“I believe in the resurrection, in divine mercy, in Mary’s tenderrness and in eternal life” (Fr. Mary Alphonse) On May 6th we celebrated two important events. The approbation of the new constitution in 1984 and in 1884, Fr Mary Alphonse died. We had a beautiful mass at 7am. We started in the cemetery and then we walked two by two until the big chapel with contemplative and apostolic sisters, brothers of Sion and friends of Sion. We recalled the memory of the death of Father Alphonse in the last moments of his life: “Father Mary asked for something to drink, holding the cup in his hands himself. Immediately after, a light gently brightened his face; he raised his read slightly, smiled, and opened his big blue eyes which had been closed since the afternoon. Full of life, they looked steadily at the corner of the room opposite his bed. Shortly afterwards, his eyes closed and while Sr. Eleonore whispered: “Mary… Mary,” he gave two gentle sighs. Humble until death, Father Mary had continued to be …

At the beginning I was like Moses or Jonas who refused to go to mission. They had many excuses. I was like them, know I understand why I am here in Nicaragua. It is a reality completely different from where I have been. When I arrived here in Managua Nicaragua , Sister Ana Maria was waiting for me at the main bus station. Then we went home where Angeles a volunteer was waiting for us. She is from Spain and is an Oculist. It is my first time in the project “Generando Vida.” So I decided to get to know in each aspect of its program, the bank, the pharmacy, the special dining room and library and so on. At the bank there are three hundred and eighty five business women associates. They welcomed me so kind and warmly. Then I moved to the kitchen and dining room where more than one hundred children and elderly people take their lunch from Monday to Friday. I had the opportunity to share with some of the elderly …

On Monday 02nd  we celebrated Iracema’s birthday, she is an associate from Brazil and she is part of our NDS Community in Ein Karem. During the day some of our Brothers and Sisters were preparing the food and the place for the party. At 7:00 o’ clock all of us and also Joel and Cristóvão, our brothers of Sion from the community of Ratisbonne, came to share with Iracema this special moment. The party was a surprise for Iracema, so when she arrived we sang Happy birthday for her in English and then in Portuguese. Iracema was very happy and thankful with God for her life; and with the NDS Community. She said “I feel we are a family”. We enjoyed a delicious barbecue with some salads and snacks. After the dinner Iracema and her husband Luciano, who is also an associate of Sion from Brazil, began the dance and some people followed them dancing Brazilian music. After that we also sang and dance the Psalm 133 “ Hine Ma tov”  (How good, how delightful …

The month of April began with the feast of the Annunciation which marked the beginning of the Official Entry into the Canonical Year for our four novices, Maria, Nancy, Andrea and Lucia. The sisters of the Jerusalem community joined us for this celebration. The Ein Karem house provided the place for a joyful gathering where we shared lunch together. During the following week the house had organised a First Aid and Fire Safety training in which we the novitiate community also participated. With Sr. Anne Catharine we continued studying the Jewish Feasts and this time our focus was on the Feast of Pessach which was celebrated later this month. Our excursion this month included a trip to Massada, Ein Gedi and Qumran. As we walked up some of us found it difficult to climb this little mountain below sea level and it took us more than one hour. The view is very impressive and the history reminded us of the words of Ecclesiastes 1:4 “A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains …