Conference then the Coast!

Hello, friends and faithful readers!  I hope that you enjoyed the "Slave Trade Triptych," you know, as much as you can enjoy something like that.  At the very least, I hope you found it informative and/or interesting.

I spent all of last week pitching in for the first Founders Institute, hosted at the Apostles of Jesus Scholasticate.  This event coincided with the anniversary of the deaths of Bishop Mazzoldi (25 years ago) and Fr. Marengoni (5 years ago) on July 27 (yes, they DID die 20 years apart to the day!).  Together, these two men co-founded 5 religious institutes: Sacred Heart Sisters, Brothers of St. Martin dePorres, Apostles of Jesus, Evangelizing Sisters of Mary, and Contemplative Evangelizers of the Heart of Christ.  This conference marked the first time ever that all 5 congregations came together for a common purpose.  It was like a giant family reunion!  Priests, Brothers, and Sisters came from Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, Australia, the US, and Kenya to celebrate the lives of their fathers.  I volunteered my services as a general gopher for whatever they needed, and ended up in the role of official conference photographer and videographer.  It felt really good to be busy, and to have a clearly defined role.  As you know, I am a huge fan of East African hospitality, but this was the first time I really wasn't treated as a guest, but as just another member of the family.  It was marvelous!

Now the conference is over, and I am returning to the US in just 5 days, so it is time to make a final dash to see as many more missions as I can.  I am leaving any moment to travel to Mombasa with Fr. Peter Choi and Br. Peter Makau (seriously, you would not believe how many AJs are named Peter).  I can't wait to be back on the coast in "the city where that one part of Inception with the opium den took place."  Can't wait to tell you all about it!