Judi Walter arrived a few days ago from Mombasa, Kenya to begin her journey with us at the Lake House of Prayer. There’s a proverb in Swahili, “Mtu anakuwa mgeni kwa siku nne na siku ya tano tunampa jembe” (A person is a guest for four days, on the fifth day we give her a hoe”. We’ve already put Judi to work here as she help our Thursday meditation group with some gentle body exercises to help us pray with our bodies.

Judi is settling in well in our neighbor’s compound next door but she takes most of her meals with me. Already the menu looks more exciting that just beans and fish. Today we’re having lentils cooked in spices.

We hope to live a simple life so we may invite others to simplicity and peace in Christ.

This morning we looked at windows for our new house. Afterwards walking through the house, passing around the various workers it struck me how in not too long a time this house will be finished (I’m told June).

As for the house I’m living in now, we will be ready to start receiving guests soon. My foreman and expert carpenter, Ernesti is finishing off the furniture that we will be putting into our two guest rooms.

Tomorrow, I will be joined by Judy Walter as we begin the next bend in the Journey here at the Lake House of Prayer.

At morning Eucharist this morning I asked the people would be a good time to have a half-hour Meditation session before our 7am Mass. We settled for 6:30-7am, with the evening session being at 5:30-6pm. So slowly, we are forming a rhythm of prayer that will be the Core purpose of this place. That is why it is called the Lake House of Prayer.

My hope is that Contemplative Prayer will free people to let go of the illusion of their false selves and embrace in Joy their True Selves that is in God. This Reality is what will empower our people to create a society more in keeping with their dignity as True Children of God.

I am writing this from the Maryknoll House in Nairobi. I have come here for a few days to do some shopping (Nairobi is full of Shopping Malls) and rest a bit.

The 8 days at Mwangaza Retreat Center went very well. I feel blessed to have had two young Kenyan men who were open to the Spirit’s guidance. I also am thankful for my supervisor who shared much wisdom with me from his many years of retreat ministry. Now the final requirement for the Spiritual Direction Certificate I have been working for these past three years, is the final one month session at Creigthon University this summer.

My main goal in these few days here before returning to Mwanza was to get an African rendition of Mary and the Child Jesus. We Maryknollers usually go to the Jesuit Refugee Service store and buy beautifully craved ebony statues by a resident artist from Mozombique. When I arrived at the store I was disappointed to learn he returned to his native land, but his last major work, a statue of Mary and the Child Jesus was there. After reflecting awhile on the work I was finally sold on the subtle Mona Lisa like smile on Mary. I had just enough money to buy it with one dollar to spare. Now I need to wrap it enough to make in ‘bag handlers proof’ to survive the flight back to Mwanza in one piece.

I will put Mary in our prayer room at The Lake House of Prayer. I hope the people can detect her smiling with great love at them. I hope I can be attentive to her smile on the days there will be not much to smile about. That’s one lesson I’ve discovered from the people, no matter how bad things get, somebody has a smile ready for anyone paying attention.

Here at Mwangaza Retreat Center below the beautiful Ngong Hills, on traditional Masai land, there is a ring road that circles the retreat compound which retreatants like to use for their evening walks after a hard day at prayer. These days though one walks with a bit of caution. Why? Lions.

Let me back up a bit. The is a world famous Nairobi National Wildlife Park only 3 miles away from here. It is amazing to see a Wildlife Park with lions, leopards, wildebeest, gazelles, etc. right next, and I mean right next to one of the biggest cities in Africa, Nairobi.

A couple of weeks ago a portion of the fence that surrounds the park collapse and a few lions disappear into the city. Only five days ago one lion was spotted nearby. Two days ago a couple of people on the ring road swore they heard a lion in the bush.

On an 8-Day Directed Retreat one reflects on many appropriate Scripture passages to help the retreatant discover the path the Spirit is taking in his/her life. Perhaps Daniel in the Lions’ Den would be appropriate now.

So far, so good. I just came back from a walk and am here writing this blog. God is Good.

I am writing to you from Mwangaza Jesuit Retreat Center in Nairobi, Kenya where I am an ‘intern’ directing two retreatants on a 8-Day Directed Retreat. I met each of them once a day, I also meet with my supervisor.

Mwangaza is Swahili for Light, an apporpiate name for a retreat center. It is set below the Ngong Hills on the former estate of Karen Blixen of the ‘Out of Africa’ fame. People come for all over Africa, many from Tanzania. Why is that? Mwangaza is unique in that in focuses on Ignatian Spirituality and Silence, not many, if any, places like this in East Africa.

I am directing two highly education men who are professors at local Catholic University. It has been a challenge and a joy to journey with them. It has given my an opportunity to learn more on how I can accompany Africans in a retreat setting in the future at the Lake House of Prayer.

We are at the half-way point of our retreat and already I see the fruit of Silence, Stillness, Reflection and Prayer: Peace, Tranquility, Renewed Relationship with God in Jesus. And yes, ‘Mwangaza’ in their eyes.

 

I’ve been told and have heard several times that Africans cannot do meditation. As someone who wants to share the Contemplative Tradition of the Church, this view is somewhat challenging. Somewhat because I have had plenty of opportunities to test the validity of this negative judgment during these 30yrs I have lived here.

Meditation, for me, is being totally Present in the Moment to what is happening within oneself and one’s outer environment. It is not mental exercise of concentration beyond thought. Meditation is being fully present and alive with one’s total Being of BodyMindSpirit. It has been my limited experience that the people here, when given the chance can do this, can do it well. My guess they have the natural skills beyond the rational mindset of the West.

Yesterday at our weekly Taamuli (Meditation) Group at the Lake House of Prayer we had our largest group of men, women, children, young and old. All together, the way Life is done here. I used a body relaxation exercise to help people check in with their bodies. Then we reflected on Scripture, afterwards a silent meditation of 20min. I am always impressed at the quality of the Stillness and Silence. After the session I wondered to myself, who is teaching who here?

 

When I signed the contract to the second phase (1st phase being the foundation and the water tank) of the building of the House of Prayer I told the contractor, before we signed the contract, that I would not have enough money to fulfill the obligations of the contract in the time frame we were putting into the contract. This is because of the cost-overruns of the foundation and basement (which we did not plan for).

The contractor understood and still agreed to sign. I would pay the balance of the amount when I get the money,  probably in Jan 2017. Our long history together of trust helped create this relational environment.

This reality has not stopped the work continuing at a very fast speed. So fast, that it looks like the building will be finished and ready to live in this June! I was thinking sometime at the end of this year or even Jan 2017. But no, THIS JUNE! This reality is just starting to hit me.

I don’t like carrying debts here in Tanzania, but it looks like I’ll start living in a new home soon, with a debt to be paid in the near future. A first for me after 30yrs of living in Africa. A humbling experience, usually, people have debts with me. Any yet, having this debt, while not good for my pocketbook, is good for my soul.

 

Yesterday we had our monthly building site meeting in which we evaluate the progress of the building and make plans for the future. Our first agenda is to walk through the entire site to see its progress, or lack thereof.

The Head Engineer of the company who comes from afar for our meeting recognized that the drainage pipes for all six of our toilets were not installed before we built the walls and poured the cement floor. This is what I call The BIG MISTAKE, a MISTAKE one seeks to avoid on a project like this.

There are always small mistakes and frustrations that are easily handled, sort of, but the BIG ONE, creates a lot more work and much frustration.

So now we have to tear apart our beautiful forming stone walls in six different places along with six sections of the floor to put in the toilet pipes. This will be done by hand as most of the work is.

Everyone is commenting how beautiful our building is. Yet beauty is only skin deep, especially if you know this beautiful building does not have a take away system to rid itself of human waste.

I celebrated Holy Week with the local Christian Community. I felt blessed by their faith and joy throughout the entire week.

Here at the building site we are on a short break for Easter. I am enjoying the quiet, sitting in the room of our new building that overlooks the lake.

The roof is almost completely on, next the detail work on the doors, locks, windows, sinks, sockets, etc.

The people like the building very much. That’s good, since it will be theirs for a long time.