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!!!