We moved our prayer room from my former living room to the basement of our new house. The feeling one can get going into our new prayer room is of being in a cave. The ceiling is low, but more than enough to walk around; the stone walls accent the cave theme. We also have a wonderful view of the lake for two wide windows.

We have the Cave opened everyday from morning to evening and are getting a steady stream of people seeking solitude and silence. Our morning and evening services are well-attended as the hunger for a peaceful place to lay one’s burdens down is evident.

In 1 Kings  19:9-12 the Elijah hides out in a cave in the desert waiting for a sign for the Lord; a strong wind with heavy rains came but the Lord was not in the wind, then an earthquake but the Lord was not in the earthquake, later a fire but no Lord; after the fire a still small voice and it was the Lord.

I hope our Cave can shield our people from the noise and semi-chaos of our city; that in the silence and solitude of our Cave they will be able to  hear the still small voice of our Lord deep within the caves of their hearts.

On the information sheet we prepared for the Opening it said we would start receiving overnight guests on 19 Dec. Well, we started on 6 Dec. with a Anglican Pastor from the north-west part of Tanzania near the Rwandan boarder.

He is well into his  second on a five day directed retreat. Judy and I are finding him a very pleasant man to have with us. He speaks very good English that Judy appreciates as she continues learning Kiswahili.

Judy and I continue to feel the Spirit opening the doors for people come and pray in the Silence and Solitude of our House of Prayer whether individuals or small groups.

We moved the chapel from the living room of the house I used to live in (Judy lives there now) to the “Cave”. The Cave’s full name is “Pango la Eliya” (Cave of Elijah). It is  the basement of the new house that has a beautiful look at the lake. The Cave is open all day for people to come a pray. We also have meditation, Eucharist and Evening prayer in it.

We hope that praying in the Cave’s environment with create an inner attitude of seeking what the contemplatives say is the “Cave of the Heart” where one is gifted with the Presence of one’s True Self and the Divine.

I am writing this blog from my new home in the New House of Prayer that was blessed and opened 6 days ago. It has been quite the journey these past two and a half years to get here; from living at the Bishop’s House for a year, then repairing an unfinished house in which I have been living until today.

We will begin to receive overnight guests in the middle of next month. We already have reservations for 3 people who will be coming for Directed and Contemplative Retreats.

Today a woman came to talk to me about her struggles with anxiety and lack of sleep. She is a widow without children just barely making ends meet. She asked for prayers that her business that until now has not produced any profit will be successful. I invited her to our evening meditation sessions suggesting such a prayer along with petitionary prayers for her business can help her with her anxieties and lack of sleep. The hope is here at the Lake House of Prayer  that through the stillness and silence of Christian Meditation people can let go of the thoughts/feelings that cause so much pain and just REST in God’s UNCONDITIONAL LOVE for THEM.

Yesterday we had a joyful celebration of the official Opening of the House of Prayer with a Eucharist which included the official proclamation of Canon Law that this will be an ‘oratory'(place of prayer) and that I will be the ‘Rector’.

The event was well attended beyond original expectations, over 1,000/ people came. The choir prepared a lovely song just for the opening. I signed a pledge of loyalty of faith. The bishop went all the way into the surrounding rocks and trees to bless everyone with holy water.

Everyone got food and were satisfied. The small communities cooked for the themselves (I helped with some rice). Our invited guests  ate a catered meal. Everyone reported, “Nimeshiba”(I am full) as I asked them how the food was.

All this and more with the Lake in the background giving us a gentle breeze as we started another part of our journey to provide a Contemplative Space for our people here in Mwanza.

Tomorrow I fly to Siem Reap, Cambodia for a Colloquium on Inter-religious dialogue. The main presenter is a Fr. Sebastian, SJ from India who himself has a house of prayer. I am seeing this as an opportunity to deepen my commitment to the Contemplative Life and sharing this  life with our people here at the Lake House of  Prayer.

Yesterday 34 women from Mabatini Parish (my former parish) came for a one day retreat. It was a joyous occasion for all. The women were very thankful for the peacefulness of our place, the gentle breeze of the lake, the many sweet mangoes they picked from our trees, finally the Silence and Prayer.

When I returned from Cambodia on Nov. 16 I will have 3 full days to complete the preparations for our Opening of our House of Prayer. Not exactly the best of situations for such an important event but I’ve done much of the heavy work already and hopefully it will all come together in the end. Either way the challenge is to live whatever the outcome is contemplatively.

The dream of the House of Prayer took another step in its journey to becoming reality when the Bishop and I agreed on a date to “Kuzindua”, to open up officially the “Utume”(Mission) of the “Nyumba ya Sala Ziwani” (Lake House of Prayer) here in Mwanza, Tanzania.

The opening will be on 20 Nov. 2016 on which we will celebrate Eucharist with an official pronouncement of our opening followed by food (the Bishop is providing a cow and 100 kilos of rice). We’ll probably have 100 plus guests so we’ll need to rent a few tents/chairs and have the event outside.

Bishop Ruwai’chi has granted my request to give the House of Prayer canonical status which basically means we will be free to operate as an independent entity within the Church. He will make this public at our Opening.

The blessings continue to flow into our lives here to make the Vision of a House of Prayer a reality. I am grateful and humbled to witness it happening.

 

Yesterday I meet with Mr. Chasa the contractor who built our new House of Prayer. We officially signed a paper stating the construction was complete and the house is now totally in our possession. We still have a debt for the addition of the basement that I hope to pay off in Jan. 2017. It says a lot for our relationship that the building continued without interruption with the promise to repay the loan for the building of the basement at the beginning of the year.

Mr. Chasa is also a highly trained engineer so I ask him to look at how we can put in a drainage system that would protect both houses. When it rains the water floods down the steep sloop of the hill we are on and causes a lot of damage. We measured out the area and he will be getting back to me with a plan.

 

Judy and I made a change in our hospitality plan by widening our menu to include meat. Originally, we weren’t going to serve meat in hopes of creating an environment that brings the body  into stillness and prayer. We discovered something I ought to been aware of, that serving meat in this culture is very much expected. It is a sign of respect and good hospitality for one’s guests.

This insight is also moving us to be aware that our menu fits into the cultural expectations of what is served at table. For example instead of cereal for breakfast one can eat boiled sweet potatoes. Or instead of potatoes for dinner one eats ‘ugali’ (a thick mixture of corn and cassava).

The important thing is to provide people who visit us as sense of feeling at home. This comfortable environment hopefully will invite our guests into the stillness and silence of Our Lord.

 

We continue to wait for the electric company to come a hook up our electricity. Part of the difficulty is we had to change the wiring from one phase to three phase, which is more powerful. When we finally do get hooked up we will not have to deal with the electric company again because we will be able extend the 3 phase system to other buildings to be built in the future ourselves. So for now  I continue to live in my house where we pray and have Mass on most mornings.

Our Silent Prayer groups in the mornings and evenings are attracting more people. Judy, who is here from Language for a short break and I  are always impressed by the people’s stillness and motivations. These are people of simple but profound faith who are wonderful in the stillness and silence.