Re-entry Day 2

I am at home now settling back into life in Montreal, still tired from a weekend of long hours of travel. As I sit and reflect upon the last 3 weeks I am deeply appreciative and filled with gratitude to God for having the support of the Diocese by your prayers and encouragement to make this journey to the Diocese of Masasi in Tanzania.
While traveling through the Diocese and spending time in rural villages I often felt like a child with a barrage of endless questions.
How did people survive under these circumstances, dry weather, lack of vegetation, employment, education, isolation. I recognized that my economic values and experience of life needed to be suspended so I could enter more fully into understanding the context and culture of which I was now living. My assumptions about the standard and comfort of life I live in Canada challenges me to reflect upon the stewardship, economy and ecosystem of the life I live compared with so many others in the world.
In contrast to what I saw is also the experience of hospitality, generosity and welcome we received while visiting the villages. We left with gifts of appreciation and gratitude given to us by the villagers...even a live rooster!
Despite the heat and lack of water the scenery is beautiful as we traveled, the handiwork of God shown all around us.
I found a sacred spot, holy ground in the Cathedral Compound where I said. Morning and Evening Prayer. A beautiful spot where I could look up to the mountain and see a cross in the distance. I took a picture and hope to enlarge it. As I looked up to the mountain I was reminded of the words of Psalm 121; "I look up to the hills from when cometh my help, my help cometh even from the Lord."
Each day as I said the offices of morning and evening prayer I was deeply aware of your prayer, love and support for us while we were in Masasi. I am both humbled and filled with thanksgiving for this.
I know that I will continue to share my story and experience with you as I re-integrate back into life in Montreal. For now it still feels overwhelming to make the adjustments.
+Barry
Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network.
Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.