Travels

Last week while switching planes during my travels from New Orleans to Philadelphia, I became aware of how in recent years travel has become somewhat routine and recalled a time in my life when it was quite novel.  At the age of seven, I boarded a plane for the very first time with my parents and  two sisters, wearing our dresses from the previous Easter; we flew Pan-Am Airlines from Boston to Shannon.  Three weeks were spent in Ireland, meeting our relations, touring, playing with cousins and neighborhood children.  It was wonderful!  When it was time to leave, I remember thinking at that time, that when I grow up I will live in Ireland.  Somehow, my seven-year-old self never fathomed that I would live in Haiti instead.

While in Philadelphia last week I assisted three mornings at a vacation bible school that the Sisters of the Holy Redeemer and their lay associates organized for 40 children.  One of the lively songs that frequently was sung during the program said something like, "I will follow Jesus wherever he will lead me."  I thought, the children singing this song really have no idea where God or life will lead them; just like, at the age of seven I never imagined living in Haiti.   Do they really know what they are saying?   Simply making any attempt at going where one thinks God's Spirit seems to lead can take us to the places and circumstances we never fathom.

I know that I am grateful for the places that I have been and the many people I have  met.  It has been a gift to be able to connect with people who I know from different chapters of my life during the past few weeks.  As I travel around I find that I have a deepening appreciation for those who seem to stay in one place and live so well their commitment to the people they serve.

Last weekend I traveled again, driving from Philadelphia to Ohio, where I spoke about the orphanage and my mission experience at two parishes during weekend liturgies.  Sometimes I find it hard to know what to say.  How can I accurately describe my experience?  How do I convey both the challenges and the privilege of serving in Haiti?  the great beauty  and the harsh poverty?  The frustrations and the joys?  The great gifts of the culture and the realities of the lack of adequate infrastructure?  How do you do this well and ask for money (something I hate doing) and say it all during that brief time after communion before the final blessing? Well, I tried and I met a lot of very nice people in the process. That is one thing about traveling, there are good, interesting, generous people everywhere I go and I am grateful for those encounters.

Now my travels have brought me home to Rhode Island, for a few weeks.  It is good to be here!    

I hope you are doing well, wherever you may be.  Many blessings!