“Wherever we are we must become involved in the situation in which we live. Our charism is not defined by activity alone; nor is it limited to a specific task. A presence in faith and hope, an appreciation of the values and significance of cultures and religions different from our own, is already an apostolic response.” NDS, Constitution #16 This quote from our Constitution summarizes very well Sion’s presence in Egypt. Through their ministries each community, Cairo, Alexandria and El Berba, are responding and carrying the Word of God to their own reality. The apostolic time of Lucia and Nancy was an opportunity to get involved with the reality of the sisters and the people in Egypt. Some of the unforgettable memories that we will carry with us are: Sister Emmanuelle, NDS memory We visited with Sr. Wafaa’s family the Manshiyat Nasser, a neighborhood located in the Mukatam Hills in Cairo where the garbage workers („Zabaleen“) live and work. Through their work of selecting and recycling garbage, they have their income and help the country …

Ein Karem, Monday, 25 September 2017 As the summer heat is changing into autumn warm and refreshing winds in the evening, life is enjoyable with all the Religious Feasts among the Jerusalem Population. Id al-Adha the Muslim Pilgrim Feast is behind us and in front of us are the High Holidays of the Jewish Community. On September 7th began the second semester of the Reshit Da’at Seminars. This time the general topic is related to the “Jews and Gentiles in Pauline Theology”.The first lecture was presented by Br. Elio Passeto with the title: “The Status Quaestionis of the Pauline Theology”. Andrea and Maria returned from their Apostolic Experience in Poland. Ania shared: “It was a great joy for her to live together with Maria and Andrea“. Now Andrea and Maria are in Ecce Homo for their second Apostolic engagement. Getting to know the live in a Pilgrims house with the Biblical Program activists in the midst. Sr. Colette returned from her home visit refreshed and full of energy. Sometimes I wonder how time is working, …

“We live in a world near to and yet far from the Kingdom of God. It is in this world, so loved by God, that we have been called. It is to this world that we are sent by the Church to proclaim our faith in God’s Kingdom already growing among us.” Const.12 On July 3 Nancy and I arrived in Egypt for the second experience of our apostolic year. We came to enjoy our sisters in Berba for summer activities in a village and to have a better understanding of the Arabic world. Our first week in Berba was very exciting and we enjoyed a lot our big community with: Sr. Jackie, Darlene, Victoria and Wafaa, Nancy, Lucia and Marceline form Congo. But for most of the time we have been four. It was amazing the care and the lovely welcome that the people gave us in the village and in their own houses as well. Everything here is simple, we found them very happy and generous people, for us they have what is …

Sr. Ania nds, María, Andrea and Agnieszka (Ania´s friend) lived a beautiful week in Taize in France where the brothers of Taize, sisters and volunteers received us with a warmth welcome. The Taize community is an ecumenical monastic order which invites people of different Christian denominations. Also It is a special place where many people from different countries around the world go to pray and seek the source of their lives. Andrea, Agnieszka and María went to share in small groups according their ages while Sr. Ania went with the silence´s group. We reflected on some texts of the Gospel of Matthew and four proposals about “together, open new paths of hope”. We tried to help each other with questions, listening, prayers and sharing our reflections. Sometimes the people shared personal and sacred situations in their lives. It was very significant since we could feel that the Holy Spirit led us to be open to one another. It was a good atmosphere. It was a week of personal and spiritual preparation and community living with …

Excursions. Our three and a half months in Poland have been a very fruitful experience. Andrea and I arrived on May 2nd in Krakow and we were welcomed by Sr. Ania in the community. We have had a great time because in the first days and weeks we visited many different places around Krakow and especially the Old Town. We also joined the free city tour to the Jewish quarter, Kazimierz. Everything was about “our first time to see and taste” – to see the beautiful city that preserved the historical buildings from the Middle Ages and we’ve also enjoyed the taste of the Polish dishes. We had a chance to visit Wadowice, the town of Pope John Paul II where he was born. Another excursion was to Warsaw where we visited the Warsaw Uprising Museum with the exhibition of the history and complexity of the Warsaw Uprising during WW II, with photographs, documents, and actual artifacts. We also visited the Paulin Museum which is a modern museum designed with interactive multimedia exhibitions taking you …

During these last months many sessions and activities have filled the city of Jerusalem, In one Session, “Healing Hatred” some of our sisters participated, others participated in the session on Reconciliation, some of our brothers and sisters were part of the Bat Kol program on Exodus and again others attended the Elijah Interfaith session of “Sharing Wisdom.” In the session of Healing Hatred I meet Rabbi Miriam Berkowitz who runs an organization that introduces spiritual care to Israeli hospitals and nursing homes based on the American CPE model. She is organising a training course in 2018 for spiritual caregivers and it will be an interfaith course where various faiths take part. Fluency in English and Hebrew is required. Somehow I felt that I have found a meaningful way of using the efforts I am making in learning Hebrew and perhaps I will be able to volunteer within a ministry of caregivers in a one of the different institutions here in Israel. Not all activities in Jerusalem have been life giving during this month of July, after …