Dear Friends,

  Happy Pentecost!    What an awesome feast!  What great meaning in it for the whole world.  This afternoon I led the mass for it with about 60 people in attendance.  It was very African in spirit and manner: drums, tongue-trilling with the music, singing and clapping of hands, the rhythmic swaying of bodies--all in celebration of this feast that marks the birth of the church and the overflow of God's joy and Spirit on the world.  It was a great joy for me to lead this and to give the homily on it.  What a topic to reflect on! (Across the valley we could hear some preacher shouting something about the Gospel--it must take days for his vocal chords to recover!!--and then recorded, festive music on a loudspeaker from a local Pentecostal gathering. In short, this part of God's earth was rocking!  Come, Holy Spirit!

  Right now we are in Day 13 of our 30 day retreat.  Today retreatants were praying on the incident in the temple when Jesus, 12 years old, gets caught up in a Q & A session with teachers of the Jewish Law who live at the temple, while his parents are frantic about trying to find him.  Also, the retreatants are praying on the period of Jesus from the time He was 12 to 30.  Four different people, four different approaches and personality styles, great for me to guide them each through this.

 I mentioned in an earlier posting that one of the retreatants I am guiding was inspired to become a priest  thanks to his associating with an American priest who worked here in Kenya for many years, especially working with the poorest of the poor and pleading their cause with the government.   This priest had invited this retreatant when he was a teenager to work during the summer with him and others on projects for really poor people.   The priest got significant backlash from the Kenyan government because he would challenge those with power and political/moneyed control by what he was doing and calling them to do for these very poor citizens.  The government grew to dislike him a lot.  In the year 2000 he publicly denounced one elected governor of the western part of Kenya for his philandering, for taking a number of young women, having a brief sexual orgy with them, then dispose of them like garbage.  This priest whose last name is Kaiser documented these crimes and publicly denounced this elected official, who arranged to have the priest murdered but failed in trying to make it look like a suicide.  (It sounds to me a lot like John the Baptist confronting Herod, whose new "wife" got revenge and had John imprisoned and beheaded.) While the US government has much interest in this part of the world vis-a-vis terrorism, it pursued the case of this American citizen to a point and stopped short of  demanding the prosecution of this governmental murderer only because to press it fully would harm the US cause here with the government of Kenya.  This murderer was given some ambassadorship in another country to get him out of the limelight.  Now he is back and running for some new political office in Kenya.  Much bribery here, lots of control by those with tremendous wealth and political power.  Some answer to no one. They are "gods," a law unto themselves. There is so much of this, it seems especially in the Third World.   What will happen to these "gods" when they meet their Maker??!!  May they seek God's mercy before such a horrible moment!

  The weather here is getting colder as we get closer to the start of winter (less than two weeks from now).  Lots of rain last night, damp and heavily overcast, but at the same time you should see the roses we have in our yard.  The pinks, the deep reds, and the occasional yellow are stunning.  Two bushes of roses are about 6.5 feet tall, one loaded with about 15 gorgeous rose blossoms, the other loaded with about 20 deep red blossoms or buds.  I think the secret is the cow manure, extensive mulching, and the rich red clay soil!!  I walk from my domicile in the morning past these bushes while on my way to the dining room and shake my head at how much beauty surrounds me on the way.

   The staff that produces the meals for the retreatants is doing very well considering the circumstances they have to work with since the explosion of a large hotwater tank and damage of the kitchen area here two weeks ago tomorrow morning.  The retreatants tell me the meals are fine and served on time.   What more can one ask?!  One section of the building is still a terrible mess.  It looks like some of the photos taken of Syrian towns after the jets of Assad bomb these villages:  walls knocked down, roofs extensively damaged, outside cement-block walls knocked down or their joints cracked, debris on top of stoves and counters, dust and glass pieces everywhere.  We are so, so fortunate no one got hit by the debris flying from the explosion. The morning cook missed getting hit (maybe killed?) by a half minute. This incident underscores how badly we need a new kitchen and dining area, really a new building.  The food-prep men and women are my heroes and heroines.

  On Tuesday I mark 42 years since I was ordained.  (Bishop Tom Gumbleton at Gesu Church in Detroit on a sunny spring day did the honors!)You have to be old to mark that many years as a priest.  So I guess I am now an old man, yet I still have lots of energy for what I am doing.   God knew what He was doing when He invited me to come here.  What a surprise that invitation!!  Never did I anticipate it.  It was certainly not my idea to begin with.  I feel that gives me lots of leverage with God when I need something.  I just say, "This was your idea and you invited me here.  I have come here for you and now I need you to do this or provide that for me/us."

   I am presently working on preparing 16 presentations for an 8-day preached retreat, July 10-17.  Two presentations a day, then being available for one-on-one conversations with those making the retreat.  The theme is on the Holy Spirit as Friend, Guide, and Giver of gifts for the life journey.Thanks for any prayers you would send my way!!

   I need to say 'goodbye' and head off to bed.  The peace of Christ be with you!

Bernie Owens