Hi everyone,
This May Sister Fidelis will be 'retiring' from Haiti to return to Sylvania, Ohio. Please see the attached document (TVI Update April Special Edition) as well as this short presentation:
(click on the link, then click download and open the file when it is done downloading. If you have trouble, please let me know!)
In putting these together my mind was flooded with memories of my time with Sister Fidelis as we spent hours together in Pestel. I remember meeting Sister Fidelis for the very first time as she stepped up (a big step!) out of the boat that came to pick us up at the port in Jeremie and introduce us to Pestel. You can read more about it here: http://thrivingvillages.org/howWeBegan.php
I remember the two of us talking around her table in the village of Ferrier with only an oil lamp dispelling some of the thick darkness around us. The world becomes very small when all that is illuminated is a bit of the table and an outline of the other person across from you.
We visited many villages together, usually walking/hiking to get there. And some of them were quite a distance. As we traveled Sister Fidelis would prep me for how we might interact with the community.
Here's a sample:
My wife and I have had the great joy of meeting many of her friends and Sisters in Sylvania, Ohio. And while we may not visit with her again in Haiti, I imagine we'll find a chance to sit across from her table in Ohio!
With great love and affection,
Ben
-- President, Thriving Villages International
Thriving Villages website: www.thrivingvillages.org
Thriving Villages blog: http://thrivingvillages.blogspot.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ThrivingVillages
"Pay special attention to these issues:
love for one another;
absence of desire to be thought of as someone special;
and the impeccable performance of mundane tasks." Teresa of Avila
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