Here We Go!

Winter in Ossining NY, photo courtesy of John Korb

In many Christian traditions, advent is celebrated as a time of preparation for Christmas. It is a time of waiting to relive anew the mystery of a God who loves so much that he must be with us and teach us how to live.

This year, my advent includes another type of preparation - for leaving a place and people I know and love and - for arriving in a new place that I hope to grow to love and people I hope to fall in love with as I learn their struggles and try to walk with them on their journey.

Last week was one of both dreams & details: from selling my car & packing my things to the heart-moving moments of saying farewell to a sacred time & place and people who have touched me by their experiences, their love of others and their commitment to join me on this journey.

I now have two weeks with my family in the Midwest. Besides trying to soak up every moment with family & friends, I am finalizing my packing and the other details when you leave the country for a few years. I leave Iowa on Dec 31st, New York on Jan 1st and arrive in Nairobi on the 2nd.

For those of you who are the praying type, I'll take any prayers you have that I might stay centered in this transition. For others, I'll take any good wishes - and comments on the blog are always appreciated. To all, I am grateful for this chance to go and yet to be connected to you still at home, even if only through our thoughts of each other. I hope somehow to maintain connections through emails, an occasional text message or letter, and this online journal.

My co-missioners - the Maryknoll Class of 2009. Left to Right
Sr Genie is off to Tanzania, Sr Anastasia to China, Erica and Nan to El Salvador, Sr Laura to Panama, Minh to Bolivia, John & Cindy to Kenya, Lindsay to Cambodia, and me.

The Maryknoll Lay Missioners have a Commitment Ceremony, in which we sign a covenant with the organization that we will faithfully serve the poor in the country to which we are assigned through May 2013.

The culmination of the orientation is our Sending Ceremony. We began by carrying in symbols of our country of assignment. Mine was a small sculpture of a Kenyan woman at work grinding corn, in the back left.

Watch a few moments on YouTube by clicking here >>> Sending Ceremony

After we are called forth by former missioners in the language of our new country (Swahili for Kenya), we are given a mission cross and blessed by the organization leadership.

One fun tradition is the ringing of bells to send off missioners. This was started the first year Maryknoll sent 4 men to China in 1918 with the more solemn ringing of one bell. Now the entire community rings bells and noise-makers as a more festive tribute.

I was delighted that my parents came for the Sending Ceremony and were able to meet the other missioners & their families.

The "Kenya Klub" - Cindy, John & I wish we could take Sister Paula & Sister Noel with us in our suitcases. They are absolutely delightful and combined spent 81 years in Kenya. They offered us lots of insight about what to expect and kept us laughing & reminded us of why we are going.

The original bell which rang for the first missioners. We sent each other off on Sunday as each car drove away with bells ringing - and probably woke up the neighbors. I was the last one to leave, but one of our fellow missioners now on staff at Bethany was there to ring the bell for me.

Here we go.