I pity you poor folk who regularly check up on my blog. My guess would be many of you would check it more often than I! Sorry to announce that I will be once again off-line. The next entry may simply read, “August 17 - home safe n’ sound.”
After 11 months (to the day) I leave for Jordan in one hour. Where? Following a brief stay with an Australian Friar in Mt Nebo Jordan I continue on to Lebanon and (finally) I hope to visit Rome and Assisi. While in Assisi I will attend a gathering of ‘European Young Franciscans’. Why? It turns out that their gathering clashed with my visit and so I decided that if you can’t beat then join them. The downside is my accomation will be a sleeping bag and mat for the duration of the 6 night event.
Compared to Australia the Middle East is tiny. The trip to the Jordanian border takes no more than 30minutes and then it is another 30mintues to Mt Nebo. I just hope and pray that the customs officers are gentle with me. Lebanon is Israel’s neighbour to the north, only one and a half hours drivre from Nazareth, but the borders have been closed to since 1948. At present the atmosphere is tense as this is the first anniversary of the war. I will be on my best behaviour when I get to the border.
My flight home will be like one of those agonising bus rides after a long day at work, the kind where the bus seems to stop every 15metres. I depart Rome 7pm Wednesday evening and arrive into Sydney 6am Friday morning.
Final reflections are still a long way away but I can certainly say I am a far more proud Chrsitian and Franciscan than the Paul who arrived who arrived here exactly 11 months ago.
I have uploaded a few more pictures. If you click on to any of the current albums you will find two new albums: Belated Easter Pics & Under 10’s. Check them out
Must go,
Pax, Shalom, Saalam Alakun & ciao
Paul
Dear Friends,
My apologies for the break in transmission. I have recently returned from a rather full 15 days with the ‘Under 10’s’ - a gathering of 190 young friars from around the world who have been ordained for less than 10 years. I had never before been involved in an international gathering and to find myself on the local organising committee proved a real challenge.
I am now trying to sort out paper / emails / washing / future plans etc etc. I plan to stay on another week in Israel and then spend the next month winding my way from Jordan to Lebanon and Italy before flying home on August 15 from Vienna. Tough life!!!
Good news - I can upload picture once again. Two new shots of Sr Mona, with more to come.
pace e bene, Paul
