Monday

I spent this morning continuing to settle. At ten o'clock Sossy and I met the bishop emeritus of Dodoma, Mathias Isuja Josheph, at the OLQP site. It was a moving experience. As he started to speak in such moving terms, I asked him if I could videotape him, which I will be posting on youtube with a link here soon. It was particularly moving when this elderly man spoke of this project in terms of St. Simeon: "Lord, now let your servant go in peace..." A dream of his, a vision, is now being realized. As he said, "It's a miracle you can touch."

I spent the afternoon in search of some extra passport photos I brought with me, which I need in order to open a bank account. I had seen them yesterday. I searched high and low, tearing through my belongings when it occurred to me to look under the bed, where I found them. I'll head to the bank tomorrow.

What else am I going to do tomorrow? Buy a SIM card! And guess what? Thanks to some certain folks' help it will work with a certain sort of phone that I've come to rely on (not that I'm attached to any such thing, mind you!).

A Full Two Days

Malasi arrived at Loyola High School close to two o’clock in the afternoon on Saturday. He’d been held up in Morogoro (where I’ll be studying Kiswahili beginning on Friday – one third of the way from D’Salaam and Dodoma) and ended up finding a detour through the sisal farms located there. He arrived in a Land Cruiser pick-up, which we realized was not the best thing for going through the D’Salaam traffic, for my bags could easily be picked off in the back. The solution was to put them in potato sacks and throw and tie them in. It worked! And believe me it was tested, for it took over two hours just to travel the twenty kilometers from Loyola High School to the outskirts of Dar es Salaam.

By the time we arrived at Morogoro it was dark. This provided for new adventures. Going 120 kph on a two-lane, undivided highway with pedestrians, bikes, and motor-scooters along the way and daladalas (minibuses used for local transport) making frequent unannounced (no directionals) stop. And of course the trucks take over the road at night. Malasi is a great driver; without his expertise my heart would have been in my throat many more times than it was. We arrived safely in Dodoma a bit past ten in the evening.

Sunday was filled with festivity. I slept in, so did not make it to the 7:30 a.m. Mass. As I was having my breakfast a bit after 8:00 o’clock the bishop walked in to the kitchen. He arrived early for the next Mass, which was to be a celebration of the parish’s youth. And indeed it was – over two hours of such celebration, including a very thoughtful homily by the bishop on what it means to be a community of shared values and what this means in terms of forming the next generation. (I must say from my visit with the bishop at the kitchen table, he is one of the most thoughtful members of the episcopacy I’ve met.) There was great singing and processional dancing by the youth. There was also, as it happened, the annual collection to support the bishop’s ministry, so at the time of the collection various groups of the parish (choir, small Christian communities, etc.) reported what their gift to him would be.

After communion, Sossy once again introduced me to the community, and the bishop graciously welcomed me as a blessing not only to the Jesuit community but to the local Church.

After Mass a group of us went to the rectory for some refreshment. These included us Jesuits, the bishop, and some other priests originally from Dodoma but now in Dar es Salaam (a capuchin and a diocesan priest) along with parish leaders and some of the sisters. This gave the youth a chance to prepare their program which we attended about forty-five minutes later –- a program of more than an hour’s length of song and dance. After the program and some words by bishop we returned once again to the rectory (now after two o’clock) for an amazing meal of roast chicken, rice, potatoes, and cabbage.

I found a couple hours in the middle of the afternoon to unpack (really, did I need to pack so many shirts?) and rest a bit. At seven we went to the parish hall where there was a farewell party for Jacquelyn, a parish employee. The hall was set up like a classroom with the guest of honor, Sossy, and Malasi at its head. Dinner was served – chicken, bananas, potatoes, and cabbage. Michel was very attentive to me, concerned that there weren’t utensils for me to use. I decided this time was a good as any to dive into it all and declined the offer. I managed quite well, I think.

After the dinner there were testimonials, which I could tell were heartfelt – all in Kiswahili so I cannot report much more than that. Except this: her going away gift was two long pieces of cloth which were brought up to her in a rhythmic procession by the folks. Upon reaching her they enwrapped her and themselves in the cloth – quite moving. After this presentation some more testimonials followed by dancing, which is when I took my leave.

Indeed a full two days and many more to follow.

D' Salaam

I arrived this morning from London. Unlike last time there was no problems at immigration. I explained to the kind man directing folks that I had received a residency permit but that it was awaiting my arrival in Dodoma and that all I had (in addition, of course, to my passport) was a printed pdf of the permit. He sent me to the East Africa line, where I was immediately given entrance. A quick stop at customs for a bag check, and I was in the welcoming area.

With no one to welcome me. It seems there was a bit of confusion. I waited for ten or so minutes for a familiar face, looked for my name on the signs drivers were holding, etc., but nothing. Then I noticed a gentleman in clerics. "Ah, that might just be my ride," I thought. "Excuse me, Father, are you from Loyola High School?" He wasn't; rather he was the pastor of the Lutheran cathedral awaiting a visiting Lutheran bishop from the DRC. When he learned why I was asking for a Jesuit father, he insisted, insisted, on schlepping me to Loyola High School. (The bishop, incidentally, never arrived, so it might be said I stood in place of a Lutheran bishop). That, my friends, marks Tanzania. When you hear folks speak of "Karibu" (welcome) that is how it plays out here -- not just the word, the actions that have meaning behind the word. I feel most welcome.

This evening Malasi, the Jesuit regent (Jesuit who has taken vows and working in a Jesuit work before studying theology before ordination) will arrive in D'Salaam with an Irish scholastic who's spent the last weeks working at the parish there to drive me home to Dodoma tomorrow (wow, first time I've written "home" and "Dodoma" together), and on next Friday I begin the 3+ month study of Kiswahili in Morogoro -- I'll be arriving there just in time for the hottest time of the year (often around 40 degrees centigrade -- and humid).

Thanks for the prayers and best wishes. More later.

TTFN

I'm writing this entry from the Crowne Plaza Hotel at Newark Airport. Tammy, the Continental agent at Detroit Metro, tried her hardest to get me to EWR for my Virgin Atlantic flight to London; and if there had been a gate open when we arrived in Newark, I would have made it. Alas, I arrived at the gate seconds after the door to the aircraft was closed.

Fr. Karl Kiser kindly brought me to the airport -- and surprised me when he parked and accompanied me to the ticket counter instead of dropping me off curbside. And Tammy (the amazing Continental agent mentioned above) gave him a pass to get through security, which meant that I could be his guest in the executive club -- a treat.

I received good news from Sossy, too: Not only are all my boxes sent via DHL now in Dodoma but also the boxes of books sent media mail are beginning to arrive. Amazing how quickly those books are arriving.

A number of people have emailed asking how specifically they might help OLQP venture. I appreciate that and will list our needs when I have a better sense of them. The foundation of a generous family is taking care of the building, but we'll need a lot of help with the operating expenses of a boarding school. You can donate on-line here. Specify that your gift is for OLQP.

Thank You, Sheila & Denny

My sister and brother-in-law hosted a wonderful afternoon at their house yesterday. Friends from various chapters of my life were present. I cannot imagine how the afternoon could have been better -- except maybe more time to visit with friends.

You can watch my speaking and also the provincial of the Detroit and Chicago Provinces speaking about my mission to Dodoma here (where you'll also get a glimpse at the end of ten of the eleven Connell kids!). I've said below that I don' feel I'm going alone, and yesterday certainly confirmed that.

Thanks again, Sheila and Denny (and Johnson children)! And thanks to my friends and family for taking the time and making the trip to Toledo!

Headed to Toledo

I'm headed to Toledo in a little over an hour for a farewell party hosted by my sister Sheila and brother-in-law Denny and family. I'm looking forward not only to spending time with friends from Toledo, Detroit, and Cleveland, but also their meeting one another -- a lot of connections among folks who haven't met one another (in addition, of course, to the obvious connection, me!).

I'm happy that there's a Jesuit contingent that will be present. One of the important aspects of the companionship of Jesuits is that when one person gets "missioned" in a way we all get missioned -- that is to say, that I'm headed to Dodoma not as a free agent but as part of something larger than myself.

I'll post some pics and some video of the party in the coming days.

(Can we get the provincial to tickle the ivories?)

On the Road

I left Los Angeles on Saturday morning at 11h15 -- five hours later than I'd intended. Saturday night was spent in Grants, NM; Sunday in Tulsa, OK; Monday in St. Louis, MO. This afternoon I arrived in Chicago. Here's a map of my journey. It was good to take this route across the country -- some really very beautiful vistas along the way.

Last night in St. Louis I had the opportunity to visit with my friend Fr. Carl Dehne, SJ, at Jesuit Hall there. I've known Carl since 1984 when I arrived at Loyola University Chicago to study philosophy. Though we haven't seen one another much since then, we have kept up (mostly, I must confess, on his initiative). He stands among the wisest (and funniest) Jesuits I know, so I was happy to have the chance to visit with him.

In the course of our conversation, Carl realized that I will be living with Fr. Michel Rwasha, SJ. Knowing this made him all the more excited about my move to Dodoma.