9/2/08 Sunday we went to Mikumi Park, about 1 hour from where we stay.  We got to see a lot of animals and had fun photographing them.  I sure hope the pictures turn out as good as last year. We certainly are blessed staying with the Salvatorians.  It's like our desire is their command.  When I came to breakfast I commented to Father Merrick that there was no peanut butter, not really thinking about his duties.  Since he is now in charge of making up the grocery list and people were shopping today, he said, "We'll have it tomorrow."  And I'm sure we will.  (And we did.) I was sad I forgot on Saturday to set up the audio recorder that Jenny got us.  Yesterday, we watched as he children rehearsed their singing and dancing.  So, I tried to set up the recorder yesterday and realized the battery must be dead.  We are trying not to go to town unnecessarily, so I asked Father Merrick if he had a triple AAA battery I could use.  He didn't wait until he saw me at lunch to give it to me, he brought one to me this morning.  You need to be careful and not ask too much. -Cora, Joan & Lois

9/6/08  This coming Monday it will be 2 weeks since we left home.  Time is flying by.  Today is a beautiful Saturday, a day off from most of our regular routine.  We got up for Mass and breakfast.  Generally breakfast is eggs and toast, though one day we had french toast and another homemade donuts.  I thought the French toast was good.  But I guess in Poland and the Philippines they make it only with milk, not eggs.  The donuts were also good, like Mom's use to be. Then the man we met last year came for the third time this year to sell us things.  Last year we were having coffee on the porch of a hotel in Morogoro and he had nice things. Father arranged to have him come to the institute with a few more things.  He comes on a bike with 2 others so he has limited goods.  Now he calls Father every few weeks to see if Father has any visitors.  We went every day to the orphanage. The little ones (18 months to 4 years) are cute and enjoy just being loved.  They are not use to a routine, so it hard to get them to do any activities.  They like balloons the best.  There is one little boy, Peter, who was a premature baby the first year.   Cora and Jeannine did not think he would make it to the next visit.  He did and he is bright.  He was one of the littlest ones who danced the one day.  He also does more with his balloon then just carry it around like the other children do.  He bounces it in the air or kicks it around with his feet. Again one day this year he stood facing me, hanging on to my hands and stood on my shoes with his bare feet and wants me to walk around that way.  This time he did it for 10 minutes.  If he slips off, he just get back on. The dancing was cute.  They had a video or DVD of music and people dancing.  The 5 year olds were good copying the dancing.  They are low to the ground hopping on one leg and throwing the other leg out straight and then reversing legs.  Peter didn't do that,but he has good hip and arm movements.  Most of the little ones didn't dance, but some of the nuns did and I pulled in 2 of the workers.  The children enjoyed seeing them dance.  Joanie, Cora and I also danced. With the older children, we started the 1000 piece puzzle I brought.  I'm not sure how far it'll get.  2 of the smarter boys like it.  I brought it to see if it would go over.  It's probably been on my shelf for the last 20 years.  The other children like very simple card games, but they like to cheat.  Again, what they like the most is attention. Monday is the grand opening day for the school year celebration at the the institute.  The Cardinal is coming so Father Bernard wants fancy food.  Cora will cook and Joanie and I will make pies and coffee cake.  We'll make things on Sunday using the little oven in the Treasurer's area. (The kitchen does not have an oven.)  Let's hope we have electricity all day. We lost it one evening, but Father Merrick turned on the generator so we could see.   -Cora, Joan & Lois

9/8/08  Today I recorded the celebration of the opening of the school year at the seminary.  The Cardinal came and said Mass.  The singing was beautiful.  The recorder worked well for that.  I put it on recorder and recordered the entire 1 hour and 20 mins.  I learned that I should not respond out loud during the Mass as it recorded me louder.  (I did get quieter as the Mass proceeded.)  I also learned I couldn't whisper as that gets picked up.  But despite that, the recording is good.  -Cora, Joan & Lois

9/9/08 Internet in this part of the world is something that you can't depend on. We (Joan, Lois and myself) can get very frustrated with the Internet connections if we choose to but I guess we learned that it is okay if we can't send e-mails everyday or every 3 days. Anyway, last week Father Bernard and I attended Rotary Club of Morogoro Central meeting. We presented the Mgolole project and invited them to join us in helping the orphans.  It was received warmly and they seems to be very interested. I will make  a follow up this week and probably attend their meeting again before we head back home. We continue to come to the orphanage in the morning , taking a lunch break and back again in the afternoon. Every morning as we walk through the gate of the orphanage the children will be waiting for us and calling our names.  They call Lois "Ois' , Joan and Cora like they were cheering for us.  They love blowing balloons and getting "pipi" ( candy) from us.  They all love to dance and watching some sort of video with dancing and singing. We saw some of them fall flat on their faces and get hurt. They cry  to get our attention or sometimes they misbehave (like most kids do) to be noticed. One kid in particular, she is born in Mwansa. Her mother is Tanzanian and her father is from India. Her name is Gifti. She is kind of a short little girl with curly thick hair.  She is so smart and can be intimidating considering her small body. Joan & I met with Mother Prudenciana (the Mother General) and got her blessings. We presented to her our plans and activities while we are here in Morogoro and got her okay. With the older kids, we started putting together 1,000 piece puzzle early last week. It was not easy but Emmanuel and Mango are up to the challenge. Last Friday, I cooked green papaya with coconut milk for the older kids. We spent the weekend trying to get connected via Internet, did some shopping and help prepare some food for the Inauguration of the Salvatoran Institute.  Monday, we spent the whole day celebrating the Inauguration. Lois and Joan made coffee cakes and 3 different kind of pies while I prepared food for lunch. Today, Tuesday,  I woke up with fever (due to some insects bites- which I am not sure what). We went to the orphanage in the morning and made some popcorn cooked in a covered pot in a charcoal stove.  Joan had a time of her life helping me out cooking the popcorn. It was not so bad.  We decided we will then cooked the rest of the popcorn at Salvatoran Institute where there is more choices of pots & pans.  The children enjoyed the popcorn. We helped feed the smaller children their lunch.  Lunch is the time of the day that is full of chaos. Some children  does not want to be fed or they will cling to you like little spider with their hands full of  "ugali mixed with beans."   As Joan put it in her own words............I think I'll pass lunch for today.  Oh well. This weekend we are hosting a birthday party. This is to celebrate the birthday of all the orphans living at Mgolole Orphanage. Our goal is to give the children memories of birthday cakes and birthday celebrations.  We want them to remember that birthdays are special. -More to come. Cora, Joan & Lois

9/12/08 Well this is the week of celebration.  On Monday, the seminary had a celebration for the opening of the new school year.  Polycarp Cardinal Pengo came from Dar es Salaam to celebrate Mass.  The dignitaries (including Father Lazarus Msimbe SDS, the Salvatorian Provincial Superior of Tanzania, Father Eugene Reslinski SDS, the Vicar Provincial, and the faculty.  (They processed in and con celebrated the Mass (about 30 con celebrants)).  The Mass was in English, but the singing was in Swahili.  It must have been common songs as all the Tanzanians present were singing with the choir  (the seminarians from Capuchin Friars.)  (The Salvatorian seminary is for all the order priest in Tanzania and has 250 seminarians.)  The choir was accompanied by an organ, drums, manyuango and kayambe.  Our parish, St. Thomas Aquinas in Madison, sent along a small, hand held recorder and we recorded the entire Mass.  It's not bad, though next time I know I cannot respond out loud or even whisper.   (You can plug the recorder into your computer and make a DVD.)  For the dignitaries and faculty's coffee and lunch,  Joanie and I made coffee cake and desserts (fresh coconut cream pie, a banana cream pie and cheese cake.)   Cora made the lunch.  Everyone appreciated our work as they do not get meals like that in Tanzania.  Of course the faculty that live here don't mind leftovers either. There also was a lecture and in the afternoon the seminarians had entertainment.  Cora, Joanie and I were introduced to all at the entertainment.  The seminarian who was m/c commented after I introduced myself that he heard I was President Bush's aunt.  Knowing my political views, Father Bernard and I had the best laugh.  Maybe I should be insulted.  That would make me a lot older than I am.  Oh well.  Later I was one of the first 4 people to pick my choice of drink. Saturday, we are going to have a birthday celebration for all the orphans.   Cora wants to make them spaghetti, hot dogs, sandwiches and birthday cake.  We'll give each one a piece of cake with a candle.  Pray it all goes over well. We made  popcorn twice this week for the orphans.  They like it.  Tonight we'll make it for the priests at social and tell them the rules.  1.  You must sit down.  2.  You pull out the end of your shirt and Joanie will put popcorn in it.  3.  You must not fight.  I'm sure they'll appreciate those rules.  At one point I had 4 little ones around me.  Joanie was still handing out popcorn to anyone who needed more.  The little ones around me all had popcorn in both their hands.  But one had a cup.  So, they fought over the popcorn in the cup.  Of course, it all spilled out and ended all over me.  Not that they don't eat it then.  They eat it off the floor and everyplace else. Next year I decided I'll buy 100 balloons for each day we are here, or at least 50.  Though there are not 25 orphans when we hand them out, there are still fights.  The older of the little children hide the one you gave them and try to get extra ones.  Everyone wants 2-3 balloons.  At $1/25 at the dollar store, it still easy entertainment and it's light to pack.  The bouncing balls were a hit with the older children.  So, I'll get a packet of three for each of them. Even simple projects are difficult even with the older children.  There is one girl who is the instigator and things go downhill.  Physical things like playing with a ball go over best.  I'm going to try finger paints and see if that will work. The weather has been great this week, cool in the morning and evening and warm to hot in the afternoon.    -Cora, Joan & Lois

9/12/08 Hello, Greetings from Mgolole, Morogoro Tanzania! Last Saturday, I was invited for lunch at the Monfort Brothers of St Gabriel House ( a neighbor of Salvatorian Institute).  I met Bro. Jimmy & Bro James; both are from India.  Bro. James will soon be the director of the School for the Deaf in Morogoro . If everything goes well, they are looking at early January to start having students at the Monfort House. Monfort Brothers of St Gabriel is dedicated to the education for deaf and blind in India. Monday is a big celebration for the Salvatorian Institute.  It is their formal Academic Inauguration.  It was a fun day for all the staff and students.   During the week, we went back to our routine of going to the orphanage in the morning  and in the afternoon. Last Wednesday, Fr. Bernard and I took 3 children for shopping.  I took 3 children the next morning and 3 older kids in the afternoon  with Stephen (our Swahili translator).  Lois & Joan decided to stay at the Institute for the afternoon. Today I took 3 seven years old kids by myself . Stephen was not able to help us today.  I was able to bargain for price in Swahili and was able to communicate with the kids that came with me.  Fr. Bernard picked us up at the Blue Room (it is a small eatery) where the children ate Chipsy (fried potatoes), fried kuku (fried chicken) and soda. From the town market up until we reached the orphanage the 3 children were singing in Swahili.  Fr. Bernard  translated it to me saying that the song is about them saying goodbye to the town market. The 3 children had never been in the town market before. It was their first time and they are all very happy. All 12 children ages 7 to 17 got a new pair of shoes for school and 3 pairs of white socks and a slipper(rubber).  I took all of them for a lunch or early dinner after shopping.  The older girls ages 16 ( 2 of them), a 17 year old girl and Emmanuel the 14 year old got 3 pairs of underwear each. It was more challenging to shop with the older kids as to they have preference but things went okay and within the budget that Fr. Bernard and I set. This afternoon, we started the preparation for the birthday party for all children of Mgolole tomorrow.  Gracie (Salvatorian kitchen help) started the meat preparation. Here in Salvatorian - for us to have a ground beef , we have to do it ourselves. Fr. Mareck (the Librarian and now acting treasurer) was kind enough to sell to us a portion of the meat from the whole cow that they bought. Gracie and I deboned one big chunk of meat and then put it in the machine where you have  to grind it manually to have a ground meat.  It is a lot of hard work but it works. We will have about 45 children (infants not included). Maybe a dozen nuns.  Mother Prudenciana promised to attend. Fr. Bernard, Bro. Albin and possibly 3 more priest from Salvatorian Institute &Bro. Jimmy & Bro. James from Monfort Brothers.  Mglole workers will also be there.  So it will be between 60-70 people.  -Cora, Joan & Lois