Home

So good to be back home! Precision Air was gentle and understanding enough to bring me to Musoma on time and the flight itself was a smooth ride, strange to be honest as normally you would expect some rough parts, taking under consideration the modest size of the aircraft and variable conditions around Lake Victoria with strong crosswinds, then around Arusha/Moshi with the influence of Mount Meru and Mount Kilimanjaro, sometimes climbing to the cruise altitude over Dar es Salaam is a rodeo ride. But not this time...


The only nasty surprise was when I got to the airport in Dar and found out there was no power and no backup generators, so the departure hall was in darkness, hot, humid and the security check was done mainly manually...

Anyway, the power came back later on and we - the passengers - had time to cool ourselves a bit around airco machines that came alive when power came back.

Spent the airtime on prayer, wrapping up the whole experience of the past three months, drowned in memories and recollections, grateful yet tired, happy yet full of apprehension what lied ahead of me... It was a peaceful time, interrupted by a chicken sandwich and a glass of water.

I was so busy taking pictures on my phone, especially when we were passing by Kiabakari area, and then over Musoma that I was a bit startled when the plane suddenly gave out a loud thump when the bird touched hard the gravel runway in Musoma, in the middle of the municipality... I was so happy to be back in Musoma and ready to reconnect with my people...

I had asked my mechanic from Musoma two days before to get the car from Kiabakari and service it so it would be reliable and ready for the busy Christmas time. He came to the airport to pick me up and drive to Kiabakari. I did not want to venture into chances to drive without my stolen driving license...

Father Godfried who substituted me for the whole period in Kiabakari, my sisters were very happy, so was Zosia and Aurelia and others. It felt so good to be with them again. Even Father Andrzej Duda, CR,  my neighbor from Butiama was there, as he happened to come to Kiabakari at that time for regular confessions of my sisters.

I was even happier to learn that apart from minor troubles and problems, all were well and everything seemed to be under control. Kudos to the father, sisters, employees and parochial council with catechists to run the parish smoothly in my absence!

The food tasted great as we sat in the evening for dinner and talked a bit, while the generator hummed in the background as the power went off right after my arrival and came back only at 11pm.

The first night was a bit difficult to adjust to the altitude (1300m ASL) and the climate, but all in all I had a decent night.

This morning the birds chatter and songs woke me up as they swarm around trees in a dawn hours, making loud noise. This along with sun rays piercing the curtain in my bedroom window, made me feel happy and relaxed...

The first Holy Mass with the Eucharistic adoration, first breakfast, first meetings that lasted for hours... Good to be back home...

Have a blessed Sunday!