Tuesday

Tuesdays usually are my home bound days. The parish covers a huge area, people live in remote villages, though it is not the biggest parish in Musoma Diocese, still - some of them have to walk 15+ kilometers to get to Kiabakari. It poses a difficult issue how to run a 'user friendly' parish.

Following the ideas of my neighbors, I have set aside one day per week as an office day, home bound day, to enable people coming to the parochial office to seek spiritual or pastoral advice, look for baptismal certificates, pre-register their intention to get married or to see me for any reason important to them - to meet me home. I don't want to disappoint someone walking such a long distance to the parish to find out that I am away or just left going somewhere.

So, Tuesday is usually such an office day. Still, I make sure to announce every Sunday and confirm if this is the case (sometimes there is a meeting in the diocese or I am away for a seminar or retreat or holidays - then the special provisions are made and announced to let people know what day they can see me or my replacement in the office).

I've just finished talking and serving a few parishioners who came for various reasons to the office. Since there was no one a this time, I decided to get a quick cup of coffee and type these few words. Now, I'll go back to the office as I hear a famous word outside - 'hodi, hodi!' How I like this word (this is used to announce someone's presence instead of knocking on the door as it is done in Europe and elsewhere; here sometimes there is nothing to knock on, as the idea of a household is somehow different than in northern hemisphere where you don't there expect open households and life unfolding outside the house due to the severity of weather)!

Have a nice day!