Someone had a Birthday - Part 2

Fr. Jim Donohue.

After our incredible birthday meal, there was still more…two more cakes and more celebrating…first with the choir in the main church and then with the women’s group.

After cutting the cake, my job was to share the cake with each choir member. It is not so easy. We usually use toothpicks to share the cake…but the cake would not always cooperate with the toothpicks!

But we made it work. When there is cake, there is a will to get it done!

This is Anna. She is one of my Swahili teachers. Her son, Francis, is an altar server. She teaches at the primary school and is just a wonderful person, teacher, and mother!

I was also given a gift of soda by the choir. They really were wonderful and terribly generous in doing this for me.

Next up was a cake made and presented by representatives of the women’s group.

With all this practice, I was getting better at the cake-cutting for everyone!

It is the custom here to give someone a piece of cake…much like we see the bride and groom give a piece of cake to each other at the wedding reception. Here, Fr. Yohana gets a mouthful!

I do not remember whether this is the first piece or a second piece!

It was a great day. I am truly appreciative of everything that so many people did to make me feel great on my birthday in Tanzania. It is a good thing that this coming Wednesday is Ash Wednesday…I can do without some food for a while!

More to come on www.resurrectionists.ca

Share This Post

More To Explore

You Say

Although Jesus asks his disciples in today’s Gospel: “who do you say that I am?”, have you ever asked the same question of Jesus?  “Jesus, who do you say that I am?”  The answer is your vocation.

Fr. Pawel Smolikowski, CR – Master of Prayer

In commemoration of another anniversary of the death of our Venerable Servant of God, Father Pawel Smolikowski (September 11, 1926), and in preparation for the centenary of his death (1926 – 2026), let us look at a meditation taken from “Meditations with the Lord Christ” by Fr. Smolikowski.