Uvumilivu Hula Mbivu

This is Swahili proverb meaning - 'patience eats ripe fruit'. Continuing my reflection in my morning post, I recall the time I was done with the construction of the new mission in Kiabakari back in July 1992 and as I was sitting in the house on the barren hill, I kept asking myself - 'when will I hear the singing of birds, playing in the trees around my house?' There were no trees at all on the hill at that time as you can see on these pictures taken in 1992 around the time of the official opening of the mission (July 28, 1992)...

Patience

Three years and two months it took Tanesco (Tanzania Electricity Supply Company) to react to my warning letter that the last pole in the power line supplying electricity to my house was about to collapse any time as it was rotten completely and swaying in high winds...

Night Watch

Keeping a night watch with my commandos - workers who lay concrete base for the main water retention tank at the side of the shrine. Note that we do not have such a luxurious equipment as concrete mixer. Everything is done manually. So, to boost their morale and keep fatigue away, we made some coffee for us so we don't fall on our noses into the pit, and after initial several hours of concrete mixing and pouring by means of water buckets filled with concrete in half and passed from one to another all the way down to the pit where 'mafundi' (masons, experts) were - and a dinner break, we set off with second mix of concrete. Hopefully, if we do not run out of water, which is quite possible as the water level in my home tank is dangerously low, we may finish the job by today's (yes, it is today already) afternoon...

Those Tears

The circumstances of St. Monica’s life could have made her a nagging wife, a bitter daughter-in-law and a despairing parent, yet she did not give way to any of these temptations. I always liked her and she has been my inspiration in my struggle to fulfill the vision of Divine Mercy in Kiabakari that was revealed to me on that morning of one of Lent Sundays in 1991...