PRECISION, AND ITALIAN GROUP REPORT!!!

18 AUGUST 2012 PRECISION AND ITALIAN GROUP REPORT!!! Precisely on August 11, greetings arrived by POST from Sister Daniela Kubiak. This was nothing short of a miracle, with our record of postal non-arrival at all! Time moved on quickly, with preparations for my Italian group. On Tuesday, 14 August, I made a last-minute visit to the hotel, where we had booked the group. I was told that they had given away five of the seven rooms reserved, and I was left with two small rooms only. What a shock. I was horrified, as the Beer Festival was on and accommodation was non-existent. Thank God we managed, and things worked out well. The group arrived, very weary on the 15 evening, more than two and a half hours later than expected. A lovely group of 15 persons, visitors to Albania, with their Bishop who is based in North Albania. They enjoyed their evening dinner and returned early in the morning for coffee and so on. Later, with my friend Marieta, who has Italian, we visited the wonderful Icon Museum, which they loved. Then, the Cathedral and the ABC Museum of the first School in Albania. They then returned to our house and left a little later for their long journey through Albania. By the way, this entry may be my last post for some weeks, as I will not take my laptop with me when I leave on Monday. Maybe, I will manage to make an entry; I will have to wait and see. Have a great weekend and God grant you will be blessed with good health, and also good holiday weather, over the next few weeks. One of my Profession group reminded me this morning that tomorrow is the feast of Saint John Eudes, and the anniversary of our Final Vows. So, let us pray for one another, till I am safely back in Korce!

BIRTHDAY, ITALIAN GROUP REPORT!!!

2 BIRTHDAYS, MALTESE VISITORS AND MORE!!

12 AUGUST 2012 2 BIRTHDAYS, MALTESE VISITORS AND MORE!! Amira came as promised on Wednesday, bringing two Jesuit friends from Tirana. We enjoyed a festive day of celebration as Amira was in camp for her Birthday and mine was coming very near!! On Thursday, we had new Maltese faces at Church! I invited Rainer and his Dad for a Baileys. They came later, with Charlie, Anthony and our new Laurence. Rainer, his father and Anthony left for Poland on Friday. Yesterday, feast of Saint Clare, was a double special for me. Sister Anne O'Byrne telephoned early in the morning, followed closely by Mons. Hil Kabashi. In the afternoon, we had our "Sunday" Mass - the Italian priest brought quite a group of Italian young people all of whom spoke English! Luckily, I had brought a good supply of chocolate candies, traditional on one's Feast! There were enough to supply Bilisht too! Later in the evening, a friend visited, with a large ice-cream cake. We called the neighbours to help enjoy it and we will continue to work through it later this evening! Have a great week! I heard the sun is shining in Ireland - yesterday, we managed a good thunderstorm and heavy rain!!

MORAVA VISITORS, DELVINA (2), BORSH

DELVINA, BUTRINT AND SARANDA CASTLE!!

7 August 2012 DELVINA, BUTRINT AND SARANDA CASTLE!! Driving over the mountains for most of the day, with Sisters Adrienne and Sophia, Franciscan Sisters of Saint George, the Martyr, we arrived in Delvina in late afternoon having visited Tepelina Waters and also another most picturesque and amazing water source. This was called - "Blue Eye" and its depths cannot be fathomed; the great force of the water prevents a person sinking!! The Sisters welcomed us and I admired their convent - they have built a fine extension. This was begun two years ago and completed in a year. The extension was planned in Germany and during the building, two electricians, two plumbers, an architect and a foreman came from time to time and worked with the local builders. The outcome is very fine indeed. Saturday was a wonderful experience. We left early for Butrint - an archaelogical site that is a microcosm of Mediterranean History, from 400 BC. My student-friend, Marieta, is on holiday close to the site and so she joined us for the morning. In the evening, we went to the Saranda Castle for a meal - a beautiful setting, overlooking the bay and Corfu. Early on Sunday, we went to meet the ferry from Corfu. A Capuchin priest comes over and says four Masses each weekend. We went to a beautiful seaside village, Borsh, for the first and returned with five young men who will stay for a week. There are two Franciscan seminarians on holiday who will work with them. Father is Italian and he also speaks Spanish, Greek and a little French. As I returned to Korce yesterday, having left Saranda at 5.30a.m., I reflected on the fact that my two visitors of last week were the first non-Good Shepherd visitors I have had and also that Delvina was my first overnight visit to another convent! No doubt you are still watching the Gold count at the Olympics - all seems to have gone well so far, thank God. Have a great week - every blessing and joy be yours and a special moment for those fortunate to welcome Sister Brigid Lawlor during her visit.

IRISH VISITOR AND FIVE CHURCH VISITORS!

VISITOR'S TOUR, ICONS, MORAVA AND MORE!!

2 AUGUST 2012 VISITOR;S TOUR, ICONS, MORAVA AND MORE!! Our Sister Visitors arrived on Monday, tired from their long journey but delighted with the scenery en route. On Tuesday, we went to Prespa Lake. It was a good day, with a nice breeze, so we took a boat and circled the island, Mali Grad, seeing the pelicans and all the wildlife for which the lake is famous! Here in Korce, there is a festive lunch every Wednesday. We decided to enjoy it and a lady at the next table asked our nationality. To my delight, she was Irish and had already told her friends that I had an Irish face!!! She was with German and American friends so we all had a nice get-together. Three student anthropologists awaited our return here. They had requested an interview as they are doing a project on "The Catholic Community of Korce". Their questions took ages, so my visitors went off to visit the Icon Museum. Hopefully, while in Korce, the students got sufficient information to make a presentation to their colleagues on their return to Slovenia. Today was the highlight of the visit! The Sisters drove to the mountain, Morava, as far as the hotel, and then we 'pilgrimed' to the Cross. The day was good - a promised storm did not materialize. The views at the top were just superb and it was a real treat to enjoy the simple picnic we had brought. This evening, we had a visit from the Evangelical Minister that lives across the road. Holger came with Jengha, his wife and their son, to meet the Sisters. This was a nice finish to their visit. The past few days have been sprinkled with snippets from the Olympics via TV, the internet and Sister Adrienne's brother. He is in London, and attending each day, so USA news of "Golds" gets here very quickly. I have just been in touch with Sister Amira. She is planning a visit to Korce next week and I wanted to get an idea of her plans! In the meantime, have a great weekend and every blessing for a happy, holiday weekend.