Blessed Christmas!

23 Dec 2010

This is my last post for the year (where have all the mo-onths gone??) and I’ll try my best to be brief because I know many of you are in the midst of the hustle and bustle of Christmas preps. So here’s a quick run down of what’s been happening this side of the globe since I last posted:

Towards the end of Oct and into early Nov, I participated in a wonderful 2-week seminar/retreat on Human Development and Sexuality. This program was initiated by the late Fr. James Gill, SJ, who founded the Christian Institute for the Study of Human Sexuality as well as the Human Development magazine. Through the lectures, group sharing, film viewing, assignments (including writing one's sexual autobiography) and a series of sessions simply called TAS – Talk about Sex (I was pretty stunned and amused too when I discovered what the acronym stood for!), I have deepened my appreciation for the gift of sexuality and celibacy. Certainly, from a pastoral perspective, I am much more comfortable discussing about all things related to this wondrous gift of God, a gift, however, sadly misused and abused, even within the Church. All in all, the program was beneficial not only in helping the integration of one’s sexuality but correspondingly, to be able to help others towards that integration, respecting at all times the boundaries and dignity of each person. Here’s a group photo of the participants of the program:

What followed the seminar was one of the highlights of the year - the visit of my mother, Agnes, and Violet, a friend from Singapore, in November! Since I was not due for home leave this year (we are allowed to return home once every two years), I took my “local” vacation during my mum’s visit. After a week catching the sights and sounds in Nairobi, we embarked on a safari adventure covering the national parks of Amboseli (with the majestic Mt Kilimanjaro), Sweet Waters, Nakuru and Masai Mara. I took over 2000 photos plus hundreds of video clips and am still in the process of selecting and compiling them onto a DVD. But here are some highlights of our vacation which I’ve uploaded on Facebook -
Nairobi 
Amboseli, Sweet Waters 
Nakuru, Masai Mara

Just after Violet and Mum left, to coincide with the feast day of our founder, Blessed James Alberione, we had the ground breaking (Nov 26) and fund raising (Nov 27) ceremony of our new house of formation in Langata (about 25km away from our convent in Nairobi). Here are some pics of the event. Many thanks to those who have donated to this project. If anyone would still like to contribute a donation, you may do so here stating Gabriella House project.

Apostolic wise, the series of scripture music videos is finally completed. It’s simply called Parables Alive! The DVD will be released next year and I will post a teaser clip in my next post but here’s what the cover looks like:

Still on the topic of apostolate, I spent the whole of last week staying at the Marist International Centre where I was invited to conduct a media workshop/seminar for their young Brothers in formation. Together with their formators, the participants totaled over a hundred Brothers! The seminar was on Media Awareness and Literacy, Media Spirituality and Developments in New Media. I was grateful to share with them the basics of these topics and pray they will put to practice all that they have learned.


Some of the Marist brothers who particiapted in the seminar

I myself am also continuing to learn and discover…
I have just started reading my first Cynthia Bourgeault book, The Wisdom Way of Knowing, and what I’ve read thus far is resonating deep within me. I look forward to completing it and reading her other books which are waiting for me on the book shelf. If any of you are familiar with her writings, I’d love to hear your opinion of her works.

An extra curricular activity that’s a great source of relaxation while also giving me much life is being a budding fan of 양미경 (Yang Mi Kyung) whom I’ve written about in my last post. For those who would like to be inducted into a Korean drama, here’s a recent TV movie she was in where her character also dabbles into an extra curricular activity with hilarious consequences. Here's the first 10 min of it:

It’s a comedy lasting only about 80 mins (in case you fear of being trapped to a long series!). I even wrote a review of it. And so did another of our sisters. In fact we have a mini Yang Mi Kyung nun fan club here of which I am the self proclaimed president! LOL! Here are the main members thus far:

The photo above was made into a Christmas card for YMK -  delivery made possible through the kindness of a very gracious friend in my YMK network! I’m most grateful for the new (and not so new!) friendships I am making through my YMK network.


So, it’s the end of the year. Time to take stock of the many blessings and graces God has showered upon us. As you run through your list, please allow me to share  mine - I’m grateful to be alive and in good health, serving in Kenya as an FSP, and as always, grateful for YOU, my friends and family, who continue to support me in my journey of faith and life. May your Christmas this year be one filled with abiding PEACE – in your hearts and in your family - as you incarnate Christ in your lives. And may the coming year be filled with God’s wondrous surprises!

Wishing each of you a truly blessed Christmas!

Love and prayers,
Wendy

In case some of you have yet to see this, a digital Christmas story: