My Diary – April 2009 2nd - 4th April 2009 : We had an opportunity to put up a stall of stuff made in our Centre for Promotion at a large exhibition of different Centres like ours. The Ministre for Culture inaugurated the exhibition. Plenty of people visited our stall & came to know about what we do to help the young girls of Bobo. Our teachers were there during the three days, explaining & giving out leaflets. They were given two tee-shirts each & luch too & on the final day & sumptuous dinner in a nice restaurant. 5th April 2009 : The Palm Sunday services were crowded as usual. Everyone is present – men, women, children & even little babies. People love to make crosses with the palms. The procession accompanied with joyous singing ended with the long reading of the Passion. 7th April 2009 : We were invited by the Carmelite fathers to celebrate the Pascal Feast of the Jews today. We were about 100 of us & we were explained with the aide of slides exactly how the Jews celebrated the Pascal feast & we followed the same step by step meditating how Jesus transformed it into the Eucharist on Maundy Thursday. A little boy dressed as a Jew had to ask his Father “why is this night so different from other nights?’ & the Dad explained how the Jews were delivered from the Egyptians. The cup of wine was blessed four times & each time we filled it & drank it & refilled it. I was quite dizzy at the end of the meal. The huge unleavened bread was blessed & broken & shared with everyone. Finally we ate the roasted lamb with bitter herbs. 9th & 10th April 2009 : The Maundy Thursday & Good Friday Services were solemn. We had adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in our chapel.. 11th April 2009 : There was the marriage of 25 couples this morning. It was a very special ceremony. The couples lived together & even had children. In some cases the partner was not baptised. Today the church helped them to regularize their marriages. At 3.00 p.m. we recited the rosary of the seven sorrows of Mary & at 6.00 p.m. we spent an hour with Mary sharing with her her pain & also hope. The Easter Vigil began at 9.00p.m. but we went at 8.00 to be able to get place. There were 136 adult baptisms. One of them was a girl named Bridget from our hostel. The Mass ended at 2.00 a.m. We had a feast till 3.00 a.m. to celebrate Bridget’s baptism. We had cake & wine & sandwiches. 12th April 2009 : We went for Mass to Cesao. A little child was baptised. The Mass was very long. It was midday when we returned home. We had lunch with the 9 girls & Bea’s sister & future brother-in-law. We ate attekié with sauce & chicken & mangoes. The girls danced to their heart’s content after lunch. In the evening the sisters of Nasso came to visit us & wish us. Our chapel is beautifully decorated. Jesus is RISEN. Love has triumphed!!!! 13th April 2009 : We visited the noviciate of the White Fathers. Father Bernard welcomed us & showed us around. They have the stations of the cross in stone in the garden & also a small cemetery. Their chapel is very prayerful. 16th April 2009 : Our girls are receiving the second dose of the vaccination for tetanus. It is given to all girls & women from the age of 15 to 45. They make such a fuss. A rumour is going around that the vaccination makes you sterile. For the Africans motherhood is very sacred. 17th April 2009 : The Fathers of St Vincent de Paul had the Inauguration of a new hall. The girls of our Centre embroidered the table cloth & stitched the curtains. It’s a grand hall & will be let on rent for conferences, weddings etc 18th April 2009 : Today I made potato bhaji with puris & srved my community on banana leaves. We ate with our hands. I did not add any chillies. It was a gesture on my part to share my Indian culture. The sisters appreciated it. 18th April 2009 : It was the feast day of our bishop. It is a custom here for everyone to attend a solemn mass celebrated in the cathedral with all the priests of Bobo. He is elderly but very alert & very intellectual. He has written books which are renowned world wide. 25th April 2009 :We three sisters along with 10 girls who did well in their studies went f or a picnic to the river. We bathed & swam & splashed in the water, we had tasty snacks & on the whole we had a relaxing evening. 30th April 2009 : We had the Holy Hour & I conducted the prayer; I offered the girls an Indian style of praying with exercises of breathing, meditation, burning of incense. It was something different. They are not accustomed to j ust be silent & concentrate on their breathing & let God’s love, peace, joy flow into their hearts but it was a new experience for them & they liked it.

Please pray that the Good Lord give me the grace and strength to persevere in my mission.
God Bless You.