April 17, 2018
Day 1

It felt like coming home. I had just arrived on Tanzanian soil, at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam. It is named after the independent nation’s first famous president. The journey went well, in spite of many delays: two hours in Omaha, two hours in Newark, NJ. One and a half hours in Addis Ababa. The delays matched well and I did not miss any flights. Now I am waiting for the last leg of my itinerary, the flight to the southern coastal city of Mtwara. 

There is so much I am grateful for: on Sunday a safe trip to the airport on partially icy roads with the help of our visitor and volunteer Bondo; the excellent service on Ethiopian Airlines; the immediate text back from our confrere in Kurasini (part of Dar es Salaam), Br. Bakanja, after I had sent him a short text during a stopover in Lomé, Togo, because it looked as though I would miss my flight in Addis. “Pooole sana,” he wrote in Swahili, “I am sorry for the difficulties.” He would have been ready to help if I would have needed him. First impressions of Dar es Salaam: As we flew over the city at night, street lights only in a few areas; but it seems electricity is available to the people. And, what I had not seen twenty-one years ago, red blinking cell phone towers spread evenly across the megacity of three million. Advertising of cell phone services abounds. Everybody of the natives holds his smart phone in hand, at least here at the airport. Things went well with immigration and with my Visa upon Arrival.

The flight to Mtwara left on time for a change and even arrived early. With me on the plane was Fr. Columba Stewart, OSB, from Collegeville, MN, a well-known scholar on early monasticism and presenter of our workshop. Br. Sixtus from Ndanda, who had once been in the first group of novices whom I taught, awaited us. He had made the trip from Ndanda to Mtwara early in the day and took us from the airport to the monks’ cabin on the beach where Abbot President Jeremias, Abbot Michael, Fr. Frank and Br. Thaddaeus awaited us. Breakfast was ready on the table and we ate. A few minutes remained to stand at the beach before we left for Ndanda.

Traffic has increased significantly since I was here last over twenty-one years ago, especially the number of motorcycles. There is even a traffic light on the main thoroughfare through Mtwara! All the towns along the road have their signs with the name of the town as you enter and another sign with the name crossed out as you leave. In many towns, there is also a speed limit of 50km/hour (30 mph) now, which seems very appropriate, considering the number of people, young and old, walking on the street. Other signs limit the speed where there are curves in the road; again others explain the danger that comes with going too fast. It was late morning; and we saw a lot of school children by the road. The students wear uniforms; many girls, especially in secondary schools, cover the back of their heads with veils. That, too, is different from the way it was twenty-one years ago. 

Upon arrival at Ndanda Abbey, Br. Laurent, who works in the abbey’s business office, showed me my room in the brand new administration wing to the right of the abbey church: great accommodations. – Lunch offered the first opportunity to meet the monastic community, the European and the Tanzanian monks. Prior Yohanes invited us to his table. I enjoyed eating ugali, made with corn meal, and maharagebeans, together with spinach, a traditional Tanzanian dish.

For Vespers we joined the monastic community in theabbey church.  The central image, painted by Fr. Polykarp, is the risen Christin the Mandorla. I looked at it for a long time, receiving consolation, peace and joy from Him. 

April 18, 2018
Day 2

The ten-minute walk from the abbey to Zakeo Spiritual Centre, the abbey’s retreat house, gives me an opportunity to take in the sights of the abbey that are new to me: the new addition, which helps accommodate a monastic community that was never as large; the beautiful trees, flowers and bushes of an interior courtyard that was created by this building; the new bridge across Ndanda River, which is surrounded by almost rainforest-like vegetation; the bridge, built by Br. Godehard toward Zakeo, which creates easy access to the retreat center; and the hundreds of trees that were planted in this area and form an attractive park.

This morning Fr. Dionys gave us an overview of Ndanda Abbey’s history and then a tour through the abbey church, which afforded me the opportunity to appreciate also the newly designed side nave tabernacle area with the Christus Pantocrator Cross above it, the other side chapel with the stone carving of Mary, Help of Christians, and the Stations of the Cross made by Fr. Polycarp.

After that, we had coffee with the monks of the abbey in the refectory; I could touch base with Abbot Siegfried, Fr. Hugo from Nyangao, and Br. Coelestin from Sakharani. Then a tour of the abbey shops followed: carpentry, joinery, electrical, fitters and turners, plumbing and water supply, mechanics and garden. What a nice reunion with master carpenterBr. Benedikt whom I taught in the novitiate years ago and who now oversees thirty employees! I also enjoyed chatting further with Br. Sixtus who runs the whole vocational training school with 108 students! In the afternoon, the event began that was the occasion for this Africa trip: an international workshop for formators, that is, novice masters and others who help with the training of young monks in their respective abbeys and priories. The twenty-one participants introduced themselves: they hail from seventeen monasteries of all continents except Australia: Tanzania (4), Kenya (2), Uganda (1), Zambia (2), Korea (3), Togo (1), Philippines (1), India (1), Germany (3), USA (1), Cuba (1), and Colombia (1).  Then an orientation to the workshop was given

April 19, 2018
Day 3

Every morning we have Massat 7:00am at Zakeo. On the way there, I hear singing and drumming first from the abbey church and then from the formation house; at both locations, Masses start somewhat earlier. I was the presider at Mass today at the retreat house. I talked about the joy of the Apostle Philip and of the Ethiopian Eunuch, received as a gift from the Holy Spirit. Then, in the conference room, I found the talks by Fr. Columba Stewartabout the Rule of Benedict and the monastic authors from whom Benedict draws, especially Origen, Evagrius and Cassian very helpful. One can understand Benedict only if one knows these sources; they help to make his teaching meaningful for our time as well. 

In the afternoon, I walked up to the abbey’s formation house, located on a hill called Ursberg. Nine postulants and six novices live there. Fr. Yusto, the formation director, is alone with all these men; his partner, Fr. Pius, is currently in Rome for the monastic institute. Abbot Emeritus Siegfried teaches the history of Ndanda for both postulants and novices; Fr. Dionys teaches the Rule; and Fr. Polykarp teaches chanting. Manual work is very much part of the postulants’ and novices’ day too; they largely produce their own food. They take care of 200 chickens, as well as a good number of goats, rabbits, guinea chickens, and pigeons, plus two gardens with bananas, papayas, oranges and rosella bushes. Once a week they slaughter chickens. We found the postulants in a shed harvesting the petals of the rosella blossoms for making juice. The motto of the week for the men in formation is, “Niwe na Amani ya Kristu—May the Peace of Christ be with me.”