Waiting in Nairobi

Bus in downtown Nairobi.

Our visiting mission team arrived in waves as they were able to reschedule their flights. Carol, Josh and Angela were the only ones who arrived on schedule Tuesday evening; they left for the border and Sudan the next day. Almost simultaneous with their departure, Fr. Sylvester arrived Wednesday morning. Noelle and Chris arrived Thursday evening, so the three of them took the Friday morning flight to the border. That meant we had six of the nine visiting team members in Narus – enough to go ahead with the retreat (posting on that soon to follow!). All this time I was communicating back and forth with Maynor, who had the satellite phone (there is no cell phone network in Narus). Fr. Lawrence, Br. Diego and Br. John Baptist were the last of the team to arrive on Saturday evening.

Mass at St. Joseph Parish, Kahawa Sukari.

Having to stay longer in Nairobi gave me the chance to catch up with some friends there, though. All of us friars travelled to Kahawa Sukari on the outskirts of Nairobi for Mass at St. Joseph Parish run by the Missionary Fraternity of St. Charles Borromeo, a priestly association of apostolic life connected with Communion and Liberation. I was very kindly invited to celebrate the 11:30 am Mass, and was very happy to be able to visit the priests with whom I spent Christmas a year and a half ago. We met briefly with the youth of the parish and enjoyed a wonderful meal with Frs. Valerio, Alfonso, Giuliano and Hectore.

The youth of St. Joseph Parish with Fr. Giuliano and friars.

With the priests of the Missionary Fraternity of St. Charles Borromeo.

In the end, because of the rescheduling of flights to the border, I was the only one left without a confirmed seat to the border. My plan was to be on standby first with the early missionary flight, then with the slightly later flight on which the other friars were flying, and as a last resort on the late afternoon flight on which most of our luggage was going. Thanks be to God and the kindness of the people at Mission Aviation Fellowship, I got on the earliest flight. This gave me the pleasure of meeting a very nice young American couple who are working in Kapoeta for two different organizations, and an Evangelical pastor from Brazil who runs an orphanage for 150 children in Torit, of which I was totally unaware. Despite threats and intimidation he has continued to offer a home for these children and raise the approximately $11,000 a month needed to support them from friends in Brazil.

Game park near Wilson Airport - giraffes barely visible in the background.

As the flight was taking off on a glorious morning I saw for the first time giraffes in the game park beside the airport, and the sadder sight of the roofs of Kibera slums, home to more than a million people.

Kibera slums.

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