Monday, June 14th

"When the majority realizes that the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace" -- Jimi Hendrix

This morning I woke up at 6:45 am and went to weekday mass which starts at 7:15 am. The chapel is 100 yards away from the room I'm staying in. Father Charles said mass and focused on the theme of "unconditional forgiveness." Forgiving others is not always an easy thing to do; however, it is an essential element to any family, friendship, or community. Peace cannot be reached without unconditional forgiveness.

After mass, I had breakfast which consisted of tea, a slice of pineapple, and an sliced avocado with balsamic vinegarette on this inside! I can guarantee that I have never had that for breakfast before. It was very good though. Its funny to me that at breakfast many people eat meat and vegetables like at any other meal.

After breakfast, we walked through town which is one small street right outside the compound. As we passed every single person, we waved and said "Jambo!" which is equivalent to their greeting. Many of the young children came up to us to shake our hands. The feeling of being welcomed into the town is amazing. We saw Our Lady of Grace School today which is where Julia and I will be volunteering for the next month. The school has 220 students among the nursery, primary, and secondary schools. There are children from newborns all the way up to about 20 years old. Mostly all of the students are orphans who have lost one or both parents. Many of the students live here for 10 months of the year and then if they have a home to go to, they will go there for 2 months. The students are supported by the "Father Tom's Kids" Foundation that involved people around the world who sponsor these students. The supportive group of Dominican brothers and sisters have really created a stable home and opportunity for many children who would not be so lucky. Recently, 3 Dominican sisters from the Philippines and 1 Dominican sister from the US came to work at the school.

Later on, we went into the city of Kisumu to buy a cell phone in the van with Father Kevin and two of the postulates. Finally, I can call home!! I went back to the school to talk with the principal about how I can be of most help. I will be helping teach a few classes in Literature and Business Studies along with aiding with other projects. The school day goes from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm followed by time for sports and games until 5:00 pm. After coming back to the compound, I attended Vespers, dinner, and Compline. Tomorrow the postulates, from Kenya, Uganda, Mozambique, and Angola, who are training to one day become priests will be leaving to go home for a month after they have been here for 4.5 months. They are a very lively bunch that have been fun to have around for the past few days. The stars outside are incredible. With the lack of lights around at night, the stars are more illuminated than ever.