There is a beer commercial here that announces the above, this to sell beers, for after all one gets thirsty travelling. Many spiritual writers speak of “The Journey” from the false selves of the world to the Divine and your True Self. Tomas Merton speaks of the necessity of making the outer and inner journey.

Tomorrow I begin the outer journey to Nairobi, Kenya to the Mwangaza Retreat Center for a 8 Day Directed Retreat. There I will begin the inner journey. Or will I? I’m learning that the inner and outer journeys are really one journey happening all the time, moment by moment.

After the retreat I will travel to the States to visit family and friends, then eventually to Creighton U. in Nebraska to continue a course in Spiritual Direction I am praying for an open Spirit to learn the lessons along the Way.

One of my favorite Swahili proverbs is the title of today’s blog, which means, “Fast, Fast, there is no blessing”. I am still learning this hard lesson after living in Africa for 27 years. And yesterday, I had another lesson.

After months of negotiation we closed the deal on our neighbor’s house/plot. I was hoping it would have been much sooner so we could have worked on repairing the house into a livable position for me to move into when I return from the States from my Spiritual Direction studies  in August. As it turned out the deal was closed two weeks before my departure (it is now  three days before I leave).

So I got into my “Haraka” mode, talking with the contractor, getting estimates, more talking, looking at my finances, etc. Only yesterday I was able to sit down quietly with the figures the contractor gave my for the repairs. The figures were way out of line for the work we want done.   I suddenly  realized that this whole thing is going toooo fast.

I’m calling off the repair work until I return, it may take longer to get the house ready but the more important thing is living united to God’s Will, not a successful repair job. Indeed, once again, ‘Haraka Haraka, Haina Baraka’.

I just got out of the hospital with what probably was a severe case of food poisoning. This was my first time, after 27yrs. being IN the hospital, not visiting. The switch in perceptive is daunting.

The Tanzanians have a cultural-social tradition of ‘huduma’, literally meaning service. In this hospital they don’t serve food, there is no button to call the nurse, if you need water someone has to go to the store to get it for you. That’s where huduma comes in, the family draws up a plan for bringing food two/three times a day, who is going to run chores, what belongings to bring to the patient, and most importantly who is going to spend the night in order to see to the patient’s needs.

One very important task the person spending the night does is watch the IV bottle, many times the nurses don’t come back in time to turn the bottle off (there are no electronic buzzers), so someone has to be watching the sick one’s IV when it finishes because if it is not turned off air can reverse into the heart and kill you.

I had no one who spent the night so I timed how long a bottle goes down and set my alarm to be ready when it finishes. I did not sleep well that night.

Yesterday I walked around my new home to get some idea what kind of a repair job will we have to do to make it livable. It will be a big one. No secure doors, no screens on the widows, no running water, no toilet or shower, the list  goes on.

I will be leaving to return to the States in a little over a week so after looking at the damages we’ve decided not to make furniture  as we had planned while I’m gone but instead we will repair the house. After all one needs a livable house before putting furniture in it.

By tomorrow we should  have the new fence and gate up around this new addition to the Lake House of Prayer. Saturday the live-in guard of the previous owner will have completely  moved out so we can make a complete assessment of the repairs. We might not have enough money to do all the repairs but we’ll make the toilet and shower a priority.

This morning at Mass I shared with the people that the Diocese has purchased our neighbor’s house/plot and that I will be living there in the near future. There were warm smiles and clapping.

Tomorrow we will start building a fence and a gate as the process begins for another new step in the growing of the Lake House of Prayer.

I hope this coming move will be helpful in growing a space of Silence, Solitude and a Commitment to each other.

I  received the news today that the deal has been closed to purchase our neighbor’s house/plot. The long wait is over. I will be able to move into my new home when I return from my Spiritual Direction studies in August.

We have a little over two weeks before I leave for the States to extend our fence to cover the new addition to our area. Also, while I am gone Ernesti, my assistant, who is also a very good carpenter, will be making my bed, desk, and chairs.

With a bit of luck and perseverance we will have piped water next week. I am also looking at getting solar panels for my energy needs when I return.

I’ve been without a ‘home’ since mid-2013, two years. A life of a missioner is like the song says, ‘like a rolling stone’. But even a missioner needs a stable home, if for awhile.

We are now just completing planting a large section of our ‘Msitu’ (forest). We were hoping to take advantage of the regular rains that have been around. But the rains appear to have left us. So we turn to the Water Dept. to provide us water,  but the  check I wrote to pay to have the water installed is still stalled at the bank. That means  we turn back to bringing the water in on our heads. Well, at least this gives some women badly needed income for their families.

I spoke to the Bishop’s secretary today and was informed that the papers are being drawn up to be signed by all involved so that the purchase of the plot and house can be finalized. Perhaps when I return from my trip(safari) to the States in August I can move into my new home.

The major component for a fruitful future of the House of Prayer will be the Core Community. This will be, God willing, a group of three to five people who will live together and provide two services for our guests. Firstly, they will provide the contemplative space, they will ‘hold the Silence’ for our guests. They will create, foster and protect the Solitude, Silence and Simplicity of our area.

Secondly, the Core Community will provide hospitality to our guests. We will ensure an environment that will encourage our guests to enter into the Solitude of their inner lives to discover God’s Unconditional Love. This  hospitality will also ensure a simple, clean, quiet room, good food, natural grounds to rest, a prayer schedule they are free to join and spiritual direction.

It is my hope that the community will be an integrated one, that is men, women, African, Western, priest, lay and religious men and women.

After a two year conversation-discernment with a Maryknoll Lay Missioner, Judy Walters, I am pleased to write that she will be joining me in the Spring of 2016 at the Lake House of Prayer.

Judy has extensive experience in the contemplative life in overseas  mission. She is also a trained nurse and spiritual director. I feel blessed at her coming and am hopeful that others who have this unique vocation to the  contemplative life will join us in the future.

Today I took a walk with a visitor to the lake lead by one of the Christian’s leaders, Christina. When we got to the lake we encounter fisherman pulling a large net to the shore. Later I learnt that it was  an illegal net they were using but even the illegal nets do no good these days because the fishing is very poor.

One wonders what these fishermen will do if and when there way of life is no longer viable. The fishermen’s thinking goes, that the fish in the lake will never run out. The lake itself is so large, the second biggest lake in the world, it must be eternal, as are its fish stocks.

But climate change, over-fishing and poor ecological management have created the possibility that one day there will be no fish.