purchase a few things.

REGINA AND SUSAN

     Many of the people that I had worked with have moved to Riwoto and Regina didn't know I was coming.  We had to search around a bit to find her and when she walked out of the compound she quietly said, "Susan" and fell into my arms.  We just held each other for a few minutes.  She was one of two women catechists when I arrived at the parish of Nyanyangacor.  She was the seventh wife of Festus, who has since passed on.  He allowed her to be a Christian and to be trained as a catechist.  Her English is now much better than my Toposa ever was and she has been to Nairobi for catechetical training.  The parish is an oasis of normality in a country which is a horrible swamp of corruption and ethnic hatred.

SR. RITA AND FR. TIM

     I also found my old friend Sr. Rita from Torit where we first met in 1991.  She is a missionary with the Sisters of Mary Mother of the Church in Uganda.  They have a school with over 500 pupils in K through primary five classes.  The top class has only boys as the girls have all left. It is a challenge to keep them in school.  Fr. Tim has an active child protection program in the parish through the small christian communities.  He told me of a 14 year old girl who disappeared from school because she was married off.  They found her living in the bush and being fed by some people from another tribe.  They took her to  the Commissioner for protection.  The commissioner returned her to her father who then came complaining that the priests and the church shouldn't interfere with family matters.  The law says that it is illegal for her to be married but implementation is obviously a problem.

MONICA AND SUSAN

     Health care is provided by the county government and Monica is a nurse that I had worked with before.  She is a Dinka, married to a Toposa, and is not wanted in this part of S Sudan.  She was demoted to caring for a medical store and fears for her safety so she moved outside of the village with her children.  She wanted to return to Bor where many Dinka come from but her husband won't allow her to go.  She must stay to care for his five children or  leave the children with him...which she will not do. Ethnic hatred is strong and rampant throughout the country.

     I asked Fr. Tim what they do when they need health care and he said that there is a lot of need and it is difficult to find treatments for more complicated problems.  I did meet the lab technician we worked with in Nanyangacor too.  He was working away in the government lab and had the equipment and tests he needed to do his basic work.  They were also renovating his lab.  In short, S Sudan is in a horrible mess and the people in this parish are doing their best to serve under very difficult conditions.

EUNICE AND SUSAN

      I also traveled to Kitale Kenya where I worked from 2003 to 2009.  My dear friend Eunica is still in the administration office but has moved from cashier to insurance claims.  She began working as a cleaner over 30 years ago.  She is as honest as the day is long and so kind and compassionate.  We are standing with a picture of my maternal grandparents who gave $10,000 to renovate the hospital.  They now have a surgical theater and x-ray machine.  It is heartening to see the service continue and improve.

TERESA AND SUSAN

     I had lunch at Eunice's home and her daughter Teresa is now a nurse.  We, you and me through my ministry account, put her through nursing school.  She has overcome several huge challenges which are private matters.  But she is now happy and smiling.  She is a confident young woman with a job, the ability to send her seven year old daughter to school and great compassion for those in need.

FAREWELL AT MARYKNOLL SOCIETY HOUSE 

      I also had a farewell party in Nairobi with the Maryknoll Brothers, Fathers, and Sisters.  They told stories that I had long since forgotten and I remembered some that they had never heard.  Now I am back in Mombasa and beginning to turn over my ministry to the Health Coordinator and clean out the files.  Kenya is peaceful at the moment but one of the opposition leaders has been deported for the second time and is stuck in Dubai.  Hard to tell where this drama is going!

PEACE OF THE FULL MOON TONIGHT - REFLECT THE LIGHT!!!

01 March 2018

GONE, GONE, GONE!!!!

     As of 23 February 2018 Kenya has been declared free of this horrible little worm...guinea worm (dracunculiasis).  It means that no case has been diagnosed for the last three years.  Most of the cases were coming with refugees from S Sudan and I saw hundreds of them when I worked in S Sudan.  One poor man had at least 66 worms come out of his body!  But now S Sudan is also free of guinea worm!  Last year there were only 26 cases in Chad and Ethiopia.  That's a big improvement from the 400,000 cases world wide in 1988.  Very big credit goes to the Carter Center which has been leading the eradication program.  Only one disease has been eradicated from the face of the earth...small pox.  But guinea worm and polio are in a big contest to see which will be the second.  So exciting!!!!

MARJ, TED, SUSAN

     Recently the new Executive Director for our Maryknoll Association, Ted Miles, came to visit with our Director of Missions, Marj Humphrey.  After prayer and reflection I have decided to go home to live with my mother in Urbana Illinois beginning on July 1st.  We are both getting older and I can feel the Spirit beckoning.  I know this is the right decision.  After discussions with Ted and Marj I will continue as a Maryknoll Lay Missioner working in Mission Education and Advancement, mainly in the Midwest.  I am gradually saying thank you in my goodbyes.  I have been so blessed to have served in Tanzania, South Sudan and Kenya since 1985.  I am a very fortunate woman to have been able to follow Jesus as a lay woman in the Catholic church.  Now it will be my chance to help others to join us and support us in the many ways that are possible.

       I recently saw a man my age who was very thin and had been brought by his son from a small village three hours away to see 'the doctor'.  He was taking medicines for HIV and had been diagnosed by a traditional healer to have cancer of the throat.  The only other medicine he was taking was an antibiotic for the pain!  (Of course, antibiotics do not help pain at all!)  Huge tears rolled down his cheeks as he struggled to speak.  It took great control to prevent tears welling up in my eyes too.  After a thorough history and exam he did in fact have throat cancer.  It had caused a very large ulcer that had destroyed his left tonsil.  There was a tumor the size of a golf ball on his left jaw.  The pain was preventing him from sleeping...#10 on a scale of 1-10...and he could hardly swallow.  What he needed was liquid morphine.  I taught the Congolese doctor working at this hospital how to refer patients to the hospice in Mombasa, which is the only place to get this medicine.  I also taught him about palliative care.

     We started him on the liquid pain medicines we had at hand and two days later I was able to send the morphine with our Health Coordinator.  When I explained all of this to him and his wonderful son he began to smile.  He asked me to come visit him at his home...a sign of immense gratitude.  Before any analgesics were given the tears had given way to a smile.  I could hardly believe it.  All we had done was listen to him and give him hope that there was medicine that could decrease his pain.

     In all my years here I wish I had listened more.  Listening is one of my goals for this Lent.  To listen to the people I disagree with, the people who insult me, people in pain and people who don't seem to make sense to me.  And then reply with love.  It is the best medicine.

     I have recently finished reading a book written by Kate Henessey entitled Dorothy Day: the world will be saved by beauty.  Kate is Dorothy's granddaughter and I couldn't put the book down.  I will leave it in Kenya so that people here will have the chance to read it.  Don't miss the chance yourself!

MAY THE PEACE OF DOROTHY DAY BE WITH ALL OF US

07 February 2018

      I just received an email form someone who heard that there is a civil war brewing in Kenya.  Then I found out that 29 people have read my blog today!!!  The news must be out that things are going on here.
     Mombasa is very quiet and peaceful.  I expect it to stay that way.
     The opposition is not backing down on its claim that they won the election in August 2017 and contend that if this matter isn't addressed now, the matter of legitimate elections, then there will be no election in five years.  In fact, many people already think that the Vic President will be the next president!  So much for democracy.
     The opposition promises to be peaceful and so far they have shown good restraint, especially during the oathing ceremony of the 'peoples' President, Raila Odinga'.  At that activity the police where in the background and that also helped immensely.
     Hard to say where we are heading but those who thought that the President was elected and life could go on as usual are ignoring the many people who are upset and feel disenfranchised. 
     We keep praying and working for peace!!!

01 February 2018

STAFF HOUSE ELDORO DISPENSARY

OH ME OF LITTLE FAITH

     In 2012 I used my mission money to help renovate the maternity at Eldoro Divine Mercy Dispensary.  It took two years to complete the project and cost over $10,000.  There were so many problems with the Committee for the dispensary and the government I don't want to remember them.  Between 2014 and 1015 there wasn't one delivery in the unit.  I felt I had thrown the money away.  The Sister In Charge was changed several times and the current Sister told me that they needed a staff house so that a nurse could be living there all the time and on call.  I was VERY reluctant to put 

STAFF AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS

anymore money into this place.  But this Sister seemed serious so I 'caved in'.  I didn't give the money happily.  I prayed that I wouldn't have to regret another bad decision.  The dispensary also changed the Committee members and the new chairman seemed to be a man who cared about improving health care in this remote village.  Lo and behold they finished the building and accounted for all the funds that were provided...again over $10,000.  In December 2016 there were four deliveries.  In 2017 there were 37 deliveries during the whole year.  This past month I visited the unit and met with the Committee and staff.  Sister Anne and the Chariman, Peter, are standing on either side of me.  It has been a five year ordeal with a happy and promising ending.  With everything I've done here it has always taken longer than I had anticipated.   I still believe in the government mandate to provide clean and safe deliveries to mothers at the dispensary nearest to their home.  But there is a long way to go.  You have to have a lot of faith to stick your neck out, stick with it, follow through and hope for the best!!!

     I have been asking my Kenyan friends about President Trump's most recent description of the continent we live in.  To my surprise, many of them were not offended. They agree that the government of Kenya is corrupt, has been involved in extra judicial killings, the police are a law unto themselves and many of the leaders on the continent are authoritarian dictators who have turned their countries into the expletive that President Trump used.

     However, one person told me she did take umbrage at his insinuation that all of these people were stupid, ignorant and lazy.  Kwamchetsi Makokha in the Daily Nation provided some statistics to challenge this stereotype.  There are 2.1 million African immigrants in the USA.  This constitutes 4.8% of the immigrant population.  88.3% have a high school education.  41.7% hold a Bachelor's degree.  And I, myself, can witness to the tremendous faith, courage and hard work of people that I have been privileged to work with.  Eldoro dispensary above needed more than me and money to provide good maternity services to women who often die with their babies in a mud hut in pain and agony.  

EVA MSANDO

POLITICS

     On 30th January Raila Odinga swore himself in as the "Peoples' President" in Nairobi.  I was in a remote village doing clinics and had no network so I had to rely on the BBC radio in my phone for news.  The government shut down several media stations and they are still off the air.  Apparently they are being investigated for assisting in a 'treasonable' act...meaning taking pictures of the swearing in of Mr. Odinga.  Half the people I talk with say the elections are over, President Kenyatta was reelected and they want to move on with their lives.  The other half believe that the first election was won by Mr. Odinga and the results were rigged.  They are very unhappy, as is this woman.  Eva Msando is the wife of Chris Msando.  He was the IT expert of the Independent Elections and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) that ran the elections.  He had proudly announced that he had insured that the servers for the elections could not be tampered with.  A week before the elections he was brutally murdered and to date he has been publicly forgotten.  There has been no one charged with his murder and I never hear anyone asking about him. I cannot get this picture out of my mind and I wonder what the future holds for Kenya ??? 

LENTEN CAMPAIGN KENYA 2018

  

WE HAVE A BIG CHALLENGE THIS LENT

IN KENYA

TO BRING JUSTICE AND PEACE

FOR ALL

01 January 2018

SUSAN, HEIDI, GABE CORALIS

WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR PEACE

     This Christmas season in Mombasa has been peaceful and so much fun.  Our small group has welcomed Gabe Hurrish who will go to South Sudan this month to begin his ministry in Yambio.  He will work with Solidarity for South Sudan at the only functioning Teacher Training college in the entire country.  South Sudan recently signed another cease fire but the country is still torn to shreds and many people have had to flee to Uganda for safety.  We hope that this small corner of sanity will continue to function to provide qualified teachers for the students who desperately want a better education.

HEIDI, SUSAN, MARGARET, YDO, LEO

       I also was able to welcome other friends from South Sudan.  Ydo worked as the development director when I was in the Diocese of Torit.  He and his wife Margaret are especially good friends because their son, Leo, is my godson.  Leo was named after Fr. Leo Traynor, a St. Patrick missionary priest and good friend of mine, who served in South Sudan until his death.  This picture shows us walking through Old Town in Mombasa.  I haven't been able to do this for many months due to insecurity.  Clearly this Christmas season has been calm peaceful and we are hopeful for the future.

      The Kenya region will also receive two more lay missioners who are going to Tanzania to attend the language school for Swahili.  They will come to Kenya in a few months and our small group will grow in size again and I will need to change the picture too!

      So I begin this new year of 2018 happy and hopeful for good things to come.  On this feast of Mary let us all continue to pray and work for peace wherever we are.

MAY THE PEACE OF WARM OCEAN BREEZES BE WITH YOU!!!