Settling Settling Settling

I am excited to sleep tonight so won't write too much- but I want to document now because I know it is only going to get  more crazy in the future. This morning we listened to the rest of the stories of the lay missioners and sisters, each story more unique than the next. They are stories from the Philippines to California, from Illinois to Connecticut to Florida. Of lives, deaths, moments of meaning, and moments of deep questions of faith. We finished the morning and spent the afternoon talking about vaccinations, as well as signs and symptoms of diseases that are not issues in the U.S. like typhoid, yellow fever, malaria, polio etc.

After we walked over to the sisters main building. There are currently about 400 in residence there some coming and going and the retired ones who mostly stay there. We saw their library as well as chatted. One of the sisters, Virginia, was 97 and encouraged me to play sodoku because she plays it daily. She was a tremendous story teller! She had the best sense of humor and delivered punch lines straight faced, and did not miss an opportunity. She did not look a day over 70 and was so warm and welcoming to all of us. Between the hugs exchanged after our biographical stories today and at the sisters I have a years quota covered:-) The sisters told the story of the history of Maryknoll, and spoke fondly of the founder Mother Mary Joseph, a big woman in every way. In a quote I have posted below she expresses how highly she values a good sense of humor:

"I would have her distinguished by Christ-like charity, a limpid simplicity of soul, heroic generosity, selflessness, unswerving loyalty, prudent zeal, an orderly mind, gracious courtesy, an adaptable disposition, solid piety, and the saving grace of a sense of humor."

I found that was SO true of all the beautiful women I met today. We shared dinner in their beautiful dining hall. The women that I sat with had served in South and Central America in a time when the roads had not yet been paved. Before email, which revolutionized the mission experience, and before telephone service and electricity in the areas they were serving. They faced extreme hardship and witnessed a great deal of suffering, especially the women who served in El Slavador during the war when Maryknoll sisters Maura Clark, Ita Ford, and Dorothy Kazel as well as Maryknoll lay missiner Jean Donovan were murdered. They not only had to identify the bodies but face the realities of countless other injustices, and many more murders of religious and peasants. 

On the walk back from the sisters we saw four deer sitting under the trees behind Bethany. I appreciate the peace here. It is also such a blessing to be able to be focused completely on preparing for mission. It is a luxory that travel abroad, peace corps or other organizations don't have. I will be traveling to El Salvador with Nan (Nancy) and Erika. Nan has such a huge heart and has traveled around the states. She is passionate and always keeps the group animated and is motherly to everyone. She has recently been a high school youth group leader but in the past has owned a record store which was a hang out spot for teens, and worked for radio and broadcasting companies. She has never traveled to Latin America and doesn't speak spanish (yet:-) Erika is a year older than I am and worked in the Dominican Republic for a year with sisters doing service work, studied abroad in El Salvador and has even had typhoid before. We have different experiences but will hopefully be an amazing team (along with the sisters, brothers, and lay missioners in El Salvador already:-)

I am anxiously awaiting news from my sister and brother-in-law and my to be nephew! 

Have a good night <3