"You will find Him" promises the angel to the shepherds. These words from a Christmas meditation rang in my heart. I will find Him; this I know is true. On this African adventure, I will encounter Christ, but like the shepherds, I must be ready and awake. I must be ready to see the extraordinary in the ordinary.
Christmas is over for another year. I hardly shopped and I felt quite out of sync with that part of the season. However, I did receive much more than I imagined. People in my life have been exceedingly generous with gifts and prayers and I am grateful to the point of being overwhelmed with emotion at times. Sometimes it is simply the gift of a kind word of encouragement, like today after mass, when one of the women who attends regularly, whose name I do not even know, came to speak a blessing on my journey. I feel so fortunate.
I have discovered a little about my itinerary. I will have January 5 to recover from my jet lag at the guest house near the CAPI office. On January 6, two of the CAPI staff and I will make our way to Goma, DRC, via Kigali, Rwanda. CAPI works with internally displaced people in camps and assists with monitoring and supporting women-specific activities in the Goma Relief and Conflict Transformation program, including bereavement training and counseling. They also have a training program entitled Alternatives to Violence (AVP) for community members there. CAPI works with prisoners, demobilized youth, and ex-combatants. I am so impressed with all the programs that CAPI participates in and cannot wait to see how they run when I am there.
From Goma, we return to Rwanda and then on to Burundi where I will remain to assist in setting up a new CAPI extension office in Bujumbura. I have been communicating with a man named Lucky who is involved in the Deaf Community there and who (lucky for me) speaks English. He will introduce me to the Executive Director of the Deaf Community in Burundi. I also have some connections to the Deaf Community in Nairobi which will also be fabulous. Lucky sent me an email in response to asking him what he loved most about Bujumbura. He says that the area is very flat (so I should feel at home!) and on beautiful Lake Kivu. He does not like the weather which he complains is too hot. Well, even though Winnipeg is no longer -50 with a windchill, I am still thrilled to be going somewhere that has no snow and has more Suzanne-friendly temperatures.
Hope your holiday celebrations went well. For those who looked, I hope that you found Him this Christmas.
Peace to each of you.
Suzanne
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Sunday of Joy
Today is the third Sunday of Advent--a day which marks great joy. We light the pink candle today on the Advent wreath. As I draw nearer to my departure date of January 3, I am filled with great joy and anticipation. There is lots to do between now and then and it will be easy to be distracted from those emotions. I am hoping that won't be the case.
I have been doing some nightly Advent readings. Friday night I read these words of L'Arche founder and wisdom speaker, Jean Vanier: "Celebration is a cry of joy, an acknowledgement that our lives are woven together; it is the joyful recognition that we are bonded together with one another as part of the same body....Celebration is a manifestation and a recalling of our deepest and most important values; it holds up and honours all those things in life that call us to unity and to love." Yesterday I was missioned by my pastor in the presence of my family, friends and fellow parishioners in such a celebration. I know some people are nervous about my trip and I thought it might help them to know that I would be sent off with God's and the church's blessing--blessings for peace, joy, grace, and protection. Yesterday also happened to be St. Lucy's feast day and I can only pray that this saint whose story involves light and vision would teach me to see with the eyes of Christ and to keep my sights on how the Light of Christ permeates this world, even in situations of great darkness.
I also felt it was important to be missioned to recognize the role that the church has had in my life. In the pews of St. Ignatius, I have been shaped and moulded. I heard the call of service and discerned that I should respond to the international beckonings of my heart. Catholics don't normally mission our parishioners; our Protestant brothers and sisters do this much better. However, I felt that a simple ceremony would bless not only me, but those who came. I turned out to be right. I have felt great peace and much joy in these last 24 hours. I also know that those who came were touched by what they experienced. They have begun this journey, which God has placed before us, with me.
I have just finished reading a novel entitled, "This Voice in My Heart: A Genocide Survivor's Story of Escape, Faith , and Forgiveness" by Gilbert Tuhabonye. Gilbert was the lone survivor of an attack by the Hutus on a secondary school in Burundi. He was beaten and badly burned as he hid under the corpses of his classmates as the school was torched. He survived the ordeal by escaping through a window and running away. He went on to compete for the Olympics. I am not sure how many people like Gilbert I will meet but I am sure that my heart will be touched by each story of survival that I do hear. One of the lines from the blessing yesterday was When you go out, may you see the face of Jesus in everyone you meet. I pray this is true. I hope I listen to each story and see in each one, the face of Christ.
Suzanne
I have been doing some nightly Advent readings. Friday night I read these words of L'Arche founder and wisdom speaker, Jean Vanier: "Celebration is a cry of joy, an acknowledgement that our lives are woven together; it is the joyful recognition that we are bonded together with one another as part of the same body....Celebration is a manifestation and a recalling of our deepest and most important values; it holds up and honours all those things in life that call us to unity and to love." Yesterday I was missioned by my pastor in the presence of my family, friends and fellow parishioners in such a celebration. I know some people are nervous about my trip and I thought it might help them to know that I would be sent off with God's and the church's blessing--blessings for peace, joy, grace, and protection. Yesterday also happened to be St. Lucy's feast day and I can only pray that this saint whose story involves light and vision would teach me to see with the eyes of Christ and to keep my sights on how the Light of Christ permeates this world, even in situations of great darkness.
I also felt it was important to be missioned to recognize the role that the church has had in my life. In the pews of St. Ignatius, I have been shaped and moulded. I heard the call of service and discerned that I should respond to the international beckonings of my heart. Catholics don't normally mission our parishioners; our Protestant brothers and sisters do this much better. However, I felt that a simple ceremony would bless not only me, but those who came. I turned out to be right. I have felt great peace and much joy in these last 24 hours. I also know that those who came were touched by what they experienced. They have begun this journey, which God has placed before us, with me.
I have just finished reading a novel entitled, "This Voice in My Heart: A Genocide Survivor's Story of Escape, Faith , and Forgiveness" by Gilbert Tuhabonye. Gilbert was the lone survivor of an attack by the Hutus on a secondary school in Burundi. He was beaten and badly burned as he hid under the corpses of his classmates as the school was torched. He survived the ordeal by escaping through a window and running away. He went on to compete for the Olympics. I am not sure how many people like Gilbert I will meet but I am sure that my heart will be touched by each story of survival that I do hear. One of the lines from the blessing yesterday was When you go out, may you see the face of Jesus in everyone you meet. I pray this is true. I hope I listen to each story and see in each one, the face of Christ.
Suzanne
The above photo taken by Barb Fawcett is from my missioning service. I am wearing a gift knit by our prayer shawl ministry.
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